[334]. A MESSAGE FROM A POEM - WHAT FOUNDATION DO YOU HAVE?
This poem is built on the parable of the house built on sand and the other built on rock. It is a well known parable – {{Matthew 7:24-27 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, AND ACTS UPON THEM may be compared with a wise man who BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON THE ROCK, and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and burst against that house, and yet it did not fall for it had been founded upon the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act upon them will be like a foolish man who BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON THE SAND, and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and burst against that house and it fell, and great was its fall.”}}
I took the truth of the parable and fashioned a story upon that truth in poetic form. In the biblical account I capitalised these words - AND ACTS UPON THEM – for that is the crux of this whole story. People listened to Jesus but He had to say they had ears but they would not hear, and therefore they would never act on the wise words. Matthew 13:15-16.
The person who hears the word of God and dismisses it, or procrastinates about it, and does not act, is the same as he who builds on the sand with no foundation to his life. There in only one foundation as Paul tells us – Ephesians 2:20.
I think it is tragic when people spend their lives in so much activity and accumulate fortunes and success and notoriety, but in the end, their lives are as helium vapour – absolutely no substance. {{James 4:13-14 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit,” yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapour that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.}}
Building on the rock is building on THE ROCK, which is Jesus Christ, for He alone saves. {{Psalm 89:26 He will cry to Me, “YOU ARE MY FATHER, MY GOD, AND THE ROCK OF MY SALVATION.”}}. ALL other avenues and foundations and faiths and efforts and beliefs and neglect, are ALL building on sand.
We used to sing a Sunday School chorus –
Build on the Rock, the Rock that ever stands,
Oh, build on the Rock, and not upon the sands;
You need not fear the storm, or the earthquake shock,
You're safe for evermore if you build on the Rock.
The poem asks a question, “On what foundation is your life based?” That is a critical question and it has eternal consequences. Perhaps an unsaved person is reading this. Please consider and bow before the Lord and ask Him into your life. There is no other Name or Person under heaven by which you can be saved.
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WHAT FOUNDATION DO YOU HAVE?
The view that overlooked the sea was grand,
Encompassing the surf, the rocks, the sand.
Two dwellings built that year with stately grace;
Attractive houses built in one estate;
With owners proud - these symbols of success,
Were structures meant for owners’ happiness.
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One owner, to advice had listened well,
And wisely chose the place where he would dwell.
He shunned the sites available to buy
Close to the sea, where sandy stretches lie;
And just a little further back he chose
A special plot, where sand no longer goes.
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The other dwelling, closer to the sea,
For grandeur and appeal stood splendidly.
This was a sandy place, but pillars deep
Were sunk so that the house might never creep.
The yard was covered then, and grassed,
So all the sand and soil held tightly fast.
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The years progressed; it seemed both houses stood
The test of time - determined that they would.
Initial fears, were now allayed by one
As problems and concerns were realised - none.
The rocky owner sometimes wondered too
If building back from sand, was right to do.
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Each year the rain and storms progressed and passed,
But generally their fury did not last.
Contented peacefulness gave them false hope -
They thought in every weather they would cope.
No differences were readily at hand
Between the house on rock, and that on sand.
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One season though, a cyclone raged through there, (hurricane/typhoon)
And howling winds shrieked loudly through the air.
The sky was filled with darkness, thick and dense,
Unleashing nature’s fiercest elements.
The mighty waves came crashing angrily,
And ate away the shoreline drastically.
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The house built on the sand was undermined -
With no foundation sure, it’s end was signed.
Against it, waves crashed ever constantly.
It fell apart, claimed by the hungry sea.
The scattered debris that was strewn around,
Declared the house foundation was unsound.
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The house erected on foundation rock,
Withstood the onslaught and cyclonic shock;
Sustained no injury or damage there,
But unleashed forces, was able to bear;
Remained upright, and firmly anchored well.
Correct foundations did that fury quell.
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On what foundation have you built your life?
Is it on strong rock base, or sandy strife?
It is appointed unto all to die -
This fact of death, one then can not deny.
How have you built your life eternally?
On what foundation rests your destiny?
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The house upon the sand was futile waste,
And represents a life of careless haste.
A life without salvation from the Lord,
Is aimed at hell and knows no calm accord.
Ensure you build your proper foundation,
Established on rock, in God’s salvation.
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16 - 19 May 1999 Ronald E Ferguson 10-10-10-10-10-10 AABBCC