PARABLE OF THE WISE & FOOLISH BUILDERS @TempleofGodGlobal

00:02 Thank you, Pastor Sam Alex, for that beautiful time of worship. Let's give the Lord another round of applause for that beautiful time of leading us in worship. But let's do the confessions together. I believe in the Almighty God, our father and creator. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God and my Savior. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He suffered, died, and rose again. He ascended into heaven. He shall soon come again. I believe in God the Holy Spirit who is worship and my guide. I believe in holy fellowship, faithful giving and service to God in this church. I believe the Holy Bible is the perfect word of God. I am what he says I am. I have what he says I have and I can do what he says I can do. Today, as I learn the word of God here in my spiritual family, I am blessed, healed, and anointed for a holy and victorious living. I will never again be the same in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Please be

01:06 seated in the presence of God. We have come to the last Bible study for this year and it's the parable series is ending and today we're going to look at the parable of the wise and the foolish builder. A very very kindergarten Sunday school lesson for all of us. But it's good to remind back to God's promises on why the parables are are being told to us. Why did Jesus talk to us in parables? Very simple. He wanted to reveal the heart of God. And second, he wanted to reveal the kingdom of God. How the kingdom of God functions. And the third most important thing, he wants to invite each one of us into that kingdom of God. Because believe it or not, you and me have our own kingdom and queendom. Yeah, we have both. We have our kingdoms. If if you don't believe that,

02:08 look at a kid. Try to take a toy from a 2-year-old child. You will find the child itself will have his own or her own kingdom. It'll scream for that toy. Everyone's got their own kingdom. What is kingdom? You rule. You reign. You make choices. You make decisions there. And human beings actually will flourish in a beautiful dependence with God. Amen. >> We are created to be one with God. >> Amen. >> Our functioning is the topmost excellence will come out of our life only when we are connected to God's presence. And that is what Jesus is trying to teach us gently through the parables. He don't want to overtake your kingdom. He wants to submit your kingdom to his kingdom. He wants your kingdom to be surrendered to the kingdom of God. That is what Jesus is teaching us. His kingdom doesn't come by force. He comes gently. It grows gently. But the kingdom

03:12 of God is an everlasting kingdom. Hallelujah. It's a permanent kingdom. All the other kingdoms will fail, will fade, will go away. But the kingdom of God is an everlasting kingdom. Hallelujah. That is the beauty of our God Almighty. And if you want to function well, we need to connect with this kingdom of God. That is what parables, all the parables are trying to send a message to you. The parable of the lost, parable of the wise and the foolish virgins, parable of this wise and foolish builder. Talk about any parable. Parable of the talents. All the parables are connected to invitation to the kingdom of God. Page one, you have the second paragraph. which says the parable of the wise and the foolish builder that you will see in Matthew chapter 7 24-27 serves as a powerful conclusion to Jesus sermon on the mount in the gospel of Matthew and Matthew's gospel is very interesting it is structured around five major teachings of Jesus if you study the

04:17 gospel of uh Matthew it is actually five big teachings of Jesus put around the life story of Jesus to teach us something so important to to to grasp or to put our foundation on the teachings of Jesus and and Matthew is very clever with the help of the Holy Spirit he structured his gospel something similar to the first five books of the Bible Genesis Exodus Leviticus all that five books the Torah so the so people will the Jewish people will look at Matthew's teachings and say hey there's something similarity there's a similarity to the first five books of the Bible so Matthew Matthew is a Jew and he was he wrote it for the Jewish audience. And the story of the parable is very simple. Let's go to page two. Let's read that parable from Matthew 7 verse 24- 25. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and put them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and

05:21 beat against that house. Yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. 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. The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew, beat against that house and it fell with a great crash. We can we can relate it to it because of the rains in the morning. Rain come down. Thankfully, it's only driling. Rain comes down, the storms come. But the house that is built on the rock will stand. Matthew's main emphasis is on the location of the house. Both the houses, one is on the rock, the other one is on the sand. But similar similarly, Luke also explains this parable. But his emphasis is on the process of the building. Very interesting. Uh because this is a month of leadership and uh how do leaders grow? How do leaders become leaders? It is by a process. It is not a event. It

