ROCK, SAND AND RAIN
Matthew 7:24-27 NKJV
24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
Chapter seven is the last chapter of the Sermon on the Mount, and our verses for today are the concluding words of Jesus.
Jesus is presenting a contrast between those who hear His words with those who hear and put His words into practice. The contrast is between the wise and the foolish. The solid foundation and the weak foundation. And Jesus uses the example of building a house to make His point.
The wise is the one who hears the words of Jesus and acts on them. He does them. Jesus said this person is like a man building his house on the rock as a foundation. When Luke writes of this same account in his gospel, he gives even more insight. Luke's account says the wise man digs deep and builds his house on the rock. I appreciate the extra information. Putting God's Word into practice in our lives is not the easiest way. If you have ever dug a significant hole with a shovel, you know it's work. There were no backhoes in Jesus' day, so this was manual labor. It requires more of us to dig a deep hole and build, and it requires more of us to put God's Word into practice in our lives.
The foolish one is the one who only hears the words of Jesus. And this person thinks that's enough, never putting those words into practice. Hearing is important but the real results come from doing. Hearing without doing is building a house on the sand. No digging is required and the house goes up.
At face value, two houses have been built, and they may look similar from outward appearances. And if the sun is shining and it's good weather, there is no difference. The difference shows up when the problems show up. When the storm came, the house built on the rock withstood the winds, rain, and floods. Luke tells us that the inclement weather could not shake this house. But the house built on the sand had a dramatically different end result. The storm won, and this house collapsed. Jesus said its fall was significant.
The strength of the house is in the foundation. And the strength of our lives is in the foundation of hearing and acting on God's Word. This is how we came to salvation. We heard the good news about Jesus dying for our sins and being raised from the dead. We heard that if we were willing to accept Him and proclaim Him as the Lord of our life, we would receive salvation. Everyone who hears those words has a choice. Hear and dismiss or hear and act. And it's only those who act who are saved. All of us know people we love and care about, good people. But these good people have not acted on God's Word and received Christ as their Savior. This hurts our hearts because we know what is coming.
By the same token, we have all had areas in our lives where we have acted on God's Word and been able to stand when the storms of life came. It may have been the storms of sickness, unexpected loss, or relational distress. No one is exempt from storms. But hearing God's Word and acting on what He has said has enabled us to keep standing. And when the storm is over we are still there. Joy and I can solemnly testify that we have seen storms hit our family, health, finances, mental and emotional state. In 42 years, you are going to see some storms. But as we have clung to the Lord and His Word, He has enabled us to stand. We are so grateful that from the beginning of our marriage, we were taught the importance of putting God's Word into practice. We, by no means, have done it perfectly, but we are still standing. Maybe missing some shutters and had some shingles blown off, but we are still standing. Not because we are special or because of our position in the church. But because we are still learning to build on the rock that does not crack and never fails.
PRAYER
Lord, thank You for giving a way for me to build a solid life. Thank You that acting on Your Word has provided my eternal salvation and salvation from the storms of life. A foundation built on You and Your words is stronger than the storms.