Summary

In a compelling conversation, the hosts explore the profound lessons from the Sermon on the Mount, particularly focusing on the passages in Matthew 7:21-29. Tamara K. Anderson, Bonnie Randall, and LeMira Wheelwright discuss the critical difference between hearing Jesus' teachings and living them out in one's life. They highlight the necessity of building a life on the firm foundation of Christ's teachings, drawing on the parable of the wise and foolish builders as a metaphor for spiritual resilience. The hosts share personal stories and insights, offering a relatable and engaging perspective on how to integrate Jesus' words into everyday life. By examining the motivations behind one's actions and the authenticity of one's faith, the discussion provides a clarion call for listeners to re-evaluate their spiritual practices and commit to genuine transformation in their journey with Christ.

Takeaways

• The importance of not just hearing Jesus' teachings but actively doing them in our lives.
• Building a strong foundation on the rock of Jesus Christ is crucial for spiritual stability.
• Our motivations for our actions should be rooted in love and genuine intent to serve God.
• Understanding and knowing Jesus personally ensures our actions align with His teachings.
• The process of introspection helps us identify areas where our spiritual foundation needs strengthening.
• Charity and love are essential attributes to develop as followers of Jesus Christ.
• Recognizing the need for Jesus in every aspect of our lives is a key takeaway from the Sermon on the Mount.

Today’s Podcast Hosts & Guests

Tamara K. Anderson

Tamara, founder of Women Warriors of Light, is a dynamic speaker, award winning author, and a podcaster. She is driven by her Christian faith to inspire faith in Jesus Christ. Alongside her husband, Justin, she navigates the joys and challenges of parenting four children with autism, ADHD, and mental health hurdles. You can find out more about Tamara on her website: https://www.tamarakanderson.com/

Bonnie Randall

Bonnie Randall is a wife, mother, trainer, speaker, actress, copywriter, heart centered life coach and has also been a business and marketing consultant for over 20 years. Her real passion is to help people grow as individuals and teach them how to resolve limiting beliefs. Bonnie enjoys teaching about mental health, abuse prevention and recovery classes. She runs a trauma recovery support group and YouTube channel called, Come Off Conqueror, which helps survivors of abuse find Christ centered healing. Find out more at: https://www.youtube.com/@comeoffconqueror

LeMira Wheelwright

LeMira is a member of our advisory board. She is a speaker, coach, and educator who is passionate about helping women heal insecurities, discover their divine potential and shine God's light through their gifts.

Transcript

If you’d like to read the transcript of today’s episode, you can find it on our Women Warriors of Light website blog.

https://www.womenwarriorsoflight.com/blog/Building-on-the-Rock-Lessons-from-the-Sermon-on-the-Mount

When you learn a new Bible principle, do you try to act on it? Do you do it? Do you change? Are you wise or are you foolish?

We're going to talk about these important things today from the sermon on the Mount, so stay tuned.

Welcome to Bible women in Bathrobes, the podcast where faith meets comfort.

Join us Tuesday morning as the gals from women warriors of flight and their guests don bathrobes and dive into the inspiring stories of women in the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ. From Esther's bravery to the sermon on the Mount, we explore it all with warmth, laughter, sisterhood, and maybe even a few sleepy eyed moments.

Tune in, live or at your leisure, as we learn lessons from scripture which empower women today.

Hello and welcome to another episode of Bible Wound in Bathrobes. I'm your host, Tamara K. Anderson. And joining me today is my co host, Bonnie Randall. Welcome back, Bonnie.

Morning, everybody.

And also we have Lamyra with us again. Welcome back. Lamira Wheelwright.

Hi. It's a mouthful.

It is. My goodness, it took me a second get my mouth to form those words. I don't know why. You think I would have woken up enough today already, but.

Nope, my tongue is still stumbling just a little bit. And, guys, we are so excited. We are here at the end of Matthew, chapter seven. We're finishing up the sermon on the mount. Oh, my goodness.

How long have we been at this?