06:24 is not just one fine beautiful day they become a leader. It is a process. So it is a beautiful lesson that that aligns with the leadership of this month in our church. Uh it's a process. Event in events we make decisions. Events are inspiring. Events are fun. Sunday itself is a celebration. It's an event. You make decisions in the presence of God. But what you do throughout the week, the daily practice, the process of learning and surrendering to God and working with God, you become a a leader. Hallelujah. Everything is a process. Building a house is a process. Making a biryani itself is a process or plum cake, whatever Christmas is coming, it's a process. Even building your life on Jesus is a process. Hallelujah. So Jesus is teaching that and Luke is emphasizing on the process. You may want to read that also quickly. Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? And as for everyone who comes to me and

07:30 hears my word, put them into practice. I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building ah who dug down deep laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came the torrent struck that house but could not shake it. It couldn't even shake it because it was wellbuilt. But the one who hears my word 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. What are the elements of this parable? The next page, two builders. One is wise, the other one is foolish. Somehow I feel that this particular parable is not talking about anyone in the world. It is about people in the church. We all hear God's word. Some are wise, some are foolish. Look at somebody beside you and say, "You are a wise

08:32 builder. >> [laughter] >> Somehow this particular parable is so specific for all the Christians. It is not for the people in the world. We hear God's word. Sometimes we understand God's word but we don't put it into practice. And uh wise man according to the Bible is actually not a person who is who has lot of degrees or accolades or it doesn't come up in the it's not the person who comes up on the cover magazine uh or the influencer of our society. A wise man according to the Bible is a person who follows the wisdom of God. Hallelujah. We need to get this into our head because our YouTube reels will say something else. The corporate world will tell us something else. But but the word of God says a wise man is a person who builds according to the teachings of Jesus. Hallelujah. In the Old Testament that you will find all throughout the proverbs is a beautiful

09:34 uh uh book. The wisdom literatures you'll have find in the Bible. Proverbs, Ecclesiastics, uh you will find Job, all those wisdom book. I feel the whole Bible itself is a wisdom book from Genesis to Revelation. It's a wisdom book. It helps you to live your life rightly on this earth. Hallelujah. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Where does it come from? Proverbs. Hallelujah. So wise man is not according to our eyes who is a wise man who has got lot of knowledge who smart who is successful. A wise can wise man can become like that. But according to the Bible the foundation is the wise man is the one who obeys God's word. Let's move on to the next page. Foolish builder. Who is a foolish builder? According to the Bible in Greek, the word given over there is moros. Have you heard the English word Hardly anyone uses these days. In our days, I'm not that old, but I'm talking about 20 years back. This word has

10:38 disappeared from the dictionary of our vocabulary. An idiot. willfully ignorant, dull, foolish, acting without reflection is a foolish builder. They hear God's word but don't put it into practice. Two houses there both look similar but the differences is in the foundation. So the two foundation is the heart of the parable. One is built on the rock. What does the rock signifies? It is obedience to God's word and is active consistent application of his teachings to one's life. And the other one is a sand or no foundation. And they they they're failing to act on the teachings of Jesus. And page five, you will find another element in this parable is the storm. The rain and the storm. It comes on everyone. Whether you are a wise or a foolish person, storm test your life. Storm represents the trials that every life will inevitably face. uh it it it signifies the

11:42 tribulations, temptations, the hardships of this world. And Jesus said himself, he himself said in this world you will have trouble and tribulations, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world. Hallelujah. When you are an attack team with Lord Jesus Christ, because he overcame the world, you're able to overcome any kind of tribulation, any kind of pain, any kind of trouble, you will be an overcomer in the mighty name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Storms will not take you away. It cannot drown you. The floods cannot drown you. You will float about and you be successful because you are a wise builder. The mo another uh significance of the storm in the Bible you will find it also signifies to the final judgment of God. God's judgment comes like a storm. Let's read 1 Corinthians 3 11-13. It's a beautiful scripture Paul is describing about the foundation and the life that we build on the foundation.

