Is Your House Built On Sand?

IS YOUR HOUSE BUILT ON SAND?

Matt. 7:24-27

INTRODUCTION

A. NO LONGER SIMPLE

1. Do you remember making sand castles in a sandbox or at the beach when you were a kid? Well, the sport has come a long way!

2. On June 5, 2019, the world record was set in Binz Germany of the building of the world’s tallest sand castle at 57 ft 11 in. (17.65 m) high and 85 feet across. An international team of 12 sculptors and eight technicians used 11,000 tons of sand and it took them 3 ½ weeks to build it!

3. A really gigantic sand castle was made on Treasure Island, Florida, that was bigger than a football field, required 1,000 gallons of sea water a minute and weighed 48,000 tons! But don’t go to Florida to see it – it’s not there; the winds and waves have washed it away.

4. Jesus said that people who ignore His words are like builders of sand castle:

a. All their work will be swept away;

b. Sandcastles are neat, but no one wants to live in one.

3. Yet men & women design sand castles for their souls every day – which ultimately fall – broken homes, unrealized hopes.

B. TEXT

24 “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. 25 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. 26 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. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Mt. 7:24-27

C. THESIS

These are the closing words of the Sermon on the Mount. The title of this message is, “Is Your House Built on Sand?”

I. SIMILARITIES OF THE 2 HOUSES

A. BOTH HAD THE SAME TRIALS

1. One of the things we should notice in this passage is that the storms were the same for BOTH of these houses: “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew” (vss. 25,27). The SAME trials came to both of them.

2. So one of the things we should learn from this is that you are NOT somehow “exempt” from the trials of life if you build your house on the Rock of Christ. It’s NOT like: “OK, now that I’m a Christian, nothing bad is going to happen to me anymore.” As a Christian, you still get sick; you’ll still have problems with your job or marriage or kids; you still have “rain and floods and wind.”

3. It’s a false Gospel that says, “If you ask Jesus into your heart, you will only have prosperity from then on.” If someone told you that then you’re setting yourself up for a disappointment. “The rain falls on the just & the unjust!”

B. THE DIFFERENCE? EFFECT OF THE FOUNDATION

1. THE DIFFERENCE IS NOT THAT YOU DON’T HAVE STORMS AS A CHRISTIAN; THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT AS A CHRISTIAN YOU HAVE A FOUNDATION THAT HOLDS YOU UP THROUGH THE STORMS!

2. If you get breast cancer or lose a close family member, Jesus will be your strength and bring you through. He also may heal you – like several people I know. But like the 3 Hebrews said, “Even if He doesn’t, we’re still going to serve the Lord!” If you lose your job and your house, you can still have peace knowing that God has a different plan for your life and that He will take care of you!

3. In the same way, being a follower of Jesus will not keep YOU from “rain and floods and winds” and all kinds of trials in your life — but when you DO experience those things, you will have a peace, and a strength, and you will STAND and not fall, if you have built your life upon the ROCK!

II. WHAT IS “BUILDING YOUR HOUSE ON THE ROCK?”

A. WRONG IDEAS OF:

1. Many people think that “building your house on the rock” means to agree with the beliefs of Christianity. Others think it means to go to church, give in the offering and take Communion. NONE OF THESE ARE WHAT JESUS SAID IT MEANS.

2. Many others think that it means to take Jesus as your Lord. People say things like: “I took Jesus into my heart, so now I’m going to stand and not fall.” As good as that is, that’s still NOT what Jesus said “building your house on the rock” is. So what does “building your life on the rock” mean?