I mean, we started recording these episodes in April, and here we are, you know, September and, my goodness, we are just, we're finally finished the sermon on the mount. We've really kind of just dived in and taken it verse by verse, and it's been really fun. I've just, it's.

I'm kind of sad that we're coming to the end of it, but of course, we're not to the end of Jesus's words, so. All right, so today we're going to start Matthew chapter seven. We're going to cover 21 through 29, and we're going to cover these first few verses.

So let me read these to you and we'll chat about them a little bit. 21.

Not everyone 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, 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, and then will I profess unto them. I never knew you depart from me, ye that were iniquity and then this is, and then we'll go into this, the wise men and the foolish men.

But let's just pause right there. And he gives us a key there in verse 21. If we want to enter into his kingdom, we need to do. It's not just here. We need to do and do his works.

Any thoughts here? Lamire, let's start with you.

Yeah. So many times, you know, you hear, well, I believe so I'm saved. Like, say believe and be saved.

But I think it goes back to our last discussion about fruits. And I think the key is do with the will of my father, because in the next verse, it talks about, well, didn't we do great works?

Didn't we do all these great things? And we talked about this in our last discussion about, but who am I reflecting, right? Am I doing what looks good for me?

Because, oh, I took cookies to this many people. I've taken cookies, 107 people. You know, like, if I'm tallying that versus, hey, I mean, we have to do it, but do it for who? Does that make sense?

I don't know if this is being clear or if this is answering your question, but I feel like there's do. But it's do for why. Like, what's the why behind my do? Is it so that I can. I love to be validated. I love to get the pat on the back.

I love to be told I'm a words of affirmation girl. I love that love language.

But I've learned that that actually can be sinful and prideful if I'm doing it for accolades versus am I doing it for him because this is his work, not mine? It's his. Am I doing it because my little neighbor really does need cookies, or am I doing it because I want people to see that I'm a good neighbor?

I want to be the one that people recognize because I'm a good neighbor. Right? There's that subtle difference there.

Love it. Very, very good. All right. Bonnie.

The diva and me can relate. Lamyra. I've been an actress since I was little, and I think I started acting when I was like ten.

And there's just something about that applause, right? And being in the limelight. And there's a reason why podcasters are podcasters. We enjoy talking and we enjoy people listening to us, right?

Like, there's reason, right? And I do.

I remember when, when heavenly father inspired me to, to do some of this stuff, and I was like, oh, man, the diva in me is going to, like, take off, though. Like, are you sure? And so I feel like the last few years have been a real test of my ability to shine the right light.

And like you said in the last episode, you talked about, am I bringing people to Christ? Right? Is everything that I am doing pointing them back to him?

And I was praying one time, and with my husband, and those were the words that came out of his mouth. He said that everything I needed to do in my work was to point people back to Christ.

And if it didn't point them back to Christ, that wasn't a modality for me to pursue. It wasn't a book I should read. It was like, that was going to be my measuring stick, was, does it point people back to Christ? So I relate a lot.

These scriptures made me pause. I read them, and I went, hang on a minute. Like, I cast out devils. Like, I don't prophesy. Like, I'm not a prophet, but I do have, like, revelation.

I do have things that come to me for my family and, like, things that I have stewardship over. And so it was kind of a bit of a gut check for me to say, but do I know Christ?

So I had to do some more digging and research and praying about these scriptures because I wanted to make sure that when I die, he isn't going to say, you did all this stuff, but I never knew you. And I came to the same conclusion that you did, Lamira, that it was about the motivation, the why behind the action.

And that takes us back to that same old, the age old debate about faith versus works, right?

And I think in this scripture, he's reminding us that it's not just about the works, it's not just about the actions, but your heart and your intention. And your motivation has to be that you're trying to become more like me.

And then I had a thought of all these different times when I served begrudgingly. And I'm like, yeah, what is that scripture? Tamara, you're way better at scriptures than I am. The one where he says, if.

If you do it without love, it's like you didn't do it at all. It's like in Timothy, I think. I can't remember. Do you know what scripture I'm talking about?