12:44 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid which is Jesus Christ. For if anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, their work will be shown for what it is because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire and the fire will test the quality of each person's work. Look at that. But thank God we each one of you will be saved by the fire. Our works will get destroyed if we if we didn't build in purity with the right motive. But our foundation is on the rock. Thank God you and me will be saved. But but our rewards we will not get any rewards because we are built on the wrong motives or the without any purity without any focus on God's. See over there you will find gold. What is what is the quality of gold? It is pure. It is durable. It is eternal. Our life should be built on the foundation of

13:49 God's word and having a perspective of heaven's glory. Hallelujah. Eternity. We have to keep that in our mind. We don't do things for our glory. We do things for God's glory. Hallelujah. Because you belong to God. Hallelujah. Let's move on. We've already done the comparison of Matthew and Luke. But let's the question that we need to ask page 8. Whose wisdom are you building your life on? Very important question. Whose wisdom shapes your life? Is it the wisdom of God or is it the wisdom of the world? or if it's your own wisdom because this is the question that has to be answered from the beginning of time in the garden of Eden in that perfect place they were in the perfect place of God beautiful garden and God told them not to eat from that one tree but they didn't they they were tempted to eat from that tree they thought God doesn't

14:52 know much about that we know it better and in that process one serpent also comes into the garden and and convinces them deceives them and they went with the wisdom of the serpent the wisdom of the world and they neglected the wisdom of God. It is from the beginning all throughout and all the people of faith they whoever you find in the Bible some did things according to the what is right in their own eyes. Some believe the wisdom of God and trusted in God and you will find them as successful. You will find them as conquerors. You will find them as kings and and the priest who really honors God. So what is the wisdom that we are following today? Is it the wisdom of the world, wisdom of God or is it our our own wisdom? That's a question that is being asked over there. Godly wisdom comes from God and brings honor to him. It always begins with a deep respect for God, the fear of the Lord and leads to a life that is set apart for him. But the worldly wisdom on

15:56 the other hand is not concerned with honoring God but pleasing oneself. Let's read James chapter 3 verse 13-17 quickly. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life by deeds done in humility that comes from >> wisdom. Are you a person of wisdom? Let's do things with humility in love in compassion. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven but is earthly unspiritual. Are you feeling the power of the Holy Spirit today? When you hear this word, you should speak in tongues. [laughter] This is the these are the verses that we like to neglect. These are the verses we like to uh you know turn the page quickly. But the book of James is almost similar to the sermon on the mount. What God provided for us the teachings of

17:00 Jesus. Let's go to next page. So the whole wisdom of God is given to us in sermon on the mount. See this parable is standing on the whole of the teachings of Jesus that is given in Matthew chapter 5 6 and 7. These days it's very scary to say six and seven. I don't know what's going on with the world. [snorts] Matthew chapter 5 6 and 7 the whole thing is about the teachings of Jesus and at the end of the teachings Jesus is talking about this parable. So over here you will find the design of the sermon on the mount that you will find there. It starts with the introduction then it is divided into three main segments or the body and it ends with the conclusion chapter 7 and the center of the whole sermon on the mount is the prayer the lord's prayer you will find there and this this is a beautiful teachings of Jesus what is the sermon on the mount in simple terms you all of us want to have a blessed life how many of you want to

18:03 have a blessed life it's in the sermon on the mount hallelujah And what who who who is called as a blessed person in the Bible? Very simple. A blessed person is a person who trust in the Lord who put their reliance on the Lord. That's why the sermon on the mount Matthew chapter 5 starts off by saying blessed is the poor in the spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God. Blessed is the one who is mourning and grieving. They are for theirs is the kingdom of God. Man, for you and for me that doesn't look like blessed. Do you think a crying person is a blessed person? A grieving person is a blessed person. But in the eyes of God, a grieving person, the poor, poor in the spirit, all are blessed because of the second part of that. For they will be comforted by the hand of God. They will be lifted up by the presence of God. It is for the powerless. It is for the hopeless and that is why it is called as

19:06 a beatitudes. They are happy because not because of the condition of poverty or pain or sickness or their hunger because the Bible says blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. It is not because of the lack that they are blessed. It is because of the presence of God that will transform their life. Hallelujah. That is how you see the blessedness. They rely on the presence of God. That's why you will find there the part one of that who what you are the identity of a follower you will find there as the biatitudes the blessed person and the kingdom of God welcomes everyone into the kingdom of God the least the lowest and the unexpected in the society hallelujah see our God doesn't wait for us to shape up and change uh you know become smart He picks up where from where you are. Hallelujah. Then he will mold you. Our God is a God who is so that's the beauty

