Branch Church: The Wise and Foolish Builders

Introduction

Good morning Branch Church! My name is Matt Velasco and I have had the privilege of being asked by Brian to deliver the word for you this morning, so thank you for allowing me to be here and diving into the word with me.

If we’ve never met before then hi, good morning, its nice to meet you! I’m one of the pastors at Grace Church in Eden Prairie and I have been discipled by Brian since I was a senior in High School about 8 years ago, and it has been an absolute joy of mine to be able to watch all of you from afar as you pursue Christ’s best together over the past year.

And I have the opportunity to share with you the final parable in Jesus’ teaching in the sermon on the mount.

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But before we dive in I have a question - have any of you been in the market for a house over the past year?

If you have been, or maybe even if you haven’t been you are probably well aware just how crazy the housing market has been recently. The Star Tribune reported that during this past April the Twin Cities metro median price of all homes increased by 10% to a record $370,000, and not only that mortgage rates are rising also- going from an average of 2.94% to 5.3%. And this has resulted in absolute absurd buying practices by those who are in need of a house.

Down payment averages have increased. Appraisal fees are being waived. And perhaps the riskiest is the buyer choosing to not have an inspection in order to make their offer more attractive. If you have no idea what I’m saying - it essentially means that in order to one up another offer buyers or choosing not to have the house inspected, which means the seller need not provide essential repairs that aren’t known to the buyer. You could see why that would be attractive if you were selling a house. Damages that aren’t seen by the naked eye will go unnoticed.

Bad roofs, moldy floors, termites, and perhaps the worst possibility: Degrading and damaged foundations. And, if you own a home or have owned a home- you know just how important the foundation is.

Text Setup

So its no coincidence that after potential hours of teaching Jesus concludes and wraps up the whole entire sermon on the mount with these words in Matthew 7:24-27, which you can find on page 662 in your Bibles.

Matthew 7:24–27 NIV

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Content

If I were to put this in modern terms then I’d say wise is the one who buys a house with a healthy foundation and foolish is the one who buys a house with an unhealthy foundation, because when the storms come and the winds blow and beat against the house the one with a healthy foundation will stand and the one with an unhealthy foundation will fall. The foundation of the house is the platform or the security measure on which the house is built and on which the house finds its strength.

Kids in the room - how many of you have ever built a sand castle before and seen it get run over by a wave and completely ruined? That’s what Jesus is saying here… sand isn’t a reliable foundation!

Likewise, Jesus is equating the foundation of a house to the foundation of not just ours souls, but our minds, and our actions. He’s equating building a house to the way that we each individually build our lives, we don’t want to build our lives on weak foundations- but on a strong one.

You see, the one whom takes all that Christ has taught on the Sermon on the Mount and not just builds their life on them but lives them out is like a builder who builds their house with a strong and healthy foundation.

In contrast, the one who ignores Jesus words’ and chooses to live separately from them is like a builder who builds their house on a weak and unhealthy foundation.

And so the question that Jesus places in front of us is this - Where have you built the foundation of your soul, mind, and actions?

This morning we’re going to spend time sitting in each of these areas because our lives are built around the state of our soul, our mind, and how we live accordingly. You see if you have a messed up soul or a messed up mind you’re going to live a messed up life. But if you have a healthy soul and a healthy mind you’re going to live a healthy life. And we see clearly that the only path to having a healthy soul and mind is through absolute and radical obedience to Jesus Christ.

So lets start by talking about the soul...

The Soul

A word study on the word “stone” and “rock” in the Gospel of Matthew reveals some fascinating implications for this passage. Obviously, Jesus is telling us that to be wise means to build your house on rock not sand. But what is he actually saying?

This obviously is a parable, which just means an untrue story with a true meaning. Which means that the obvious meaning isn’t the meaning we should pay attention to. Instead, the meaning we should pay attention to is whats less obvious.

So, in this case, whats the obvious meaning? Build a house on rock, not sand. The less obvious meaning, and one of the reasons Jesus tells this parable, is that we should build our lives on Jesus. Who is the rock.

The word “rock” is used only four times in the Gospel of Matthew, once here, once of the tomb, and twice in the Sermon on the Mount, referencing Jesus’ teachings, and Jesus Himself.

In the whole of the New Testament the word “rock” is used only twelve times, and it is never used of any person other than Jesus. For instance, 1 Corinthians 10:4, where Paul writes about the water from the rock in the wilderness,

1 Corinthians 10:4 NIV

and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.

Similarly, the word “stone,” in all instances where it is not referencing a literal stone, is referring to Jesus. In Matthew 21:42, 44 it says

Matthew 21:42 NIV

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Matthew 21:44 NIV

Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” 

In Romans 9:33 Paul calls Jesus “a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense” and he adds, “and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame” and finally Peter after being filled with the Holy Spirit at Pentecost preaches a sermon by which God uses to bring many to salvation and says this,

Acts 4:10–12 NIV

then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. Jesus is “ ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’  Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Furthermore, no one in the whole Bible is called “rock” except God Himself, who is so often called “the rock” or “my rock” throughout the Old Testament.

Jesus’ point here is that our foundation, our rock, must be Christ. And we see throughout scripture that the way to achieve such a foundation on and in Christ is to confess with your mouth, and believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and God raised Him from the dead. Romans 10:9 says,

Romans 10:9 NIV

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Do these things are your souls foundation will be secured on the rock of Christ.

If you want to live a healthy life you must have a healthy soul, and the only antidote to an unhealthy soul is Jesus Christ who is the rock of our salvation, as it says in Psalm 62:1-2

Psalm 62:1–2 NIV

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

From Christ comes salvation, from Christ comes a solid foundation which cannot be shaken.

