***** Luke 6:46-49

(Luke 6:46–49

Luke 6:46–49 (NRSV)

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I tell you? 47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. 48 That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.”

In 1832, Edward Mote wrote,

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness,

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus name.

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.

On Christ the solid Rock, I stand,

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

All over this world, building projects are taking place, from skyscrapers in large cities to subdivisions on the outskirts of town. Buildings and businesses are being built constantly, but these are not the only building projects that are going on. Estimates tell us that there are over 6 billion people on earth right now, and with those 6 billion people come 6 billion building projects. Whether we realize it or not, we are building a life that will either stand the test of time or fall by the wayside.

Today building projects are beginning in hospitals all over the world as babies are born, and building projects are coming to an end as people are taking their last breath. We will all stand before our Maker one day and the Bible says that books will be opened and our lives will be examined according to the Word of God. So I ask you today, what kind of life are you building?

Jesus gives us a contrast and comparison in this text of two buildings. What king of foundation are we building on? Are we building on the one true foundation or on a man-made foundation? Are we building this life with no foundation at all?

Luke declared the difference between the wise and foolish builder. A life built on Jesus will stand the tests of life. A life built without Jesus will end in ruin. Let us begin today to build on the Master by faith and trust in Him.

This text gives us some distinctions between a life built on the solid rock and one built on no rock.

I. The Surety of a life built Strong. (vs. 46–48)

(A.) It requires obedience. (vs. 46)

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?”

Being a disciple of Jesus requires complete and total obedience. If Jesus knows you as servant and child, and you know Him as Lord and Master, then you will obey His commands. There is a surety in knowing that you are saved and belong to Jesus when you’re obedient to Jesus.

1 John 2:5–6 states, “But whoever keeps His Word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”

Jesus walked in complete obedience to the Father’s will. When we love Jesus we will walk in complete obedience to the Father’s will. It is the Father’s will that we obey the Son. We only obey the Father when we truly obey the Son.

Bible Fact: Jesus is telling us that if we don’t obey Him, then He is not our Lord and we are not His children.

We are called to live in obedience to our Lord’s commands by faith in His word and unchanging character. Being obedient to the Lord entails a lot of not knowing—not knowing what’s going to happen next, where God would have us to go or what God would have us to do. We are to take it one day at a time with sweet Jesus!

A person is cheating himself to profess and not obey. Profession without obedience gives a false sense of security, and it makes a person feel like he is acceptable to God when he is not. The only way to be accepted by God is to do the things that Jesus says.

Greek Scholar Darrell L. Bock wrote, “Here Jesus highlights the hypocrisy of calling Jesus Lord, a title recognizing His position and authority, but not responding with obedience.” Are we obeying the Lord Jesus Christ?

An aviation cadet on a practice flight was suddenly stricken with blindness. Frantically, he contacted the control tower and told them of his desperate plight. His commanding officer radioed back, “Don’t be afraid, just do what I tell you!”

After being advised to keep circling the field until all was clear for a landing, the sightless pilot was instructed to begin losing altitude. As the aircraft approached the runway, the officer’s voice called out encouragingly, “You’re coming in right on target!” The cadet, giving unquestioning obedience to his commander, brought the plane down safely.

God wants our unquestioning obedience to our Commander in Chief, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus says in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

Jesus also says in John 14:23, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him.”

Do you love Jesus? Are you obedient to the Lord Jesus? A true disciple is submissive and obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ. The surety of a life built strong requires obedience. We also see that the surety of a life built strong:

(B.) It receives observation. (vs. 47)

“Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:”

Jesus has His all-seeing eye watching all that we do, and through this close observation He gives the surety of a life built strong.

The life we build will be judged according to the Word of God by the Son of God. John 5:22–23 declares, “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

We need to be building our life on the Word of God. By His authority and power, He shows us what one who hears His word and does His word is like.

Great Bible Truth: In the choir of life, it’s easy to fake the words, but someday each of us will have to sing solo before God.

The words that we say and the actions we take are all under the scope of God’s vision and He knows why we do what we do. Proverbs 15:3 tells us, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

Jesus is aware of the life being built on the Rock, but He is also aware of the life being built with no foundation. The person who builds on the Rock of Jesus Christ is a wise master builder. 1 Corinthians 3:10–11 states, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Jesus was a carpenter by trade and profession and He knows what it takes to build. He gives us the blueprints for a life that will endure hardships and trials. Jesus says throughout the Gospels, “He who has ears let him hear.” We cannot obey the word of God if we do not hear the word of God. We cannot apply the word of God if we do not know the word of God.

