The Danger of a False Foundation
Notes
Transcript
Good morning church! If you have your Bible’s please go ahead and flip on over to Matthew 7:24-27. We’re getting oh so close to the end of the SM which quite honestly is a little sad for me. This has had a great impact on my own heart and mind.
IF you don’t have a Bible we have some on that back table that is our gift to you. While we have the words on the screen or you might use an app on your phone, we believe it is important to have the book in your hand. When reading the Bible with a book in your hand it helps you see that this passage is in the context of something and should be understood accordingly. It’s dangerous to read the Bible in isolation. That’s how passages are manipulated. Having the book in our hand helps us see and remember the context. So, grab a Bible if you don’t have one.
We’re going to be looking at what is probably a very familiar passage to most of us today. You probably can sing this passage…”the wise man built his house upon the rock, the wise man built his house upon the rock, the wise man built his house upon the rock and house on the rock stood firm”…anybody else know the song? Kids? Well instead of singing the song, let’s read the passage, pray and then dive into it. Matthew 7:24-27
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 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. 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. 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.”
Pray.
I was riding back from the pool yesterday with my mom and we started talking about the differences between her generation and my generation and even the generations before hers and after mine. Tim Keller is one of my heroes of the faith and he talks about how the older than me generation is duty based. Their perspective on life is that they have certain duties to fulfill and it doesn’t matter what it cost, they must fulfill their duty. So I have the duty to provide for my family. I’ll go work a 100 hour work week to make sure that they want for nothing. I have a duty to protect my country, so I’ll go to war. I have a duty to my church, so I’ll be there every time the doors are open and have my family with me. Now I’m not knocking duty, we do have God-given responsibilities, but the problem with the duty bound person is that they end up neglecting the more important things of life because of their duty.
Enter in my generation—and really this goes back to a generation before me in some instances—kids are raised neglected because their parents are bound to their duties—work, church, country—so what does my generation do in response? Well it’s not about what you’re bound to do, it’s about what you want to do. You do what’s best for you. You take care of you. Whatever that means or whatever that looks like. Be yourself. Treat yourself. The pendulum has swung from an entirely outward focus to an entirely inward focus. Individualism now reigns. But as we have seen just from reading the news, both of these things leave behind a mess. The foundation upon which they are built is shifting sand.
But here’s the thing about Kingdom People, Kingdom People don’t have a foundation that gives way. They have a foundation that is a firm foundation, a rock. And because they are built upon the rock do you know what they do? Kingdom People hear and respond in obedience to God’s word because of their foundation. That’s our main point for today. Kingdom People hear and respond in obedience to God’s word because of their foundation. So here’s what we’re going to do this morning. We’re going to look at the wise man and the foolish man and then we’re going to ask some questions about our own foundations. Let’s start where Jesus does, with the wise man.
Kingdom People hear and do.
Kingdom People hear and do.
Now I just want to ask some really basic questions of this passage. What do Kingdom People hear? This should be obvious for us…Matthew 7:24
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
“Everyone who hears these words of mine.” Hear Jesus is making his last point, his final push in this sermon and he’s calling those who are listening to him, this group of new disciples, the crowd that’s gathered around, and he’s calling them to remember what he has just preached. The author of this sermon, Matthew, is calling the reader of this book to remember what we’ve spent the past 25 weeks studying. So what do “these words of mine” show us and tell us?
They tell us that those who truly follow Jesus are marked by the characteristics found in the beatitudes. They’re poor in spirit, they mourn their sin, they’re meek, they hunger and thirst for righteousness, they’re merciful, they’re pure in heart, they’re peacemakers and they suffer persecution because they live righteously. Followers of Jesus, Kingdom people are marked by a righteousness that is greater than the Pharisees. They see the heart of the law of God, which Jesus explained in chapter 5, as good and desire to live accordingly. Because Kingdom People are living in the righteousness of God they reflect their relationship with God toward others. They’re generous. They’re forgiving. They’re reconciling. Kingdom People pursue a pure relationship with God through their prayer and fasting. (By the way, the first Tuesday of the month is in a couple days. If you’re in town we’d love to have you join us from 12-1 as we pray and fast.) So their religion is pure because it’s built on a relationship and that flows into a relationship with ourselves that is wholesome. Kingdom People don’t store up treasures on earth, but in heaven. They aren’t anxious about life and they don’t judge others with the finality that God does. But loves them as Christ has loved us.
