Survey of a Fallen House
Notes
Transcript
MIT: To build on the rock is to obey the words Jesus has spoken.
MIS: No building is relevant if not built on the Rock, thus, are you being obedient?
Introduction
Introduction
Thank you(s)
“Thank you, Mt. Tabor Baptist Church for having me here with you this morning.”
“On behalf of many students at Southeastern, thank you for giving to the Cooperative Program. Because of your givings, I am able to to stand here with you, today.”
The summer of 2011 was the first time I moved by myself. As a 21 years old, and single at the time, you can imagine that my demands for a home were few.
😅All I needed was a room, a kitchen and wifi!
I found a place that met my few demands, so I decided to move forward with it.
However, everything changed when I visited this home the second time. We had a small storm that day and when I walked in the apartment, it was flooded! The unit had serious leaking problems.
Had it not been for this providential storm, I would never have noticed the flaws in this apartment.
“In the same way, our text for this morning shows us that. these "providential storms" that often hit our lives, present us with an excellent opportunity to identify the spiritual flaws of our lives.
Please turn with me to Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Preface
Preface
The “Sermon of the Mount” is perhaps, one of Jesus’ most well-know discourse. Our passage today is found in the conclusion of such discourse.
If you read carefully the Sermon of the Mount (which I highly encourage you to do, if you haven’t done it), you will notice that this discourse is a summary of the Christian life.
It include some of Jesus most famous (and challenging) teaching.
The Beatitudes.
“You have heard that… But I say to you...”
“Turn the other cheek”
“Love your enemies and pray for them...”
The Lord’s Prayer
“Lay up your treasures in Heaven”
“Seek first the Kingdom of Heaven”
“The speck in your brother’s eye”
The Golden Rule
“Depart from me, I never knew you”
Because of the high standard raised by the Sermon of the Mount, many people argue Jesus never intended this sermon to be lived out on this side of eternity. I’m inclined to disagree.
Jesus’ closing words in Matthew 7:24-27 are nothing but a call to action.
Preaching a sermon is like flying a plane.
Your introduction is your “take off”.
As you expound the text, you are “cruising through the sky”.
Your conclusion and call to action, is your “landing”.
Every sermon has to “land” somewhere, but It can’t land in the same place from where it “took off”.
God’s word ought to change us, transform us!
We shouldn’t leave from God’s word the same way we arrived.
There is no point in flying us around until to leave us in the same place.
No! Each time, it needs to “land” closer to Christ.
Jesus makes the same exhortation here.
Jesus’ Words are ment to transform us.
But real transformation only happens when we live out Jesus’ Words.
“Just as he did 2,000 years, Jesus is inviting us today to submit ourselves under the sanctifying ministry of His word, less our lives crumbles and fall.”
This morning I want us to look at three (3) insights from a fallen house:
The Foundation is Essential
The House is not Decisive
The Storm is Conclusive
The Foundation is Essential
The Foundation is Essential
“Our first insight is found in the surface of our passage, but first let us consider the main characters of the story.”
The Builders
The Builders
Jesus presents us with two (2) builders who appear to have the same conditions.
Both builders appear to have the same house.
Both houses are hit with the same storm .
But the outcome of both houses are different.
While one house stood firm during the storm...
....The other house collapsed due to the storm.
“What made the difference? Their foundations.”
The Foundation
The Foundation
“One house was built on the rock, while the other was built on the sand.”
However, each foundation represents a group of people.
Remember, Jesus is applying this analogy to his audience/listeners.
Matthew 7:24 (ESV)
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matthew 7:26 (ESV)
26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
Both groups of people heard the words of Jesus, but only one put into practice, while the other didn’t.
“The Sermon on the Mount, as beautiful and lofty as it my sound, was meant to be put into actions. Not simply to be admired or contemplated.”
In other words, the only thing that matters is: obedience.
⚠️“Please don’t get me wrong!”
I am not saying salvation by works. Let alone, sanctification by works.
Jesus Christ alone is the author and finisher of our faith! (Heb12:2)
However, a faith that does not translates into obedience, is not faith at all.
