Two Foundations

Introduction

This is the final teaching in our series through the SotM

Jesus is now concluding everything he has had to say

And he leaves his audience with an enlightening illustration

Scripture Reading:

Matthew 7:24–29 (CSB)

“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.

The Two Men

Jesus ends his sermon with this vivid picture

He has been hammering down two groups - there is no middle ground

People who store treasures on earth vs heaven

People full of darkness or light

People serving money or God

People that take the wide road to destruction vs the narrow difficult road to life

Bad trees with bad fruit vs Good trees with good fruit

People that say they know Jesus vs People that actually know Jesus

And now here we see a story about two men

ASK: What is the difference between these men?

Built on sand vs Rock

Heard doesn’t act vs heard and acts

I don’t want us to miss something super important here

In this sermon, Jesus is offering us great wisdom not just moral advice

He’s not just saying this is the right things to do so just do it

“Loving your enemy is the high ground so just do it”

Sometimes we see Jesus like this and it misses the whole point of following Jesus

We often forget that Jesus was the wisest man to ever live

He knew how to live a meaningful life

He knows how humans are meant to live

He’s not just saying these things just because they are the morally right things to do

He’s telling us these things because they are the best way we could ever live our lives

Listen to the imagery Jesus gives us:

Both men heard the words of Jesus but only one decides to do them

He is like a wise man building his house on a solid foundation

The second man decides to build his house on sand

He knows it’s not secure but he’s not thinking in the long run

He is foolish

Houses are a big investment of our time and resources

How much more are our lives?

What are you building your life on?

You have all heard the word of Jesus

You know how you should be living your life

You know the sin that you struggle with

You know the people in your life that you are called to love

Are you building your life on the foundation of Jesus’s teachings?

Sometimes we are unsure where our live is built

But what in the story reveals the foundation?

A storm

Storms in Our Life

Storms in our lives often reveal where our foundations are and how strong they are

If your foundation is on being the top athlete, an injury could come your way and your life could come crashing down

1930s or 2008 stock market crash

If your foundation is a relationship you are in and you break up

Storms can be good things, because they show us where we place our hope and trust

And notice that the storm comes and batters both houses

We said this last week, but following Jesus does not mean a life free from problems and storms in our lives

But it does offer us a strong foundation

So that when (not if) a storm comes, our lives don’t collapse

So when we feel like a storm in our life is causing everything to crash down

We must ask ourselves: What foundation am I set on?

Why am I disappointed? What is my hope in?

I think a lot of time we turn this into an all or nothing storm

A storm that comes and wipes our whole life from underneath us

We may experience that a few times, but more regularly we have small mini-storms that come our way

Our lives aren’t necessarily one of the two men but probably somewhere in between

I hope that all of us in some form or another in this room have Jesus as the foundation of our life

But there are also other parts of our lives where Jesus is not the foundation

We are on part rock and part sand

And storms come and the parts of our lives crumble

Our lives (in the long span) is a constant cycle of storms coming and destroying our foundation and then us rebuilding it on Christ

Slowly, more and more of our lives are on the strong foundation

Storms come and we do not shake or collapse

And you don’t build a house overnight

This is a long process, our entire lives

The slow, day-by-day process of building our lives on Jesus

The Exhortation

I think it is crazy how Jesus ends this sermon

This is one of the most amazing collections of Jesus’s teachings on how we relate to God and others

And he ends it abruptly with this story

This is a mic drop moment

Matthew 7:26–29 (CSB)

But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.

This is serious

Later Paul picks up this metaphor of us as builders:

1 Corinthians 3:10–15 (CSB)

According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one is to be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become obvious. For the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will experience loss, but he himself will be saved—but only as through fire.

Conclusion

I want to leave you with the same question Jesus left his listeners with:

What are you building your life on?

Serious think about this:

What is my foundation, what is my goal in life?

Sports, Academics, Career, Family, Music, Art, etc.

Through the SotM, Jesus has been sharing with us what it means to live life like Jesus

How to enjoy and partake in the life of Jesus

Life of Jesus vs. Lifestyle of Jesus

Guys, it is so simple yet so difficult

It is a simple singular goal - following Jesus

But it looks different for each of us and often means doing things we don’t want to do/like to do

I know you all have some free time,

I want to encourage you all to reread the Sermon on the Mount sometime

It’s only 3 chapters and shouldn’t take very long

Ask God to show you what it means to follow Jesus in your circumstances

It might be regarding how to deal with lust or anger

It might be a calling to love those who hate us

It might be a deeper conviction to pray and give to those in need

Jesus has a plan for your life

And I don’t mean this in a cliche way

And I also don’t mean it in a trite way

(He has a good plan that entails no hardships or suffering)

He has a real plan, with ups and downs, with conflict and growth, filled with other people in community

He’s asking for your whole life

Matthew 6:33 (CSB)

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

Build your life on Jesus