The Mind

The two houses in the parable are often considered to be metaphors for two men’s religious lives. The houses, the lives, looked exactly the same. In our terms, they both had chimneys, both had multiple bedrooms, the windows are shuttered, they are freshly painted in the most recent favorite of all Magnolia connoisseurs, and the yards are well-kept. Their lives and their houses likely look the same. The two men in this metaphor would attend the same church, sing the same songs, send their children to the same schools. But one has been wise, and the other has been a fool. The Greek word here is moro which is where we get our word moron.

One Biblical scholar says plainly,

The difference between the two houses is likened to the difference between obedience and disobedience.

So, if we heed Jesus word’s here, if we measure ourselves by his standards, if we evaluate our ethics by his ethics, if we strain after this Sermon’s teachings in prayer and piety, we are building upon the rock. The foolish man however is shallow in his thinking and lays a shallow foundation on the sand because of it...

Another Biblical scholar says this,

Sermon on the Mount—The Message of the Kingdom Religious Lifestyle Not Enough (vv. 24–27)

He is concerned with having a house (life) that simply looks nice. It looks like his church friend’s life, but it is all outward, it is all style! Oh, that Jesus’ words would penetrate our evangelical hearts! It is not our cultural distinctions that save us. It is not our evangelical civilities. It is not our evangelical experience. It is not our heritage. It is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that is so profound and growing that it produces his character, the character of his kingdom, in our lives. It is not just on the surface, though it can and ought to be seen. This is radical! It is the difference between life and death.

And it all starts with your mind, and which kind of foundation your thinking and thoughts lays for the life you are striving to live.

Friends, shallow thinking leads to a shallow foundation. Deep soul-excavating thinkings leads to a deep foundation.

The way you think and the way those thoughts influence your life determine the type of foundation you are building.

Self-righteousness and an attitude of “At least I’m not as bad as them...” digs a shallow foundation

Legalism digs a shallow foundation

Judgement digs a shallow foundation

Numbness to the brokenness of our world digs a shallow foundation

Pharisaical thinking and living digs a shallow foundation

To build a right foundation with your mind is to obey the Apostle Paul’s teachings when he says,

Romans 12:1–2 NIV

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

And so the right way of thinking after having a transformed mind would be,

Righteousness and an attitude of “I’m just as sinful as they are.”

Rather than legalism, understand your freedom in Christ.

Rather than judgementalism, judging not lest you be judged.

Rather than numbness, an awareness to the brokenness of our world and its need for Christ.

Christ-like thinking and living digs a deep foundation. We say “What would Jesus do?” but do we live out the famous saying?

Your Actions

Hopefully this is the part of this mornings teaching that you have been longing for. You’ve heard about building a right foundation of soul and mind and need to know how this can and will impact the way you live your life. Jesus is clear in verse 24 when he commands us to put His words into action. He commands us to build a foundation with each and every step and action we take.

I don’t know about you or what has happened in your life or is happening in your life right now. But I know that Jesus is right (obviously) when He says that the storms will reveal whether or not we have true foundation in Him. There is nothing that will diagnose a lack of a healthy soul or mind or way of life then a tragedy in your life. And it could momentary. Right, it might not be a constant sickness of the soul or mind but rather a momentary one. A momentary illness or sickness of the soul or mind that again momentarily impacts the actions you take.

Friends, sometimes a gracious, dark, hurling storm hits the house on the sand, and its owner- you- find out that you are lacking. But imagine if life were without storms. Imagine if you reached the final judgement day without a single storm hitting your house and revealing the sickness in your foundation. Oh should we not be thankful for the storms that reveal to us the errors of our soul mind and actions? So don’t be discouraged when a storm strikes and you find out your foundation is in the sand. Rather pick up your hammer, pick your saw, pick up the 2x4’s of your soul and rebuild your house on the foundation you need and view the storm in its wake as a gift from God that brought you closer to His heart and His love.

I think of the story of Horatio Spafford who was a successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago with a lovely family - a wife, Anna, and five children. But this family was no stranger to tragedy and storms of life. Their young son died with pneumonia, and in the same year a great fire swept through their city. Later Spafford would send his family across the ocean and stay behind to deal with a business problem promising to join them some days later. About 4 days into their journey their ship collided into another ship and 226 passengers died beneath the dark waters of the Atlantic ocean, including the four Spafford children. A single sailor rowing a small boat over the spot where the ship went down would find a woman floating on a piece of wreckage. It was Anna, Spafford’s wife, still alive. Nine days later she sent word to her husband “Saved alone, what shall I do?”

Another survivor of the ship recalled Anna saying these words, “God gave me four daughters. Now they have been taken from me. Someday I will understand why.”

Grieving and longing to join his wife Mr. Spafford booked the next available ship and about 4 days into his journey he crossed over the place where his 4 children were lost. According the Bertha Spafford, a daughter born after the tragedy, Spafford would pen the famous hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” while on his journey to join his wife.

Its the storms of life that reveal the foundation from which we live, and on which we have built our lives. A foundation built on Christ proclaims “it is well” in the midst of the storm.

Conclusion

Like I’ve said, I don’t know whats going in your life. But I know the Word of God is active and sharp, and pierces the hearts and minds of all who hear it. So if you’re here this morning and your soul is aching, or your mind is racing, or you’ve realized you have not lived a life that matches the belief in your soul and mind I would plead with you to find the hope in Christ that He offers. Knowing that if you simply put into practice all that He has taught you will build for yourself, by the power of God, a house that can withstand any storm, any trial, any temptation, any pain.

Lets pray.

Thank you for having me!