Yes, it does sound familiar. And I'm sorry I can't quote now.

I'm putting you on.

You can go look it up while I'm talking.

Okay, I will.

I will.

Anyway, I love these verses, and it's a reminder to me that it is important for us to like you guys. Have said, keep our focus on the right thing. And I'm going to start reading this.

I love, love, love this example that he gives of the wise and foolish man. And we've all sung the little bible song. The rains came down and the floods came up of the wise men and the foolish men.

And it's great for the kids to learn it, but let's read the verses here and see what we can glean from it. It says, therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock.

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. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sandheen.

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. And so here we are. We've heard basically three chapters worth. Matthew, chapter five. Matthew, chapter six. Matthew, chapter seven.

We've heard these sayings of Jesus, and now comes the critical question, what are we going to do about it? Are we going to let these words just hear? Are we going to become doers of these words? Are we going to change? Are we going to elevate who we are?

Because we have heard these words, that they have come through us, that they have made us desire to change, and we're taking baby steps to change. Change doesn't have to be always big. It can be one little thing, you know, start small. Maybe you're focusing on becoming meek.

Maybe I'm trying to think of some of the things we've talked about in these. Maybe you're working on praying more like the Lord's prayer. You know, just taking one little thing and working. That is doing it is making that.

It's incorporating the word what you've heard into your life and doing and building on the rock of Jesus a little bit better. Bonnie, did you find that verse?

I did, actually, in corinthians.

Well, there you go.

I don't know where I got Timothy from. It sounded right, but it's.

This is the english standard version, and it says, if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and knowledge, and if I have all faith as to move mountains. But I have not love.

I am nothing if I give away all I have and I deliver up my body to be burned. But I have not love. I gain nothing. I think there's a crown and country.

King and country.

King and country. I'm like, wait, wait, king and country song that talks about this. And it goes back to what you're saying. Like, what is my motivation? Right?

But I love that he's saying, like, you can do all these great things, but if you don't have charity, which is God's love, right? It's his pure version of love. And we think about what is what encompasses charity. It's compassion, it's grace, it's forgiveness.

And that kind of love that transcends everything. If we haven't developed that kind of love at the last day, is he saying, I didn't know you, or perhaps.

We didn't know him. We didn't come to know him. It's probably more what it's like, right? Yeah, yeah.

Let's say talk about the higher law, right? Like, because again, sermon on the mount's all about that higher way of living.

So what he's saying is, and now it's not just enough to do all these things I'm telling you to do, you need to have love in your heart. And that can be hard. That can be really challenging.

To have that kind of love for everyone, especially Ray, takes us back to, I don't even know how many episodes ago it was, but when we talked for an entire episode about being persecuted and our abusers and what people have done to us and still finding the ability to love them as God loves them and see them as God sees them, that's not easy. It's really nothing.

And I feel like a lot of these laws that he's asking us to obey, part of the reason why he's asking him to obey is because he's showing us you need me. Together we can accomplish this. What do you guys think?

Oh, totally agree 100%. I'm going to kick it to Lamyra and let her give us some feedback here.

Right? It's funny because you're talking about that, I think that goes back into. I just think, okay, this is the best real estate example.

So where I live in the mountains is much better than a beach house, even though I love the beach because I got rocks versus sand. But then I started thinking about the real estate.

And Bonnie, you just alluded to this of having, you know, built upon Jesus Christ and our hearts and his charity and his love and I. I've been thinking about this. There's a. I know somebody. They built a beautiful home, and we were in their house, and it was wonderful.

It was beautiful. And they'd been in it for, you know, under. I don't know if it's been a year, two years, like, it's short.

And their house was falling apart because it wasn't. The land was not settled all the way correctly. Right. And. And that's the sand. Right. If we were built upon the sand.

And we are going to hear some amazing things out there. There are going to be some stuff out there, and for those of us who live in the United States, this is a very hot political year, right.

And we're going to be hearing things that.

Just.

As we talk about the bias, right. Things that would just, like, feel like they ring true.

