Standing in the Storm
Introduction: In today's culture the lines that divide what is right and what is wrong are blurred. While there may be ambiguity in the world, there is no ambiguity in the word. The word of God is described as a two edged sword in Hebrews 4:12 It is so sharp it separates soul from spirit, bone from marrow. I recently read that some edges on blades are finer than a human hair, and yet that would be the size of a house compared to the edge of the sword of the spirit. It separates like a surgeon's scalpel separates infection from good tissue, it separates life from death, right from wrong, good from evil, what is truth from what is false. Just as we've seen many times before in the word there is a choice between twos; life or death, God or Baal, to be a sheep or a goat, or a wheat or a tare, there is a narrow way and there is a broad way, Heaven or Hell, The choice is laid down plainly. But there is no third option. The same is true this morning with the wise and foolish builders.
Scripture: Matthew 7:24-29 (read)
Transition: Let's first notice what it is that reveals the difference between the two foundations? It is the storm.
The Storm reveals our Character
I want us to investigate the storm. What is a storm? We read about a storm in Proverbs 10:25 - “When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.” The storm will reveal what you are made of, what you put your faith, hope, abd love in. The storm sweeps away the wicked, but the righteous still stands. A storm is a metaphor for severe trials and/or tribulation. Jesus promised us this in John 16:33 - “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” The storm will reveal where we take heart. Do we trust in ourselves? Our government? Our money? Our skills? Our strength? Our creativity? Our intelligence? Or do we trust in our God? Since the storm comes from the world it makes sense to trust in the one who has overcome the world.
The storm can come in many forms. It may come in the form of a disease or cancer and take your health. It may come in the form of death and take a loved one. It may come in the form of a natural disaster, like an earthquake, tornado, flood, or fire and take your house, your car, your valuables. It may come in the form of corruption, or in the form of temptation, or in the form of false doctrine, It may come in the form of persecution.
Sometimes people forget who they should rely on in life and the storm is necessary to remind them. If it weren't for the storm Jonah wouldn't have been swallowed by the great fish and thought “You know maybe it wasn't so bad to hear & obey and preach to the Ninevites! Some will come out of the storm still standing, while others will not.
Remember Job's storm. Satan had free reign to take away Job's blessing. Satan was allowed by God to take away Job's health, wealth, and prosperity, his property, and his children and all he was left with was some so-called friends that did nothing but tell him he deserved what He got and criticized him for not admitting it and a wife who was so discouraged that her only counsel to her suffering husband was to curse God and die! But why would a loving God allow such a thing? It was to test his faith and to reveal his character. He went through the fire and came out as fine gold, where many men would have burned up like chaff.
The beginning of the two verses in Matthew 7:25 & 27 are identical, “The rain came down the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, ...” the same storm that struck the wise man's house struck the foolish man's house as well. The storm is the same but the result is different. The result is different because the foundation is different. The rain came from above, the streams rose from beneath and the winds blew from across and the storm beat and whipped against that house from every direction! Have you ever felt like you have been taking a beating from every direction? You try to look down in humility and see the water rising. You look forward to forget whats behind or back to remember a comforting thought only to be hit with a contrary wind. You finally look up to God only to get rain in your face. Church, You can't control the storm. if you could it wouldnt be a storm. You must endure it. You must survive it.
Transition: Let's look at the end result of the first, in verse 25 “...yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock.”
The Wise man will still stand after the Storm
“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.” - Matthew 7:24
What makes a man wise? It's not so much that it makes him wise as it evidences his wisdom to hear Jesus' teachings and put them into practice. How do we hear his teachings? Through reading the Bible, through the church, Bible study, Sunday School, preachers, teachers, evangelists, & missionaries. But what makes a strong foundation is doing what we are hearing. Putting faith in action is proving you believe what you hear
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving you own selves.” - James 1:22 KJV
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” - James 1:22 NIV
If the Bible teaches us to tithe, then we tithe. If the word tells us to pray, we pray. If the word tells us to love, we love. If we hear the gospel telling us we shouldn't judge, lie, complain, covet, gossip, steal, lust, hate, or doubt we don't do those things. If we hear we are to help the helpless, feed the hungry, provide for the poor, pray for the sick, encourage those in despair, visit the lonely, then we don't merely hear what to do, we actually go out and DO IT!!
What separates the wise man from the foolish man is that his house remains after the Storm because of it's foundation. Both houses look good before the storm, but only one will stand after the storm. Outward appearance has nothing to do with it's foundation.
Ill. - On December 2001, the “Leaning Tower of Pisa” was finally reopened to the public, after having been closed for almost a dozen years. During that time, engineers completed a 25 million dollar renovation project designed to stabilize the tower. They removed 110 tons of dirt, and reduced it's famous lean by about 16 inches. Because the tower has been tilting further and further away from vertical for hundreds of years, to the point that the top of the 185 ft. tower was 17 ft further south than the bottom, and Italian authorities were concerned that if nothing was done it would soon collapse.
