Hear God's Word And Act Upon Them

"Therefore everyone who hears these words

of Mine and acts on them,

may be compared to a wise man

who built his house on the rock.

And the rain fell, and the floods came,

and the winds blew and slammed against

that house; and yet it did not fall,

for it had been founded on the rock.

Everyone who hears these words of Mine and

does not act on them, will be like a foolish man

who built his house on the sand.

The rain fell, and the floods came,

and the winds blew and slammed against that house;

and it fell — and great was its fall."

Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)

If the majority of the people in a church are unwise and do not act upon the Word of God, not only will their individual lives collapse, the church itself will collapse, because it is built on sand and not on the Rock. The members of a church can pray and fast for growth and revival, but if their Christian walk does not match the character of God, the ministry of the church will not succeed spiritually. And one day it will come tumbling down.

Here are a few examples of what I see occurring in many churches today:

• Constant use of God's Name in vain (Adding the words "Oh my" do not change the negative impact this expression has on God's Spirit).
• Brutal words spoken to others (Many times they are harsh, spoken in anger, sarcastic, selfish and vain).
• Negative statements about spouses (This reveals the lack of love and respect spouses have for each other).
• Demeaning children (Yelling at them, or threatening to give them away when they do something wrong harms a child just as much as physical abuse).
• Indifference to the needs of others (These people often seek out others to meet their needs, but give no consideration to the needs of others).
• Women who do not dress modestly (Including those on the stage).