When my youngest son Jonathan was six years old, he came into my office and made a simplistically profound statement, which he always had done.
Jonathan said to me "Dad if you build your house on sand when it storms it will fall
down, so you should build on a big rock" and so I asked him
"what is the rock that a house should be built on?" and he answered "Jesus!"...apparently, he had been paying some
measure of attention in our Children's church. I then asked him "what is the sand?...and he said "anything else" .
This simple exchange showed a grasp of
something that few of us learn in this life, that our house of our lives needs
to be built on Jesus Christ alone. The house on a rock is drawn from
"Sermon on the Mount" which we find in the Gospel account of Matt 7: 24-27.
"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 .he 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." Matt: 7:24-27
The Sands
Jesus, using a rhetorical
illustration shows us something that will keep us stable in
all storms of this life. The sand he was speaking of
was that which we find around the Sea of Galilee. Many in
Jesus' audience would have been familiar with the practice of
mistaking the hard dry sand for that area for stable building foundation. Some,
would look about and seeing the dry sand would begin building their homes using
the seemingly hard sand as their foundation. And as long as the weather
cooperated and there was no hard storms in the area or only very light
rains their houses stayed standing.
Bedrock
But the Rains Came
But, as it is in life, the
seemingly stable house which these persons had built on what they
believed to a good foundation came under the weather of the Galilean rainy
season. Storms quickly and unpredictably would arise and rain would fall from
the sky which caused sand to turn into mud. This quickly dissolving
and washing away the sand foundation, on which the people had built their
houses, all of it gave way under the falling rain and the winds blowing in off the low-lying Sea
of Galilee, which sat in a creator like depression in the earth would
accelerate the wind and the driving rains.
Inevitable Fall
Inevitable, as the foundation
shifted and devolved the wall of the house would give way to its own weight the
roof would come down as Jesus said "and it fell with a great crash”
everything those people who lived there had built was now gone in a
moment, washed away and collapsed.
The foundation was unsuitable to face the
weather. All gone all lost in pile of tangled ruble. It was inevitable, it always
happened when a house is built on the wrong foundation. The bedrock would have
been better, their house would still stand in spite of the wind and rain.
The Right Foundation
Jesus, in the "Sermon on the
Mount", which traditionally is thought to have been given in the
area northwest of Capernaum, an area that would have recognized Jesus’
reference to the sand. And just a note about the "Sermon on
the Mount", what we are actually reading is probably a summary
of the general and longer message that Jesus had been presenting to the public
as He toured the area at the very start of His public ministry after
demonstrating in the Judeian Wilderness that He is the Messiah in Matthew :4: Compare it with the "Sermon on
the Plain" in Lk:6:17-49.
The lesson is , that many people in
life are like those house builders who chose to build on what they believe to
be a solid foundation, a foundation which will not allow their house to
stand, it can't, when storms arise the rain falls or winds
blow it is inevitable the house of their live will come down with a great
crash.
The Rock is There
Yet, all along there was a solid bed rock
waiting to be used, just a few feet away so close at hand that it is literally
underfoot. So many go through this life building on what they think will endure
and give them stability against the storms of life, whatever it is that they
chose to build their life's house on if it is not the solid rock it will come
crashing down.
Jesus is The Rock
Jesus said "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.he 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"
When we hear the Word of God it directs
to Who Jesus is. When we hear and respond and build our lives on Him then
we can endure the unexpected storms that arise so suddenly.
Jesus is that Rock that we can build on that no amount of wind or rain, that is the storms of life,
will wash Him away. Jesus is unshakeable and strong without measure. He is able
to see us through anything that blows our way. We need to clear away the sand
so that our lives can be built on the rock that is Jesus.
Christians, and all people
should build their lives on Jesus he is that Rock we need under us to give
us stability.
In Matthew: 16:18-
Jesus speaking to Peter 2000 years ago, but to us today as well, uses some
interesting words. Peter has just uttered his confession that Jesus "is the Christ the Son of the living God",
then Jesus speaks of His church, that is
Christians throughout the ages, he says "And I tell you that you are
Peter,(Petros) and on this rock (Petra) I will build my church, and the gates
of Hades will not overcome it."
Now, the words that Jesus uses here for rock,
are, in the Greek, when speaking to Peter "Petros",
which means a rock, but then Jesus uses a different word "Petra" which means a great Rock, bigger stronger,
massive.
It becomes rather obvious that Jesus is
speaking that Peter might be a rock, but only He Jesus is the Big Rock on which
we should be built upon and on Him alone, nothing else will work.
I Corinthians 10:1-13; That Rock Was Christ, we are told by Paul
that Jesus is that Rock.
No Other Foundation
All other will fail us, no person, gold
or silver, bricks or mortar, titles position, fame, whatever it is that we
build the house of our life upon will sustain and give us stability and
bear us up during the storms of life. Jesus is there, practically
underfoot the whole time just like that bedrock, unshakeable, strong and
willing to be our foundation. Build your life on Jesus, all others are sand
that will wash away and collapse your house when the rains fall and the wind
blows. ...Jesus is the Rock, anything else is just sand ..
Benediction: May we each and all build
our live on Christ and Christ alone who is that strong foundation, today,
tomorrow and forevermore. Amen.
Rev.Todd Crouch, Norman, Oklahoma
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