What was the last message Jesus told in the Sermon on the Mount? Look it up and listen.
Matthew 7 is the last chapter. Jesus talks about trees that bear fruit.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. (Ultimately, you can tell those that belong to Jesus. We are good at wearing masks and faking it, but ultimately, those masks will crack and their true selves will be exposed.)
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity
MAJOR WARNING! That’s something I would not want to happen to me. What about you? Forgiveness means true repentance. Not the typical, “I told you to clean up your room.” I’m sorry…..but behavior never changes. Does that mean they are really sorry? There has to be some change……After the warning….is the last story that Jesus told during the awesome Sermon on the Mount.
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:
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.
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:
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.
What came up against a person’s life? Rain, floods, and wind.
Let’s look at each:
RAIN – Rain is nice at first. But most seek shelter from the rain. Why? Because we want to stay dry. Because when we get wet, we have to change clothes so we don’t get sick. Think of rain as sin and how we have to get rid of the wet to continue with our day.
FLOODS – Floods are more dangerous than rain. When rain becomes overwhelming it can take our lives. These are called doorways in spiritual warfare parlance. Then doorways turn to footholds and finally turn into strongholds. Floods can drown us.
WINDS – Winds come from the outside and are a devastating force in the world. Water and wind cause most of the erosion in the world. Erosion can happen in our lives as well. The world is blowing at us daily. It’s like living at the beach. We have a steady wind blowing. The world is trying to change us constantly. Every radio station, every TV station, every conversation we have, every class we take, every book we read, everything is trying to influence us.
We want to be like a good string tree, producing good fruit…..
But these situations are not the focus. What is i?
The foundation. Jesus said there are two types of people: those who make their foundation in Him and the others who do not. Only those grounded in Him will survive sin, and troubles of the world. How do you think we put our foundation in Jesus? What areas of our lives are needed to be moved to the rock?
RAIN GAMES
1. Wet Paper Dash – Take a piece of paper. Go from point to point outside. Whose paper is least damaged by the rain? You may not put it under your clothing.
2. Puddle Relay – Two dish towels. Two teams fill cups with water by going to a puddle and soaking up puddle water.
3. DRINK N SHAKE – Everyone gets a cup of water…last three to finish will go to a smaller tree. 3 winners choose one loser, stand under tree. The winners get to shake the tree.
4. Fruity Rhyme….You will know that you are disciples of Jesus if you love one another. Leader starts “Rain, rain go away come back another day.” Each person then goes around doing the same kind of rhyme saying something nice about the person to your left. Go around circle.
5. Wet Ball – Standing in circle toss ball to someone. Using a wet cush ball. To make it more interesting leader may direct who the ball gets thrown to: “Who has a birthday in October?” “Who is wearing pink?” “Who has a brother?” etc… wet ball after each throw.
6. Candle vs Rain light a candle walk from one point to another outside see if you can keep candle lit. You may not cover candle with hand or any part of body or clothing.