CALVARY
IS REAL BIBLE CHURCH
13 UKWANSI STREET, ABAKALIKI
EXPOSITORY BIBLE STUDY
FOCUS: FURTHER WARNINGS FROM THE MASTER
TOPIC: STANDING AGAINST THE STORMS OF LIFE
(Part 1)
TEXT: Matt.7:24-27, Lk6:47-49
INTRODUCTION
This is the last of the
instruction given by the Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples in his teaching
popularly called the Sermon on the Mount. It is an instruction emphasizing the
importance of paying close attention to hearing and obeying all he has said
before and what he would still say to them and to us by and by. It is certain
that every one of us will face storms in life. What determines whether our
lives and whatever we are building will stand life trials or not, is the subject of this study.
1. AN
OPEN INVITATION...
‘Whosoever comes to
me and hears my saying..Lk6; 47
(a) What
Does That Teach Us About The Right Way To Begin Building Anything In Life? Psa. 127:1; Prov. 3:5-7; 1Jn 5:4; Jn. 6:37
Building is a project
and it involves a process. It involves the time and the life of the builder.
Incidentally, our lives and our times are not in our hand but in the hands of
the Lord. And except the Lord builds a house, they labour in vain that build
it. Wisdom demands that we acknowledge the Lord in all our ways and decisions;
and allow him who knows all things and can do all things to direct us.
The only wise thing to
do before doing anything is to come to the Lord and hear him over the matter.
When you do whatever he says to you, it means your decisions is born of God
(1Jn. 5;4) and it will surely overcome whatever storms may face you as a
result.
What is your experience
in this? Do you acknowledge the Lord before you take any decision; or is it
only in ‘big’ matters that you care enough to involve him? Do not take things
for granted you may be building your life on sand without knowing.
(b) What
Is the Significance of hearing Jesus in
building our lives and our decisions? Matt.13:15-17;
Rom. 10; 14-17; Matt. 11:15; Mk. 4:24
Faith comes by hearing,
and hearing by the word of God hearing the Lord in building our lives produces faith
in us to receive further from God the wisdom, grace, and all other physical and
spiritual resources needed to successfully complete the building. It also
brings healing to our lives when needed.
As we pray or study and
hear God’s word, he speaks to us we should however not only take time to hear
the Lord over every issue, but pay attention to the measure (of times,
attention etc.) . We give in hearing from the Lord. The same measure we use is
what the lord will use to measure back to us in terms of instructions, grace,
etc.
CALVARY
IS REAL BIBLE CHURCH
13 UKWANSI STREET, ABAKALIKI
EXPOSITORY BIBLE STUDY
FOCUS: FURTHER WARNINGS FROM THE MASTER
TOPIC: STANDING AGAINST THE STORMS OF LIFE (Part 2)
TEXT: Matt.7:24-27, Lk6:47-49
1(C) What are the things we normally labour to
build in life physically and spiritually? Give practical examples.
It
is clear that such things include physical houses. Business and career; we also
labour to build our marriages, children, relationships, decisions, our calling
or ministry, local church etc.
Each of these demands that we go to
the Lord first, and continually, hear him over the matter and do what he says
if our lives, careers, homes, and children will be able to stand the storms
that will of necessary come against us.
What
have you been laboring to build in your life? Do you consult Jesus about it? Is
he the foundation, the author and the originator of try? Or he is just one of
the counsels and invites to watch you build?
(d) Discuss
the importance of doing what jesus says to you, Matt. 7:21; Jn 2:1-8; Jas 1:21-15; 2 Cor. 10;4, 6; Lk 11:28.
Obedience
is the key to getting God to be on your side. When you obey whatever the Lord
says to you, a door is opened to you into the kingdom of heaven; then heaven
and heavenly resources are put at your disposal to accomplish what you are
building and to fight for you in times
of rain, storms, and winds. You will be blessed in whatever you do as
you obey the Lord’s instruction to you.
But when you neglect God’s
instructions and follow the inclinations of your heart, you will build
something but surely whatever you build will not be able to withstand the
storms of grant you understanding!
CALVARY
IS REAL BIBLE CHURCH
13 UKWANSI STREET, ABAKALIKI
EXPOSITORY BIBLE STUDY
FOCUS: FURTHER WARNINGS FROM THE MASTER
TOPIC: STANDING AGAINST THE STORMS OF LIFE
(Part 3)
TEXT: Matt.7:24-27, Lk. 6:47-49
2. THE
TWO HEARERS OF GOD’S WORD
(a) Identify
The Two Categories Of People When Hear The Word Of God In These Scriptures Lk. 6:47-49; Matt 7:21
One
category hears God’s word and does (obeys) it; the other category hears the
word of God but does nothing about it. Note however , that both categories hear
the word. The difference lies in the action taken about what they heard. To
which category do you belong?