20:10 of our God. He comes to you where you are in the miry clay and he picks you up from there and then he will make you and call you blessed by his grace of God. Hallelujah. The next page, page 12, Jesus words tells us that God's love and blessing comes specially to those who need him the most. Even after Jesus picks us up and we are blessed. God blessed us. We have to remain in that blessing. How do we remain in that blessing? It's a continual uh showing of need. Lord, I need you in my day-to-day life. My sufficiency comes from you alone. That attitude is called as a beatitude. [laughter] That attitude of dependence on God is called as is called as blessed. And then after God calls them as blessed, he uses two metaphors, two important images that God tells us. Now that you

21:15 are blessed, who are you now? You are the salt of the earth. And then you are the light. You are the salt and the light. That means you're going to change the world. >> You're going to change the world through your goodness, through your light. Hallelujah. Some of us are very hard to believe this. I'm going to change the world. It it is something like blessed are the meek and you will inherit the kingdom of God. I've never seen any meek inheriting the kingdom, inheriting the earth. Oh man, it is such a impossibility. That's why you need God's presence with you on a day-to-day life. It's a process. Hallelujah. You are the salt. Your goodness will penetrate into others life. You are the light. You will penetrate into the darkness. And that is God's strategy from the beginning to overcome evil with good. Hallelujah. And that is what you will find. You are the light. You are like the city on a

22:18 hill. And the wise man building the house is a parallel to that. It's on the top. It's on a city on a hill. And the part two of that sermon on the mount, you will find now that you are blessed now how to live like a follower of Jesus. Oh, this is the difficult part. He calls it as the greater righteousness. A goodness that goes beyond and deeper than following just rules. because he wants a transformation of our heart. Jesus goes on to say in that in that sermon on the mount, you have heard everyone say do not commit murder. But Jesus says, but I say to you, if you have anger in your heart, you have already committed. I know today morning you have come saying expecting God to work a miracle and pastor change the message. This is the message for you. We need a heart transformation. [laughter] You have heard this saying. Jesus says,

23:23 "Do not commit adultery." But you if if you harbor lust and look at a woman with lust or a man with lust, you've already committed adultery. What is Jesus talking about? Is he is he lifting up the laws to a new level of impossibilities? Nobody can achieve those standards. That's why you need the power of the Holy Spirit. You need the presence of the Holy Spirit. You need to go through that process of transformation. It is a process. Second one over there in page 13. Jesus is touching your private life even doing things in the church good things for the right reasons like giving, praying, fasting. Why are you doing it? Is it for others to see it or is it because you love God? You want to spend time with God. You want to fast. You want to pray. You want to give to God. He goes on to say it's about our focus. What are we focused on this earth? It is is it about money or worries of life or is it you want to trust God? Where is our focus?

24:30 We don't have time to go through all the passages of the sermon on the mount. So this is in a small nutshell. Jesus goes on to say these are teachings of Jesus. You must go home and read this. It's about your relationship. Your relationship with God, relationship with one another. We are peacemakers. Not making everyone into pieces in the family, in your society. We are peacemakers. Hallelujah. >> It's about your relationship. Jesus is touching on that. And once you once you come to the middle of the passage, you will understand of the sermon on the mount, you'll understand, oh my God, I cannot do this, Lord. I need you. I depend on you. That that's exactly the goal of the sermon on the mount. That's exactly the goal of the teachings of Jesus. You cannot achieve the teachings of Jesus all by yourself, by your willpower. You can't do it. Even if you do it, we are selfish. We'll do it for our own selfishness sake or to

25:33 show it to others that I'm a kind person. I'm a loving person so that you will be appreciated by many. In Latin when you study this uh what do you call the theology a little bit you will find a word called as man is signified as incurvous insay. That means your bend on the inside. You're bent on the inside. That means you're you're always selfish. One way or the other, we are selfish. I know you don't want to admit it and confess today and repent about it, but it's all right. We are deep within. We are selfish. And the world that we live in is making us more selfish, more individualistic, more transactional. Come on, somebody. You want to be more like Jesus, depend on Jesus. Hallelujah. Then you will love like Jesus. You will have compassion like Jesus. Hey, we are talking about foundation. Yeah, I'm still in the parable. We are

26:36 still in the parable. Let's go to page 14, the part three of it. The choice that we make at the end of the teachings of Jesus after all this series of teachings about touching your heart, changing your attitude and by the time you end up reading the whole thing, you will understand you need God. Then then then Jesus goes on to say about the choice that you make as a follower, there are two gates. One is narrow, the other one is broad. broad one leads to destruction because that is a popular road. It doesn't brings life. It doesn't bring life but the life comes [snorts] from following Jesus and that is a narrow one. It it is a single window. Uh it's not that popular. Then Jesus goes goes on to say about two trees there. One is a good tree and a bad tree. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. So you have

