INTRO
There is a difference between knowing something and actually applying it in your life.
I have watched countless hours of football. I know all the positions, and I know the hand signals the officials use, and I feel like I understand how to win a game pretty well. But I’ve never played one real game of football in my life.
I’ve walked on lots of decks at lots of people’s homes. I’ve seen lots of pictures of decks. I’ve even read a couple manuals on how to build one. But I’ve never built one. Not even helped someone else build one!
It’s a LOT easier to know about something than to put it into practice. This is something Jesus was also aware of. And he knew the tendency that all people have to think they are experts in areas of their lives that really all they are is KNOWLEDGEABLE.
If I had to actually play in a football game I’d get creamed – I wouldn’t know the first thing to do!
If I had to build a deck – it would be real slow going, and I’d probably make a bunch of mistakes along the way.
In one short little parable, one quick little story, Jesus emphasizes the importance of actually LIVING according to His teachings and principles.
It’s found in the 7th chapter of Matthew, verses 24-27.
But before I read those verses let me put what we’re about to hear into it’s proper context.
Chapters 5-7 of Matthew are commonly referred to as “The Sermon on the Mount”. That’s because at the beginning of chapter 5, Matthew tells us that Jesus saw the crowds around him, so he went up on a mountainside and began to teach, with his disciples gathered around him.
Then what follows is the longest compilation of Jesus’ teachings anywhere in the Bible. It’s an incredibly important, and hard-hitting, 3 chapters in the Bible. Some have said these 3 chapters summarize his teaching while on earth.
Without reading the entire 3 chapters – which I think you definitely should do later today! – let me give you just a quick synopsis of the big ideas Jesus teaches about.
SERMON ON THE MOUNT
• Blessed are the poor, the meek, the persecuted. (Matt. 5:1-12)
• “You are the salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13)
• “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14)
• Be righteous. (Matt. 5:17-20)
• Be reconciled to other people. (Matt. 5:21-26)
• Keep yourself sexually pure. (Matt. 5:27-32)
• Love your enemies and do not resist evil people. (Matt. 5:38-48)
• Give, pray, and fast secretly. (Matt. 6:1-18)
• “You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matt. 6:24)
• Do not worry, but seek God’s Kingdom! (Matt. 6:25-34)
• Do not judge others. (Matt. 7:1-5)
• “…do to others as you would have them do to you…” (Matt. 7:12)
• “Enter through the narrow gate…” (Matt. 7:13)
• “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21)
This is the context for the story Jesus tells, when he finally gets to our scripture text for today.
Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV) "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. 25The 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. 26But 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. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
I really like the way Eugene Peterson paraphrased this passage in The Message:
Matthew 7:24-27 (The Message) "These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
"But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."
Jesus is saying, “if you want your life to stand up when the storms come raging – you have to build it upon the right foundation.”
And the right foundation is not just KNOWING what Jesus said – but living according to what He said.
So I’ve got two simple questions for you to think about today.
1. Do you KNOW what Jesus taught?
I’m amazed at the amount of people who really have never read the 4 gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) to see exactly what Jesus really said and did.
When was the last time you read the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matt. 5-7). It will take you about 10 minutes!
Do you simply come to church service once a week (or less) to hear me boil a few verses of scripture down for you and hand it to you in an easy to digest format? Or do you know from your own interaction with the gospels what Jesus said and did?
If we’re ever going to be “the wise man” from Jesus’ story, we’ll have to start at the basic level of knowing WHAT Jesus instructed.
I’m convinced that it would really only take someone about a month to KNOW the basic tenets of what Jesus taught. It’s really not that great amount of pages in the Bible. The 4 gospels combined are about 90 pages in my Bible!
If you’ve never read Jesus’ teachings for yourself, I urge you to start today. Don’t settle for 2nd hand teaching about Jesus and the Christian life. You have the incredible privilege to read it in modern day language that you can understand.
But beyond just knowing what Jesus said – the far more important question that I need to ask you is…
2. Are you putting Jesus’ teachings into practice?
Basically in Jesus’ story he says, there are two kinds of people. There are those who have a solid foundation in their life that cannot be shaken, and there are those who build their lives on things that cannot survive the storms of life.
The difference, he says, between these folks, is what they do with His teachings.
I don’t know if you noticed or not, but the bulk of the ideas in the “Sermon on the Mount” have to do with real life actions. The Christian is to be known by how they act in real life toward other real life people. If you will follow his teachings – your life will have a firm foundation. If you choose to ignore his teachings, you can expect some very difficult times when the storms of life come.
Some storms sure to come:
“I found a lump.”
“We’re downsizing.”
“We’ve selected someone else.”
“Your car has been totaled.”
“I’m leaving.”
Or how about…
Depression
Chronic pain
Death of a loved one
Financial troubles
Sooner or later ALL of us go through a storm in our life. None of us is immune (did you notice in the story that everyone’s life is subject to the storms?).
What Jesus offers you is the stability to make it through the storms that blow. Not safety from undergoing them – but the ability to withstand them because your life is built upon the solid foundation of following Jesus.
ILLUS: We are all familiar with the images of devastation that Hurricane Katrina left behind in 2005. Similar devastation followed Hurrican Andrew, which hit southern Florida in 1992, literally leveling thousands of homes. In most areas what was left looked like the after effects of an atomic bomb, but in the backdrop of devastation, one house remained firmly anchored on its foundation. When a reporter asked the homeowner why his house had not been blown away, he replied, "I built this house myself. I also built it according to the Florida state building code. When the code called for 2" x 6" roof trusses, I used 2" x 6" roof trusses. I was told that a house built according to code could withstand a hurricane-- and it did."
After explaining the ways of the Kingdom to the multitudes, our Lord sought a decision from each hearer. Would they be wise men and build their "spiritual home" on the "Solid Rock" of His message, by acting on what He had taught? If we build according to His code, which calls for obedience to His Word we will not be swept away when the crises hit with hurricane-like force. The tempests of temptation and the storms of suffering will not be able to sweep us off the solid foundation of faith and obedience to Christ.
CONCLUSION:
What is your foundation?
In other words, what are you building your life upon?
Personal satisfaction
Career advancement
Doing what feels right
Family
Being a good person
Karma
According to Jesus, none of these foundations will withstand the storms of life. They may be able to provide some structure and some meaning in your life – but ultimately they will fail you if you use them to build your life upon. If we want to be able to withstand the difficult times that will come in our lives, Jesus says knowing and applying his words in your life is the secure foundation you’ll need.
I do not understand why things happen the way they do in this life. I will never be able to explain why God allows suffering, and why he chooses not to always protect his children from the storms of life. But I choose to follow his teachings, and to place my life under His authority. I choose to build my life on the Solid Rock of Jesus Christ. How about you?
Sing: The Solid Rock
