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: [25] And 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. [26] 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: [27] And 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.
Matthew 7:24-27 KJV
In yesterday’s meditation, we saw the importance of a solid foundation to the stability of physical building. Much more, a solid foundation is essential for the present time as well as the time to come. The world has entered into a season of night and morning. The night is symbolic of a time when there are problems and trouble and the morning is symbolic of when there is light, Joy and solutions. From the beginning of 2020, the World entered into the night season with the corona virus, but we are assured of the Lord that a morning shall surely come. Luke 21:26 says mens heart will fail them because of the things that will come upon the earth. We will see many foundations shake and crumble, but we are also going to see many foundations stand and be solid. In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus spoke about two houses that are built upon two types foundations. One house was built upon the rock and the other was built upon the sand. We were told that the rain came, the flood came and the wind blew, three different elements. These three elemental forces beat against the two houses. Jesus told us that one house stood and one collapsed. The house that stood, stood because the foundation was on a rock.
In Revelation 3:10, Jesus sent a message to the church in Philadelphia. He said “Because you have kept the word of my patience, I will keep you from the trial that will try the world”. He didn’t say only the church will be tried but everyone. Yet Jesus promised them that He will keep them. What was the secret to this promise? The Philadelphian church was standing on the solid foundation. Paul knew the importance of a foundation built on God’s word alone. Hence He did not preach his experiences but Christ and Him crucified alone, 1 Corinthians 2:1-2. Anything built on the experience of man or outside of what Christ has done will not stand the kind of storms that are about to hit the earth. While considering the topic of the christian foundation, we will consider the foundation needed for the basic Christian calling and that of the high calling of God. Today, the emphasis is on the common Christian calling. It seems basic, but a crack in this foundation is often the reason for the fall of many who profess to be believers. There are three aspects to our basic and common Christian calling: Our faith in Christ, Our life in Christ and Our witness for Christ.
Our faith in Christ is based on our relationship with Christ. John 3:3 shows that just as we were born into our earthly family, but we must be born again into the heavenly family, which is the Kingdom of God. This happens when a person encounters Christ at salvation. As basic as this is to christianity, many fail here, speaking high sounding things, but never having a true personal encounter with God. Our faith in Christ must be expressed before our life in Christ can be expressed. What we believe affects what we do. If our belief system is wrong and on a wrong foundation, we cannot live right with Christ. Unfortunately in Christendom, we often expect the life of Christ from people who never encountered God, even though they had spent their entire life in church. If a person is struggling to live a life worthy of the call of a Christian, it is important to pause and check the foundation, their belief system. This is especially important because Revelation 12:13-17 said that the dragon, the ancient serpent has been cast to the earth and has great rage because his time is little. Genesis 3:14 says the serpent eats dust. This is not a physical serpent, but the same dragon cast down. Anyone living with Character defects or carnality will be a casualty in the days coming.
In Ephesians 4:17, Paul was addressing the church that people should no longer live as gentiles. The major difference between a Jew and a Gentile is that Jews have a covenant or a relationship with God. Hence living like gentile meant living like an unbeliever. Only those who are having a strong and morally sound character will partake of the coming Kingdom. Any one with a faulty character and moral life will be food for the serpent. Our lives are part of our witness for Christ. This means we cannot have a good witness for Christ if our lifestyle is devoid of moral excellence and we cannot have a life with moral excellence if our faith in God is shaky. This meditation is a call to pause and examine our belief systems. Our faith, lifestyle and witness are all a matter of the heart. A man who has not encountered Christ, regardless of how many scriptures he can quote has a heart that is desperately wicked, Jeremiah 17:9. Yet God has promised to give a new heart and put a new spirit within all who come to Him, Ezekiel 36:25-27. Beloved, now is the time to examine your heart and your faith in the Lord. We will consider the foundations for the high calling of Christ tomorrow. However, If you are not walking in the basics of the christian call, a higher calling is out of reach. If there are areas of your faith that are shaky, cry out to the Lord and He will reveal Himself to you. God never ignores a cry for mercy!
Prayer for today: Lord Jesus, You know me in and out. You know my sitting and my rising. My heart is not hidden from You, nor my innermost thoughts. Lord search my heart and show me areas where my foundation may be shaky. Show me lies that I have believed that make me act the way I do. Purify my heart with the fire of Your holiness and establish my feet (my walk with you) on a solid foundation of truth, so that I can stand the trails that will come to all humanity. Hide me in Your holiness o God.
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