27:42 to change the tree. Many of us like to change the fruit. Oh, in the Bible study I learned the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness. Imagine I'm going going to hang love, joy, peace on my tree. No, we have to produce love, joy, and peace. Hope you getting this. That means a tree has to change. Hallelujah. Our performances cannot change our character. We have to need to have a character change from inside out. >> Hallelujah. And that only God can do it. >> That's why we after reading the Bible, we have to surrender to God and say, "Lord, I need you. I need to build my life on your foundation." Hallelujah. Then it is a two foundation. Two gates, two trees, two foundations. You can be wise and build your life on obeying Jesus. Page 15, the last line over there. To truly live up to the whole of the sermon on the mount is only achievable with the

28:45 help of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah. It is some I've heard this uh joke long time back. Uh a man visits a soap factory and uh it's beautiful soap, different shape, size, uh perfume, fragrance, beautiful one. But all the workers are stinking there. And the man who was visiting was asking, "Hey, you guys produce the best soap in town, but why your workers are stinking?" And they said, "They only supply, they don't apply." Sometimes wise builders, foolish builders only supply, they don't apply. Wise builders supply and apply. Hallelujah. You have to do both. So sermon on the mount is a change of your heart not just your habits alone and that's why in the Bible especially in the old testament and all this you will find the circumcision of your heart a new heart that God gives you God changes you from inside out make that

29:49 your prayer from today Lord change me on the inside give me a new heart give me a new heart that will respond to the goodness of God make you more like you hallelujah and how do you actually live out the sermon on the mount. That's on page 17. Your main goal as a follower is to be with Jesus. Start there. Religion will teach you do this first. But Bible says first you be with Jesus. Hang around with Jesus. That's why the center point of the whole of the sermon on the mount is the Lord's prayer. Matthew chapter 6. It is structured in such a beautiful fashion. The center of all those giving and prayer and thanksgiving and habits, the center point is the Lord's prayer. Be with Jesus. And when you be with Jesus, hang around with Jesus quite a while, you will become like Jesus. Your friends will determine your association,

30:53 character. Have you heard this kind of things? Friends will determine your character. Yeah. the closest one. Let your closest friend be Jesus first. Hallelujah. Become like Jesus, then do what Jesus did. We like to do the ult. We want to do what Jesus did without becoming like Jesus and without being with Jesus. What a tragedy. That is what religion teaches us. That's why it says you can't skip the doing part without being and becoming. It all starts with trust. You have to trust Jesus. So many of us believe in Jesus, but I don't know if you really trust Jesus as a man of wisdom because in the world you are wise because you're educated. Somehow you feel that Jesus doesn't know much of it or computers or my research work or my project. Jesus doesn't understand my context. No, you have to trust Jesus. Jesus knows you inside out. Jesus knows your situation

31:56 very well and you can talk to Jesus about your problem and situation. Even before Albert Einstein could come out with E is equal to MC², God is the God, the pillar of fire. He's the God of energy. He produced energy. He created energy. Hallelujah. You must believe God is intellectual. He is the greatest teacher. He's the greatest wi wise person. Many a times our mind will fool that Jesus doesn't know anything. I just need to believe in Jesus to go to heaven. That's all. One ticket to heaven. But Jesus how to build your life on Jesus on this earth is to be with Jesus. He knows what is best for you and your life will flourish in his presence. Hallelujah. That is it starts by trusting him. Second, commit your whole life to him. Not just 50%, 25% like how you do stock

33:00 market investment and all that. No, put the eggs not in one basket in all the these are some financial principle. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Spread it around. Be wise. But in this case, put all your eggs, your body, everything in Jesus, the teachings of Jesus. Hallelujah. Not in some other place, some other guru G, some other secular thought. No, put everything focused on Jesus your whole life. Surrender to Jesus. Hallelujah. That's why Bible says you have to die to yourself. Give your life to Jesus. Hallelujah. That's how you become more like Jesus. Let's go to the next page. building a life that lasts. What does it mean to truly follow Jesus? The single word is obedience there. Obedience. Obedience is not to earn his love for you. Obedience is actually to learn how to live in his life. Obedience, you will fall, you will