Those who are genuinely saved are those who prove themselves to be doers of the Word. When the seed takes root and grows, there is fruit.
R. C. Sproul
“Having said that, what do these foundations represent then?
Our disposition to the Word of God.
Rock
It represents firmness and security.
This security is not grounded merely in Jesus' words, but in our diligence to put them into action.
Sand
On the contrary, sand represents instability and insecurity.
The sand represent those who listen to God’s word, perhaps even willingly, yet, fail to put it into action.
They marvel at it, but not enough to put it into practice.
The Lesson
The Lesson
The most important part of the entire building is the foundation. The foundation alone (rock or sand) is what made the difference between prevailing and collapsing.
Matthew 7:25 (ESV)
25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
The size or shape of the house is irrelevant, if it is built on the wrong foundation.
A small house built in the right place is more secure than a mansion built on the wrong place.
The same is true in our lives.
There are people:
With impressive bible knowledge.
Who are very involved in the programs of the Church.
Who’s been part of the church from “the cradle to the grave”
They appear to be "spiritual mansions", yet their lives are not founded on the rock.
For they are not doers.
Their lives have not been transformed by the Word of the Gospel.
Sooner or later, when the storm comes , their lives crumble, because they were never built on the rock of obedience.
The Sacrifice
The Sacrifice
“You are probably wondering, how come? How come someone whose being sitting under the preaching of God’s Word builds his life on the sand?”
Luke gives us the answer: A great foundation comes at a great cost .
Luke 6:47–49 (ESV)
47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
The first man was not only wise, but also diligent. He dug deep and hard until he found a rock to build his house upon.
The later man was fool and lazy. He rushed to build his house without securing a good foundation.
Listening God’s word is easy. Living it out is hard work!
It means crawling your way through the narrow way, when everyone else is comfortably cruising through the wide way.
It means cutting against the grain of our own fleshly desires.
It means never taking a day off against your enemy, the devil .
But it makes all the difference in the world.
My brothers and sisters of Mt Tabor, I am compelled to ask you: Upon what foundation are you building your life?
Is your life built upon a lifestyle that resembles Christianity?
Is your life built on how many church events you can cram in your calendar?
Is your life built on how many Bible doctrine you can memorize?
Or is your life built upon the finish work of Christ, and his power to transform your life?
It is easy to be a christian in the church. It is hard to be a christian in your home.
It is easy to point out someone’s doctrinal error. Its hard to love them regardless.
It is easy to be engage in theology debates with your Sunday school, it is hard to be engage in gospel conversations with your neighbor. (I know!)
“You see, the fool who built his house in the sand is not the unbeliever who refuses to give His life to Christ. The fool who built in the sand is the “Christian” who refuses to give his Life to Christ.”
⏸️
“Which leads me into our second insight…”
The House is not Decisive
The House is not Decisive
What do these houses represent? Our “lives”.
Every decision we make is a new brick we lay down.
Every direction we take is a new house division build.
“In a sense, we are constantly ‘building’ our lives.”
The Houses
The Houses
“We should not go too far with these analogies, but I would like for us to consider very quickly, what do we learn about these houses?”
The text seems to imply that both houses are identical .
Both houses appear to be located near to each other (cf. vv25,27 - they are hit by the storm).
The only thing different is the foundation on which they were built - and that makes ALL the difference.
So, what do these houses teach us?
At first glance, it is hard to distinguish the wise builder from the fool .
⚠️Please Note! Jesus is not talking about a person who professes to be Christian and one who doesn’t.
Jesus is talking about two “professing believers!”
Again, Luke shares more light here:
Luke 6:46–47 (ESV)
46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? 47 Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:
“If both builders were standing here with us today, and they share more about themselves, they would probably share something like this...”
We both “come to church” every week.
We read our Bibles faithfully.
We give money to the church regularly.
It would be hard to tell the difference from one to the other, because their greatest difference lays not in the surface, but underneath the surface.
They build their houses around us. In the “christian neighborhood” of the church, so to speak.
