NEW YEAR
“BUILDING YOUR LIFE IN THE NEW YEAR”
MATTHEW 7:24-27
OPEN
We’re already into the second day of a new year. For some of you, I suppose, 2010 was a wonderful year. For others, I’m guessing that 2010 was a terrible year. For the rest of us, we’re still trying to figure out where the year went.
Most of us have determined that we’ll be making some changes in our lives in this new year of 2011. Some of us are going to be getting rid of some things. Others are going to be adding some things. What we’re attempting to do in these changes is to build our lives for the better.
In Mt. 7:24-27, Jesus tells a parable about two builders. Jesus says, “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. 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. 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. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat
against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Jesus describes our lives as though they are houses. We all need some sort of house to live in. A house exists for shelter, security, sufficiency, and satisfaction. It’s the place where we retreat and become refreshed. We all want some sort of house to live in.
In this parable, Jesus tells about two kinds of builders. On the outside, they looked very similar. We look very similar as well. Yet, we’re not all the same on the inside.
These builders had some other similarities. They had the same purpose. They were both building a house. They also built their houses in the same general geographical location. The storm Jesus spoke about hit both houses so we must conclude they were in the same general area. They also had the same basic plan. Every house basically consist of four walls, a floor, and a roof.
And there are similarities between the people who make up our congregation. We’re all building our own spiritual houses. We all have the same amount of time in which to build. Every one of us has 24 hour days and 7 day weeks.
We share similar duties during our time on earth. Many of us are working during the day. Some are going to school. Some are raising a family. All of us are trying to pay our bills. We participate in some form of recreation now and then.
But there is a distinctive difference between us as well. The difference can’t be seen because it’s under ground. The difference is in our foundations. It all hinges on what we build our lives.
FATAL FOUNDATION
In 1174 A.D., the Italian architect Bonnano Pisano began work on what would become his most famous project. It was a free-standing bell-tower for the Cathedral of the city of Pisa. The tower was to be eight stories and 185-feet tall.
There was, however, one “little” problem with the project. The builders quickly discovered that the soil was much softer than they had anticipated. And the foundation was far too shallow to adequately hold the structure. Sure enough, before long the whole structure had begun to tilt.... and it continued to tilt… until finally the architect and the builders realized that nothing could be done to make the Leaning Tower of Pisa straight again.
It took a total of 176 years to build the tower and during that time many things were done to try and compensate for the tilt. The foundation was shored up. The upper levels were even built at an angle to try to make the top of the tower look straight. Nothing worked. The tower has stood for over 830 years but there are still definite problems with the structure.
The government officials were afraid for the safety of tourists to the tower so they closed it down. That lasted almost 12 years. In December of 2001, it was reopened to the public. During that near 12-year span, engineers completed a 25 million-dollar renovation project designed to stabilize the tower. They removed 110 inches of dirt, and reduced the tower’s famous lean by about 16 inches.
They had to do the renovation work because the tower had been tilting further and further away from vertical for hundreds of years. It got to the point where the top of the 185-foot tower was 17 inches further south that the bottom. Italian authorities were concerned that if nothing were done, the tower would hve collapsed.
So, what was it that caused the problem?? Was it bad design? Maybe poor workmanship? Possibly an inferior grade of marble was used? No. The problem was what was underneath the structure. The city of Pisa was built on sandy soil. It just wasn’t stable enough to support a monument of this size. The problem all stemmed from the foundation.
Did you pay attention to what Jesus said about the fatal foundation in this story? It was made of sand. And he referred to the person who built on this fatal foundation as being foolish. The actual word in the original language here is the one from which we get our word “moron.”
What did Jesus mean here when he referred to this foundation as “sand”? To understand the story, you have to know a little something about the geography of Israel and a good portion of the Middle East. In the summer season, many of the rivers (called waddis) dry up altogether and leave a sandy bed empty of water. But just a few months later when the rainy season hits, these waddis become raging torrents of water. If you were not very familiar with the area and didn’t check the ground carefully, you could build a house directly in the path of a rushing river during the rainy season.
The obvious question here is why would somebody want to build their house on this kind of foundation? Well, it calls for a bit of speculation but I believe the speculation is accurate. It could be that they didn’t want to dig down deep enough to know the structure of the house was secure. It was easier and cheaper to do it that way. I believe this problem crops up in the church. People are looking for an easy way, a lazy way to serve God.
There are plenty of sandy foundations on which foolish people cant build their houses today. There are the worldly foundations: Philosophy, Science, Politics, Jobs/Careers, even Family. But there are also religious foundations made from sand: congregational history, tradition, ritual, man-made creeds and confessions, good works, and false religions.
Ask youself: Have I confused the building material with the foundation? Baptism, church membership, and a good moral life are in themselves good building material but they are foundation materal. Jesus Christ is the only foundation material. And Jesus tells us that building your life on any foundation that isn’t stable and secure is “foolish.”
The Bible has a lot to say about “foolish” behavior. Ps. 14:1 – “The fools says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Prov. 28:26 – “He who trusts in himself is a fool…” I would say that almost everyone of us would agree that those things are foolish.
But we need to look at what Jesus calls foolish behavior in this parable. He says that foolish behavior involves hearing His words but not doing His words. OUCH! There have been many times in my own life that have I wished that I had paid better attention to directions and advice given to me by people much wiser than myself.
