Four years ago in 2013, during the summer in the months of July and August, I spent for the first time in my life 40 days of fasting and prayer in the Alps. I was near the Nid d’Aigle, a refuge in the Mont Blanc massif with few things : My Bible, a notebook, a little brook to drink from, a tent and a blanket. For those of you who might be scared, look, I am still alive! But don’t rush into it because it would not be wise. At the end of this very difficult experience that I could only do by the grace of God and which was highly transformational for me, all I can say is that the Lord asked me to love with the Love that came from the cross. A love with no strings attached, which gives itself completely. It is the sacrificial love that Jesus displayed at Golgotha over two thousand years ago. It is loving God for sure and loving others till death, leaving aside my prerogatives. This resonates with the following verse from the Bible :
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John15,13)
To sum it up, it is simply : Love more. Loving God and others. Jesus laid down, gave, offered himself for all of us so all of us might find life in Him. Love is the culminating point of my experience. And for sure it was the why for our Saviour to die on the cross. Love is a person, His name is Jesus and we are called not only to express love but also to become Love. Most of the time there in the mountains while fasting, God revealed to me how crucial it is to seek and save the lost.
I went to the mountains because I was so hungry for God. I wanted more of God. I wanted to experience Him more in my life. At the end of these 40 days, God spoke to me a lot about taking care of the foreigners or people I don’t know in the city : Afterward I hosted in my apartment a young man whom I met in the street and who was new here with nowhere to sleep. He stayed with me for a while, then I helped him find another solution. Then he found a job as a computer scientist and this passing week I learned that he will deliver a speech at a conference in Leipzig ! What a miracle ! The Lord used me to help a homeless man get out of the streets. I am so happy about that. He is a Muslim, but when he stayed with me he accepted to read the Bible and for me to pray over him. I am still praying for the Lord to save him and the Lord can do it.
Another example was meeting with my friends Simeon & Melanie whom I met two years ago, in September 2015 in the streets, now two years later they are here visiting me and wanting to learn from our church because they are searching for ways to better take care of a church in their city of Heidelberg in Germany. This was possible because I obeyed what the Lord had said to me. You see friends, that is the message I wanted to bring to you today : Hearing and Acting on the word of God !
THE WORD
Let’s read the word the Lord gave me two weeks ago when Mathieu Leclerc called me. The Lord was talking to me a lot about the following passage ; even in the night while I was sleeping.
Matthew 7.24-27
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But 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. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
In a previous passage Jesus stresses the importance for those who profess to follow him to show it by their deeds. In verse 21 of the same chapter, Jesus said the one who does the will of my Father. In John 3:16, we read that God so loved the world that he gave His only Son. God did something. He didn’t just tell to us that He loved us. He actually did something. Jesus said in John 5v17 “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” I work as my Father works.
And He continued : “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.
How can we know the will of God in order to actually do it ? Because it is not only about doing thing for doing things and to doing whatever we want. Do you realize that everybody is at least doing something ? At least in our society everyone is doing something. Evangelist Daniel Kolenda says that almost everyone is passionate about something. That can be TV, football or other things like music. You only need to go to stadiums and see how people are so passionate, crying out loud. Why can’t we do that like them but for Jesus ? Why can’t we jump in a church for Jesus if we are passionate about Him ? Others jump and cry out for a ball in leather. And we can’t do that for our Saviour who gave everything including His own life for us filling us with joy day after day ? One touch from God can be manifested in our body, our emotions and our spirit. Amen !
In verse 24 we have the word « everyone » or « whosoever ». The Bible says that whosoever believes or calls in the name of the Lord shall be saved ! Me, I am whosoever, you, everyone of us is whosoever ! That is great !
Then we have the word « Hear » which is the faculty of hearing, to perceive by the ear what is announced in one’s presence. I have learnt some time ago the difference between the words Hearing and Listening which is to hear intelligently often with implication of attention and obedience. You know when you saying to someone you did not listened to me and He responds that he have heard you. Hearing means you have received the message like in the parable of the sower and the grounds. All the grounds received seeds but only the good one bore fruit.
Hearing is receiving the seeds, receiving the message, all the grounds have received but only the one who does, who makes something out of it, acts or puts them into work has really listened. The one who puts into practice the words of Jesus is the one who is listening ! And Jesus is saying that this person is wise : prudent, intelligent, a far-sighted, practical and sensible man. This man builds, found, establish, constructs his life in order to grow in christian living.
The House is an inhabited edifice, there are people living inside, family, wealth and goods. And that house is built on a rock, a large stone.
Jacob said in Genesis 28 :10-22 following his dream after sleeping with a stone as pillow : This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” Subsequently, he called the place Bethel which translates to “House of God”. He set up the stone he had slept on as a pillar, and consecrated it. He also made a vow to God in reference to his eventual return.
He was fleeing, then he stopped and lay down on a stone and God spoke to him in visions. He woke up and took a decision, he made a vow that day ! What are you fleeing from ? Please stop today and lay your head on the stone, stop trying to figure everything out, Jesus is the rock, the cornerstone, you can lay on him and He can take care of your preoccupations, giving you instructions in His Word to follow.
You are all aware of the hurricanes that destroy the Carribean: Harvey, Irma or José. That is what the storm that Jesus is talking about can look like. Storms came into our lives in different ways and they are from different types. They can be weapons formed against us be it emotional, financial, social, physical, psychological, interpersonal, spiritual or organisational. That is why the Bible says that no weapon formed against us shall prosper ! Amen. The presence of the storm does not indicate the absence of God.
