Build Your House On The Rock

A true disciple stands when the storms of life come. He stands when sickness and sin and suffering and disappointment and accidents and mistreatments and illness and so on come his way. He stands because he really is grounded on Christ. He truly is trusting in Christ alone for justification and for sanctification.

Think of Job in the Old Testament. He lost an immense fortune. He lost 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and many servants to attacks and catastrophes. He even lost all of his seven sons and three daughters. How did Job respond to this horrific news? Job 1:20–21 says, “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’” Job did not turn from the Lord. Instead, he worshiped him, trusting God even in the midst of his pain.

Pastor Scott Willis and his wife Janet had no inkling of what awaited them when they and the youngest six of their nine children piled into their minivan, buckled up, and left their home on Chicago’s south side for Wisconsin. It would turn out to be a day of excruciating pain and horror. While driving north on Interstate 94 in Milwaukee, the van ran over a large piece of metal that punctured the gas tank, turning the van into a raging furnace. By the time the van stopped and the parents fell out, their children were hopelessly trapped, as their mother screamed, “No No! No!”

One could suppose that for the Willises God had never been so far away. Yet, at a news conference the burned, bandaged couple, still in physical pain, gave witness to God’s grace.

Janet said that when she looked back toward the van and began screaming, Scott touched her shoulder. “He said, ‘Janet, this is what we’ve been prepared for.’ And he was right. He said, ‘Janet, it was quick and they’re with the Lord,’ and he was right.”

In their shared hospital room they comforted themselves by watching videos of their children, reading passages from God’s Word, and talking openly about what had happened.

The Willises’ living testimony amidst the tears and heartache is instructing.

“I know God has purposes and God has reasons,” says Scott. “God has demonstrated his love to us and our family. There’s no question in our mind that God is good, and we praise him in all things.”

“It’s his right,” agrees Janet. “We belong to Him. My children belong to him. He’s the giver and taker of life and he sustains us.”

A true disciple obeys Jesus – even in the storms of life.

B. A False Disciple Does Not Obey Jesus (6:49a)

And the second application is: a false disciple does not obey Jesus.

Jesus says in verse 49a, “But the one who hears and does not do them” is like the bad builder.