What was the problem? Bad design? Poor workmanship? An inferior grade of marble? No. The problem was what was underneath. The sandy soil on which the city of Pisa was built was just not stable enough to support a monument of this size. The tower wasn't built on a rock and if it weren't for engineers manipulating the tower it would have already fallen. (Sermon Central ill.)
The wise man builds his house on the rock. It's a foundation that won't fail him when the storm comes. And when trials and tribulations beat against his life, His life won't come crashing down because he built his life on the rock of Jesus, the evidence is seen in his obedience to God. Not just hearing but doing what God says to do.
Noah was told a big storm was coming and to build an Ark. In obedience he built an Ark. When others scoffed and mocked him. It was He, Noah and his family that made it through the storm.
Ill. - Recently I read an article about a Christian worker in Liberia named Nancy Writebol, she was helping out in the region when the deadly disease Ebola started spreading across the land and they were given a choice to stay behind and possibly catch Ebola or protect themselves and return to their home in Charlotte, North Carolina. She chose to stay and work with the people. As a result she caught the Ebola virus. The night she was being transported to Emory hospital she remembers not being sure that she would even make it to the U.S. or that she would ever see her husband or children again. She said a quick prayer: “Lord, I don't know what's going to happen and I need your help.” She then felt the Lord respond “Nancy, if I take the boys, if I take David away from you and if I take your life and you are with me, am I enough?” filled with uncertainty she told God 'Yes, He is enough' She went on to make a full recovery.
That storm rained on her and rose against her and blew and beat against her life and after it had passed, Nancy Writebol came through her storm still standing! Why? She knew God told her to help so she helped. She didn't merely hear she obeyed! And God brought her through the storm!
Transition: When the same storm that struck the wise man's house hit the foolish man's house, in verse 27 it reads “... it fell with a great crash.”
The Foolish Man will fall during the storm
For all their differences the wise and foolish man have they do have some things in common. They both are builders. They both have a house. They both have to suffer the same storm. Most importantly they both are hearers of the word. But the difference is the foolish man only hears and nothing else: “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.” v. 26
All of their religion is built on top of bare hearing. Just hearing the word is building on the sand. It's not enough to hear Christ's teachings and understand them, its not enough to hear His teachings and remember them, it's not enough to hear them and recite them, or repeat them, or discuss them, or even defend them. We must hear them and do them - “This do and thou shalt live.” -Luke10:28
The foolish builder deceives himself. He sees what appears to be a well built house. He is happy with his house, even proud of his house. Some people only build for this world as if this world is all there is to build for. There are many who profess that they hope to go to heaven but despise this Rock, and build their hopes upon the sand; which is done without much pains, but it is their folly. Everything besides Christ is sand.
Some build their hopes on their worldly prosperity, as if that is a certain evidence of God's favor. And others build their hopes on their external profession of religion – They say “I'm a Christian” “I'm a good person”. They were baptized, they go to church, they hear Christ's word, say their prayers, and don't hurt anybody. They have a great deal of assurance but it is all sand.
A storm is coming and it will beat upon your house with unrelenting fury. It will test what your hopes are built on. It will reveal the foundation of everyone's work.
If we heard a sermon every day of the week, and an angel from Heaven were the preacher, if we only relied on hearing – it would not bring us one step closer to Heaven than we are now. Mere hearers are self-deceivers; and self-deceit will be found the worst deceit of all. If we flatter ourselves its our own fault because the truth flatters no man. It's good to feel conviction, but best to act upon it.
Charles Stanley once preached a message on the strong person. The strong person applies God's word to their life. He asked his congregation: “Do people that know you, think you are a person who loves, encourages, blesses, makes others better or are you known as someone who complains all the time.”
Do you love God above all else. Do you love others above yourself. Stephen Kendrick said “(selfishness), is a trait we hate in other people but justify in ourselves.” hearing and not doing is a form of selfishness – and believing it will stand through the storm is self-deceit
Ill. - We recently had our missionary to Mexico, John Wilson come and preach for us. He told us about a man who was captured by ISIS in Iraq for being a Christian. The captured man was commanded to deny Jesus as Lord or die. He did deny Jesus as Lord and the terrorist shot him anyway. What a shame, that man died for nothing. Unfortunately, He did not stand through the storm of persecution. But the storm did reveal something about his faith, didn't it? He would rather deny Christ and save himself than deny himself and be saved by Christ. His storm came and revealed sand.
Conclusion: In verse 28 we read the crowds reaction to what He said: “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,”
It's possible to admire good preaching and yet remain in ignorance, to be amazed but never sanctified, to be impressed but left unchanged, to be a hearer and never a doer of the word.
When your storm comes what will it reveal? A life built on the sand of self-deceit? Or a life built on obedience to Christ?
