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MATTHEW 7: 24 - 27

"THE TESTINGS OF LIFE"

I. JESUS TURNS FROM TEACHERS TO HEARERS.
        A. You are accountable for what you know.
                1. Luke 12, "Those who knew and did not..."
        B. Having heard this Sermon on the Mount, what are you going to do?
        C. Hearing alone is not enough.
                1. You may listen intently.
                2. You may listen reverently.
                3. You may agree as you listen.
        D. You have heard...
                1. We should "seek first the Kingdom of God."
                2. "Lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven."
                3. "Pray to your Father in secret."

II. OUR LIFE IS A BUILDING.
        A. What we build we must live in.
                1. Some men build shacks and huts.
                2. Others building mansions and castles.
                3. The vital issue is the foundation.
                        a. The bigger the house, the more to collapse about you if  your
                           foundation is wrong.
        B. The rock foundation is obedience to Christ. 
                1. You have heard Christ the rock.
                2. He warns here of those who say "Lord, Lord."
                        a. Those who rest in dead faith.
                        b. The scriptures are full of warning against false assertions not
                           backed up by obedience.
                        c. "He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that 
                           loveth me."
                        d. I John, "Let us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and truth."

III. OUR LIFE WILL BE SUBJECT TO TESTINGS.
        A. The rain descended.
                1. Loss or disappointment.
                        a. Something on which you were counting collapsing.
                        b. Being let down by someone.
                2. Life of Christian not all roses.
        B. The floods came, "When the enemy comes in..."
                1. We wrestle not against flesh and blood.
                        a. He attacks with viscous onslaughts.
                        b. He subtley sneaks in back door.
        C. The winds blew.
                1. Winds of adversity.
                        a. When all is not going well.
                        b. No credit to Christianity if you smile and are radiant in fair
                           circumstances.
                2. Winds of temptation
        D. The final test will be death.