We are in treacherous times, and more than ever before we need to get our lives completely lined up with the Word of God. We need to get all of our ducks in a row, and connect all of the dots and keep them connected. We are in the last of the last days and time is getting ever so short. The trump could sound at any moment, and each Christian needs to always be ready and prepared. We need to build our spiritual house upon the Rock, and that Rock is Jesus and His Word, which are one and the same. The Bible makes it very clear that not everyone who names the name of Jesus will be a part of the eternal body of Christ. We must not take our walk with the Lord lightly. We as believers are to be obedient to the Word. There are going to be many who will be left behind for the Tribulation because they never developed a love for the Truth (The Word). (See 2 Thessalonians 2:10). We cannot be among such people. We must be overcomers, those who walk in The Word everyday. Those who align their selves with the Word as a lifestyle, not just a Sunday morning routine. Matthew 7:21-27 says "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord', shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness! Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
So here in this parable that Jesus gave, we have two types of people. The wise and the foolish. The wise man or woman builds his or her house upon the Rock. They build their lives upon the very Word of God. They spend time in God's presence, in prayer, and in reading the Bible. The wise man or woman hears the Word of God and they are obedient to do what it says to the best of their ability. The wise are sold out to Christ, and are not moved by anything or anyone. They have an unshakeable faith. They build their house on the solid foundation of God's Word, and they know their authority in Christ. On the other hand, we have the foolish man or woman. The foolish are disobedient. They listen to the lies of the devil such as false doctrine. You can show them the truth, but they ignore it and cling to their deceptions. And when the enemy comes at them, they are powerless and they become defeated. If you notice in the passages in Matthew chapter 7 that we looked at, Jesus never denied that they did all those things in His name, such as prophesying and casting out demons. Those are things that we as believers are to do absolutely. The thing is, they were doing some of the things of the kingdom, but yet they were doing it for the praises of men, and not God, They were going through the motions of being a Christian, but never truly established a relationship with God. You see, you can have the anointing upon your lives, and even do mighty miracles in Jesus name, but if you have a wrong heart toward the things of God, and are picking and choosing what you do and don't want to believe in the Word, then you can be shut out of God's kingdom. Once saved always saved is a false doctrine. We must be obedient Christians. There are sons of obedience and sons of disobedience, and only the sons of obedience are going to be a part of the Glorification and Rapture of the church. (See Ephesians 2:1-3, & Colossians 3:5-11).
Those who are wise Christians - those who build their house upon the Rock of the Word, will be a part of the eternal body of Christ who will be glorified and raptured, and will sit with Jesus on His throne ruling and reigning as Kingdom Government over the nations. (See Isaiah 9:6-7, & Revelation 3:21-22). You cannot afford to be complacent, or apathetic. This is serious business folks. All eternity is at stake. Proverbs 3:35 says "The wise shall inherit glory, But shame shall be the legacy of fools". Do you want your legacy to be one of shame? Do you want to be left behind to face the horrors of the Great Tribulation? Do you really want to risk hearing Jesus say to you, "I never knew you, depart from me"? Well, its your decision to make. Life is all about choices. And its our choices that will determine if we will be a part of God for all eternity. The foolish man or woman will miss their place in the Rapture, but the wise shall hear, well done good and faithful child - enter into the kingdom. Like I said, you must make the choice for yourself. You must decide to take your relationship with God seriously. You must decide to build your house upon the solid foundation of God's Word. You cannot afford to grow lukewarm or cold. That only brings disastrous results. In fact God has a very blunt and straightforward statement about those who are lukewarm. Lets read in Revelation 3:14-22: "And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing --- and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-- I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."
So we see here in this passage, that Jesus is giving a strong rebuke to those Christians who cannot decide Who's side they are going to be on. Jesus plainly states that He either wants us Hot or cold, but not lukewarm. The hot are the ones who are the wise Christians. They are true members of the body of Christ - the sons of obedience. They are on fire for God. The cold ones at least know that they are not serving God, They aren't putting on airs. They are honest about the condition their in. However, the lukewarm Christians are the ones that think they are truly serving God, but in fact, they are only going through the motions. They sit on two sides of the fence, thinking that God winks at that, but He doesn't. In His letter to the church in Laodicea, which I believe is representative of the state of many of the last days churches, Jesus says that if you are lukewarm, He will vomit you out of His mouth! In other words, you make God sick. You leave a bad taste in His mouth. To such people, Jesus says to repent! (verse 19). If you want to overcome, and be a apart of Christ for all eternity, then you need to choose to be hot for God all the time. Being lukewarm or cold is building your house upon the sand, and as you can imagine, it wont be long until it falls down all around you. To put it bluntly, those who don't build their house upon the solid Rock of the Word, will go down in quicksand! 1 Corinthians 10:12 says "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." You need to choose to have ears to hear. Hear the Word of God, then choose to obey it, and apply it in your everyday life. Don't be ignorant of the Word, and don't resist going in deeper levels. Knowledge is power. When you are built up in the Word of God, it causes you to rise up in faith, and successfully defeat the devil at his every attempt. Lack of knowledge, or rejecting the knowledge you receive will only cause you to be destroyed, and therefore, an easy target for satan. Hosea 4:6 says "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me...."
Those who build their house upon the Rock, are those who receive the knowledge of the truth - God's Word, and they build their life upon it. They hate what is evil, and cling to what is good. (See Psalms 97:10, Proverbs 8:13, & Romans 12:9) The Word of God must be first place in your life. You cannot sit on both sides of the fence. You must declare like Joshua did, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15). Don't be moved or swayed by the opinions of man. Stand firm upon the Word of God - that's the only Source you need. God and His Word are one and the same! Choose to be a wise Christian. Let's read now in Matthew chapter 25 verses 1-13 where Jesus gives the Parable of the ten virgins. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish: "Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him! Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying, No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us! But he answered and said, Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you. Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."
In this Parable, the ten virgins represent the whole kingdom of heaven. The five who were wise represent those who accept Jesus and are walking in the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. They have built their lives upon the solid foundation of the Word of God. They are rapture ready. The five who were foolish represent those who are complacent. Those who are satisfied in their lukewarm condition, and go through the motions of being a believer. The oil in the Parable represents the Holy Spirit. Each one of these people had the chance to be ready for the Rapture. They all had the opportunity to receive the Holy Spirit and walk in the anointing. However, only the wise virgins were welcomed into the eternal kingdom, whereas the foolish were barred entry. The reason? They didn't build their house on the Rock. They let their lamps burn out, thereby causing them to be stagnant and ineffective for the kingdom. They didn't live ready for Jesus appearing. We all would be wise to give heed to what Jesus said about watching. We need to live for Him everyday of our lives. We need to have a love for His Word, and walk upon it to the best of our abilities everyday. We need to be loving and expecting His glorious appearing. (Pre-Tribulation Rapture). Don't be one who is like an ostrich who sticks his head in the sand and says "We'll all find out when the time comes". No - you determine to build your house on the Rock, and know what the Word says. Have all of the facts straight. Be in agreement with the Word. Don't go your own way, it will only lead to destruction. Proverbs 14:12 says "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death."
So make the choice today to be a wise Christian who builds their house upon the Rock of God's Word. The eternal rewards are so worth the effort. Amen!
(All Scripture references are from the New King James Version of the Bible)
