Matthew 7;24 29 build on the rock 1 benson vail

Matthew 7:24-29 [Build on the Rock Summer Series 1] Pastor Ron Koehler

Grace-Benson/Vail

June 3, 2018

“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. 25 The 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. 26 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. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching. 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. 24

THE STORMS ARE COMING—WILL YOU SURVIVE? Dear Friends in Christ, I could hear the panic and concern in my mom’s voice when she answered the phone last fall. The path of hurricane Irma was projected to directly hit their home in Ft. Myers, Florida. She and my dad were worried that they might lose their home. They weren’t even there—they were on vacation in another state—and although that meant that they were safe, in some ways being away made it worse. They didn’t know if they would have a home to return to. Thankfully, the path of the hurricane changed enough that their house was spared. We have it pretty easy here in Tucson. Disastrous natural events are not something we really have! We certainly don’t have to worry about blizzards. We have no active volcanoes spewing out lava and toxic gasses. It is rare for us to experience a tornado or earthquake. We don’t live by the ocean, so no hurricanes. But enough of us have lived other places and have experienced serious storms. Certainly we see the devastation they cause as we catch coverage of the storms online or on the news. Often on that coverage, we hear people being warned and instructed on just how they ought to prepare for the coming storms. Sometimes they even enforce mandatory evacuation because they are afraid people will not survive if they remain. The words we are looking at this morning are the last words of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Here he gives warning and instruction to all people regarding storms that are coming their way. The question that each of us has to consider is whether we will survive those storms—and that depends entirely on what we do with what Jesus says to us. THE STORMS ARE COMING—WILL YOU SURVIVE? only if you… AVOID FAULTY FOUNDATIONS and FOLLOW JESUS’ BUILDING PLANS

AVOID FAULTY FOUNDATIONS Today we begin our summer worship series, Build on the Rock, and the Bible building project we’re taking some time to think about is a personal one. It has to do with the foundation upon which you are building your spiritual life and your hope of eternal life. In addition to that, today helps set the tone for everything else we will consider this summer because it has to do with the role of God’s Word—how we view it and what we do with it. There could be a temptation to think that you’ve got this one covered, but I encourage you to hear Jesus out because I’m guessing we’ll all see our sinful weakness exposed and will need the reassurance that only Jesus can give. Right before the words of our lesson, Jesus pointed out that “many” will be surprised on Judgment Day. Many who professed to be Christians will be shocked to hear Jesus say to them, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers (7:23).” Though during their lives they did seemingly religious things and used God’s name, they will be eternally condemned to hell. Then to illustrate this truth, Jesus told this little parable about two men with two different building plans that resulted in two wildly different outcomes. He explained that a FAULTY FOUNDATION leads to this eternal, spiritual crash—even for some who don’t realize that they have built on a FAULTY FOUNDATION. And let me be clear— that means that some who call themselves Christians will be shocked on the day of their death or the Last Day and will be lost eternally. I hope that gets your attention like it got the attention of people there on that mountainside. They were amazed at what Jesus said and the way he said it; it was unlike anything they had heard before! So let’s look at what amazed them. Let’s look first at the foolish man in Jesus’ story. He chose to build his home on sand. Sand was the foundation for his home! That’s a terrible idea! There can’t be one of us here who thinks that’s a good idea—and I’m sure there wasn’t anyone listening to Jesus that day who thought it was smart either! Jesus describes a torrential rainstorm, perhaps having in mind the kind of quick-rising downbursts that can occur in Palestine. That’s not hard for us to picture either. We’ve experienced monsoons where the rain is coming down sideways and the winds are bending palm trees over and even snapping them. A house built on sand won’t survive that; the foundation will be washed away with the flash flooding. That man’s house in the story, Jesus says, fell with a great crash. Because he told his story to illustrate the eternal crash of people on the Last Day, his implication is clear: the man died when the house came crashing down. All because of a FAULTY FOUNDATION. What we all know is a terrible idea for a house’s foundation isn’t always so obvious to us when it comes to a spiritual foundation. So what is the FAULTY FOUNDATION that Jesus wants us to avoid? 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.

If the way you have built your life is such that you don’t hear Jesus’ words, you know there is a spiritual problem. I know plenty of people like that and so do you. In fact, I continue to be concerned about church members who don’t come to worship. They are not hearing Jesus’ words. I am concerned that they have built on a sandy spiritual foundation. But just as bad as that situation is, so is the person who is hearing Jesus’ words but is not doing what Jesus says! That could be the case for any of us who actually are in worship on Sundays. That could be the case for any of us who actually do prioritize time for Bible study. The people who heard Jesus had to take spiritual inventory as he spoke to them in that sermon about not just murder but hateful words and actions toward others, lust, divorce, not seeking revenge, loving those who hate you, giving to help others in need, serving money instead of God, worry, improper judging, and more. What do our lives look like when compared with God’s will? I bet that when I listed off those Sermon on the Mount topics, a few of them made you cringe inside. You know the attitude of your heart. You know the lack of follow through on the good things God wants you to do. The words of our second lesson from James may have hit you hard too: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (James 1:22). But more than that even—even more foundational—is listening to Jesus when he tells you that he is the only way of salvation. “I’m fine there,” you might say. Not so fast. Do hints of work-righteousness darken the corners of your mind? Do you ever want to make up for your sins with good behavior? Do you ever think that overall you’re pretty good—even helping out at church—so you should be fine with God? A FAULTY FOUNDATION is hearing Jesus’ Words and not following them, not following what he says about his grace alone saving you, not following the specific things he tells you in Scripture, the things God expects to see in your life. The promise of Jesus here is that if you insist on building on a foundation other than Jesus’ Word, the storms of life are going to devastate you, but not as much as the Last Day will because the loud crash then will be your spiritual house being wiped out as you are sent to hell for eternity. Again, Jesus told this little parable to warn people that they better check their foundation, that not everyone who considers themselves to be a Christian really is. Some have built on a faulty foundation…and their crash and burn will be an eternal one. FOLLOW JESUS’ BUILDING PLANS But it doesn’t have to be that way! In fact, Jesus doesn’t want that to happen to anyone! The BUILDING PLANS that Jesus gives, if followed, will result in a person’s spiritual house withstanding the storms of life and that final great storm on the Last Day. If you Build on the Rock, the foundation he has in mind, you will survive!

