What is Your Foundation Built On?

How to have a successful Christian life:

Matthew 7:24–27 KJV 1900

24 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: 25 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. 26 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: 27 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.

That is a lot to take in, so let’s simplify this. Let me narrow this entire passage down to just two words found in verse 24: “Hear” and “Do”. James echoes the words of his brother Jesus:

James 1:22–25 KJV 1900

22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 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: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 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.

The success of your life as a Christian will come down to who well you follow these two principles: Hear and Do. Jesus is not referring to Himself as the “rock” or foundation here, though He is our Rock and foundation on salvation. Here in this passage His focus is on His “sayings”, not Himself. He is referring to His “sayings” aka: His Word, the Bible. A successfull Christian life cannot happen unless you are willing to do what you hear: obey what His Word says.

Notice those who hear and do are promised...

Blessing 24-25

Assumed is a relationship.

You cannot build your life on a foundation of the Word of God unless you first are in the family of God.

If you are in the family, then you MUST be in the Word, reading it, meditating on it. Its the bedrock of your life, the foundation upon which your life is built! In lower Manhattan, those skyscrapers you see towering into the sky have a foundation that in some places is over 150 feet deep! That is how they are able to withstand the forces of nature thrust upon them!

How deep are your roots in the Word of God?

Jesus says that the “wise man” will build his house on the rock of God’s Word. Notice that the wise man and the foolish man, who sets his foundation on the surface, both face the same storm, both have access to the same materials, but the wise man’s house endures the storm. Why? Because the wise man is diligent. he digs down deep and lays his foundation upon the never moving, never changing rock of God’s Word.

God does not spare His people from difficulty, He equips them to handle the difficulty. God knows that strength comes from resistance. Trials are meant to make us stronger. The rain can descend on the wise man, the floods may rise on the wise man, the winds may beat on the wise man, but because he is built on the rock, he will stand! There is blessing promised to the child of God who will build his house on God’s word, but for the one who will not there is the promise of...

Ruin v. 26-27

“And every one that HEARETH these sayings of mine, and DOETH them not…”

The fool hears what is said, but doesn’t obey what he is told.

The fool knows he should, agrees that it is right, but does not take the initiative to put that knowledge into action. He neglects God’s Word and when the storms of life come, as the children’s song goes, the “House on the sand goes splat!”

Taking advice from the world is like building your house on the sand. The first storm will wash away the foundation and send everything crashing down.

It’s sad when an unsaved person succumbs to a storm in life. It is a tragedy when it happens in the life of a child of God.

Conclusion:

Hear and do. Jesus says essentially in this passage that this is the secret of success in the Christian’s life. Hear what He says, and do it. So simple, yet so difficult.

Will you be wise, or will you be foolish? No one can answer that question but you.