James S. Stewart wrote, “God judges a man not by the point he has reached, but by the way he is facing; not by distance, but by direction.”

The surety of a life built strong requires obedience, receives observation, and we also see:

(C.) It remains obvious. (vs. 48)

“He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.”

The way a person builds now makes all the difference between success and failure, life and death, reward and loss, acceptance and rejection, or standing and falling. The wise builder hears and obeys. The wise builder builds spiritually. He thinks on his heavenly dwelling and seeks to please his Master in all things.

Dug: (skapto) means to dig, by way of hallowing out.

Digging deep and laying a foundation takes time, effort, and resources. God calls for us to spend time with Him. God calls for us to lay the foundation.

Laid: (tithemi) means to put or to appoint.

God is calling for us to put our life, our aspirations, our desires, our plans, and our sins on the Rock of Jesus Christ. Sometimes He calls for us to come aside and remove ourselves from the things of the world. Being spiritual is not easy, and it is something that this flesh is not used to doing. If we feel far from God, it is because we have not been building on the Rock. God does not move away from us, but we move away from Him.

Warren Wiersbe wrote, “To ‘build on the rock’ simply means to obey what God commands in His Word.”

When we build on the rock, it will remain obvious no matter what life throws our way.

Jesus says that this man lays a foundation on the rock. Laying a foundation is intentional. It does not happen by accident.

Rock: (Petra) denotes a mass of rock which is used for a sure foundation.

If you have ever lived in or visited a large city, you probably have had the chance to watch a skyscraper under construction. For the first 6 months or so of the project, all the workmen do is make a great hole in the ground. To build a tall building by starting below the surface level seems absurd, even crazy. But, as you may suspect, there is a good reason for the large hole. To build a mammoth building, it is first necessary to dig down until a strong foundation can be built—one that is capable of supporting the skyscraper.

A doghouse needs no foundation, and an ordinary house can be built on little more than a concrete slab. But a skyscraper is different. It requires a deep and solid foundation. So it is in our Christian life. Our upward potential is totally dependent on the foundation underneath it.

Jesus tells us that the flood arose. Storms are coming in this life. Hard times, trials and tribulations are promised to us. Jesus didn’t say, “if the flood arose,” but He said “when the flood arose.”

The true disciple comes to Jesus, hears what He says and does what He commands. The true disciple stands firm because he truly belongs to the God of heaven and earth. Those who build on Jesus will be kept by Jesus through the storms of life.

Jude 24 states, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.”

The true disciple builds a life that stands the test of storms and trials. Jesus teaches us here that we are not exempt from the trials of life. Matthew 5:45 states, “For He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.”

Friends, storms of life are coming—storms of sin, sickness, suffering, trials, temptations, tension, disappointments, disaster, death, complaints, confusion, contentions, accidents, abuse, anger, hospitalizations, hatred, hurting, misery, mistreatments, and misconceptions.

Jesus tells us that the storms beat vehemently against the house.

Vehemently: (prosregnumi) means to tear toward or burst upon.

Storms in this life will sometimes tear toward us with great intensity and fierce intentions. Storms usually do not give us warnings. They do not announce their coming, but instead burst upon us when we least expect it. Jesus tells us that the storms pounded on the house and yet it stood the test because it was founded on the rock. One thing is evident and obvious—the person built on Jesus stands the trials and storms of life and endures hardships as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Jesus teaches us about the surety of a life built strong. Next, we see:

II. The Severity of a life built Wrong. (vs. 49)

(A.) The practice of a life built wrong. (vs. 49a)

“But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation,”

Jesus tells us that both heard the gospel. Both sat under the preaching of the word of God, but only one by faith applied what he heard while the other thought he had a better plan. Romans 10:17 declares, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

The practice of a life built wrong comes from a rebellious and stubborn spirit within. The false disciple ignores what Jesus says. He applies himself elsewhere.

He is too busy. He does not think about the consequences. He does nothing with what he’s heard. He is an example of what not to do. The blueprints used by this person are not of God and will not stand the test. The worries and pleasures of life consume the person who builds without a foundation.

The person pictured here is one who wants the easy way and quick results. He wants to save some by cutting a few corners. Many people in the world seek to build materially, physically, and financially, but fail to build spiritually. This man did not lay a foundation! What kind of foundation do you have today?

A building contractor spent many years working hard and had a very successful business. When it came time for him to retire, he called one of his top foremen, who was also a good friend, into his office.

