Foundational: Forgiveness - is not optional!
The topic I am about to speak today is the foundation of my Christian life.
““Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.””
LUKE 6:46-49 NASB https://www.bible.com/100/luk.6.46-49.nasb
{“Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not [practice] what I tell you? For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words [in order to heed their teaching] and does them, I will show you what he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or founded on a rock. But he who merely hears and does not practice doing My words is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, against which the torrent burst, and immediately it collapsed and fell, and the breaking and ruin of that house was great.”
Luke 6:46-49 AMPC
https://www.bible.com/8/luk.6.46-49.ampc}
Whom is Jesus talking to? Those who call him Lord. He is talking to you and me.
What makes us Wise or foolish. The wise hear the word and act on it by obedience. The foolish hear the word and continue building their own way contrary to the instruction of the word given.
What separates them.
The wise know the who and have bought in to the why. When you understand, the who, you are understanding and building on the Rock of all ages. When you understand the why, you are buying into the truth.
Who is this Jesus Christ
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
JOHN 1:1-5 NASB
https://www.bible.com/100/jhn.1.1-5.nasb
“Jesus said , “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
JOHN 14:6 NASB
https://www.bible.com/100/jhn.14.6.nasb
John 3:16
““For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “
This Jesus Christ is the Son that created all things.
Designer knows the design better than anyone. When you buy a product it comes with a manual by the maker.
The manual tells you what the product is designed for, its limitations, its optimum settings, what you need to be careful, what you need to avoid.
The creator who created you, he knows you better than anyone. Unlike a manufactured product, You are his masterpiece. A unique expression of the masters creativity. A masterpiece is unique, there is no one like you.
He knows what’s good for you and what not good for you.
When God created the world he did not say it was right or that was wrong. He said it was good. When he created man he said it was good. Before he created eve he said its not good for man to be alone.
Right and Wrong are subjective, right and wrong can be contested differently in different cultures. good and bad are universal.
Good and bad is known by the end result.
Religions are man made and are about right and wrong. God’s instructions is about teaching you what is good for you.
The creator knows your design He knows you more than anyone. His instructions are for your good.
You can choose to act on them by obedience or choose to not act on them.
Every decision we make builds our life, and sets tone for our future.
Without buying-in to the why of the instruction, obedience to Instruction is burdensome and its external.
When you understand benefits of the instruction you, when you understand its good for you and not doing its is foolish/ harming and hurtful in long run. Then you can make an informed choice and live by the fruits or consequences of that choice.
2 Timothy 3:16 NASB
“All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”
Let’s look at one of the instructions Jesus gave.
He talked about forgiving those who sinned against us.
The Who
- remember he is a good God that loves you and has only good things for you. It is he who is good is instructing you.
The Why
- Why is he asking you to forgive, What happens when you dont forgive, you feel pain you are hurting, it leads to all kinds of negative emotions, feelings, actions, reactions that are hurtful and negative. It impairs my listening, it clouds my judgement it effects my assumptions. It leads to nothing good.
To add to it if we don't forgive others, in eyes eyes of merciful God who has forgiven us of our innumerable sins sees that we are not extending the mercy others, if we don't forgive others neither will our father in Heaven forgive us.
You were not designed to live in unforgivingness.
When I recognized the who and the why of that instruction, I bought in to it. That's when I chose to obey it. I learnt to build a life as someone who forgives.
Forgiving is an amazing foundation of any relationship. I have an amazing marriage because it's build on the pillar of forgivingness.
See Jesus the one who instructs me is the Rock, each instruction is a building block. Line upon line, precept upon precept. Through understanding and obedience to the truth your faith is being built on the foundation of the truth that does not change and is unshakable.
This is me just talking about forgivingness. He has taught me about love. Serving other. Caring for other. He has taught me about not worrying etc.
The word of God full of Good instructions or shall I call them building blocks that you can build your life on.
In world around us most people go by feelings, emotions, comfort, pressures, compulsions and pleasure. If these are what motivate/influence your decisions to your life upon which your life is built then you are building your life on sand.
When storms of life come, believe me they will come. Jesus said in this world you will have trouble, its a guaranty. When the storms come. It will test the integrity of the structure of your life, if is not based on the Rock Lord Jesus Christ and his teachings it will fall apart.
I have been a Christian for about 31 years. I have been through many trying situations, I have gone through hardships, difficulties, persecution, rejections, sickness, calamities, trials and testings. If my life was not based on truth. If had not experientially known the truth through obedience, My life would have been like going on a roller coaster of emotions, feeling, fears and uncertainty. It would have been a mess.
Life gets complex in every stage of life. Work, job, relationships finances, marriage kids etc.
The purpose this message is to highlight the benefits and importance of building your life on the truth. Please dont let the devil condemn you about your past.
Time is linear, you can not change what's done. Don't live in regrets. Repentance/changing the direction we are going is a righteous act. You have the present and what you do in the present sets tone for your future.
If God is speaking to you, you can start building your life today on the foundation of Jesus and the truth.
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is like a refreshing stream for the soul
It's a stream it's refreshing when it flows
To be forgiven, you need to forgive
To receive you have to give
Same is true for love and mercy too
The measure you use
It will be measured unto you.
- Vivek Shenoy
Its never too late to revisit priorities and lay a strong foundation.
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