37 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
37 lines
1.9 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Luke 6:46–49"
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date = "2022-11-13"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk6.46-49)
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The Sermon on the Plain ends with a final warning against hypocrisy. Even
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though "out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" (_v. 45_), it is
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not enough to merely speak the right things. If we call Jesus Lord (and we
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should, because He is), but don't obey His commands, then we are lying. It's
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not a popular idea nowadays, but God is in charge and has every right to tell
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us what to do. It is our place to humbly submit to Him&emdash;that is, agree
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that He is in charge and obey what He tells us.
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Jesus then explains that there are great benefits for acting this way. God
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blesses and protects those who obey Him, just like the man who built his house
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on a solid foundation. The flood rose and beat against the house, but didn't
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shake it. In contrast, the man who does not do what he hears God say loses the
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house he built on the sand.
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It's possible to take this parable and interpret it in a couple of ways: from
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an earthly or an eternal perspective. I think both are valid, but one is truer
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than the other. For example, I know a man who hasn't been able to get a steady
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job for two years now. He continues to serve in the church faithfully, cares
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for his family, and takes odd jobs while he looks for the position he really
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wants. His wife told me recently that they have more in their savings account
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now than they did when he lost his last full-time job. The floodwaters of life
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have certainly come against this family, and their house stands firm. How much
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more sure, then, is their eternal security? Hunger and sickness may yet find
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them, despite everything we may do, but when they die (not _if_), they will be
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with the Lord they love. And there is no better place to be than that.
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* * *
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Help us build our faith upon Your Rock, obeying You in all things, so that we
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may stand before You at the end of the age, with all joy.
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