SF 1641 Matthew 7

***** SERMON MANUSCRIPT*****

Melburn H. Hardin, D.Min.                Kerrville, Texas

TITLE:    Build on the Rock!

SCRIPTURE:   Matthew 7:21-29

TOPIC: 

SERIES TITLE:   The Sermon on the Mount   

INDEX NUMBER:   SF 1641

DATE PREPARED:   2009/01/19

DATE PREACHED:   2009/01/25

PLACE PREACHED:  Kerrville Sunrise Baptist Church

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Introduction

1.  In the year 1174, the Italian architect Bonnano Pisano began work on what would become his most famous project: it was to be the construction of a free-standing bell tower for the cathedral of the City of Pisa. The tower was to be eight stories in height, some 185 feet.

1. There was a problem. Not long after construction began, the builders discovered that the soil was much softer than they had anticipated. And they rightly concluded that the foundation under the building was not adequate; it was far too shallow to hold the heavy building. And sure enough, soon the whole structure began to tilt… and it continued to tilt…  and tilt.  It took 176 years to build the Tower of Pisa; during that time many things were done in attempts to compensate for the tilt. The Foundation was shored up. The upper levels were even built at an angle to try to make the top of the tower appear straight. Nothing seemed to work very well.

1. Now the Tower has stood for over 800 years, but the top leans 18 feet away from where it should be standing. In 1990, a decade-long and $25 million reconstruction and stabilization effort was made to try to prevent the collapse of  the Tower. The heavy bells were removed from the top, to lighten the load. Fifty cubic yards of soil was removed from underneath the high side. This helped a little bit; the Tower was straightened by some 18 inches, back to the exact position it occupied about 150 years ago. In May of last year, another 70 tons of earth were removed from the high side. Engineers now say that the Tower has been stabilized such that it has stopped sinking for the first time in its history. They predict it will be stable for another 200 years. Other experts say that it is still going to collapse at some point in time.

1. What’s the problem with the Tower? Bad design? Poor workmanship? An inferior grade of marble? No, none of these. All the problem lies underneath. The Foundation was not adequate.

1. We know that the Lord Jesus was a “carpenter” of Nazareth; no doubt his stepfather, Joseph, taught him the trade. When we see the term “carpenter” in the New Testament, we probably should read “craftsman-builder.” It is likely that Joseph and Jesus not only sawed boards and drove nails. They also constructed houses of stone and plaster. Likely they constructed furniture for the houses they built—and repaired old furniture for their neighbors.

1. It is doubtful that Jesus built any tall towers, like the one at Pisa, Italy, but he knew about the vital importance of an adequate foundation for any building. An adequate foundation of stone is crucial when one is building a house. Similarly, an adequate spiritual foundation is crucial when one is building his life.

1. Here Jesus concluded his famous Sermon on the Mount with a powerful parable about two builders who each built a house.

I.                   WE CAN ASSUME THAT THERE WAS MUCH SIMILARITY IN THE TWO STRUCTURES

1.      Jesus told of the construction of Two Houses

1)      We get the impression that they were located in the same community. 

2)      No doubt the builders used the same building materials. In that arid land, there was little choice of construction materials. Houses were built of stone and clay, with perhaps a small amount of lumber used for framing. Some clay was fired into tiles and bricks.

3)      Perhaps the two builders used a very similar floor plan. The dwelling houses of those days for ordinary people were quite small and simple.

4)      Probably the two houses were covered with the same stucco on the outside. 

5)      It could be that the two ladies of the houses had the same color of Geranium on the front porch.  I’m not sure that Geraniums had been invented or discovered at that point. But perhaps there was some decoration on the front of the house!

2.      And our Lord told of the construction of Two Human Lives:  One was that of a Genuine Disciple of Jesus/ the Other was that of a Make-Believe Disciple.

1)      Each of these men had  the same “Bible”—in that each heard the same words of Jesus with his own ears.

2)      They each had made the same confession; each had declared that Jesus was Lord of his life.

3)      No doubt they sang the same hymns of praise, attended the same church (synagogue), served on the same committees, both sang in the choir.

