03-17-2024 The Life That Stands Through a Storm

Text: Matthew 7:24-27

                                Jesus was a wonderful illustrator.  During His ministry He used parables, or short stories with metaphors, to explain His teachings.  They allowed Him to explain spiritual truths by relating everyday experiences.  Today we are going to focus on one particular one illustration that is found in Matthew 7:24-27 where Jesus said:  " (24)Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.  (25) 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.  (26) And everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.  (27) And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon the house; and it fell:  and great was the fall of it."  

                             The two men Jesus speaks of have several things in common:  they both built houses, they both heard Jesus' teachings, and they both experienced the same set of circumstances in life.  And they are a representation of all people even today.  The wise hear the Word of God and obey it; whereas the foolish hear the Word of God and ignore it.  Jesus is using this parable to illustrate the difference between true faith and false faith.

                             Let's start by looking at the wise man.  David declared in Psalm 62:6-7 that the Lord is the rock of his salvation, as well as his defense, glory, strength, and refuge.  The rock is a representation of the solid foundation on which our faith is built and that can only be Jesus Christ.  No other foundation will stand firm.  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:11 that no man can lay a foundation that will stand as strong because as he also wrote in 2 Timothy 2:19, this foundation has the seal of God who knows those who belong to Him.         

                             It is incumbent on every Christian to build their faith and trust on the foundation of salvation through Jesus Christ and the Word of God.  This is done by first trusting Him as your Savior then studying God's Word to know what is expected of the Christian who believes in and trusts God.  When we do that, we are protected by Him when the storms come into our lives and try to challenge the structure and foundation of our faith.  The parable shows when the wise man's faith is strong and true, his house stands firm in the storm.  When we have a firm foundation in Jesus Christ, that foundation will allow us to withstand every storm that Satan will throw at us.

                             We see in verse 26 of our text how the foolish man built his house on the sand.  Jesus is telling us that he may have heard the Word of God, but he ignored it.  Because of free will, we humans choose how we build the foundation of our lives.  Some choose to build it on wealth, some choose pleasure, still others choose the praise of people rather than of God.  And some choose to do the things that reflect Satan rather than God.  However one has chosen to build their foundation, Jesus tells us that the house of the foolish man will collapse.

                             What made the difference between the two builders?  The storms that came were the same.  The rain came down and the floods came to both.  The winds blew equally on both houses.  The difference was in the foundation on which the houses were built.  The house built on the rock stood firm and the house built on the sand collapsed.  All of us must examine our own foundation to ensure that we will stand firm and survive the storms that will come.  The storms are going to come.  Satan is fighting harder than ever to pull people away from God and ignore the salvation of Jesus through the cross. 

                             Many people say they only have to be good, kind, and generous to get into Heaven.  Others say a loving God won't send anyone to Hell.  This is Satan leading them away from God.  Others say, they will make their choice when they see for themselves that God and Heaven are real -- in other words when they die.  But at that point, the opportunity for choice is over.  We will either be welcomed into the arms of Jesus or sent to Hell.  False teachers and those who despise God will lie, distort, or dilute the truth of God's Word.  Some will say it no longer applies in today's world.  But no matter how many people follow those who twist the Scriptures, the foundation of God's truth never changes, is never shaken, and will never fade.  When we follow God's truth, we will live God's way and we will receive the rewards He promised for our faithfulness to Him. 

                             Being a good person and doing good deeds will never get anyone into Heaven.  The first step is accepting Jesus as the Son of the Living God and that He became the sacrifice for our sin.  Then we must always study God's Word to learn how He expects His people to live.  A good place to start is the Ten Commandants and the life of Jesus as our example.  The commandments teach us the things that are important to God in how we live.  Jesus is source of our salvation and the example we are to follow through what He taught, how He treated people, and how He lived while on earth.  When we study the Word of God, we will learn how much He loves us and wants us to be with Him for eternity.  If we choose to build our foundation on the rock of Jesus, we can and will weather all the storms of life.  When we study His Word to learn how others failed and succeeded, we will understand how strong that rock is and how we can avoid the things that will collapse our foundation. 

                             Building our foundation on the rock means to be a hearing and responding Christian, not a phony and superficial one.  We learn how to make and keep our foundation strong by following God's Word.  Like a house of cards, the fool's life will crumble because his foundation is weak.  Many are headed for destruction -- not always out of stubbornness, but more often out of thoughtlessness or ignorance.  Most people don't deliberately seek to build on a false or inferior foundation; they just don't think about their life's purpose.  Those of us who have made the decision to follow Jesus can help others stop and think about where their lives are headed.  We can point out the consequences of ignoring Jesus' message and help them to see the benefits of following Him.

                             If you haven't yet made that decision to accept Jesus as your Savior,  please don't wait any longer.  Come to me anytime and I will answer your questions and help you to take that step that will decide what eternity will be for you.  Our God is patient, but there will come a time when it will be too late to decide where you want to end up for eternity:  with Jesus in Heaven or with Satan in Hell. 

                             Until we meet again, may God bless and keep you, may He shine His light on you, show you grace, and give you peace in all the days ahead.