(b) What Makes one Category Wise and the other
Foolish in this Parable? Matt. 7:24-27
Discuss
the wisdom of the wise category and the foolishness of the foolish one. Prov.
3:5-7; Prov. 1:7, 24-33; Heb. 11:6; Ps. 14:1; Prov. 29:1
It
is wisdom to put aside your own wisdom and follow the instruction of the Lord,
the only wise God. When you do so, you will certainly receive what God has
promised because God watches over his word to perform it. He is a rewarded of
throne who diligently seek him.
How
and on what have you been building your life, your home, and your children?
Could it be that your present troubles in life and in your home are the result
of your disregarding God’s instructions on these issues?
Do
not keep going on in your mistake. You can still turn it over to Jesus and
follow him on in obedience henceforth. If you are willing and obedient you
shall eat the good of the land.
CALVARY
IS REAL BIBLE CHURCH
13 UKWANSI STREET, ABAKALIKI
EXPOSITORY BIBLE STUDY
FOCUS: FURTHER WARNINGS FROM THE MASTER
TOPIC: STANDING AGAINST THE STORMS OF LIFE
(Part 4)
TEXT: Matt.7:24-27, Lk6:47-49
(c)
WHY, IN YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING, DO
WE ALSO OFTEN ACT FOOLISHLY IN RESPONSE TO THE WORD OF GOD THAT WE HEAR?
Discuss practically, Mk. 4:16-19;
Lk. 9:26; 2 Kg5:10-14; Lk. 5:4-6
Lack of concentration
of our attention on God’s instructions and little or no meditation on God’s
word that we hear, hinder the word from taking root in our hearts.
And once it has no
roots, it also bears no fruit. At other times thinking much over our personal
cares and worries in life is the reasons for our foolishness. Even when the
word of God that will handle such problems come to us, it is immediately choked
by our worries and rendered unfruitful; consequently we do nothing about it.
Sometime it id the
deceit that our ‘richer’ of past experience on how to handle such problems, ‘riches’
of men and materials in whom we trust to help solve the problems that make us
foolish people.
It may also be because
of the seeming shame and reproach that we may likely face in the midst of men
as we take steps to obey. There could also be many other reasons why we often
act foolishly in response to God’s word.
As for you, why do you do so? And what did you gain from
such foolish response in time past? He who is often rebuked and hardens his
neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
(d) HOW CAN WE ENSURE WE ARE WISE AND OBEDIENT EACH TIME WE HEAR
GOD SPEAK TO US? Matt13:23; Lk 8;15; Josh1:8; Lk2:19,51; Prov2:1-4 Matt6:21;
Heb4:2-3
Understanding is an
important bedrock to obedience. It will be difficult to obey the word of God
that you do not understand. The word of God is the wisdom of God. Therefore get
wisdom. But with all your getting, get understanding. However, understanding
comes only as we concentrate our attention and thoughts prayerfully on the word
of God we hear, and meditating upon it.
Each word and instruction from God that came to Mary
about Jesus both before and after his birth were kept in her heart. She though
about them., pondering them in her heart. But for Joseph, no such thing was
written about him. No wonder then, Mary eventually believed in Jesus and became
her Sons’ disciple, while Joseph had no such experience written about him.
Between the act of
hearing and that of obeying the sayings of the master, there are these very
important but silence processes that must take place in the heart of the
hearer; receiving the word, meditating on it persevering with it in obedience
in order for it to bear fruit in our lives.
How do you handle the
word of God that comes to you?
CALVARY
IS REAL BIBLE CHURCH
13 UKWANSI STREET, ABAKALIKI
EXPOSITORY BIBLE STUDY
FOCUS: FURTHER WARNINGS FROM THE MASTER
TOPIC: STANDING AGAINST THE STORMS OF LIFE
(Part 5)
TEXT: Matt.7:24-27, Lk. 6:47-49
3. THE TWO FOUNDATION
(A) What is a Foundation? Of what importance is
it to a house?
1Cor.
3:10; Lk. 14:28-29; Ps. 11:3
The
starting point in building any house is the foundation. It is the basis, the
thing upon which the whole building stands, it bears the weight of the house.
If anything happens to be foundation of a house, it automatically, affects the
building itself.