Now, having heard all of that, the wise man, the Kingdom Person responds. But how does he respond? In Jesus’ illustration here he responds by building a house. In Luke’s retelling of this story he has an important detail about how he goes about building the house. Luke 6:47-48
Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: 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.
The wise man dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. In other words, the wise man counted the cost and did the work. He saw who he was and that if he tried to build upon the dirt of himself, it wouldn’t stand. So he dug deep, he got rid of everything that was in the way and built on the rock. This is an acknowledging of who you are and a surrendering of yourself to live in submission to the Lordship of Christ. It’s not trusting in your works or your deeds or your knowledge, but in the rock of Christ. This isn’t, as we looked at two weeks ago, about following the right teacher and listening to the right podcast and reading the right books and having all this knowledge. It isn’t as we looked at last week about having the right confession and saying the right thing, or doing the right thing even with the right motive. Submitting to the lordship of Jesus isn’t just about doing, it’s about becoming. The beatitudes aren’t some deeds that we apply our will power to do, but are characteristics to become.
The verb Jesus uses here for the one that hears and does or acts is the Greek word poieo. “It indicates that obedience to Jesus’ teaching characterizes the hearers’ lifestyle.” Kingdom People do the word of Jesus not out of a desire to perform or a duty to accomplish or a feeling to be had, that’s what the Pharisees did. Kingdom People do the word of Jesus because of who they’ve become. But what in the world would enable a person to become like this?
I think there’s 3 things that enable a person to do God’s word, to obey him and to build upon the rock. They’re all found back in the beatitudes. First, they have a greater perspective. Kingdom People as we saw in Luke have counted the cost. They have looked at what kind of foundation that their works, their knowledge, their confession, their following would make and it causes them to see just how poor it truly is. Kingdom People see that they or the things of this world are not a firm foundation. Their perspective is marked by their poorness of spirit and that causes them to mourn. They weep over the brokenness that they find both internally and externally.
Second, because Kingdom People are mourn and poor in spirit they then long for something more. They’re meek—they want to submit to the Lord and be controlled or led by him. They hunger and thirst for righteousness. They desire what God has always intended for them and that desire overrules all other desires. Their meekness and hungering show what they truly love. They have a greater love for Jesus than they do for themselves.
And when that’s true, when you have a greater perspective on yourself and a greater love for Jesus, do you know what he gives you? He gives you a new nature. One that’s marked by mercy, by purity, and by peace. When you have a greater perspective, a greater love, and a new nature, living a life characterized by the Sermon on the Mount, doing what you have heard Jesus call you to, not only becomes possible, it becomes expected.
The wise man, Kingdom People, hear and do the words of Jesus, they respond in obedience to him, they live out the sermon on the mount because they have a greater perspective, a greater love, and a new nature. If that’s true of the wise man, of Kingdom People, what about the foolish man? That’s our second point for today:
Foolish people hear and don’t
Foolish people hear and don’t
The wise man hears the words of Jesus and does, but let’s look back at the one Jesus calls a foolish man. Matt. 7:26
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.
What does the foolish man hear? “These words of mine.” Just like the wise man, the foolish man hears what Jesus is saying. He’s listened to the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus knows that in the crowd there will be people who listen and don’t do. Even in the disciples there is one who will listen and not do. Jesus knows that there’s going to be a group of people who come in and listen to all of these expositions of the Sermon on the Mount, but leave the exact same as before they came in.