34:04 make mistakes, but obedience to his word is nothing but you you're learning, you're training yourself. Look at somebody beside you and say train with Jesus. >> Yeah. We we we called to train with Jesus not try hard with Jesus because trying hard you will fail. Imagine if I go for one marathon tomorrow 5 kilometer 10 kilometer without any training let if I'm going to run how much I will achieve will I run for 1 kilometer I think I think with all your prayers with all your backup of prayer with all your uh you know clap and I think I might make it till 1 kilometer maximum and with little more speaking in tongues I might go for another 500 m and then I will collapse and faint and you have to take me to the hospital why

35:07 because I I'm not trained to run but if I start picking up you know jogging for uh couple of days a month or two and and slowly I'm picking up that pace my body is used to this running. Hope you're getting this example. You have to train. Do anybody go to the gym and start picking up 10 kg and start start doing muscle training? No. The trainer will say pick up the 2.5 one small one and it's such a disgrace to pick it up because you are such a huge person and I've invested in lot of gyms in Bangalore. [laughter] >> [snorts] >> It is training. The same thing when it comes to your spiritual life. Train yourself with Jesus. Don't just try once with God and say, "Oh, I tried. Your principles doesn't work." No, you have to train again and again. Fall and get up. Learn how to

36:12 live with him. You become an apprentice, a disciple of Jesus Christ. That's my favorite topic. Learning to obey, doing what Jesus said. Start with simple principles in the Bible, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus says, do not worry. Next time something that worries you. Remind yourself, hey Jesus, you told me I should not be anxious. I'm going to trust in you. I'm going to trust in you. But after a few seconds, you will again get worried. But train yourself again. No, I'm going to believe what God says. I'm going to trust what God says. Jesus said, "Do not be anxious." I'm not going to be anxious. But after 1 hour, you'll again be anxious. Train again. Hallelujah. Cancel the lies of the enemy with the truth of God's word. Cancel the darkness with the light of the gospel. Hallelujah. You have to speak to yourself. You have to you have to train yourself to reign with Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. Learning

37:15 is obedience. learning to live imitating Jesus on a day-to-day fashion. Applying God's word in your home, in your uh college, in your workplace. Try to apply the principles of Jesus, pastor. I won't get the promotion if I do that. It's all right. It's all right. But train. If God wants to pick you up and make you the the prime minister, he will do that. He can make you the CEO. Just trust in God. Just like Daniel, just like David, just trust in God. >> Hallelujah. Learning to make a difference. The kingdom. If you are in the kingdom of God, God's power is over your life. He gives you the ability to achieve. You don't have to achieve by yourself. He will give you the ability to achieve. That is what is called as the kingdom power. So, are you building your life on the solid plan or shifting sand? Because if you want to build your life, it has to be intentional and there need to be a

38:17 plan. [snorts] And that's why some of the spiritual practices helps you to make space for God like prayer and worship, solitude and silence to hear God's word, studying God's word, fasting, fellowship to build with others, generosity to be generous, generous like God. All these things will it will not make you spiritual. You're actually making space for God to work in your life so that you can work along with God. Noah is a classic example. Noah in the Bible. Let's read Hebrews 11:7. Hebrews 11 verse 7. If you can just put it up on the screen. Uh it says by faith Noah when warned about things not yet seen in holy fear build an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became hair of righteousness that is in keeping with faith. Look at Noah. God told Noah to

39:22 build an ark because rain is coming. These two things he's never heard in his life. [snorts] He doesn't know what rain is. He doesn't know what ark is. God had to give a blueprint of the ark to him. Thankfully, he didn't ask for the blueprint of the rain because he has no clue. And his job was to go around and tell people, "Rain is coming. Get into the ark. Judgment of God is coming. Get into the ark." But Noah faithfully followed God. And do you know the end of the whole story? The rains came, the flood grew and everybody start t start to put together their own temporary boats but it all got washed away. Only Noah's ark was floating. And guess what? It took almost 100 years to build that it seems. Ah sometimes it's a long obedience with God. Hallelujah. Recently also in 1900s we had another

