The Only Foundation to Build On

The foundation we build on today is the strength we will stand in tomorrow.

Matthew 7:24–29 ““Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.”

Rock is solid. It can withstand a lot of pressure from the elements. Jesus says that a house built on a solid foundation can withstand anything the elements throw against it. Rain, floods, and winds won’t cause it to collapse. However, Jesus also says that a house built on sand will not withstand the elements. Sand is very shifty. Science tells us that sand is one of the least strong materials. A house built on an unsteady foundation like sand, Jesus says it will collapse with a mighty crash.

What Jesus was really trying to tell us is whoever listens to His teachings (lives their life based on the Word of God), they are like the person who built their life on the solid foundation of rock. Whoever listens but doesn’t follow the Word of God is considered foolish by Jesus’ words. They are like those who build their house on sand.

1. ONCE WE ARE PRESENTED WITH INFORMATION, WE HAVE A CHOICE TO MAKE.

V24 ““Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock., 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.

The house, in this passage, represents us.

The Bible calls us a temple (1 Cor 6:19)

It is not enough to just hear what the Word of God says. We must make a decision about what to do with the information we have been given.

James 1:21–25 “So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.”

The Word of God isn’t just something to read for fun (it can be), but it is truly something that have the ability to expose things in your life that can save your soul. (Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” )

The Word of God is like a mirror. It reveals, exposes, and shows what you are truly. It reveals intents, thoughts, desires, and the why behind your actions.

By just hearing the Word and not doing it, you are as unstable as a person who looks in the mirror and forgets what they look like.

James 1:25 “But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.”

The words “look carefully” means to peer through, look into.”

We have to put our focus on the Word and be intentional with it in our actions and listening.

It doesn’t say you will be perfect, but it says the perfect law sets you free. What is that perfect law?

Romans 5:8 “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

Ephesians 2:8–9 “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

Romans 8:2 “And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”

Thats why after every message we make room to give you an opportunity to respond.

The Word of God demands a response, a decision.

Ask yourself: AM I TAKING THE WORD SERIOUSLY OR AM I UNDERESTIMATING ITS POWER?

2. WE NEED TO BE PREPARED TO FACE HARD TIMES.

V25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. V27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

James 1:2 “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way....

It is not a matter if troubles come, but when.

Being in Christ does not exempt us from suffering.

Two things can result from facing trials as a believer: God delivers you from it or God delivers you through it.

James 1:2–4 “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

God uses trials to grow our faith and increase our level of endurance

“So let it grow...”

We have a choice whether we let trials grow our roots down into God or let them take us out.

Psalm 1:1-3 “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

The Word of God is the anchor for life’s storms.

We must build our foundation on the Word and let our roots grow down into it as life comes and goes. Only then will we bear fruit in every season.

3. TO LIVE WITH AUTHORITY, YOU MUST LIVE UNDER AUTHORITY.

V29 for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

Jesus taught and was used in authority because He was submitted to His Father, God. (John 5:19 “So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” )

Acts 19:11–16 “God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled. A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.”

These men said all the right things, but there was one thing missing: they were not living their lives submitted to the Word of God

The fact of the matter is that you can say all the right phrases, but you can not be living on the foundation of Jesus, and therefore, you can not walk in His authority.

God has people He wants you to reach. He has miracles He wants to perform through you. He has given you gifts He wants to use through you. He wants to cast out demons and share the Gospel with the whole world.

To do anything miraculous, you have to understand the principle of authority.

You cannot use a method or mere words to do anything powerful in the spirit realm. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Zechariah 4:6–7 “Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Nothing, not even a mighty mountain, will stand in Zerubbabel’s way; it will become a level plain before him....

The foundation we build on today is the strength we stand in tomorrow.

What foundation are you building on?