TITLE: BUILT TO LAST
SCRIPTURE: ST. MATTHEW 7:24-27
It was during the Winter Olympics of February 1998 when Ford Motor Co.'s Ford Division launched its new tagline "BUILT TO LAST." They had changed their 15 year old long used tag line “HAVE YOU DRIVEN A FORD LATELY?” The idea is for the consumer to understand if you purchase a Ford vehicle it is engineered to last. The consumer was supposed to buy into the idea –
• Ford has something internally that competitors don’t have
• Ford has engineered their vehicles to last for years
• Ford has designed their vehicles to be attractive and appealing
• Ford suggests no matter how you use your vehicle or Truck it will last
As I began to think about that Ford Slogan, my mind began to think about the Spiritual. Isn’t that how God designed us? We were created and we are Built to Last!
• Every cell in our bodies is periodically replaced with new cells
• Our bodies have a phenomenal ability to heal
SO, IF WE WERE BLT, WHY DON’T WE LIVE FOREVER? Or at least for the 120 years that God promised after the Fall of Man? According to the Word of God, man was created to live forever and would have without sin. After Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden, God said they would surely die. Sin caused a separation from God which ultimately prevented their bodies from living forever. For the next 10 generations mans life span was about 900 years. Just before the Flood of Noah when God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually, He declared the life of man would be shortened to 120 years and ultimately reduced further to 70 years according to PSALM 90:10 - We are still Built to Last –
• Genesis 5:5 - Adam died at 930 years of age
• Genesis 5:8 - Seth died at 912 years of age
• Genesis 5:11 - Enosh died at 905 years of age
• Genesis 5:14 - Kenan died at 910 years of age
• Genesis 5:17 - Mahalalel died at 895 years of age
• Genesis 5:20 - Yered died at 962 years of age
• Genesis 5:23 - Enoch was no more at 365 years of age
• Genesis 5:27 - Methuselah died at 969 years of age
• Genesis 5:31 - Lamech died at 777 years of age
• Noah died at 950 years of age
• Shem died at 600 years of age
• Terach died at 205 years of age
• Abraham died at 175 years of age
• Isaac died at 180 years of age
• Jacob died at 147 years of age
• Moses died at 120 years of age
Yes, my brothers and sisters, we were Built to Last initially. Although this old flesh now returns to the ground from which it came, remember GENESIS 2:7 “AND THE LORD GOD FORMED MAN OF THE DUST OF THE GROUND, AND BREATHED INTO HIS NOSTRILS THE BREATH OF LIFE; AND MAN BECAME A LIVING SOUL.” So therefore, because of sin our bodies go back to the dust from which is was created. But our spirit man lives forever, yes, Built to Last. Let me prove this through the Word -- ECCLESIASTES 12:7 “THEN SHALL THE DUST RETURN TO THE EARTH AS IT WAS: AND THE SPIRIT SHALL RETURN UNTO GOD WHO GAVE IT.”
• The Person dies, the body goes into the grave
• The Spirit or power of life goes back to God who gave it
• The Body goes to the earth and the Spirit to God
Let me help you understand the Process --
• Death is but a Sleep
• It is but a Rest
• I am simply resting, secure in the arms of God
• When I die, there is no more temptation
• When I die, there is no more harassment from the devil
• It is perfect rest and perfect peace
• But God preserves my personality
• God preserves my Identity
• God preserves my Individuality
• On the resurrection day, when the Trumpet Sounds
• When Christ returns
• I will be resurrected to serve Him forever
Built to Last suggest to us - THE LIFE THAT LASTS IS BUILT ON A FIRM FOUNDATION. The PARABLE of the Two Builders is about hearing and doing the Word of God. The emphasis is on OBEDIENCE. But that does not mean that hearing is unimportant.
• ROMANS 10:14 asks - “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?”
• Hearing the Word is essential to Saving Faith and Christian Growth
• But we must not stop with hearing
• JAMES 1:22 says - “But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”
• To be Built to Last - Hearing and doing must go together
I want you to stop and think about the house you live in. If I asked you to describe your house to me, you would most likely tell me about the LOCATION – COLOR - DESIGN – SQUARE FOOTAGE – SIZE OF THE LOT – NUMBER OF BEDROOMS. But you probably wouldn’t tell me about the Foundation.
