Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
5/17/98 am
Building Life Upon The Rock
Reading – Matthew 7.24-27
One of my favorite preaching text is the Sermon On The Mount. This sermon is about relationships... Right relationships with God, self and others. Jesus gives us the secrete of how to live the good life that God intended and created us for. Beginning this morning and continuing until I leave for South Africa, we will be studying the Sermon On The Mount.
This morning, we’re going to begin at the end of the sermon. Jesus concludes with an illustration, a parable, of just how these sermon principles will affect us if we will integrate them into our daily walk and what will happen if we do not make them a part of our lives.
FIRST, BUILDING IN PALESTINE.
Jesus was knowledgeable when it came to building houses... He was a carpenter. Palestine is arid and dry country. The ideal homesite was next to a stream, so that the land around it could be irrigated and there would be a water source for the family. What we sometimes forget is that even though it was hot and dry, when it did rain, flash flooding would occur with a vengeance. Gale force winds and water would surge down the canyons destroying everything in its path, including homes.
So, these people knew what Jesus was talking about. They knew that unless a house was built on a solid foundation, it could and would be destroyed. Even though it took more time, energy and effort, it was worthwhile to search for the right building site, one with a rock foundation. Then, when the storms came, a house would stand firm.
Note with me now who Jesus considered a wise individual and a foolish one. A wise person is not just one who knows Jesus and His teaching, but one who knows and puts them into practice. Look at verse 24 and 26, Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house 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 wise man is one who knows and obeys His teachings. The foolish man is knows His teachings and doesn’t put them into practice. Both the wise and foolish hear the words of Jesus.
Church, we are not wise and foolish based solely upon knowing Biblical principles. But rather it is how we respond to these principles. It is not knowledge that makes us wise, but what we do with our knowledge. Jesus is saying that KNOWING and not DOING is foolishness. No wonder His own brother James wrote, He that knoweth to do good and does it not sins. The difference between wisdom and foolishness, in this narrative, is not knowledge, but obedience. What do we do with our knowledge of Jesus and His teaching? This defines true wisdom. This is the difference between our lives being built upon the sand or upon the rock.
Church, understand here, that Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount is not preached to the world, but to disciples. Matthew 5.1 says, Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountain side and sat down. His disciples came to him, and He begin to teach them saying. Jesus is speaking to those who know Him, and are attempting to follow His teachings. That’s us... That’s us... This sermon is for us:
- Disciples,
- Jesus’ followers,
- Christians,
- Baptized believers.
This sermon is preached for the church of Christ... For us gathered here this morning.
This parable is not a portrait of the world and the church, it’s a portrait of two kinds of people within the church, two kinds of disciples. Being knowledgeable about Jesus is not going to make a difference between whether or not our house, our life, is going to stand or be destroyed when the storms come. Being obedient to Jesus is what makes the difference. Jesus is saying that our knowledge must translate into action to stand in the storms.
SECONDLY, WE WANT TO NOTICE WHAT THE STORMS REPRESENTS IN OUR NARRATIVE.
The storms represents two things:
- The trials of eternity,
- And the trials of this life.
Jesus is telling us that all of us will be called upon to face these two storms. You see, Jesus gives us the Sermon On The Mount, then here in the conclusion, He says, these principles will make a real difference in when these two storms come.
FIRST, IT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN JUDGMENT AND ETERNITY.
We must know this morning that both wise and foolish men will be called to face the storm of death and judgment. Hebrews 9.27 tells us, Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. We will all have to face this day, and Jesus’ sermon equips us to do just that. Church, this sermon is about facing the judgment day... And how to make sure our LIFE house stands firm in that day.
NEXT, WE NOTE THAT JESUS IS THE ROCK, HE IS THE ONE AND ONLY SURE FOUNDATION.
When the gale force winds, the water, the storm of judgment comes, will we be found with a life built upon the rock of Christ, or on the sands of this world? You see, on that day, God will come sweeping away the sins of the world with His wrath.
The question is this, is our life built upon the rock of Christ?
- He is the only one who can stand up under the storm of God’s judgment.
- He is the only one who did or can live a sinless perfect life.
- He is the only one who can pass the muster of God’s wrath.
When we are united with Him, when we have been clothed with Him, then: His righteousness, His perfection, His purity, will become our rock of salvation. First John 2.17 says, The world and its desires will pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives for ever.
Here it is audience:
- We can obey Jesus, live by these sermon principles, and have our sins forgiven, washed away in the waters of New Testament baptism.
- Or we can maintain our own self direction have them swept away in the storm of God’s judgment.
WHICH WILL IT BE? Which will it be indeed?
SECONDLY, THIS SERMON WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN OUR LIFE TODAY.
Storms of life are gonna come, this is just the way life is. We talked about this last Sunday evening. It’s not will we have storms, but when.
- Some of us are living in a storm today.
- It could be that we’ll be called to face a storm in a few weeks,
- Maybe tomorrow.
- Perhaps on the way home.
Jesus Himself said in John 16.33, I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. As long as we live in this world, we will have trouble.
Denying this fact just, sticking our head in the sand to this fact, only compounds the trouble. What we must do is prepare for the storm, make preparations for facing the storms when they come... They will come... You can count on it!
Note again that both the wise and foolish man both face the storm. It is a false doctrine which says, you live for Jesus and there will be no storms. The health, wealth, prosperity gospel is an empty promise. Those who preach such, do not know their Bibles very well.
Bible greats were called to face storms:
- Noah was a righteous man... Yet he and his family had to face their storm
- Abraham is known as the father of the faithful, the friend of God, but still faced the storms.
