Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

Titus

Two Foundations

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Matthew 7:24-29

We call Jesus Lord, but we don’t live like He is. While we hear what He says, we don’t act on what we hear. Since we do not obey His Word, we show we do not love Him (John 14:15). We still love and cling to the things of this world (1 John 2:15-17) although we claim to have left everything to follow Christ (Matthew 16:24). Our supposed Christian life is a house of cards.

Man thinking through which of the two foundations he will build his life upon, desiring to build on the bedrock of God's WOrd and live a life of surrender, commitment, and discipleship

We are building without a foundation and will crumble at the slightest breeze. When the storms come, the disaster will be catastrophic. Jesus said there are two foundations we can build our lives upon: the bedrock of obedience to His Word, or the shifting sand of cultural whims and man’s opinions (Matthew 7:24-27).

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Don’t Just Listen

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We live in an age of incredible blessing. There are so many resources at our fingertips with which to study God’s Word. There are books, videos, websites, audio programs, and a plethora of churches where we can find God’s Word taught and expounded. Each of us could fill our days watching and hearing God’s Word preached and never run out of programming.

Woman clutching her Bible determined to have the focus and disipline to not just listen to the Word of God but to live out the commitment to obey it in discipleship to Christ through prayer and Bible study

Every one of us has the potential to know God in a deep and rewarding way. But don’t just listen to solid teaching. If you do that, you will go away not much different than you are today. The Word of God should not be background noise, something that plays throughout the day without ever penetrating any further than our ears (Ezekiel 33:31-32; Matthew 13:13-14). How dare we glance at the very Word of God with such casualness?

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Bad Fruit

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The Bible uses the analogy of good and bad fruit to distinguish between what believers and nonbelievers will produce in their lives (Matthew 7:17-20). Genuine followers of Christ will produce good fruit (John 15:8). Jesus says if we abide in Him, we will produce fruit that is growing and desirable (John 15:4-5), as we cannot produce any other kind.

a crowd with raised hands at an event espousing a false gospel and generating bad fruit showing a lack of discipline and discernment for those in attendance which belies their discipleship

But for those not in Him, Jesus likens them to bad trees that can only produce bad fruit (Matthew 7:18). A bad tree doesn’t produce good fruit every now and again; it produces bad fruit every time. Sure, it might look appealing on the outside, but inside it is rotten and sour. If we consume enough of it, what do you imagine will become of our spiritual health?

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Without Exception

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In a recent sermon, my pastor stated, “If you have any exceptions in your obedience, you are not a Christian.” It’s a bold statement that might cause you to form an immediate objection. After all, who are we to say who is or isn’t a true Christian? Once you get past the initial shock of the bluntness of the statement, you will see that it is in line with God’s Word.

Man pondering what it means to obey Christ without exception, and to order his priorities to reflect his commitment and desire to live in discipleship to Christ.

The problem is we skim over the parts of the Bible that are too convicting or too hard to follow. My pastor’s words are not a new teaching or even controversial when held up to the light of scripture. What we are reacting to is the fact that obeying God’s Word without exception is not something most are willing to do.

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Every Careless Word

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Jesus said each of us will have to account for every careless word we speak (Matthew 12:36-37). No small, careless, or flippant word is small, careless or flippant to God. He hears and judges everything that comes out of our mouths. The Lord is holy, consistent, and always intentional (1 Peter 1:15–16).

every careless word,discipleship,commitment,priorities,focus,words,surrender

He demands the same from us (Matthew 5:48). Jesus didn’t waste words, but used every syllable to point people to the truth about who He was and to the majesty of His Father (John 12:49–50). The beautiful and cutting words of Jesus are life to all who will believe (John 6:63), but the foolish and wicked things we say and do result in our destruction (John 5:28–29).

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