FIRM FOUNDATION
Ravi Zacharias told about doing a lectureship several years ago at the Ohio State University. As he was being driven to the lecture, they passed what was then the “new” Wexner Art Center. The driver commented, “This is a new art building for the university. It is a fascinating building designed in the post-modernist view of reality.”
Zacharias described this fascinating building. He said, “The building has no pattern. Staircases go nowhere. Pillars support nothing. The architect designed the building to reflect [the post-modernist view of] life. It went nowhere and was mindless and senseless.
Zacharias said, “I turned to the man describing it and asked, ‘Did they do the same thing with the foundation?’” And the man laughed [and answered]: “You can’t do that with a foundation.”
Jesus says that the person who builds on the firm foundation is “wise.” Prov. 4:7 – “Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” Prov. 9:10 – “The fear of the LORD is the beginning, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”
How does Jesus define the person who is a wise builder? He describes the wise builder as a person who hears the word of God and is then faithful in doing the word of God.
There are a great number of ways to become attentive to the word of God. You can read it. I encourage you to spend some time in the Bible every day. There are several reading plans which will guide you in reading through the Bible in a year’s time. There’s even a Bible called “The Daily Bible” which will give you 365 daily readings through the Bible.
Besides reading the Bible, you need to study it. You need to analyze it’s message and how it applies to your life. You need to reflect on what you’ve read; take some time to work it around in your mind and heart. You should be present and participating in group studies of God’s word. We have Sunday school every Sunday morning and a Wednesday evening Bible study time. You can also organize or join small group studies with 5-7 other people. Several of our Bible colleges offer online classes for more in-depth study of the Bible. There are multiple options for studying with other people.
But notice that Jesus puts the emphasis on being obedient to God’s word; doing what it says. James 2:26 – “Faith without works is dead…” James 1:22-25 – “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his
face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But
whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they
have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
Eugene Peterson tells a story that illustrates the dependency between reading and doing. He says: ‘At age 35 I bought running shoes and began enjoying the smooth rhythms of long-distance running. Soon I was competing in 10K races every month or so, and then a marathon once a year. By then I was subscribing to and reading three running magazines! Then I pulled a muscle and couldn't run for a couple of months. Those magazines were still all over the house, but I never opened one. The moment I resumed running, though, I started reading again.
That's when I realized that my reading was an extension of something I was a part of. I was reading for companionship and affirmation of the experience of running. I learned a few things along the way, but mostly it
was to deepen my world of running. If I wasn't running, there was nothing to deepen.
The parallel with reading Scripture is striking. If I'm not living in active response to the living God, reading
about his creation/salvation/holiness won't hold my interest for long. The most important question isn't ‘What
does this mean,’ but ‘What can I obey?’ Simple obedience will open up our lives to a text more quickly than
any number of Bible studies, dictionaries, and concordances.”
FACING THE STORMS
In this very congregation, there are the sand builders and the rock builders. In Jesus’ story, if you had walked up to these houses, you wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between the two. But there was something that clearly demonstrated the difference.
Do you know what displayed the difference? It was the storm. It’s the storm that reveals the foundation on which we build our lives. The house built upon the sand fell and the house built upon the rock stood the storm.
Notice how the storm is described. There was pressure from above – the rains descended. There was pressure from below – the floods came. There was pressure from all around – the winds blew.
Here are two very crucial concepts from this parable. The first is that following Jesus does not exempt us from life’s storms. Jesus isn’t teaching a parable about how to build your house in a protected area. It’s a parable about foundations – not avoiding the weather. The outcome is determined by the foundation we’re sitting on. There are no storm-free zones.
The second is that our faith will be tested. A faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted. Our faith isn’t tested in the sunshine. It’s tested in the storm.
On October 19, 2010, a test was conducted at the Institute for Business and Home Safety in Richburg, South Carolina. Researchers constructed two 1,300-square-foot houses inside a $40 million laboratory and then observed how a simulated hurricane would impact the homes.
The first home was built according to conventional standards. The second home included reinforcement straps that connected every level of the building, from the foundation all the way to the roof. Then the researchers turned on giant fans, creating gusts of wind up to 110 miles per hour (equal to a category 3 hurricane). In the first two experiments, which lasted under ten minutes, both homes survived the intense winds. But when they tried a third experiment, turning on the fans for more than ten minutes, the conventional home began to shake and then collapsed. In contrast, the home with the floors and roof reinforced to the foundation sustained only cosmetic damage.
Tim Reingold, an engineer working on the experiment, summarized the results with a pointed question: "The bottom line you have to ask yourself is, which house would you rather be living in?"
CLOSE
On Oct. 17, 1989, a massive earthquake struck the San Francisco area. Buildings built on solid ground sustained much less damage than those built on shaky ground.
The south pier of the Golden Gate Bridge sits directly on top of the San Andreas fault yet it is one of the safest structure in that area. It was undamaged in that quake because the foundation of the bridge rests on towers at either end embedded in rock underneath the bay.
Many of you may remember the news footage from that time. You might recall the double-decker freeway in Oakland – directly across the bay from San Francisco – that collapsed. It was built on land that had been filled in. It all looked the same until the time of testing.
You need to answer two questions this morning before facing the rest of this new year. The first is: What are you building? All of us are building something with out lives. The second is: On what are you building? Is it sand or rock?
1 Cor. 3:11 – “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