But you know what’s interesting? Even in their leaving unchanged, they’re still building. Doesn’t Jesus say the one who hears and doesn’t do builds? But what’s different about the building of these two? It’s their foundation. And church, that’s what scary. It’s a lot easier for us to be able to look at those outside the church and see and point out all of their flaws and say that they’re the ones that need saving. But Jesus isn’t addressing that group. Just like last week, he’s addressing those who are sitting here listening to what he says.
Externally, these two houses are going to look the same. We can look back at what we talked about last week where we saw those who have the right confession—they call Jesus Lord because they actually believe him to be God—they have the right action—they cast out demons, prophesied, and performed many mighty works—and they have the right motive—they work “in Jesus name”. Do you know what the difference externally is between the wise and the foolish person’s house is? Nothing. They look exactly the same. They are even built within close proximity of each other because they are here hearing the same words.
Externally this is the person that goes to church faithfully. They bring their family and want their kids to be raised in the fear and admonition of the Lord. They might serve. They might not. They might teach. They might be plugged into the life of the community of the church or they might just be a casual church goer who’s happy to let people onto their front porch, but not past their front door. They want to know, but not really be known.
Do you see who this text is addressing today? It’s not those outside the church; it’s those inside. It’s you and it’s me. There are two types of people in this room: those who have built a house on a solid foundation and hear and respond to the word of God in obedience and then there are those who have built on shifting sands. And there is something about that group of people that is preventing them from responding in obedience to God’s word. What is it? What is it that prevents him from hearing & doing? Well it’s the inverse of those who hear and do.
The wise man has the right perspective, but the foolish man has the wrong perspective. He thinks that he is strong enough to withstand the storms—and we’re going to talk about what those storms are here in a minute. The foolish man thinks he is rich enough to pay off his debt by his good deeds, or works, or knowledge. His perspective is all wrong because it’s all inward. This is the duty bound man (or woman) that says no matter what storms come I must do this. Their perspective is all about them.
But it’s not just that they have the wrong perspective, they also have the wrong love. They love themselves more than anything so they chase after whatever makes them feel significant or valued or loved. This is the emotional individual who says that whatever storms hit I’ve got to take care of me and I’ll do whatever it takes to take care of me. No matter what I abandon or not matter what I forsake, it’s all about me.
So the foolish man has the wrong perspective, the wrong love, and he still maintains the sinful nature. He doesn’t hunger and thirst for righteousness, he isn’t marked by a lifestyle of being a peacemaker or mercy extender. Sure he might do good works and good deeds and be wise and caring and theologically intelligent, but at the end of the day those things aren’t who he is they’re just things he does for his own gratification.
So we have two men, one who is wise and one who is foolish, and both have heard the words of Jesus, and both are building a house, just on two different foundations. The next thing we must look at then is what happens to both men? That’s point number 3:
What happens to both men?
What happens to both men?
Both verse 25 & 27 say, “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house.” Both men, both groups of people face storms, and it is only in these storms that the quality of the work of the two builders is really seen.
Now, I found it interesting this week that as I studied this and thought about storms I thought about the hard things in life. When cancer hits, when your death comes, when your bank account isn’t what you had thought, when that person you had trusted just totally betrayed you, when that significant relationship you were a part of falls apart, when your business isn’t succeeding like you had hoped—all of those things. Those are the storms of life that we tend to think about and look at there. And church, those are real storms that I believe Jesus was partially addressing. But here’s the thing, there are people who have the mental fortitude and resilience to withstand even the worst of storms and come out of the other side looking ok. They may even start a foundation and do good works because of how they’ve weathered the storms of life. So the storms Jesus talks about here can’t just be the storms of life. I think it certainly includes them, but is not limited to them.
Interestingly enough in the book of Matthew he doesn’t address the wise or foolish person much, but when he does it’s always with a view towards judgment. In Matthew 25 there’s the parable of the 10 virgins. 5 were wise and 5 were foolish. The 5 wise ones were prepared when the bridegroom arrived, but the 5 foolish were left outside in utter darkness.
