Secure in the Storms (2)

Way back in 1998, my high school basketball team played our rival in a game that was going to determine the conference title winner. The game was what you’d expect, a close ball game, a few kind bumps in the lane, a few unkind words during free throws. I was the sixth man, so I played off the bench and in this particular ball game, I found myself on the court in the final minute. East Marshall’s point guard put up a shot that was (in hindsight) ill-advised. It bricked off the back of the rim and I grabbed the rebound. I was fouled immediately, and I headed to the free throw line with our team down by one to shoot a one-and-one. The crowd noise was (it seemed) deafening. I couldn’t even hear the ball hit the ground. I went through my routine, which is four dribbles, one spin, a gentle leg bounce, a slight pause, rise and release. It was a long moment. The ball snapped through the net to tie the game and the second shot found its way through the net. We won that game by three points, and I don’t recall the exact text of the postgame speech, but it was something like: A pressure situation is not the time to wonder what you stand on but to rely on it. Great win.

My basketball coach taught, coached, preached, and emphasized a certain kind of preparation - ‘proper’. Proper preparation, in basketball, is grounding everything in fundamentals. Coach Lee grounded his teams on the foundation of fundamentals and because of this, he won 428 games and his teams succeeded because they took his wise teaching and applied it.

There are many ideas about fundamentals or foundations for success in sports, business, and teaching, and life. When it comes to building lives, Jesus could not be clearer with His words in the text of Matthew 7:24-29. The foundation of our lives rests on a choice: what do we choose to do with Jesus’ words? Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:24-29 reveal that obedience to the Father’s will is a life that is founded on and hidden in Christ Jesus.

Jesus uses a parable of two builders to conclude His sermon on the mount found in Matthew 5-7. The first point to emphasize today: We are all building a house. Everyone here is a builder, but the adjective is up to us to determine. Throughout the Bible we see the word house mean different things. For example, House of Israel was a name used for Israel, so it is important to remember that Jesus is speaking to a large population of Jewish people who knew their history as a house. When Jesus says the word house, we can think of our lives, our relationships, our ministries, and our nation. Jesus never distinguishes between the look of the houses being built. Why? It could be because then the house becomes the focal point of the story. Really consider this: they both heard the Living Word, Jesus, teach the written word with proper authority and application – they were sitting under the best possible teacher you could hope for – yet there were two totally different outcomes? Why? Because one of them chose to apply the Word of God to their lives, relationships, ministries, and nation while the other one didn’t.

How do we describe the wise builder? A Biblically wise person is one who applies spiritual truths to all of life’s decisions. True wisdom is putting Jesus’ words into action. The wise builder is diligent in choices, he or she is contemplative about the intake points of their life, he or she is prayerful in every decision, and the wise builder is aware. We might call the wise builder sensible or judicious.

The fool lacks the will or desire to apply spiritual truths to life’s decisions. The foolish builder might be a know-it-all who casts Jesus’ teaching aside as though it has nothing to offer. The foolish builder never thinks things all the way through to the end. Their perspective is only about as far as their hand in front of their face. The foolish builder thinks of nothing eternal and is satisfied with “settling.” He or she will settle for a look-alike God, an idol.

We’re either a wis or foolish builder. Which of these two builders are you? In this time of Lent, as we contemplate Jesus’ journey to the cross, have you settled for an idol of worship? Did you rush into building a life, a relationship, or a ministry without considering the cost of a weak foundation? The fact is everyone around us sees the house we’re building whether we recognize the faults in it or not. Would someone accuse you of being a hearer and doer of God’s Word? I hope they do and I pray that Jesus does as well.

Jesus makes another straightforward claim in His parable: We all build our houses on a foundation.

In Jesus’ time, the foundations for strong houses were founded on stone of local origin that was minimally hewn or cut. The Bible contains many references to foundations, nearly all of them point specifically to Jesus Christ as the proper foundation on which to build our lives. Isaiah 28:16 says, “See I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” In Matthew 7:25-26, Jesus says there are two foundations: rock or sand.

To get to a foundation of rock, you must dig deep. It is hard to get to, but it provides an assurance of safety. Building on the foundation of rock requires a balance of work and rest. It requires time and hard work. The foundation of rock is Jesus Christ and upon Him your house, your life, relationships, and your ministry can stand. When the Eiffel Tower was built, the average depth of two of the four legs was 23 feet below the river level. At that depth engineers found hard, compact clay. However, the architect said that wasn’t sufficient because the other two legs had water infiltration at that depth, and they wouldn’t bear the weight of the structure. They continued digging through the clay and at a depth of 40’ found fine, compacted ground that we call rock.

