I want to share some thoughts from Oswald Chambers on the Sermon On The Mount that have been a great reminder to me regarding how am I living my life, how I am building my Spiritual Castle. We have all read the sciptures but we need to ask ourselves … How have we responded?
Matt 7:24-27 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” ESV
Every Spiritual Castle will be tested by a threefold storm: Rain, Flood, and Wind … the World, the Fesh, and the Devil. And it will only stand if it is founded upon the sayings of Jesus. Every spiritual fabric that is built with His sayings, instead of being founded on them, Jesus calls “the building of a foolish man.”
There is a tendency in all of us to appreciate the sayings of Jesus with our intellect while we refuse to do them; then everything we build will go by the board when the test comes. Paul applies this in his letter to the Corinthians:
1 Cor 3:12-13 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ESV
Every man’s work will be made manifest. All that we build will be supremely tested, and it will tumble in a fearful disaster unless it is built upon the sayings of Jesus. It is easy to build with the sayings of Jesus, to sling text of scripture together and build them into any kind of fabric. But Jesus brings the disciple to the test: “You hear my sayings and quote them, but do you do them – in your office, your home life, and your private life?”
What does it matter what anyone thinks of us, if Jesus thinks we are doing the right thing and we can hear Him say:
Matt 25:21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ESV
Our Spiritual Castle will be tested and our foundtion needs to be well laid … we will be judged on what we did with what we were given to build it … will it be standing strong on that day?