40:25 arc or a boat called as Titanic. One day itself it sunk. It is it is built with such a super engineering of those days technology. A ship that cannot be broken or sunk was a title. But that same journey the first day of their journey their pilot journey it's done. It's gone. trusting in world's wisdom or are you trusting in God's wisdom? That is the call over here. Let's go to page 20 the conclusion. The parable ends with a crash and that sound echoes through the ages. It's a blunt reminder that simply hearing Jesus' words, nodding along in agreement, even feeling stirred in our hearts is not enough. If our lives don't change, if our actions don't align, we are like the foolish builder constructing a house on stand. And this is the essence of hypocrisy. Knowing the truth but failing to live it. But Jesus

41:29 calls us to more. He in invites us into the process of becoming, digging deep, laying our lives on the solid rock of his teachings. And this isn't done in a moment. It takes time reflection with the help of the Holy Spirit and the support of the church where we learn and grow together. It's how we mature, how we strengthen our souls against the storm of doubt, persecution and trial. So let us be hearers and doers of the word. Hallelujah. Let's close in prayer. Heavenly Father, we just want to thank you Lord for this beautiful morning to learn from your scripture. We thank you Lord that each one of us will be like the wise builder who builds a foundation on you on your teachings and we will be the salt and the light of this world. This morning we commit fully, oh God, into your mighty hands. We commit our time, our talents, our treasure. We surrender to you. We want to commit our whole life to you, Lord. Not just 50%,

42:34 not just 25% of our life, 100% of our life to you. That you will, oh God, build our lives. Your Holy Spirit will lead us. Thank you, Lord, for calling us and setting us apart for your glory. We give you thanks. We give you praise. [music] In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen. Amen. Let's put our hands together. Give warm welcome to our dear pastor. >> Thank you pastor Danny. You know pastor Danny handles the Bible study of the church. The entire department of Christian education in the church is handled by pastor Danny. So all the Bible studies that happen here once every month and all the Bible study notes for the prayer groups and uh many of the other Bible study materials come from Pastor Danny. He sits and he prepares he's very good theologically. >> [applause]

43:40 >> Thank you pastor Danny for Thank you Pastor Samuel Alex for the wonderful leading worship today. We are so blessed with your ministry. Thank you so very much [applause] from the rest church and he's also the founder of the uh bridge music from Hyderabad. I have enjoyed your song Chhatan. What a blessing it is. And uh pastor Zach called me or connected with me yesterday and told me you should meet my friend. He's coming to your church. So it's such a blessing. Who knew it will rain today? No, Bangalore is such a blessed city. Anywhere in India if rain is there here there will be one sample. So now in the Tamil Nadu area there is a cyclone. So here also one sample is happening. But

44:43 anyway Bangalore has never felt so cold. I I read in the paper something historic happened. No uh for this season that it felt so cold and I walked into the church this morning and I felt what a warm crowd. My goodness, what what an antilimax, you know, [applause] with uh with all the wet weather to have all of you in the church worshiing on fire for the Lord. Man, this is fun. This is how it is. Yeah, this is how it's got to be. So, thank God for that. Well, the year is coming to an end faster than what we expected, but sorry, faster than what we felt. So, uh calendars are on sale for next year. calendars are on sale. Those who want to pick up, uh, please start picking up from today. It's also available online. Those who want to order it online, go ahead, order it online. Shall we sing a song before we pray and [music] close? I also want to take a minute to welcome all of you

45:45 who have come to church for the first time. Thank you for coming today. The Lord bless you abundantly. And uh if you're a visitor here, [music] I request you that you will uh please step into the guest lounge outside and give us your details so we can stay in [music] touch with you. But thank you so very much for coming. If you're not going to another church uh which is Bible- based or etc. then I would recommend that you make this your spiritual home [music] to grow in the grace of God and in the goodness of God Almighty. after today's [music] uh service. Now, after the song, we're going to pray and close. After that, um those of you who need prayer, pastors are in the front. You can come forward. We will pray for you. And uh [music] during the week, if you want to meet, please give a call. Let us know you're coming. Uh we'll be waiting [music] for you to sit with you, pray with you, talk to you, and hear you out. We'll sing a song. So, old beautiful hymn.