So what is Jesus’ BUILDING PLAN? “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.” The building plan has two parts for creating the foundation of your spiritual house. These two things will establish a foundation that will actually support you when the storms come and your life will be preserved. The two things are: hear what Jesus says and do what Jesus says. Hearing Jesus’ words sounds like the easy part, doesn’t it? Putting ourselves in position to take in the words of Jesus is something that is within our ability. If we can get to church on Sunday, Jesus will speak to us through the words of Scripture. If we can get here by 9:00 AM for Sunday School and Adult Bible Study, Jesus will speak to us through the words of Scripture. The same goes for Wednesday night over at Civano. We have Bibles at home. If we put them somewhere that we’ll see them or end up sitting next to them, we can open them up and Jesus will speak to us through the words of Scripture. The words of the Bible are the only way God speaks to us and it is relatively easy to put ourselves into position to hear him speak to us. But you can tell from Jesus’ words that he means simply more than hearing. He means listening and learning. That means paying attention at church and in Bible study and as you read your Bible. That’s easier to do if you get some rest and are actually interested in listening and are able to pay attention. Again, not too difficult to manage for most schedules. The wise person who builds on the sure foundation “puts Jesus’ words into practice.” What Jesus literally said was, “hears these words of mine and does them.” What good is it if you know God says to pray to him but you don’t do it? What good is it if you know that God says give generous and joyful offerings to him regularly but you don’t do it? What good is it if you know God says to serve him with your time and skills but you don’t do it? What good is it if you know God says to treat others well, but you don’t do it? What good is it if you know God says share the gospel, but you don’t do it? You get the idea. What Jesus wants is for us to pay attention and to live the things he tells us. That is a solid foundation. It is the only one that will hold up during spiritual lifethreatening storms. But let’s not confuse this with work-righteousness, as if somehow our living this wonderful life following Jesus’ words is going to earn us the opportunity to grab onto an angel’s hand for our escort into heaven on the Last Day. Right before this story, Jesus said that only those who actually do the will of God the Father will go to heaven. That begs the question, “What is the will of the Father?”

This too, is fairly simple. On another occasion Jesus explained: “My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day (John 6:40).” The Father’s will is that we see Jesus, his Son, as the way to heaven. What we “do” is believe Jesus when he tells us that he is our Savior, the one who gives us eternal life. We know we can’t perfectly keep every command of God. Our sinful nature prevents that—even when we are trying. The reason our situation is not hope-less but hope-ful is that we believe Jesus when he tells us that his sacrifice on the cross paid the debt of our sin…and that we believe Jesus when he tells us that because he rose from death, we will too…and that we believe Jesus when he says that he has prepared a place for us in heaven. Trusting what Jesus says is also the “doing” he speaks of—and that is what saves us. THAT is the rock-solid foundation we build upon! When do you need this solid spiritual foundation under you? When the storms of life hit! When the lightning bolt of death comes out of nowhere and strikes your loved one. When the devastating typhoons of divorce or abuse or dysfunction slam into your family and leave wreckage in their paths. When you don’t know how the bills will be paid or why your friend ruined your relationship or abandoned you. When you’re second-guessing your decisions and you’re afraid for your future. When these “storms” are swirling around in your life and battering against your heart and your mind like a relentless thunderstorm. Our sin and a world affected by sin creates nasty “weather” that threatens all we have and know. And these can rise up unexpectedly, out of the blue. If you’ve ever been faced with these kinds of things at a time when you did not know God or at a time when your spiritual foundation wasn’t so solid, you know how awful that is. Although still painful and difficult, what a difference it makes to know that you are a child of God, that he loves you, that he forgives you, and that things here are temporary and heaven awaits. The BUILDING PLANS of Jesus tell you to listen and do—that means hear his promises and believe them. Life’s difficulties are not the worst storms a person can face. The firestorm that is the Day of Christ’s return and the end of this created world, is coming. There is only one foundation upon which a person can build their spiritual house—that is Jesus and his Word. As you and I build on that foundation, we can be absolutely certain that we will survive that final storm and enjoy the peace and safety and joy of heaven for eternity. May God bless us all as we build our spiritual house on that Rock. Amen. Now may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.