And I know there have been some shifts in sand and winds coming to my family that have kind of shaken my core of going, oh, is this right? You know, is this right? Like, things that my family is experiencing and they're not going to change. And I have to go, what is the doctrine of Christ?

And. And what do I hear coming from things that I believe to, I ascribe to? Um. And for me, it always comes back to, is this the doctrine of Jesus Christ?

And even if I hear things that. From. From people that I have high respect and honor and maybe even claim to follow their words and their teachings, and I'm confused.

I always go back to that rock.

If I am not on the rock of Jesus Christ, if my foundation is not on him and his gospel, I will lose everything, because it is so easy to hear those winds of. The winds of doctrine. Right. We hear that floating around that. That term. But there is a lot out there right now.

There's a lot mingled with scripture, but there's also some that I'm going, something feels, you know, I don't know what it feels, right? And I don't know the answer, and I don't know what's right. But something feels off here. Something feels off here.

But what I do know is that I have a savior and that he loves me, he loves my children, he loves my family, and. And he has a way, he has gospel, he has truth. Even if some of that stuff hasn't been quite revealed yet or, you know, I haven't, I don't know.

But knowing that as soon as I start going off somewhere, that sounds good. That sounds comfortable. If it's not his doctrine, I'll be carried away with it.

And so to me, I need to invest in real estate in my savior Jesus Christ. I need to study his words. I need my house to be his house. You know, that we.

That no matter what happens, what choices are made in our family or whatnot, I know where my heart is. It's grounded. Points into his foundation, you know, bolted in there. That. That's the real estate I invest in.

I love this. I did an object lesson I teach the young children at church right now, and I'm all about object lessons as often as I can do them. It's fantastic.

And so, yes, I got out my little lego men and women, and we built houses on bricks. Used the same stuff to build the house on the bricks. And then I got some awesome sand, you know, padded it down. It was super firm.

And then we held, like, a little sieve above it. And I had the kids pour the water on the bricks and tell you what, there was a nice big old flood, but that house was fine.

And we did the same thing on the sand. And I was surprised how fast the sand just crumbled. And, of course, the house immediately fell apart, too.

And we had a fun discussion afterwards about why it was important to not just hear, but to do, you know, that we're sinking our foundations strong on Jesus Christ. And sometimes I think we feel like we're on that rock, that foundation. And then something shifts.

And then I realize, oh, maybe I wasn't as firm as I needed to be. My sister lives. One of my sisters lives in Dallas, in the Dallas area.

And they had to do some major foundation work on their home at one point where they had to have this big thing come in and, you know, a big jack. And they jacked their house up and put more foundation because their house had started to crack. Like what was straight was now cracked.

And, you know, it kind of raised it back up and firmed it down. And so sometimes I think, especially in these last days, we may feel, okay, I found it on the rock, and then something happens.

You're like, oh, no, there's some cracks in my house, you know? And so we have time to readjust. And it takes a little work, you know, to jack that corner back up, reach down.

I think there's a reason God calls it rock bottom. Or we have hear that phrase, rock bottom. Sometimes God digs. You know, we're in situations that just wrench our very heart.

But it's because he needs to get that rock bottom foundation where we can build solidly and firmly.

And it's painful, but that's the only thing that's going to get us through these last days, because they both experienced the wind and the rain and the turbulence of the storms, but only one stayed standing. And that's kind of harrowing, you know, that it's surprising. It's. Oh, it makes me think, okay, I'm reminded.

Thank you for reminding me once again that this is something that's important that I need to work on and do and constantly reevaluate. Where is my foundation? Am I founding on Christ again? If things are shifting and I'm starting to see cracks, how can I shore that up?

It takes that constant introspection almost. I don't know. Bonnie, thoughts?

Oh, my mind's going a million miles a minute. But you made me think about how we've been. I mean, I wasn't on the podcast for a few episodes.

A few, many episodes there because we were trying to sell our house. And in the middle of trying to sell our house, some stuff started happening with my daughter.

