THE HOUSE THAT STANDS
BREAD
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” Luke 6:46-49 (NIV)
1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. Psalm 127:1 (NIV)
18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: “Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD?” 2 Samuel 7:18-19 (NIV)
23 “And now, LORD, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, 24 so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then men will say, ‘The LORD Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you.” 1 Chronicles 17:23-24 (NIV)
24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. Mark 3:24-25 (NIV)
1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. 2 He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. 3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. 5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. Hebrews 3:1-6 (NIV)
4 As you come to him, the living Stone–rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him– 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5 (NIV)
4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. Romans 14:4 (NIV)
17 “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.” 2 Chronicles 20:16-17 (NIV)
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. 5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalm 1:1-6 (NIV)
BUTTER
“This is our first duty, we are to begin at the family hearth: he is a bad preacher who does not commence his ministry at home. The heathen are to be sought by all means, and the highways and hedges are to be searched, but home has a prior claim, and woe unto those who reverse the order of the Lord’s arrangements. To teach our children is a personal duty; we cannot delegate it to Sunday School Teachers, or other friendly aids, these can assist us, but cannot deliver us from the sacred obligation…mothers and fathers must, like Abraham, command their households in the fear of God, and talk with their offspring concerning the wondrous works of the Most High.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“We live a life – and make a legacy – one day and one choice at a time. May God enable each of us to be the ‘real deal,’ not for our glory but for His. ‘The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands. Proverbs 14:1’” Donna Evans
“The Holy Spirit cannot be located as a guest in a house. He invades everything.” Oswald Chambers
“To a man who lives unto God nothing is secular, everything is sacred. He puts on his workday garment and it is a vestment to him. He sits down to his meal and it is a sacrament. He goes forth to his labor, and therein exercises the office of the priesthood. His breath is incense and his life a sacrifice. He sleeps on the bosom of God, and lives and moves in the divine presence. To draw a hard and fast line and say, ‘This is sacred and this is secular,’ is, to my mind, diametrically opposed to the teaching of Christ and the spirit of the gospel…Peter saw a sheet let down from heaven in which were all manner of beasts and four-footed creatures, which he was bidden to kill and eat, and when he refused because they were unclean, he was rebuked by a voice from heaven, saying, ‘What God hath cleansed that call not thou common’ [Acts 10:15; 11:9]. The Lord hath cleansed your houses, he has cleansed your bed chambers, your tables… He has made the common pots and pans of your kitchens to be as the bowls before the altar –if you know what you are and live according to your high calling. You housemaids, you cooks, you nurses, you ploughmen, you housewives, you traders, you sailors, your labor is holy if you serve the Lord Christ in it, by living unto Him as you ought to live. The sacred has absorbed the secular.” Charles H. Spurgeon
“Keep your constant hours every day with God. Begin the day with God, visit God in the morning before you make any other visit; wind up your hearts towards heaven in the morning and they will go the better all the day after! Oh turn your closets into temples; read the Scriptures. The two Testaments are the two lips by which God speaks to us; this will make you wise unto salvation. Besiege heaven every day with your prayer, thus perfume your houses.” Thomas Watson
“Strive believer not to seek refuge in anything or anyone besides the Lord our God. All else will surely be found wanting. It is He Who is the Rock that is greater than all. It is He Who is sufficient to meet our every need. It is He Who gives our feet a firm place to stand when the winds of life blow hard. Look to Jesus alone – all else is fleeting. Why go to the paste gem when the diamond is so readily offered?” BHY
“No matter how elaborate, comfortable, or accommodating a house might be, if God is not in the labor, the whole structure is empty and meaningless. This has an even deeper application when we recognize it is one thing to build the structure of a house, but quite another to build the spirit of a home. Of what value is a palace without peace? A home is a place of rest, security, warmth, and joy. Many people today lack such a place because the Lord is not there.” Dr. J. D. Watson
“If the wheat must be winnowed, how certainly will the chaff be destroyed? If the gold must pass through the fire, how assuredly will the dross be consumed? If there is a great fire in a city and a massive stone structure with iron girders can only be saved by the firemen with great difficulty, what will be the fate of a wooden house, covered with tar and full of oil?” C. H. Spurgeon
“No one in heaven envies the rich of this world. No one covets the famous. No one praises the powerful. They have discovered what it means to ‘live deep and suck all the marrow out of life.’ They have found that which is truly life: Jesus Christ.” Jon Bloom
“As followers of sweet Jesus we are to relinquish the reigns of our lives to the Lord. He is to be responsible for the governing of every aspect of our lives. We are to be “living sacrifices” holy and pleasing to God. Unfortunately, as living sacrifices, we so often find ourselves crawling off the altar when life gets hard. We stand firm when we are in the center of God’s will – mature and fully assured.” BHY
“O God, never suffer us to think that we can stand by ourselves, and not need Thee.” John Donne
“Most of us go through life praying a little, planning a little, jockeying for position, hoping but never being quite certain of anything, and always secretly afraid that we will miss the way. There is a better way. It is to repudiate our own and take instead the infinite wisdom of God…..God has charged Himself with full responsibility for our eternal happiness and stands ready to take over the management of our lives the moment we turn in faith to Him.” A. W. Tozer
“It is not through our own power that we can muster up sufficient courage in all of life’s circumstances. Flesh will fail and flee. It is only through the life controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit that the believer is equipped to stand firm and fully assured in all the will of God while the winds of life blow hard. It is not what we do, it is what He does though us. And the One Who gives the power gets the glory.” BHY
HEART SAVOR
• God desires our houses to be places of peace – not turmoil. 3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
• A house stands when it is built on God’s Word.
• The Lord is able to make us stand – even when the winds of life blow hard.
Beth Yoe's Sharing Bread 