• Perhaps you don’t know anything about your foundation
• Yet, it is the foundation of your house that makes all the difference
• PROVERBS 24:3 states, “BY WISDOM A HOUSE IS BUILT, AND BY UNDERSTANDING IT IS ESTABLISHED”
• This is true not only of your house; it is also true of your Life
In our text this morning, Jesus tells a Parable that compares and contrasts two builders: one wise and one foolish. He emphasizes how critical it is to have a strong foundation. The use of a building metaphor should not surprise us –
• Jesus was a Carpenter
• As part of the firm of Joseph and Sons in Nazareth, He had built the furniture that people put into their homes
• He had probably built some of the homes as well
• Jesus knew the difference between a solid house and a shoddy one
However, this narrative is not just for ARCHITECTS – CARPENTERS - CONTRACTORS. It is for you and me. Building a house is simply an analogy for building a life. The point is this –
• You are building a life and the foundation you choose is the most important feature of your life
• In this text, Jesus provides two options for building your life
In our text, Jesus describes the relationship between hearing and doing in terms of two men who built two house on two different foundations. WISE PEOPLE BUILD THEIR LIVES ON THE ROCK. Look again with me at VS. 24 -- “EVERYONE THEN WHO HEARS THESE WORDS OF MINE AND DOES THEM WILL BE LIKE A WISE MAN WHO BUILT HIS HOUSE ON THE ROCK.” In this verse, Jesus describes how wise people live.
• He does not identify wise people by what they know
• Instead, Jesus teaches that wisdom is what you do with what you know
• More specifically, wisdom is determined by how you respond to what Jesus calls “these words of mine”
Jesus says that everyone who hears the Word and does what it says is like a wise man who built his house on the Rock. 1 CORINTHIANS 3:10 “FOR NO ONE CAN LAY A FOUNDATION OTHER THAN THAT WHICH IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST.”
• But here, Jesus does not point to himself as the foundation upon which individuals must build
• He declares that His Word is that Rock
• But this is no contradiction
• The teachings of Christ are inseparable from Christ himself
• To build on the Word is to build on Christ
The word “FOUNDATION” is defined as the ground on which other parts rest or are overlaid, like the base on which a house is built or the roots of a tree. Without a strong foundation, neither could withstand the storms that various seasons bring. Similarly, without a strong SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION, you cannot withstand the storms of life that you may be facing—whether they are -
• Financial
• Emotional
• Relational
Although Society and Culture may offer many solutions to help you brace against the struggles of daily living, following are the three essentials needed in your spiritual life to weather any storm you might be dealt:
• Praise and Worship
• The Word of God
• Prayer
By embracing these three activities and putting them into daily practice, you will build your spiritual strength—your foundation—and begin to experience a powerful new sense of God’s presence and purpose. As a Christian, we all build our spiritual houses, but who or what is the foundation of that house? Who or what is at the core of our faith? Jesus called us to build our house and place our foundation on the Rock, because HE IS THE ROCK OF OUR SALVATION. Other than Jesus, whatever foundation you build your life on will never stand firm when the weight of life is placed upon you.
• Normally, we like to build our lives upon people
• We hope that they can hold us up when we’re falling down
• But, if they fall, who will hold you up?
• ISAIAH 2:22 “CEASE YE FROM MAN, WHOSE BREATH IS IN HIS NOSTRILS: FOR WHEREIN IS HE TO BE ACCOUNTED OF?”
• Don’t put and build your foundation on man
• People like you and me have limits
• PSALMS 20:7 “SOME TRUST IN CHARIOTS, AND SOME IN HORSES: BUT WE WILL REMEMBER THE NAME OF THE LORD OUR GOD”
The text this morning goes on to say -- FOOLISH PEOPLE BUILD THEIR LIVES ON THE SAND. VS. 26 “AND EVERYONE WHO HEARS THESE WORDS OF MINE AND DOES NOT DO THEM WILL BE LIKE A FOOLISH MAN WHO BUILT HIS HOUSE ON THE SAND.” These two houses apparently had much in common. They may have been similar in size, structure and material.
• You may not have been able to tell the difference between the two of them
• But underneath the surface there was a great difference between the two houses
• One house was built on the sand
• Jesus has to be exaggerating to make a point
• No one would build a house on sand
• Have you ever stood in sand?
• It is a highly unstable surface that moves under your feet as you stand in it
• Who in their right mind would build a house on sand?
