House on the Rock - Prayer meeting
Notes
Transcript
Often I think we think about this parable as describing those who build on the Rock of Jesus and those that don’t.
But it’s a bit more challenging than that.
It’s about 2 groups of people who both hear what Jesus says but do different things with their hearing.
There are those who hear Jesus and do nothing,
and those who hear Jesus and do as well as hear.
Jc Ryle describes the dooer and hearer ike this:
‘He does not content himself with listening to exhortations to repent, believe in Christ and live a holy life. He actually repents, believes, ceases to do evil, learns to do well, abhors that which is sinful and cleaves to that which is good. He hears and does.’
Or In James we read:
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
What happens when we live like this?
In the time of trials, persecution, suffering, our faith does not fail us.
The floods of sickness, sorrow, poverty, disappointments, bereavements beat against us, but our faith does not give way.
So many stories we hear of untold suffering - experienced by Christians, yet they praise God and stand strong in Christ.
I asked Bill this morning how his faith is doing given his illness and frustrations and his answer ‘It’s all I have left just at the moment’.
Even in our sinful human nature, our sinful dissatisfaction with life, our sinful hearts and sinful attitudes towards the hand God has given us - despite all that - if we hear, take to heart and obey God’s word - he will hold us fast.
Jesus comforts and will not forget us in our time of need, becasue we have not forgotten Him in our time of plenty.
We have sacrificed time and energy to sit under his word,
prayed at all times,
forgone our desires for comfort
and our desires for what we think is right or fair,
instead:
We have built carefully and with effort on the Rock of Jesus and His word.
We have taken up our cross - even when times were good.
So when times are hard, we don’t cry out in complaint - we stand firm in faith.
We hear and obey.
And we reap a rich reward of peace in Christ.
The other man in our story hears bible teaching but never gets beyond hearing.
He satisfies himself with listening and approving but goes no further.
He is like the person who tells everyone that ‘all is right with my soul’
because they have spiritual feelings,
spiritual conviction and
even spiritual desires - but they don’t actually go out and do.
Doesn’t actual submit his or her life to the will of God in His Word.
So they never really break from sin.
They never really takes up the cross.
And when trials come - they go.
They claim God has failed them, and cannot trust a God who would allow such trials.
But sadly, it is their faith that has failed them - for they did not build their lives on the Rock of doing God’s Word, but simply on the hearing of God’s word.
They built very cheaply in times of plenty - so never discovered the truth of Jesus the Rock, so in times of want - their faith is wrecked.
We will know people from this very church who have not stood firm when trial has come. Jesus has ot failed them, Their faith has failed them.
We need to examine ourselevs - do we just listen, or do we do?
And we need to pray for those whose faith has crashed down around them when trials have come. Pray they would hear again and trust Jesus enough by His Spirit , to do , as well as hear.
A good prayer for us all - and good prayer for us to pray for others tonight.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’ 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.
Confession