The Boulder Or The Beach Series

The Boulder or the Beach

Griffith Baptist Church – 4/8/08

A.M. Service

Text: Matthew 7:24-29

The Introduction

Did you know that the United States is #1 in the world? Yes, the U.S. is #1 in the World in violent crime, divorce, teen pregnancies (industrial world), abortions, illegal drug use, and illiteracy (industrial world). We have a record to be proud of and I am sure it comes from the sure foundation we have worked so hard to maintain. Source unknown

You see where poor foundations lead.

Here Christ ends His Sermon on the Mount with a story.

Stories of two men with the same circumstances and the same opportunities, but the results are polar opposites.

Transition Statement: We first need to take a look at who is speaking and what these men hear and do with what they have heard.

Body

1. The Voice Heard – 24, 26

Well-known Broadway producer Jed Harris once became convinced he was losing his hearing. He visited a specialist, who pulled out a gold watch and asked ’Can you hear this ticking?"

’Of course," Harris replied.

The specialist walked to the door and asked the question again.

Harris concentrated and said, ’Yes, I can hear it clearly."

Then the doctor walked into the next room and repeated the question a third time. A third time Harris said he could hear the ticking.

’Mr. Harris," the doctor concluded, ’there is nothing wrong with your hearing. You just don’t listen."

Today in the Word, June 9, 1992

A. Both men hear the same voice, the voice of Jesus Christ

B. They have the same commandments that speak to them

C. The wise man obeys what he hears

i. Doing the Word produces blessing, not just keeping it - Luke 11:28 – But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

a. Isaiah 48:17-18 – 17Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you in the way you should go. 18“If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

b. The greater blessings God gives us follows obedience

c. All else is just nominal living, just getting by with the bare blessings

ii. It is how we exhibit our love for God - John 14:15 – If ye love me, keep my commandments.

D. The foolish man rejects what he hears

i. Galatians 6:7-8 - 7Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

ii. Instruction minus application equals failure.

iii. It is like paying thousands of dollars, spending thousands of hours, and devoting over a decade to become a highly-skilled, highly paid doctor and than go to work for a fast food joint flipping hamburgers for the rest of your life. It doesn’t make much sense. FOOLISHNESS!!

iv. Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Transition Statement: This portion of Scripture also tells us about the house that is built by each man.

2. The House Built – 24, 26

A. The house looks the same

B. The materials used are the same

C. The architect is the same

D. The difference is not in the structure itself but in the foundation

E. The foundation of the wise man’s house – a rock (boulder)

i. Jesus Christ – 1 Corinthians 3:11 - For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

ii. The Word of God – 1 Peter 1:23 - Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

a. Matthew 4:4 - But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

F. The foundation of the foolish man’s house – the sand (beach)

i. Religion – man working his way to God, man’s way

ii. The world – a day that starts off full will end up empty. Nothing to offer when done

iii. Success – money, fame, respect will be in this life only and will stop at the grave.

Transition Statement: Now that each man has built his home, a storm whips up in a frenzy and heads right for their pride and joy. What happens to these homes happens to lives all the time.