• No wonder Jesus says the man who builds his house on the sand is foolish
The references to wisdom and foolishness are not intellectual. They are MORAL – ETHICAL - SPIRITUAL. PROVERBS 1:7 says, “THE FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE BEGINNINGN OF KNOWLEDGE; FOOLS DESPISE WISDOM AND INSTRUCTION.”
• This is the way the people of the world live
• They despise the wisdom and instruction of the Lord
• There are those who think they can build their lives without any foundations
• There are those who think they can build their lives on any foundation
• Both are wrong
You are inevitably building your life on something, be it MONEY – EDUCATION – FAMILY – WORK – SUCCESS. The question is, will it stand? Only the Word of God can stand the storms of life. At some point in our lives we will discover why it’s so critical to build on the strong foundation. Jesus says, “AND THE RAIN FELL, AND THE FLOODS CAME, AND THE WINDS BLEW AND SLAMMED AGAINST THAT HOUSE; AND YET IT DID NOT FALL, FOR IT HAD BEEN FOUNDED ON THE ROCK.”
• Jesus doesn’t pull any punches
• Jesus does not say “if the rain falls” or “if the floods come” or “if the winds blow”
• He says, “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house”
• Jesus tells you straight-up that storms will come and you will not be spared!
And if you’ve walked with Christ for any length of time, you’ve observed people who hear and do the words of Jesus have the very same crises in their lives that people have who don’t do His words. Obedience to Christ does not mean you will not get rained on. Anyone who tells you that the Christian life is all sunny days has lied to you. Nevertheless, the storms are what test us. Living in the sunshine of life doesn’t tell us much about ourselves.
• Anybody can build a house that will stand firm when the sun is shining and the wind is still
• It is the storms that reveal the strength of your foundation
• When you build on the rock you must expect storms, because only storms can show your wisdom to the world around you
WHY DID THE FOOLISH MAN BUILD HIS HOUSE ON THE SAND? It is actually because He has miscalculated the weather.
• He thought every day was going to be Sunshine
• He thought his life was always going to be Smooth
• So he figured a sand dune would do as a Foundation
Let’s face it; it is appealing to build on the sand. It’s found in a GOOD LOCATION – ADEQUATE - EASY. Who wants to dig down deep if you don’t have to?
• It takes more work to build on the Rock
• It takes more time and energy
• It costs more
• It is easier and faster to build on the sand
• It’s always easier to take shortcuts in building a home
• It’s cheaper to use inferior materials
• And for a while, no one may notice
But somewhere along the line, you will pay for your shoddy workmanship. The same is true when it comes to the foundation of your life.
• It is easier to go with the crowd
• It takes less time and energy if you simply maintain a superficial faith
• And frankly, most of the time, who can really tell the difference anyway?
• It’s easier to just show up for church for an hour a week than it is to develop spiritual roots
• But there’s only one problem with this mentality, the Bible teaches that storms are lurking on the horizon
DO YOU KNOW WHAT MANY CHRISTIANS DO WHEN IT STARTS RAINING? They try to change foundations. When the sky gets dark, the winds pick up, and the rain begins to pour they pick up the telephone, call the most spiritual people they know, and say, “Help me build a new foundation under my house. It’s falling apart.”
• But you can’t change foundations when you’re in the midst of a storm
• You have to lay your foundation before the storm comes, so that when the rain, the floods, and the winds come, your house is secure
• This is also true in the natural realm
• It is hard to lay a foundation when it’s raining
• Workers have to stop pouring concrete when it begins to rain
• The foundation has to be poured on sunny days
--Our Spiritual Foundation must be Built to Last!
--How is your foundation?
--Is it built upon the Rock or is it built upon Sand?
--If it’s built upon the Rock, keep on
--Continue doing what you’re doing
--Seek to stretch yourself further in God’s Word
--Pray that He gives you an even greater hunger and thirst for His Word
--If your foundation is built upon sand and you know you’re sinking down, build your foundation on the rock of God’s Word
--Today, I invite you to do a building inspection of your life
--If you want a stable life
--One that doesn’t cave in when the rain comes
--Build it on the Rock today
--Make sure you are Built to Last
--I don’t know about you but
--My Hope Is Built On Nothing Less
--Than Jesus Blood and Righteousness
--I Dare not Trust the Sweetest Frame
--But Wholly Lean On Jesus Name
--On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand
--All Other Ground is Sinking Sand
--I am glad today, that I am Built to Last