46:50 Blessed assurance, [singing] Jesus [music] is mine. Oh, what a foreast [music] of glory divine. Hear of salvation, purchase of God, born of [music] his spirit, washed in. [music] This is my story. [singing] This is my song. [music and singing] Praising my savior all the [music] day long. This is my [singing] story. This is my [music] song. Oh, praising [singing] my savior

47:55 all the [music] day. Perfect submission, perfect delight, [singing] wishes [music] of rapure, numbers on my side. Angels descending bring [music] from [singing] above and cause of [music] mercy. Whispers of love. This is my [music and singing] story. This is my song. [music] Praising my soul, my Jesus all day long. [music] This is my story. This is my [music and singing] song.

49:00 Praising my savior [music] all the day long. Perfect [music] sub. All [singing] is at rest. I am [music] my savior. [singing] I am happy and blessed. [music] Washing and waiting, [music] looking above. Filled with his goodness. lost in. Shall we lift our hands and together? This is our story, Lord. Just praising you every day. Praising my savior [music] all. [singing] This is my [music] story.

50:04 This is my [music and singing] song. Praising my Savior all [singing] the day. Go ahead, let's give the Lord a mighty hand. Take a few [music] minutes. Go ahead and praise him. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. [music] Hallelujah. As we enter the month of December, Jesus, [music] praising you is the one thing our life will do. Hallelujah. Building [music] on the solid rock. Christ the eternal rock, [music] the unchanging rock, the rock that won't roll, the rock of [music] ages. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. The fire of the Holy Spirit we [music] PRAY MASTER WILL BURN IN our hearts. >> [music]

51:18 >> Let [music] December become a month of growth. Let it become a month of victory. Let it become the month where Christ is [music] glorified in our lives. Let it become more than the month of Christmas. Let it become the month of greater works of God in our life [music] in the mighty name of Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. [music] More than what we expect, more than what we look for. Thank you, Father, that your hand of favor [music] is upon your people. That you will stretch forth your glory. Come on, open [music] your mouth and praise him for some time. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh, we praise you, Jesus. Come on. [music] Sunday is a day of praising God. Open your mouth. Shout out your praises.

52:29 Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. [music] Miracles of God. Miracles of God. Heavenly Father, this beautiful day, we want to thank you for this wonderful time of studying your word and the truth that no matter what storms come, no matter what powers of the enemy come, no matter what struggles come, built on you will last forever. Built on you will not break down. Built on you cannot be destroyed. Built on you cannot be put down. Built on you will survive. will thrive. [applause] Hallelujah. Sometimes Lord when we get confused and we wonder we are built on you the rock and why are we facing storms? Why are we

53:34 facing struggles? Sometimes when we are confused though we are built on you. Why are we facing problems that others are facing? Give us the humility to accept the struggles of life as it happens to all, but give us the faith to remain on the rock. Hallelujah. Bless your people, Father. We pray that your grace will abound on each one of us. Thank you for Pastor Sam Alex [music] and we pray for his ministry. Thank you for sending him to us today. Lord, we pray now for those who may be in the church for the first time. We ask that your salvation and blessings be upon them. We pray for those who are celebrating their birthdays or their marriage anniversaries this week. We pray that their years ahead will be blessed of you in the abundance of your favor. Lord, we also pray for those who may be traveling that your journey mercies will go with them. Father, we now remember those who may be going

54:38 through some terrible situation, maybe lost loved one, a berieved home. The last week has been terrible for them. We pray for your strength. We pray for your comfort. We pray for your peace upon their life. Help them, Lord, that in their pain they will not walk away from you, but rather they will draw closer to you. In the pain, they will learn to find comfort from you. They will learn to find strength from you. They will learn to find meaning from you. [snorts] Oh God, give them that strength. We pray for their recovery. We pray for their revival in life. Hallelujah. Now Lord, we commit the tithes and offerings that [music] we give you as an expression of our love for you, as an act of worship to you. Everything in our life which is good has surely come from you father. And as we give back a portion of it, we give it seeking your blessing on our life. Seeking that we are a part of your

55:43 beautiful family. May your blessing rest upon us. As we go back, we thank you that your presence goes with us. Your promise to Moses, my presence will go with you. I will give you rest. Thank you for that promise that your presence goes with each one of us in Jesus [music] mighty name we pray and the people said amen. The grace of our Lord Jesus, the love of our heavenly father and the sweet abiding fellowship communion of the Holy Spirit rest and abide upon each one of us from now and forever more. Amen. God bless you. Love you. Bye-bye. Those who need prayer, please come forward. In the meanwhile, worship team will come forward and lead us in a few songs. Heat. Heat.

57:17 Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.