And I feel like there were so many times when I would just be on my knees praying and saying, I don't get it. You've given me these promptings that we need to move, but it's not happening, and now this.

And so the last couple of weeks, I've been praying a lot about understanding the promptings and understanding his voice, because, like you said, sometimes life will happen, right? And it will produce some cracks, and we'll have a moment of going fear. Right. And thinking, what's happening? And right now, I think that's.

That's where I'm at. It's this moment. I was doubting myself, asking, was I really feeling inspired? Was I really receiving your promptings?

And I had a really sweet experience yesterday while I was sitting in church where a man had gotten up, and he talked about his experience having something happen, and then he didn't get to see the resolution of it until 25 years later.

And I had this really sweet moment, feeling the spirit say, bonnie, you did feel the promptings, and I'm really proud of you for following through as much as you could. You did everything I asked you to do. There's more to this story that will be revealed.

You just need to trust that I've got a more of the pieces and they're coming. This isn't the end to that. So then I started asking, okay, well, am I even asking the right questions? Like, what do you want me to do now?

Like, what is it? And you know what came to me because one of the reasons why we felt we needed to move was, we felt we needed to build a safety and a refuge.

And I kept thinking about this as Lamira was talking about real estate. I have my real estate license. I don't do it full time or anything. It's just for our own personal stuff.

And so I thought we needed to move to build that safety and refuge. And yesterday, one of the things that came to me was, Bonnie, is your own house a safety and a refuge now? Have.

And then I'm like, well, I'm trying to make it be. And then he asked me a question. He said, where does it begin? So, as I reflected on that, I'm like, my heart, safety and a refuge starts with me.

Am I a safety and a refuge for those around me? Am I a safety and a refuge for myself? Am I a safe person? Do I give myself grace and compassion?

And that charity, that love that we've been talking about, it has to start with me. And then I can move on to my family, right? It's that old story about, like, if you want to change the world, you start with yourself, right?

If you could fix you, then you can influence your family, then you influence the people around you, and so on. And those circles grow, and your influence grows. So what is that foundation that he's calling us to build? It's right here. It's in our own hearts.

Is my own heart strong with Christ?

Am I equally yoked with him before I can bring my kids along, before I can bring my family, before I can bring any followers, any of you who are listening, I have to be grounded in him. That's a long story. Sorry.

No, I think. I think it's so pertinent, though, because that's what we're talking about, you know?

And it does begin with each of us, Lamyra, just so powerful, both of.

Your experiences and stories, just. That's exactly what I was thinking.

Tamara, as you were talking, and then, Bonnie, as you just brought this up, just, if we strip everything away, absolutely everything, where are we grounded? Where are we standing? You know, if. If we are as job and we lose everything in a day, are we still on the Lord's side? Are we still yoked with him?

Are we still willing to let him lead us along? When. When maybe the. The visions that we had of our life and how it was going to turn out? I mean, every mom can say that, right?

This is not what it was like. This is not, you know, if you told me, 17 year old Lamyra sitting on the floor of my bedroom, that this is what my family looked like today.

I might have chosen a different path. Right. You know, that's how we all are. But I probably not. I might have just said, okay, all right, but.

But when we strip everything away, where are we? Where are we? And I think, tamra, it's like what you said. Is there someplace that I need to shore up? I think standing on a rock.

And I grew up in a place with a small town, and we have this warm spring in it, and it feels like a pond to some, but the water's always flying out. It's used for irrigation. It's a farming community. But there's pockets of warm that come in. Right. And we'd go swimming every day in the summer there.

After we'd work hard, my mom would take us out there, and we'd go to the deep end, because. Go to the deep. We can't. But there are big rocks in there.

You can find the rock, and you can stand on the rock versus the sand, which is soft on the feet, but sometimes they're mossy and they're slippery, and so there's something I need to clean off that's between me and my foundation. Is there something that's getting in the way? You know, am I slipping on that? What. What is it that needs to be grounded? And.

