FOUNDATIONS

Introduction

-I want to take 5/10 minutes looking at a Bible passage in Matthew 7 that is vitally important considering what we have seen and heard today.

-I have been going through several of Jesus’ parables over the past couple of months, and hearing the testimonies given about the power of God’s Word reminded me of another parable Jesus gave about someone building houses.

-That picture is something that we are all be familiar with around here. We have several in the congregation currently building houses. But everywhere we go in the Harvest area you notice a new subdivision with new homes on what almost seems like every corner.

-I think we can all agree that HOW a house is built is very important. It’s important to have sturdy walls. It’s important to have a good roof over your head. But nothing might be more important than having a solid foundation.

-What’s true of houses is also true of our lives. And Jesus uses the picture of houses in a parable about two different guys building two different houses who ended up having two different outcomes all because they had two very different foundations. And as you can guess from the subject matter discussed today what the foundation of our lives ought to be.

READ Matthew 7:24-27

-Jesus has just finished the Sermon on the Mount, giving His listeners a goldmine of teaching about how to live as members of His Kingdom. Now the question came, what are you going to do with Christ’s words that He spoke? And that question can then be expanded: the entire Bible is the inerrant, infallible, inspired Word of God—what are you going to do with it?

-What you do with God’s Word can be compared to these two guys with their two homes. Jesus doesn’t go into the details about the homes. They may have been similar floor plans. But we do know one very important detail, they had two very dissimilar foundations.

-There was one guy who was considered wise. Now, we all like to be considered wise; but often that means to us that we are wise in the world—we are streetwise. But that’s not true wisdom. The Bible makes a distinction between worldly wisdom and the wisdom that comes from God. And the wisdom that comes from God is found in God’s Word. When you base your faith and your life on God’s Holy Word, you are wise. And a wise person has a solid foundation.

~And that’s the thing—it’s not enough to merely hear God’s Word, you have to put God’s Word into practice.

-You heard the testimonies. It was hearing God’s Word and then obeying God’s Word. They heard the Word of God and obeyed by believing in Jesus. They read the Word of God and lived it out. Hearing or reading is not enough, but the wise person puts it to practice.

-A wise person builds on rock that is able to withstand the storms. There are many storms in life. There’s the storms of problems and trials and tribulations. You got work problems, relationship problems, financial problems. There’s the storm of God’s judgment that comes upon the earth. There are so many different types of storms. But if your foundation is solid, you will be able to withstand.

~When the Word of God is the foundation of your life—when you choose to learn the Word of God, meditate on the Word of God, memorize the Word of God, and then conform your life to the Word of God—then you will be able to stand no matter how hard the winds are blowing.

~From God’s Word comes stability of life even when your life is like a hurricane.

-But then there is the fool. The fool says in his heart that there is no God. The fool also says in his heart that he can live according to his own ways and wills and wisdom. The fool says that he doesn’t need God’s Word to tell him what to do. The fool says that he is just fine doing his own thing. The fool completely disregards God’s word—it has no effect on the way that he lives.

-Jesus says that is like building on sand. Sand is soft and it moves around. Nothing built on sand will ever have any stability. And then when the storms of life come and God’s judgment comes, the house falls. When you ignore the Word of God or you refuse to let it form your worldview, you will not stand in this life, and you will not stand in the judgment.

Conclusion

-So now, the question comes to you: How are you building your house? What’s the foundation of your house? Will it withstand the storms?

-Christian, if you claim to be a person of the Word, is your life truly being lived based on the Word? If not, how can you be a person of the Word?

~Maybe you need to come to the altar and ask God to help you build the house of your life on the solid foundation of Scripture.

~Maybe you need wisdom for a storm in life—ask God to show you through His Word.

-But maybe you haven’t even trusted in Christ yet—you cannot be saved and go to heaven without Him, and you can’t follow His Word without Him. So, believe…