“Bob,” he said, “you and I have built many beautiful homes together, and I want you to know first that the wife and I are going on an extended vacation. When we return, I will retire and sell the business. All these years you have been a faithful worker and a good friend, and I want you to take the next three months while I’m gone and build the most beautiful home that we’ve ever built. The project is in your hands.”

During that time, Bob began to build the house. He cut comers, used second-rate materials and pocketed all the savings. When the owner returned from vacation, he called Bob in and asked if had he completed the home.

Bob said, “The house is finished and it is the most beautiful home we’ve ever done.”

Sure enough, when Bob and the owner of the company went out to the house, the owner was very impressed. They walked through the halls, up the stairs and thoroughly inspected the home.

The owner asked, “Bob, is this the very best house that we can build?”

Bob replied, “Yes, this is our very best work.”

The owner then took out the keys to the home, held them out and said, “Bob, thanks for all the years of service to our company. The home is yours. You have built your very own dream home.”

You cannot build on the Rock without surrendering your life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke 14:26–29 states, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see him begin to mock him.”

This man had built a house. We are all building a life, and if we are wise we will learn not to build as this one did. No one builds hoping that his house will fall. No one plans and intentionally sets out for destruction, but if we are building apart from Jesus Christ, this is exactly what happens—destruction!

The leaning tower of Pisa in Italy is going to fall. Scientists travel yearly to measure the building’s slow descent. They report that the 179 foot tower moves about 1/20 of an inch a year, and is now 17 feet out of plumb. They further estimate that by the year 2007, the 810-year-old tower will have leaned too far and will collapse onto the nearby restaurant where scientists now gather to discuss their findings.

Quite significantly, the word “pisa” means “marshy land,” which gives some clue as to why the tower began to lean even before it was completed.

What kind of life are you building? Has your life begun leaning before you are even through building?

Jesus is talking to church folks here—those who have heard the teachings of Jesus and who claim to know the Lord. The practice of a life built wrong is a life lived for pleasures, passions, and power. This is a life under the direction of self for sinful gain. We are sinners by nature, and as we seek to fulfill those pleasures in our lives, we build a life that will lead to death, hell, and the grave.

In the first part of verse 49, we’ve seen the practice of a life built wrong. Next, we see:

(B.) The punishment of a life built wrong. (vs. 49b)

“Against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”

Jesus is telling us here that the storms of life also come on the unrighteous. Jesus says that the house immediately fell. A house that is not built on Jesus cannot stand the trials and storms of life, and will not stand the judgment of Christ.

This guy had a bad day! As soon as the storm hit, the house fell.

You know it’s going to be a bad day when:

• You see a ’60 Minutes’ news team in your office.

• You call Suicide Prevention and they put you on hold.

• You turn on the news and they’re showing emergency routes out of the city.

• Your twin sister forgot your birthday.

• Your car horn goes off accidentally and remains stuck as you follow a group of Hell’s Angels on the interstate.

• Your boss tells you not to bother to take off your coat.

• Your income-tax return check bounces.

• You put both contact lenses in the same eye.

This guy had a bad day. He built apart from Jesus and he suffered the consequences.

There is a punishment for a life built wrong. There’s a punishment apart from Jesus. Jesus says that the ruin of that house is great. What kind of life are you building?

Warren Wiersbe wrote, “Not everybody who professes to know the Lord has had a real experience of salvation. They may have been active in church and other religious organizations, but if they are not saved by faith, they have no foundation to their lives.”

There’s a surety of a life built strong, and there’s a severity of a life built wrong. What is your life reflecting in this world? Are you a disciple of Jesus Christ? What kind of foundation are you building on?

Tony Evans tells the story of when he moved into his new home. A few months after moving in, he found cracks on his bedroom wall. He called the painter who came to fix the wall. A few months later, the same cracks were back along with other cracks. He called the painter again. The painter came once more, and though he didn’t understand the reason for the problem, he fixed the wall a second time.

Several months later, the cracks were back on his walls, and by this time Evans was evangelically ticked off. He called a new painter. This new painter came out and Tony Evans told him what had been happening. The painter said that he could not fix his problem. Tony Evans asked why he couldn’t fix the wall since he was a painter.

The painter replied, “You don’t have a problem with cracks on your wall. Your problem is with a shifting foundation. If you do not solidify and rectify what is underneath, you’ll never be satisfied with what’s visible.”

Many of you have cracks on the wall of your life. You have a shifting foundation, and when the storms of life come, you will find destruction. You do not have to build with no foundation. Today you can begin to build on the Solid Rock.