PRECEPTS FROM THE WORD TAKE HEED HOW YOU BUILD CONRAD DEFRIESE Welcome to Precepts from the Word. I m Conrad DeFriese. The title of my Bible teaching is Take Heed How You Build. Romans 10:17 says, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. God is building His church, the body of Christ, today. You, as a believer, are a member of that church. Jesus Christ has laid the foundation; but, it is up to you how you build thereupon. I believe as you listen to this Bible teaching that you will be strengthened by the power of God through His Word to better understand how to build and what your responsibility is in building upon Jesus Christ, the true foundation. Jesus Christ is building His church today. In Matthew, chapter 16 and verse 18, it says, And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. TAKE HEED HOW YOU BUILD 1
The word build here means to construct, to establish and to bring to maturity. God is building His church today. The church is made up of every person around the world that has received Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. You are a co-labourer with God, and you must take heed how you build your life. I want us to look in the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, beginning with verse 9. 1 Corinthians 3:9-15 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. 10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. 11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; TAKE HEED HOW YOU BUILD 2
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. I want you to notice in these verses that I have just read that Jesus Christ is the foundation. It is up to you as a believer how you build upon that foundation. He says you can build gold, silver and precious stones or you can build wood, hay and stubble. It is important for you to make the decision that you are going to be a doer of the Word of God and not just walk in the flesh and do the natural things that you want to do. It is important that you do the things God has called you to do upon the earth. Let s look now in the book of Matthew, chapter 7, beginning with verse 24. TAKE HEED HOW YOU BUILD 3
Matthew 7:24-27 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. I believe that this example of someone building their house upon a rock and someone building their house upon the sand is an example of believers today. This is not talking about whether you are saved or lost. This is talking about whether your life here on earth is victorious in Christ Jesus or not. You can be born-again and have the Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside of you and, yet, not live a life of victory. It is important that you build gold, silver and precious stones so that your house will be built upon a TAKE HEED HOW YOU BUILD 4
rock. When the storms and floods come and the winds blow, your house will stand firm. I want to share some things with you today how to build your house upon that rock. It is up to you. It is not up to the Holy Spirit. He will help you do the will of God; but, He cannot do it for you. To build your house upon the rock you must be a doer of the Word of God and not just a hearer. In the book of Joshua, chapter 1 and verse 8, it says, This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. It is up to you as a believer to meditate in the Word of God so you can observe to do what it says. There is something about meditating in the Word that gives you the strength and ability to be a doer of it. God has given you His Word, His Book, to guide you and show you His plan for your life. Every step you take in acting upon the knowledge of God s Word puts TAKE HEED HOW YOU BUILD 5
you a step forward in spiritual maturity. You get to spiritual maturity one step at a time. One thing is to walk in the Light. First John, chapter 1 and verse 7, says, But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. I want you to notice that the Christian walk is one step at a time. I encourage you to be a doer of the Word of God one step at a time. As you get more Light, walk in that Light. You cannot do everything the Bible says at one time. God does not expect you to do everything at one time. The Holy Spirit will lead you one step at a time. This is God s way. Walk in the Spirit. In Galatians, chapter 5 and verse 16, we read, This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. You learn to walk in the Spirit one step at a time. You don t pray one night or have someone pray for you and suddenly the next day you are a spiritual TAKE HEED HOW YOU BUILD 6
giant. Growing in the things of God takes place one step at a time, one decision at a time, one choice at a time. Another thing is to walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians, chapter 5 and verse 7, says, (For we walk by faith, not by sight). Walk in love. Ephesians, chapter 5 and verse 2, says, And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. Everything in your spiritual walk towards maturity is one step at a time. I am encouraging you today to take heed how you build. God is building His church. You are a co-labourer with Him in that process; but, it is one step at a time. It is one line upon line, precept upon precept. The Bible tells us to walk circumspectly. Ephesians, chapter 5 and verse 15, says, See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise. TAKE HEED HOW YOU BUILD 7
Circumspectly means to walk without stumbling, to walk perfectly and to walk diligently. It means when you walk about to watch on every hand to avoid danger and the enemy. It is God s will to help you walk and to be a doer of His Word. He tells you what His will is, and He helps you do it. He cannot do it for you; but, He will help you do it. In the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 and verse 6, it says, But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. The word diligence here is not talking about religious busy work. Diligence is characterized by steady, earnest, painstaking effort and application of God s Word. In taking heed how you build you must be a doer of the Word of God. God gives you faith when you hear His Word; but, faith must have action or it becomes dead and lifeless. It is important to take God s Word, learn it and become a doer of it. Heavenly Father, I pray for everyone listening to this Bible teaching today. I pray that the Holy Spirit will open the Word of God to them as never before. I pray that they will become so sensitive and aware of their TAKE HEED HOW YOU BUILD 8
responsibility to be a diligent doer of the Word of God and to build their lives effectively upon that foundation, which is Jesus Christ. Father, we give you all the praise and glory. In Jesus Name. Amen. TAKE HEED HOW YOU BUILD 9