But it’s not just the wise and foolish, it’s the storms. Just before that parable in Matthew 24:37-39 Jesus talks about his second coming and compares it to the flood that came and swept away all those who weren’t prepared like in the days of Noah. If you zoom out from Matthew and look back towards the Old Testament, In Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel and the Psalms God’s judgment and wrath are often compared to a storm. Think about the presence of the Lord descending on Mt. Sinai in Exodus with clouds of thunder and lightning.
SO whether it’s the storms of life, which sometimes are loud and obvious and sometimes sneak in like a flooded house, or if it’s the storms of God’s judgment both men will face them. That is certain, but look at how each one responds. For the wiseman
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 house of the wise man stands firm. It doesn’t get blown over, beat down or washed away. It remains standing. Why? Because of the foundation on which it was built. Does it have to do with the work or the quality of the work of the builder? No. Does it have to do with the knowledge and expertise of the builder? No. Does it have to do with who taught the builder how to build? No. All of those things are so important and the house can’t get built without them, right? But those aren’t why the house stands firm. The house is stable, the house endures, the house stands through the midst of the storms of life and of God’s judgement because of the foundation on which it is built.
Now this is really important, the foundation isn’t the work that the builder does; the foundation is the words of Jesus in the sermon on the mount. Notice what Jesus is doing when he says, “these words of mine.” Remember back in Mt. 5:17 when Jesus said,
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
What Jesus is doing here, what he is saying throughout the Sermon on the Mount, is that not only is he the fulfillment of the law, but also his words are on the same level as the law. The only person who can do that is God. So what is Jesus is saying through out this is that I am God. This is why it’s a foundation that endures. This is why it’s a foundation that’s worthy of building upon! The wise man builds his house upon the rock that is Jesus! It is the rock that is eternal and true and trustworthy. The rock that is God!
But what about the foolish man? The foolish man faces the same storms of life and will face the same storm of judgment and in at least one of those situations his foundation will be revealed. He might be able to withstand the struggles in this life, but he won’t be able to withstand the judgment of God. One or both of these storms will crush him. As D.A Carson said, “Those who pretend to have faith, who have a merely intellectual commitment, or who enjoy Jesus in small doses are foolish builders. When the storms of life come, their structures fool no one, above all not God.”
When the storms of life hit or the inevitable storm of God’s judgment comes, the foolish man is seen for what he is. His foundation gives way and he suffers a great fall. This I think carries with it a serious warning. The collapse of the house is due to the false foundation it has been built upon and has a clear impact and ramification to the builder. But do you know who else this affects? This affects those around him. Their houses won’t collapse because his foundation is false, but the ramifications of his fall are great. The impact of his fall is felt by those around him
Here’s the deal, when you claim to be a Kingdom Person, yet really aren’t, and are in the process of building your house, the rest of the people around you look at you and see how and what and why you do things. If you claim to be a Christian, the example you set tells others what a Christian is. So when you’re house collapses, those around you end up confused and hurt. Your sin never just affects you; it always has ramifications for those around you.
So there’s really just one overarching question that comes from this passage? What foundation are you building on? Are you building on the rock or on the sand? But in order to try and help provide clarity on that question I think we’re forced to ask, how do you know? How do you know what foundation you’ve built on? We’ve had three weeks in a row where Jesus has challenged us to examine ourselves and make sure we’re not deceived. So how do we know we’re not deceived. I think there is a little bit of, you know. But that’s not truly helpful, so here’s a couple questions that might provide some clarity.
Do you leave the house you’re in when storms hit to go to another? This past week we celebrated my grandmother’s 90th birthday and she wrote this letter in the past couple of weeks in which she looked at her life and used the song The Goodness of God to reflect on it. She grew up with an alcoholic father and a godly mother.. She married young and had a baby that weighed 2 lb. 4 oz. She had 4 miscarriages and then her last daughter, my mother, after that. Her husband died when she was 51. She’s been a widow for 39 years. In all of that do you know what she’s seen? God has been faithful to her. The storms of life came and the place she looked and the rock on which she stood was the faithfulness of God. Of course she had failures and misgivings, but the stability of her faith enabled her to walk through the storm.