- Jacob certainly had his share of storms.
- So did Joseph, Moses, David.
- David is known as a man after God’s own heart, yet his life was filled with storms.
- Paul, Peter and John faced many storms.
- Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3.12, Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
There is no such place in this world where we can build a life where there are no storms. There are no such thing as:
- Storm free-neighborhoods.
- Storm free areas of our world.
Stop looking for such a life, because it doesn’t exist.
Even though Jesus doesn’t guarantee us a storm free existence, He does tell us, in this sermon, how to weatherize our lives to face the storms. The one who hears His words and puts them into practice will be like the wise man who built his house on the rock.
WE MUST BE TOTALLY PREOCCUPIED WITH OUR FOUNDATION.
One of the most fantastic structures in our world is the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Did you know that the South pier of this bridge sets directly on the San Andreas Fault Line that runs from Mexico to Alaska. Even though this is true,
- It withstands gale force winds of the bay area.
- It withstands earthquakes and tremors of Southern California.
I am told that the middle of the bridge is built to sway some 20 to 30 feet back and forth. The secret to its durability is the fact that:
- Every strand of its giant cabling system,
- Every steel railing,
- The concrete roadway,
- And all the cross-beams are interconnected to two giant towers embedded to a rock foundation found at the bottom of the sea. In other words the secret of this bridge’s flexibility and strength is that every component is totally preoccupied with its foundation on the sea floor. So, the gale force winds may blow, the earthquakes may cause it sway and shake, but it won’t be swept away, because every part is preoccupied with its foundation.
David said it so well in Psalm 16.8, I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. David may have swayed a bit, but he was not shaken.
- If Jesus is our Rock of ages,
- If Jesus is the Rock of our salvation,
- If we live by the principles of this Sermon On The Mount, we may be swayed, but we will not be swept away.
Speaking of Jesus Isaiah wrote, So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts in Him will never, will never be dismayed.
The only way to weather the storms of this life is to be totally preoccupied with Jesus as our foundation.
- Our dating life,
- Our martial life,
- Our parenting life,
- Our finances,
- Our careers,
- Our dress,
- Our entertainment choices,
- Our manner of conversation,
- Even our thoughts and emotions, must be totally preoccupied with Jesus and His teachings... His principles of living.
If you hear my teaching, and put them into practice, you will like the man who:
- Even though the gale force winds blow,
- Even though the flood waters surge,
- Even though the storms come,
His house, his life stood, because it was built on the Rock.
THE STORMS OF LIFE ALSO REVEAL OUR TRUE FOUNDATION.
Notice this church, we do not see the difference between the wise man and the foolish man until the storm comes. They both look the same until the storm arrives, then their differences are apparent. As I look over this audience, I can’t see the difference between the wise and the foolish, but when the gale force winds blow and the flood waters rise, we can tell the difference quickly.
I talked to a man last week who was seriously ill. In fact his doctor instructed the chaplain to call in the family. With them all gathered in the room, the doctor told them their husband and father was not going to make it. They were saddened, but not in despair. The doctor replied, I don’t understand you Christians, I just told you that you are going to die. The man replied, no you don’t understand. You see I am prepared to die, I have made preparations for my death. The doctor replied, well you may have, but don’t you care about your wife and daughters. They are going to be left alone without any visible means of support. Again you don’t understand, we are members of a spiritual family, and I know that whether I am here or not, the church will take care of her and the kids.
This man’s life was preoccupied, built upon the foundation of Jesus. Jesus was:
- His Rock of Ages.
- His Rock of salvation.
- His Rock of faith.
- His Rock of certainty for his family.
You see church, the more the storms rage, the more evident it is that we need the Rock. The more the waters surge, the more evident it is that we need Jesus and His teachings. The storms of life reveal the kind of foundation we are building on. The wise man and the foolish man’s house may have looked incredibly the same. But when the storm come it revealed the difference. The foundation, the foundation makes the difference.
We all pretty much: Look the same, Dress the same, Deal with the same daily problems, but the storms of life reveal the difference in our foundation. The storm reveals the difference between: The KNOWLEDGEABLE listener and the obedient disciple.
The wise man is more than a knowledgeable listener, he is an obedient disciple.
Questions!
- Are we, are you, ready to face the storm of death and the Judgment day?
- Are we ready for the gale force winds and the flood waters of this life to surge?
Don’t fool yourself, we are not wise because we’ve come here to listen to some sermon. We are wise, if we hear and put into practice the teachings of Jesus.
THEN FINALLY WE MUST BUILD LIFE ACCORDING TO THE CODE.
A few years back, a hurricane struck the bay area of Pensacola, Florida. It destroyed most of the homes on the outer banks around Destin and Gulf Shores. CNN was interviewing a man whose house was still standing between two others that had been completely demolished. They asked him, what do you attribute this to? Why is your house still standing, when those only three or four feet on both sides were destroyed? He said, well, when I built this house they told me that if I would build it by code, it would stand hurricane force winds, so I did. It cost me more, it took more time and effort, it took me longer to finish the job, but I built it according the instructions. I suppose this is the reason it withstood the gale force winds and the surge of the sea.
Question! What are we building our LIFE HOUSE on, the rock or the sand? Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
You have an opportunity to start building on the Rock of Jesus this morning. Become a child of God by faith, repentance and New Testament baptism, immersion in water for the forgiveness of your sins. Perhaps you’ve started construction on this Rock of Ages, but have failed to put into practice some of His teaching and you need to come back to your Rock of Salvation. We will assist you in building your house upon The Rock.