A pressure test showed that the 40’ deep rock could hold 1600 pounds per square inch compared to the 500 pounds per square inch at 23 feet. Wise builders think of the future, they’re contemplative, and they don’t settle.

Now the foolish builder’s foundation was sand. Sand was an easy choice and required little effort to access. Sand was a path of least resistance and digging in sand requires neither time nor hard work. You don’t have to rest because the work of digging isn’t required. Sand is a foundation based on human knowledge. It is the foundation of self-will and not God’s will. The foolish builder chose the sand because it was the easy way to get quick results and show off his skills.

The wise builder made hearing and acting on the Word of God the foundation for everything in his life. The foolish builder made his foundation on something else and chose to use the Bible as an accessory on the house like the doors or windows. We are one of these two builders, and we are building on a foundation – what is yours? Are you building your house on the only foundation that will bear your life’s weight?

When treated like an accessory by foolish builders, the purpose and power of the Bible is minimized as they try to blend it into their houses. The foolish builders come to the Bible when it’s convenient. The wise builder knows that the only foundation for our lives is to hear and do what the Bible says regardless of the situation. We can’t live skyscraper lives built on fence post foundations.

Jesus says both builders experience the same situation for their houses: a storm. The builders experience the same storm with their visible houses and hidden foundations.

In Matthew 7:25, 27 Jesus teaches that it is the storms of life that reveal our foundations. The storm revealed what choices the builders made up until the storm. In Jesus day and in our day, we are in one of three places: we are in a storm, coming out of a storm, or preparing for a storm. All storms exploit the weaknesses of a house until the entire house is damaged or destroyed. It only takes a small crack in a foundation or a single poorly applied shingle to cause total ruin for a house. Verses 25 and 27 tell us that the storm came at both houses from all sides, “the rains came down, the floods came up, the winds blew and pounded that house.”

All the weather-proof, high-end materials could not make up for the foolish builder’s choice to build on a weak foundation. His accessories didn’t prevent the collapse of his house.

The storm hits the wise man’s house, and he is in a place of refuge, not because of all that he had done in building the house, but because of its foundation. Why are storms so important for us to understand? If you’ve ever been in a terrible storm, you know that you can’t fix the problems in your foundation in the middle of a storm! Sometimes people cry out for God to do something in the middle of a storm. In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus invites the disciples to go across the Sea of Galilee to the other side. They get half-way across when a storm comes up and they realize they’re in trouble. They called out to Jesus, who was sleeping, and ask him why he doesn’t care they’re about to drown.

He responds to their concerns by calming the storm and accusing them of having little faith. He had just told them He was going to take them to the other side. So, it is with Jesus Christ as the foundation of our lives – He’s told us that He’ll hold us and protect us through the storm to the other side. We must trust Jesus to bring us safely through the storm, not just ask Him to change the circumstances and remove us from the storm.

Some of you here this morning are living in the middle of a terrible storm. The winds and rains are pounding on your life, and they are relentless. For some, you can’t turn on the television or social media or the radio without being reminded of personal loss and devastation. It seems like your life is so overwhelmed by the storm that the foundation is the last thing you’re thinking of. Some of you have come out of a storm of life that has left a trail of loss, hurt, pain, and tears and you are desperately picking up the pieces of your life and trying to put them back together. It is in these times that we can rebuild our lives on the assurance found in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The height of a building is often how the world determines how impressive a building is and the world directs the same opinion for people’s lives – how many floors high do you stand? Jesus Christ says how deep your foundation goes determines how impressive your life is.

Our foundation, Jesus Christ, went to a deep, dark place –death on a cross – for us to gain strength through Him in every storm. Obedience to the Father’s will is a life that is founded on and hidden in Christ Jesus.

I challenge you today to answer this question: how much of your will does the Father have? Does He have it all or is there some part that you are keeping hold of to build your life on? Last week, Captain Catherine asked you to consider your pursuit of treasure. If your life is built on earthly treasures, then your life is being built on sand. God has given you an opportunity this morning to look at your house. Can you say your hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness? That I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus’ name?

Some of you this morning are in the middle of a storm and the waves are high and the gales are battering your house. I don’t want you to leave today without knowing that you can weather the storm by resting on His unchanging grace.

Do you need to come to this place of prayer and set aside personal wills and ambitions that are holding you back from complete obedience to God’s will for your life?

If you need a new foundation, one has been laid for you. Take up the assurance of Jesus Christ as the only foundation and use it as the foundation for your life. If today is the day you need to begin a new life, come to this place and be like the wise builder – build new life on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ.