Built Upon the Rock

“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 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. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24–27, KJV 1900)

Proposition: God’s word is a sure foundation for all time, but only if we take heed of it.

Introduction: Today we are starting a new series. We are examining some of the parables of Jesus. I was moved by the spirit when I watched a film produced by Angel Studios called “Testament.” The film is about the early church in the book of Acts, but the story is told as if it happened in recent days. Throughout the film, as the followers of Jesus engaged with the world around them, they kept coming back to His parables (which the filmmakers retold through a modern perspective). What got my attention about this creative twist on these ancient sayings is how smoothly the teachings of Jesus were applied to the day and age in which we live. I was reminded again that the parables of Jesus are timeless. They are just as applicable to modern-day issues as they were to the problems of ancient Palestine.

What is a parable?

A Parable is a short, fictitious story that uses earthly elements to deliver a spiritual truth.

The toughest question then for me was, “where do I begin?” Which parables should I cover, and which one should be first?

I. The Context of the parable

A. The broader context

This teaching of Jesus comes on the heels of His largest sermon recorded for us in the Gospels. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus lays the ax to the roots of the dead, legalistic Judaism. He emphasizes to His hearers that He had not come to obliterate the Old Testament, but rather that His teachings were to fulfill it. He calls into question their fulfillment of the law through their traditions and rituals and demonstrates how in their hearts they were guilty of breaking the law. He gives them new expectations of what God desires of His people. He teaches them how to give, how fast, and how to pray.

What Jesus does not want is for his hearer to go home and fall back on their previous religiosity. He wants them to be changed. He wants them to leave with a greater understanding of God and His word. The word was supposed to impact them; to reshape the way that they lived.

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” (James 1:22–25)

If we would live lives that are laden with God’s blessing then we must be led by God’s Word

B. The immediate context

Jesus introduces the parable with the word, “therefore.” It ties together whatever is about to be said with what has already been said. Whenever you see a “wherefore” or a “therefore” in the Bible, it is important to pause and try to figure out what the “wherefore” or “therefore” is there for.

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21–23)

The parable of the wise man and foolish provides a powerful visual to understand this coming judgment. There will be some who will stand in the judgment like the foolish man in the parable, they thought themselves secure, until they found it not so. This was the case of many in Jesus day. They were religious. They were zealous. They thought themselves secure because they were of the chosen people, but they could not have been further from God.

I believe that churches are filled with people like this. They are comfortable to fill the pew. They know the songs. They can find the passages that the pastor is preaching on. They have heard it all before. They could probably quote the gospel back to you, but they no nothing of the transforming power of the gospel. They are in all reality trusting their “Christian-like” behavior to guarantee a spot in heaven. They rely on their own good works. They will hear the Lord say, “I never new you!,”

The context of this parable is to be warning of the missed blessing and potential dangers that come from ignoring Jesus teachings on the mount in particular, but also the scriptures more broadly.

II. The Content of the Parable

Of course if we are going to understand the parable, then we actually have to get into the parable. So what are the earthly elements of the story, and more importantly what do the teach us about God and His word? The earthly elements are two builders. Each decides to build a house. One man builds his house on a hard rock, the other builds on soft sand. In the process of time each house faces a tremendous storm. The house on the sand is destroyed, while the house on the rock stands firm.

A. Two kinds of hearers

Notice this, Jesus is going to address two groups of people with this parable. They are going to be profoundly different from each other in the end result, but they share one similarity. They will both have heard. They will both have had the same opportunity to get it right. However one chooses not to heed the instruction that he had be given, and the other does.

B. Two kinds of foundations

In the parable, the great difference between these two houses are the two different foundations that were laid.

1. The wise built upon the rock

The man who built upon the rock may have actually seemed foolish to some. The choice to build on the rock would be slow, expensive, and hard labor.

If you have ever worked in the construction industry then you know the immense pressure there is to complete each task as quickly as possible. The longer your company takes to complete a job the less money you make, because you have to pay your workers and you miss out on other opportunities. It would be much quicker, cheaper and easier to dig a foundation in the sand.

So it is with Jesus sayings. They don’t always make sense to us at first. Sometimes we have to really think on them a while, before they click. Often we have to really work at applying them. It can seem that a lot of time can pass with relatively little to show for. We miss out on worldly opportunities and adventures. Living according to Jesus, teachings can certainly cost us friends, family, and influence in this world. We may even be hated for the positions we take that are faithful and obedient to God’s Word.

2. The foolish built upon the sand

The foolish builder certainly saved time and money by choosing to build on the sand. He was long gone, when the first builder was just finishing the foundation. However the sand was loose. It shifted at the driving forces of wind and water. It could not remain steady in the storm the house fell and great was the fall of it. The reality is that we will all face storms in life. What is it that keeps us anchored in the storm? So many lives fall apart because they have no sure foundation. Many faiths crumble because they were built on anything but the Word of God.

God’s word is sure because it is unchanging. It is trust worthy. It has stood the test of time. The things that so many build their lives on are constantly shifting like sand. The winds of culture are always changing. The housing market always ebbs and flows. Money is always changing hand. Politicians are changed out ever couple years. World powers rise and fall. All of these things change but God’s Word, and more importantly the God of the word will not change.

III. The Conclusion of the Parable

Here is where the rubber meets the road. Here is the million dollar question. When the storms come to you, both in this life and in the next (by way of divine judgment), will your house stand or fall? What is your foundation made of? If you say that the foundation is God’s Word, but you don’t follow anything that God says you are building on the sand of your own self deception.

He that has ears to hear, let Him hear.x