II.                BUT THERE WAS A FOUNDATIONAL (pun intended!) DIFFERENCE IN THE TWO HOUSES!

1.      The Foundations of The Two Houses

1)      One house was built on a rock. The wise man, the wise builder, was careful to construct his house on a bed of rock.. It is possible that the rock was already there, a rock ledge near the surface of the ground. The builder did what digging he needed to do, in order to attach his new house to the rock. If the rock was not there, then the wise builder carried in enough stone to make an adequate foundation for his house.

2)      The other house was simply built in the sand. The foolish man, the foolish builder, constructed his house down in the sandy bottom of an arroyo. No doubt there was more shade there. The sand was easy to build on. And the property was cheaper!

3)      No doubt he saved a lot of time and labor by not having to construct a foundation. It required a lot of work to quarry stones, transport them to the construction site and lay them in place. This builder, though he was very foolish, saved himself at lot of time and expense.

2.      The Two Human Lives

1)      The wise builder heard the words of Jesus—no only with his ears—but with his heart. He obeyed them. He began to live his daily life to obedience to them.

2)      The foolish builder heard the words of Jesus—but only with his ears. Jesus’ words made no change in this man’s heart—and no in his daily  life.

3)      Oh, Jesus’ words may have affected his emotions somewhat. He may have wept over his sinfulness and wished that he would do better. He may have been like the Russian Countess I read about who sat and wept in the theater as the actors portrayed human suffering—while during the same moments her coach driver literally froze to death dutifully waiting for the Countess, outside the theater.

III.             THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS DIFFERENCE IN WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TWO STRUCTURES.

1.      The Two Houses

1)      A terrific storm hit the neighborhood in which the two houses had been built. The wind howled; the rain poured incessantly. All the creeks and arroyos became rushing torrents of flood water.

2)      The house that had been built on the rock was battered by the terrible storm. Some shutters blew off the windows; some shingles blew off the roof; some water got into the house when the flood went by. The geranium on the porch was demolished and swept away. But the house was securely mounted on a rock foundation, and the integrity of the structure was not compromised. Nothing moved that was essential. The house stood firm.

3)      The house that had been built down in the sandy arroyo was a disaster. The rushing flood waters first swept the sand out from under the house. The walls collapsed. The entire structure was inundated and carried away in the flood. All was lost. After the storm subsided, one could scarcely determine where the new house had been standing.

2.      The Two Human Lives

1)      Jesus’ teaching assumes that terrific storms come upon every house—and every life: not only lost people, not only saved people, but every life experiences storms.

2)      The wise man who hears the teachings of Jesus and carefully builds his life upon them is certainly not immune to the storms of life. He struggles with them; he is often battered and sore. He knows pain, grief and heartache. In fact, he often suffers more than other folk—because he cares more for people than does his lost neighbor.

3)      The foolish man is  the one who hears the Gospel message, perhaps gives lip service to it—but refuses to build his life upon Jesus Christ and his teachings. The storms come to his life. He has no spiritual foundation, no divine support system. He does not have the resource of the Holy Spirit in his life. He has no genuine fellowship with believers. The storms will destroy him.

4)      Edward Mote knew nothing about God or the Bible as he grew up in London, England. He was the child of poor innkeepers. At the age of 16, he was genuinely converted to Christ. Mote later settled in a suburb of London, where he became known as a successful cabinet maker and a powerful preacher of the Gospel.

5)      After a time, a Baptist chapel was built in Horsham, Sussex, England—largely because of Edward Mote’s efforts. The grateful church members offered Mote the deed to the property. He refused it, saying, “I only want the pulpit, and when I cease to preach Christ, then turn me out of that.” Here Mote preached and ministered faithfully until about a year before his death; ill health finally forced him to resign. He commented: “The truths I have been preaching, I am now living upon and they’ll do very well to die upon.”

6)      During his busy life as a minister, Edward Mote wrote more than 150 hymn texts. In 1836 he published a collection titled Hymns of Praise. The book included his wonderful poem about his confidence in Jesus Christ. He named the poem, “The Solid Rock..”

7)      The first stanza goes like this: “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. When darkness veils his lovely face, I rest on his unchanging grace; in ev’ry high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil.

8)      The second stanza: “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 he shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then in him be found—dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. On Christ, the solid rock, I stand—all other ground is sinking sand.”