Published by admin on 23 Aug 2013 at 12:24 pm
CONFUSION
The Lord Jesus spoke a parable in Matthew chapter seven about two people who built a house, one on the rock, and one on the sand. Let’s read it.
Mat 7:24 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:
Mat 7:25 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.
Mat 7:26 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:
Mat 7:27 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.
You know, some people think that once you’re a Christian, you won’t have any more trials. Nothing could be further from the truth. Please note that the flood came to BOTH houses, but it was the house built upon the rock that survived. Think of your faith in God right now; is it built on the sand, or on the rock? Is your faith in the tradition of RELIGION handed down to you, or is it built on a RELATIONSHIP with Christ Jesus? How can you tell the difference? Well, that’s the easy part: the difference shows up when the flood comes. And yes, the flood WILL come to everyone, and just being a Christian doesn’t give you immunity.
The first natural instinct to hit you in times of trials is FEAR. Now, the Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:7, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. So, how do you deal with the immediate wave of fear that hits you when you see the flood coming? First off, you’ll REBUKE that fear in the name of Christ Jesus if your house is built on the rock. And that fear will leave if your house is built on the rock. On the other hand, if your house is built on the traditions of men, meaning “sand”, well, you’re in big trouble, for you will find “RELIGION” will not deliver you, and then you’ll begin to question why God let this happen to you, or you will find yourself in a state of confusion, for you are standing there with a bucket with holes in the bottom, and everything you THOUGHT you had with God is suddenly gone like water out of a bucket with no bottom.
Confusion arises when you are not settled. If your basic faith is confused then everything you build upon that foundation will also be confused and unsettled. It’s like building a house on the ground, you know it’s going to fail, you just don’t know when. But it will be at the worst possible moment, you can be sure.
Well, here I go again about HEALING. After all, our ministry is called Life Healing Ministries, so it’s only natural I would be teaching you about healing. Now, healing is not just physical healing, but it’s also about healing your emotions, relationships, finances, and every single area of your life. Yes, God wants EVERY area of your life to be healed, whole, SHALOM, that is, at peace, blessed, nothing missing, nothing broken. So, where does confusion come into the picture? There are those who teach it is NOT God’s will for you to be blessed and whole, that because Jesus suffered, YOU must also suffer. Well, there is some truth in that, but like everything the devil tries to feed us, he feeds us just enough truth to get us interested so we will also eat the poison and be destroyed.
Jesus tells us we will face persecution for the Gospel’s sake. And some shrink back when those persecutions arise, thinking “Why did God allow that trial to come?” Confusion thrives on stuff like that. Like Jesus said in the parable, BOTH houses were hit by the flood, the one on the sand, and the one on the rock. It’s what you do when the flood comes that determines if you will stand, or if you will fall and suffer loss. It is written in James 1:2-8,
Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Jas 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Jas 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Jas 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Jas 1:7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
Jas 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Does that mean you are to look forward to trials and enjoy them? Well, if you read verses three and four, you will see the trials that Satan sends to destroy you, that God uses them to strengthen you, meaning you will exit the trial in better shape than you entered it. That is “IF” you have built your house on the rock, meaning on HIM. Oh, but look at verse five: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Now, here’s the good news: if in the past you’ve been hit with trials and your “house fell”, this is the time for you to rebuild “on the ROCK”. Sometimes we have to go through some “stuff” before we finally cry out to God for some wisdom. And God says He will give wisdom LIBERALLY, meaning freely and in generous measure, and He won’t scold you or argue with you for asking for it, AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU.
And of course, confusion tries to raise its head and say, “Suppose God doesn’t give you wisdom after you ask?” As I said earlier, confusion is a rotten foundation sure to fail, and it will fail at the worst possible time. What do you do? Tell confusion to take a hike, because it’s toxic to every area of your life. God’s word is ALWAYS true, so you don’t have to have any confusion in your mind about it. When the circumstances don’t line up with the Word of God, YOU STAND ON THE WORD. The Word IS the ROCK, and the truth of God’s Word will dispel your confusion.
Remember what I said about RELATIONSHIP? God isn’t interested in religion, because most of it is built on man’s traditions anyway. You know, dress a certain way, observe a certain ritual, speak “King James” when you pray. Let me tell you something, the LORD doesn’t mind this old hillbilly preacher omitting the “thee and thou” when I pray, and when He speaks back to me, He doesn’t speak King James as He tells me what to write to you. He and I have a RELATIONSHIP, and it’s getting better every day.
Now, I’d like to say my house has always been built on the rock, but the truth is, I spent many years getting washed away every time the floods came. I finally realized my house was built on religious quicksand. So I finally asked God what to do and He told me! All I had to do was ask, can you imagine that? He had the answer for me all the time, but I was too confused, too proud, too RELIGIOUS to ask, for I had enough religion tradition in me to figure I was ALREADY built on the rock. Yes, I was confused, just like many of you are.
Getting rid of confusion was the result of spending quality time with the LORD, He settled me, gave me peace in every circumstance, and has proven time and time again that He isn’t going to drop me on my little pumpkin head. Yes, I’ve had to read the small print involving the “IF” words in God’s promises, and do my part. No confusion there, I know there’s a part for me to play in all this, just as there is for you. But I’ve come to realize that God is a Covenant God and He always keeps His part of the covenant.
When trials come, the devil has ALWAYS tried to convince me that God has abandoned me, and will try to get me into a state of confusion about my relationship with God. But I’m settled now, and the devil is wasting his time, I’m not falling for his lies anymore. Confusion is gone, the truth is revealed, God is ALWAYS true, and every trial I go through, God is always there with me to make sure I come out better than I went in. That’s just the way God is, for He is GOOD, and His mercy endures FOREVER.
Take the time to read the Book of Job. The devil hit Job with everything in the book, and Job’s wife and friends tried to sow confusion in him and the devil pressed Job so sore that he regretted the day he was even born, Yet Job refused to do anything but believe God and give Him glory. And what happened? Check it out! In the last chapter God gave Job double for his trouble. He came out TWICE as blessed as he went in. Ditch the confusion, my friend, God and the devil never trade places. God is not your problem, He is your SOLUTION to any trial you are facing. Don’t blame God for your trials, for that is confusion. Sometimes trials are caused directly from Satan, but sometimes they come by our own disobedience or actions or ignorance. However, confusion comes from OUR OWN MIND, and it’s our worst enemy. Stop listening to the devil’s lies. Build yourself a new house today upon the Rock, and stand firmly upon the Word of God NO MATTER WHAT, and you’ll become flood-proof.
Darryl on 08 Sep 2013 at 10:50 pm #
I was lead to re-read this tonight. Thank you!