I’ve had a front row seat to watching two families who serve in the leadership of our church walk through miscarriages in the past couple of years, and I know they aren’t the only families that have walked through that here. In both of those moments, as hard as they were, I saw both of these families have a sense of joy and confidence about them that actually grew as time went on because their hope was built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. They didn’t run to other thing for stability and comfort. In all of these situations I think these families learned to say as Charles Spurgeon put it, “I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” Storms actually led to an increase in their love for God.
However, I’ve also seen the opposite happen. The storms of life hit, and some people don’t know what to do. The rains fall, the floods rise and the winds blows and the house begins to collapse. So what happens? If you have a false foundation you begin to reach out and grasp ahold of anything that will bring you some sense of stability and comfort and confidence. Maybe it’s something negative like alcohol, or pornography, or meaningless relationships. Or maybe it’s something positive, like going to see a counselor and getting help on how to navigate a situation. Or maybe it’s something like just going to church because you know that’s where hope can be found. And to that we say yes! Hope can be found here…not in who we are or what we do, but in who we worship! But, I say this as gently as I can, the fact that you came here looking for something stable is evidence that you’ve been building on a false foundation. So how do you know if you have a false foundation? If you leave the house you’re in to go to another then you have not been building upon the rock.
But as we saw at the very beginning of this sermon, just because you can stand firm through the fiercest of storms doesn’t mean you’re built on the rock either. The question for you is are you trusting in your own resolve to enable you to get through whatever storms may last? The old phrase, “I’ve made my bed so now i’ll lay in it.” If that describes you then your hardheadedness is what’s fueling you, maybe even out of something positive like a sense of duty to whatever God has put in front of you. But while you may be able to withstand the storms of life you won’t be able to withstand the storms of God’s judgment. For in that day it will be revealed exactly what your foundation is and at that point in time there will not be any other opportunities for you to repent and believe. Are you trusting in your own resolve to enable you to get through it?
Or, can you truly sing, like we’re about to, “His oath, his covenant, his blood support me in the whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way he then is all my hope and stay?” When the storms of life hit does your confidence, does your satisfaction, does your joy actually increase? Probably not immediately, but definitely over time. Are you trusting in the person and promises and work of Jesus? If so then you can have confidence that you’re building on the rock of Jesus. You can truly sing, and sing loudly, and sing joyfully and sing confidently, “On christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
Jesus says “Everyone then who hears the words of mine and does them;” he says, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them.” You see there’s always a response to the hearing of God’s word. How will you respond today? Will you respond in obedience because you truly love the Word of God—the rock on which you stand? Will you seek to live out the Sermon on the Mount and grown in the character attributes that are found in it? Or will you respond out of duty—trying to prove to others that you’ve got it all together and you know the right stuff and say the right things and participate in the right activities, but really at the end of the day have laid a false foundation? Or will you respond out in obedience because you’re just searching for something stable? Or will you respond by doing nothing? The point is everyone of us will respond to the word of God. Kingdom People hear and respond in obedience to His word because of their foundation.
So church here’s how I’d like for us to wrap this up. I’m going to invite the music team up and we’re going to respond by singing The Solid Rock. If Christ is your solid rock then I want to encourage you to sing with confidence and joy. But if Christ isn’t your solid rock, if you’ve been building on a false foundation then I want to encourage you to maybe just stay in your seat or your pew and meet with the Lord. This is a wonderful time for you to repent and believe—to confess your sin and acknowledge your true state. I’m going to slip to the back of the room and if you want to pray or discuss this I’ll be there. Feel free to catch me after the service and we can get together to process this more. But let’s pray and then respond in song.