Matthew 7:24-27
Introduction
On what have you built your life? What exactly do your faith, family, and future rest on? Have you built on a firm foundation that’s unshakeable, unmovable, or shifting sand that’s shifts with every storm?
Today we live in a world where many are DEMORALIZED, DISHEARTEN, DEFEATED. They have been overcome by sin, sorrow and the storms of life all because they built on Shifting sand.
As Christians we know that the foundation of our life is to be Jesus Himself.
Isaiah writes 28:16: 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 relies on it will never be stricken with panic.”
Today as we ponder this question “On what have you built”? I want us to consider what Jesus himself had to say on this subject. My prayer is that you and I might gain some insight on just what is an unshakeable foundation? and how we can stand no matter the storm.
I. Identical elements in the lives of two construction workers
A. Two main characters are builders. – They are building the same thing in two different areas. – Two builders constructing two houses.
B. Remember, Jesus is not talking about building literal houses on literal rock and sand, but about lives – establishing values and determining priorities on different philosophies or lifestyles.
C. Another set of identical elements in the story is the life situations of the two builders.
1. Each goes through a storm. – Neither can escape it or ignore it. They both feel the down-pouring rain that increases to flood level and the sting of the wind that hits with horrendous velocity.
2. Jesus is not telling us how to find a safe, comfortable setting, an ideal atmosphere where life remains non-threatening and where the climate is wonderfully supportive.
3. His story is forcing us to face reality: Life is difficult…storms will come…pain and discomfort will happen. BUT HE IS ALWAYS NEARBY!
II. Contrasting factors in the lives of two construction workers
A. The two builders are totally different kinds of people. – They build their houses in totally different manners. One chooses to build on rock; the other, on sand.
B. The first builder is the type who does more than hear what Christ has to say, he acts upon the truth.
C. The second builder hears the same thing, but he stops. He deliberately does not act upon what he hears. The first build is called “WISE” the second is called “FOOLISH”
D. Another contrast is the outcome of the two houses.
1. One did not fall and the other came crashing down.
2. The wise builder constructed his life in that no amount of testing, no extent of difficulty, is enough to bring him down. – Because he was founded upon a rock!
3. This reminds us about that great hymn: “MY HOPE IS BUILT ON NOTHING LESS!”
III. Underlying principles in the lives of two construction workers
A. If you are only hearing and reading the truth, you are not prepared for life’s storms
1. The foolish and the wise builders heard.
2. The difference: – The refusal to do something about it. Jesus said: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
3. To listen with no plan to act, to read with no interest to respond is to miss the whole point of Christ’s teaching on the mountain that day.
4. Divine truth is given not to satisfy idle curiosity, but to change lives, not to lull us to sleep in church, but to equip us for today and prepare us for eternity.
B. If your foundation is sure, no storm will cause your life to collapse.
A. The rain of adversity will fall, no question about it. That’s life. The floods of misery and heartache will rise, for sure, and the winds of pressure will howl, threatening both security and your sanity. THE GOOD NEWS: YOUR LIFE WILL NOT COLLAPSE! CHRIST CAME TO BE BELIEVED IN, NOT SIMPLY STUDIED AND ADMIRED!
BUILD YOUR LIFE ON AN UNSHAKEABLE FOUNDATION, JESUS CHRIST! AMEN!
Pastor John N. Punni, II