(b) What
forms the rocky foundation in the parable? What forms the sandy foundation? Matt 7:24-27
Each
time you hear the word of God, you have automatically laid foundation, whether
you obey it or not. As the Lord gives you an instruction over any matter, a
building process starts.
The
word of God that you hear and obey automatically forms a rocky foundation for
your life capable of making you stand firm in times of trials. But the word of
God you hear and do not obey forms a sandy foundation.
Such
things may look beautiful on the surface, and make you think with them, you can
succeed without obeying the instructions given to you by the Lord. But surely,
a time of trials is coming upon every house, whether built on the rock or on
sand. The seemingly beautiful and successfully completed house but built on
sand will fall at such times, and great shall be its fall.
Paying
attention to obeying the sayings of the Lord may look like a fence or a cage, a
restriction to our lives. But on the long run, his fence shall prove to be our
defense in times of trouble. You stand to lose nothing by obeying the word of
God.
CALVARY
IS REAL BIBLE CHURCH
13 UKWANSI STREET, ABAKALIKI
EXPOSITORY BIBLE STUDY
FOCUS: FURTHER WARNINGS FROM THE MASTER
TOPIC: STANDING AGAINST THE STORMS OF LIFE
(Part 6)
TEXT: Matt.7:24-27, Lk6:47-49
4. TRIALS…. THE RAIN, THE FLOODS, AND THE
WIND
(A) Compare The Trails That Came Upon The two
Houses In This Parable (Matt7:25-27).
What did you discover?
What does that teach you as you hear God’s word? 1Cor10:1-13; 1Pet5:9
You will discover that the trials that came upon the
houses built on the rock were the same as that which came on the houses built
on stand. There is no partiality. Each word of God we bear and each lesson we
learn from God’s word as we study, attracts trails.
As examinations are to
students, so are trails to believers. Faith if not tried, is not yet faith.
Whether you obey what God says to you or not, you will face the trial. Id you
pass the examination, you will be promoted, having gained an experience. But if
you fall, your life will experience a definite fall. It will have remain as it
was before facing the trails. May God grant you understanding?
(b) THE TRAILS AND OUR LIVES
i). discuss the significance of each of these
trials on the house in this parable Matt.
7:25; Gen7:11-13-17
ii). How
does each affect our lives and whatever we are building when we hear and obey God’s
instructions? Isa. 59;19; Isa. 43:1-2
iii). What
will be the effect of these trials on our lives if we have previously done
nothing about what the Lord said to us? Ps.
11:3; Matt. 7:26-27
The strength and the
usefulness of a house depend on the foundation, the walls; and the roof, not so
much on the paint used or the decorations around it.
You will discover therefore that the trials that came on
each of the houses in this parable were directed to these three parts of the
building; the rain to test the roof, the flood to try the foundation, and the
wind to test the walls as well as the roof. When a man pays attention to what
the Lord says and obeys it God stands by in times of trails to ensure that he
stands. His obedience to God’s word over such a matter forms a rock under him
and he shall not be moved.
But that is not so with the disobedient, with a man who
is full of himself and his own ideas, who hears what God says about a matter
but does not obey. He will fall and great shall be his fall.
(
c) What is the Significance of
trials in the life of every believer who hears the word of god? Deut. 8:2; Jer.
17:10; Jas 1:2-4; 1 Pet. 1:6-7; Mk. 4:16-17; Rom. 5:3-4
Each time we hear the
word of God, we must expect the rain, wind, and flood to try our faith. God is
not moved by people who just hear his
word, but those who hear and obey it. A quick obedience to the word of God we
hear preserves and keeps us from falling in the times of trials.
How urgently and
eagerly do you obey God?
CONCLUSION
Each time you hear the
word of God, you have automatically started building something. What forms the
foundation depends on whether you obey what God says or not. The key for any
house to stand is not in its appearance but its foundation.
And just as any
physical house is trial by forces of nature (the rain, the flood, and the
wind), so also is our faith. Faith must be tried in order out what it is based
upon. If based on what God says, the house stands. But is based on any other
thing it is certainly going to fall.
Life and continual
living in the kingdom is based on constant obedience to the word of God. It is
the bedrock for kingdom lifestyle.
On what are you
building your life? On what God say or what men say? What is the foundation of
your family? Who led you into the career you are currently pursuing? What did
God say to you before you started the work you are presently doing: and even as
you do it, do you take time to hear him constantly and obey what he says?
‘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’ (Matt7:24)
May you be counted
among the wise by the Lord both now and in eternity in Jesus’ name? Amen!
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