And as I've thought about some of the things that we're going through, the two core that always come back to teach my children are your child of God. He loves you, and you need your savior as your best friend. Whatever else happens to, like, learn, learn those things. Best friend.

And maybe the third one is what we've been talking about. Know his voice, right?

How he speaks to you, because I don't know what your future looks like, and he's giving you that right to choose, but know that he loves you. He sent his son for you, and he speaks to you. And I feel like if we give that foundation, those anchor points, do we have that?

So that's kind of where my thoughts were going, is what is it that needs to be stripped away, and where are we anchored? What is it that's keeping us from him?

And I really think if we could narrow the sermon of the mount down, that would be the key principle that I've really taken away from. It is just the need for Jesus Christ at every point in my life. If I'm going to make any progress of any kind, it's with him.

And that it really does go back to the great commandment of loving the Lord your God first and developing that relationship with him and then everything else works out. You know, that, that's really what this is all about. Founding ourselves on the savior, have remembering that.

I love the principles you taught there, Lamyra, of what you want to teach your kids. You know, that God loves you, you know, and learn to listen to him. And he'll got, you know, he will, he will help us.

And that's really my takeaway from, from today and from everything that we've talked about on the sermon and the mount. It's interesting that Jesus gave this and it really does. It all points back to him. All right, takeaway. Lamyra.

Wow.

I just, like I said, I've just been thinking about this. Just, where's my heart? Who am I grounded in? Who am I and am I willing to let him lead? You know, that?

Am I willing to, to remove everything and let him be the guide? And just, I feel like it just all compounded as every, each of us talked. And that's just, it comes back to, as Bonnie said, right here.

It's right here. Where am I in alignment? Am I, am I there? Am I grounded?

Because if I'm not, then it's going to be awfully hard to discern, you know, as you talk about, you know, going back and thinking about the sermon on the mount and judgment and fruit and all these things, you know, who's at the center of it all, you know, our savior Jesus Christ and his father. So that's my takeaway.

Thank you. Thank you. Bonnie.

There's a quote I'd like to read that has been my favorite quote since I was, I don't know, like a teenager. I think, like twelve or 13, when we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives.

Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities. And I'll add a where we're supposed to move.

My biggest takeaway, really, from the sermon on the mount is, I think yours, too, is that God comes first in all things right. And if I will strive my darndest, to listen to him, it doesn't matter where I live, what work I'm doing, or whatever.

If I have him in the forefront of my mind and in my heart and I'm following him, I'll be in the right place. I'll be with the right people. I'll be doing the things I should be doing. He is central to all of that.

And I want to bear my testimony to everyone listening that I know that when we put him first, even if it seems like what he's asking us to do is wild and crazy, if we will just follow him, he will always lead us to what we need, and it is always better than what we deserve.

Even though we have to go through the mucky middle, sometimes we have to go through that moss removal process like Lamyra was talking about Orlando, you know, jacking up the foundation and shoring it up a little bit. It doesn't mean it's always smooth, but.

It'S always not easy. It's not easy, but it's worth it, right?

Learning. Learning how to do the jacking up process or the mortar. I'm like, I didn't want to know how to do that, but now I have to do that.

Yeah, sometimes you have to learn a few new things, right? And a lot of forgiveness and repentance and all of that in between, right?

Because none of us are perfect, but we end up becoming complete when we are with Jesus. So we'll just conclude with these final verses here in chapter seven.

And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings that people were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. When Jesus spoke, it was powerful. It made a difference to the hearers.

And so my invitation to you is, let these powerful words of Jesus sink into your hearts. Let them make a difference in your life. Hear him and then act. Then do as the wise man, the wise woman do, and that is build on Christ.

Build on the rock of Christ, and he'll get you through just about anything.

Thanks for tuning in to Bible women and bathrobes hosted by women warriors of light. We've loved exploring the stories of remarkable women or the teachings of the savior today with you.

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Just a friendly reminder, all opinions we share are entirely personal as we are trying to decipher and apply Bible teachings just like you are. Until next time, stay faithful and may your journey be blessed and illuminated by God's love.

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