On that House, rain is watering (from up to down). What is pressuring you ? Are you strong enough? Then flood, stream, river, torrent, running water from one place to another find influence on that house. What is forcing you ? Are you firm ? Are you following the crowd ?
Then a wind, a violent agitation of air, a tempestuous wind blew, breathed, beat, fell down, rushed, slammed against that house. We can see a rain and a flood because they are tangible elements but we do not see wind, we can only notice its manifestations. It, too, pressures and drains.
There are storms that people are not seeing because they are secrets storms. People are not coming to your help because they do not see it. Maybe they notice you have a new car, but they do not see that you are two payments behind. You got a promotion at work but people don’t know that you have more pressure on your shoulders at the point that you can’t properly sleep in the night. People find that you form a beautiful couple but they don’t know that you are going through doubts about your relationship and considering a separation.
It is difficult to see in a storm; that is also the reason why the Bible says that we do not live by sight but by faith. Maybe Jesus is sleeping in the boat of your life, but he is really present and His presence is sufficient for you. Even if your senses do not notice Him, He is there with you ! And you can’t fall, descend from a higher place to a lower.
Jesus was a carpenter so He knew how to build a house. This parable is not just advice for those who build houses like architects or engineers who work in constructions sites. It is an illustration for everyone.
Building a house : What do you think about that word « house » ? A home, a family, a church also ! Because Jesus’ words are Spirit and Life, we can build our lives on his words so they will have a solid foundation. Jesus Himself is the rock which He is calling us to build on.
His words are foundational words to build a life on. We need to work these words into our lives.
because if we do not build our lives on his words, we will be likened to, made like, become similar to a foolish, impious, godless, stupid, absurd person who has built his house in the sands, on the sandy ground like on the beach. And there you can experience complete destruction, collapse or a great crash.
Building on the rock stands for 2 things : Hearing from the Lord and putting those words into practice ! The best way to know the will of God in order to do what really counts is to spend time with Him, searching His presence.
HEARING THE WORD
It is hearing what God is saying. I call that the Presence or what Brother Lawrence calls the practice of the presence. The Lord promises that those who seek Him will find Him. You can seek Him where you live and you will find Him. God didn’t speak only on mountains tops. He can speak to you while in your room, in the streets, while riding a donkey or fishing. Begin to see him where you are.
The presence of God is what we need to cherish the most. When you find yourself in the dark, cry for the light. Christ’s being forsaken by his Father was the most grievous of his sufferings, and the only one that he complained about. He did not say, “Why am I scourged? And why spit upon? And why nailed to the cross? Nor did he say to his disciples, when they turned their backs on him, Why have you forsaken me?
But when his Father stood at a distance, he cried, but even when he was forsaken by his Father, he kept hold of him as his God. This supported him, and bore him up, that even in the depths of his sufferings God was his God, and this he resolved to hold on tight to.
What is the most important thing? The promise or the presence? Moses said to God: I will not go if you do not come with me. He is our exceedingly great reward. We are the people of the presence. I don’t care, Give me my Jesus. I love my Jesus! Trusting him is the point. Do you think you’ll be happier when the promise is fulfilled? If you are not happy with God today, you’ll never be satisfied. He is our dream, he is the reward. We may forget the promise but he will not forget! He is our dream. He will always be ours. He is my reward. Don’t lose your dreams. Give them back to God. We don’t want this promise, this dream without God. Never let any dream shine brighter than God. Never let any promise become greater than God.
How do we come close to God when we do not sense His presence ? Reading the Scriptures ; Fasting and praying ; Worshipping. The presence of God increases when we pray, fast and worship.
3/ ACTING ON THE WORD
Jesus talked about the parable of the two sons in Matthew 21:28-32. One who accepted His Father’s word but did not do the work and the other who initially said no but later actually did what the Father commanded Him. Jesus asked who between the two had done the will of the Father ? The one who went. It is important to hear the Lord’s voice. And also important to put it into practice, otherwise hearing His voice would be useless.
Today the Lord is calling us to go (Matthew 28) to preach the gospel and make disciples. Who will go ? In the book of Isaiah, the Lord asked who will we send and who will go for us ? Can you respond as Isaiah responded ? Here I am, send me ? Who will go to do what the Lord wants ? You ? Or will you be just happy enough to listen to His voice and doing nothing about it ? Don’t get me wrong, I love the presence of God and I believe with all of my heart, actually I am convinced in every part of my being that it is the most important things. I simply want to highlight the fact that not applying what we heard in His presence is not only nonsense but useless for us.
There are times that I am impressed by the story of Judas Iscariot who spent approximately three years of his lifetime with Jesus, in the presence of the living God but failed to let himself be touched by that presence. If he had let himself be touched he would have been transformed. He didn’t receive the most important thing. Now it is your turn. Will you prevent yourself from being transformed by Jesus? He is present here for you.
Hearing only is insufficient ! And to illustrate this further, I have another example. God also spoke to me while I was in the mountains about relationships that I needed to restore and particularly one. It was about an older friend who I thought had wronged me. I was wounded. It wasn’t easy to go back to him but I did it because I wanted to obey the Lord. I asked for forgiveness. We reconciliated and he invited me many times to his house to eat. Months before going in the mountains, I received a prophesy about a man who God would bring into my life and who would become a mentor to me, from whom I would learn a lot and who would facilitate a lot of things in my life. At some point I identified the man and wanted to come close to him but I felt like he was rejecting me. Then I learned that this friend with whom I reconciled, said very good things about me to the man. And since then I have a wonderful mentor in my life. If I hadn’t put into practice these things that God told me, the 40 days spent in the mountains would have been for nothing and completely useless.
JESUS 