Yet, their houses, their lives, are built on sand.
The Deceive
The Deceive
Sadly, Jesus calles them “fool”, for they deceives themselves.
They believe with all their heart that their houses are secure.
They don’t build their houses expecting it to crumble.
The fool builder is fully convinced that his house will stand firm, because his faith does not rest on where he built his house, but on how he built his house!
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
He convinced himself that being "hearers of the word" alone is good enough.
It is typical of these “fools” to apply God’s words to others, but not to themselves.
They are like river stones, always in the water, but dry on the inside.
Is there a fool among us?
Is there someone among us who lives convinced that listening to the God’s only, is enough?
Is there someone among us who is happy with being around the Church, rather than being the Church?
Is there a fool among us who is more concerned with the godly appearance of his life, than with the salvation of his soul?
🔥I beg you! Look inside your heart! Do you see any fruit of the Spirit of God in you?!
Has your faith in Christ make you more loving to those around you?
Does your faith in Christ gives you peace and comfort despise your troubles?
Are you more kind to others because of how kind God has been to you?
Do you exhibit more self-control when you face temptations?
⬇️“It’s not too late yet... God is extending His love and grace to you today.”
✝️[Preach the Gospel briefly]
“You are probably wondering, ‘how can I make sure on what foundation my life is built?’ Our third insight will give us the answer: the storm.”
The Storm is Conclusive
The Storm is Conclusive
What does the storm represent here? Those providential events that God orchestrates, which reveals our foundations.
Sickness
Death
Loneliness
Financial crisis.
❤️A season without a pastor?
“Fill in the blank”
“We are talking about those events of which we have no control.”
They come sudden .
They are ill-timed.
They are certain.
Both the wise and the fool were struck by the storm .
No one is free from them.
They put pressure on our lives.
What do these storm teach us? They reveal our foundation.
Every house remains standing in quiet times.
But when the storm hits, the quality of your foundations is revealed.
“True piety is not fully distinguished from its counterfeit, till it comes to the trial.”
-John Calvin
Storms, though inconvenient, are necessary.
They reveal to us the true, real conditions of our house, and where it needs repair.
They reveal to us where the "leaks" are in our life.
“More often than not, storm are a sigh of God’s love and kindness towards us. For they give us warnings, before it is too late.”
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
The Promise
The Promise
“I know it is easy to look at this passage (Mt 7:24-27) and gravitates towards the warning of ‘don’t building your house on the sand’ - I, myself, am guilty of that too.”
However, there is also a great Gospel promise for us here: If ______________, then, no storm can overcome us!
If our lives are built on the Rock...
If we sit under the teaching of God’s word and let it transform our lives...
If the Gospel is your bedrock foundation from where you live every momento of your life...
⬇️If we obey God’s word, not as means to justify ourselves and gain favor before God, but as a response to the reality that we have already been loved and justified in Christ...
Mt. Tabor, if you are standing firm in the finished work of Christ, and if you are letting the word of God transform you into the likeness of Christ, there is no storm you can’t weather.
🔥Not because you are strong, but because you are weak.
⬇️Your weakness pushes you to cling to the Rock!
Jesus himself said it in the Sermon of the Mount:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
I love how C.H. Spurgeon put it...
“I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the Rock of Ages”
- C.H. Spurgeon
⏸️
The Fall
The Fall
“Nonetheless, there is a great dangerous too. If your live is built on the sand, the same waves will destroy your facade /fesad/.”
Jesus describes the fall of this house as “great ” (v27).
Great was his loss - Everything he ever leaned on, gone.
Great was his surprise .
Great was his shame - For he built near the rock, but not on the rock.
“These are the ruins of ‘christian people’ who articulated the Gospel countless times, but never lived it.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
“I am not costume to give invitations, but I will make a exception today.”
Is water flooding into your house?
Can you see the leaks in your life?
Run out of that house! Don’t try to save it, but it was built on the sand.
Run out and today, start to build you life on the Rock of Ages.
Be good listeners, but better doers of the word of God.
[Pray]