Matthew 7:24-29 11/16/25 a.m. What are you building on?
I guess I ought to do a series of sermons on SONGS we SANG in Children’s Church. I’ve mentioned some of these songs in different messages that I’ve brought. “Oh be Careful Little Eyes what you See.” “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.” “This Little Light of Mine, I’m Gonna Let it Shine”
But as I was reading through Matthew 7, this song came to my mind. I thought about making all of you young adults who ENDURED my Children’s Church come on up here and help me sing it. Amanda, Kara, Bonnie, Olivia, Riley, Carla, Mary, Hannah and Abbie come on up here and help me. NOT REALLY.
“The wise man built his house upon a rock,
(REPEAT TWICE)
And the RAINS came TUMBLING DOWN.
The rains came down and the floods came up.
(REPEAT TWICE)
And the HOUSE on the ROCK STOOD FIRM.”
And then we’d sing the second Verse.
“The foolish man built his house upon the sand
(REPEAT TWICE)
And the RAINS came TUMBLING DOWN.
The rains came down and the floods came up.
(REPEAT TWICE)
And the HOUSE on the SAND WENT SPLAT.”
And so the last verse of this song talks about building your house on the Lord Jesus Christ.
I turn on the news and it makes me ask the question. “What has happened in our country?” It seems like things that were once so important are crumbling. We talk about our infrastructure collapsing. The basic NEEDS that are so important for us as a country and society are FAILING. So much TIME and MONEY that is INVESTED into our SOCIETY is WASTED on TRIVIAL and USELESS THINGS.
Our health care system seems to be on the rocks. It takes weeks and even months to get into a specialist. Costs are out of sight for even basic medical procedures. Doctors are controlled by Corporate America instead of their own CONSCIENCE.
Our power grid system is at risk. I was reading a report that was put out in July of this year by the U.S. Department of Energy. It said that, without major changes, most regions of the country will face unacceptable grid reliability risks within five years.
Our ROADS are getting worse and worse but yet they keep building new ones. You don’t believe me? Try driving up Javine to Avant. That road is getting bad. Or Highway 11 North of Skiatook. The East side of the road is falling off.
My point here is that it seems like our infrastructures are crumbling. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna preach on BAD ROADS and BAD HEATH CARE. I could but I won’t. I could go on for hours pointing out things that need to be fixed.
ILLUS: It would be kind of like the deacon who got up and started WALKING OUT towards the end of a Really Really Long SERMON. The preacher stopped right in the middle of his PREACHING and boomed out, “Where do you think you’re going DEACON?” The fellow turned around and said, “I’m going to get a haircut.” The preacher frowned and said, “Why didn’t you get one before you came?” The guy looked over his shoulder on the way out and said, “Because I didn’t need one.”
But the most concerning thing for me is that it seems that the VERY FOUNDATION that our country was built upon is STARTING to CRUMBLE.
So why? Why is this happening? Well, I believe, the VERY REASON for this is the FOUNDATION that people have built their LIVES upon is also starting to CRUMBLE. You see, we are a nation of people. 342 million people. We are what HOLDS UP this country. But what HOLDS YOU and I UP? What makes up the FOUNDATION of MY LIFE and YOUR LIFE? It’s a GOOD question that each one of us needs to answer today.
And so let’s go ahead and turn to Matthew Chapter 7 and we’ll read Verses 24-29.
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
Brother _____ would you lead us in Prayer?
I. And so in this parable Jesus gives us the examples of TWO DIFFERENT DISTINCT MEN. They had two different WAYS of THINKING. Two different ways of LIVING their LIVES. Let’s take a close at them.
First of all you have a WISE MAN. And this WISE MAN has come to the decision that he needs to build a HOUSE. He needs to provide SHELTER for his family. And so he chooses a location. A place to build. And he finds a ROCK. Now it’s NOT gonna be an easy task. He has a TOUGH JOB AHEAD. To BUILD on a ROCK means you’re gonna have to get down inside of that rock. If you just SET a HOUSE on a ROCK the wind will BLOW it OFF. You have to ANCHOR into that ROCK. It’s gonna take some SLEDGE HAMMERS. Some ROCK BARS. Some BLOOD, SWEAT and TEARS. But THAT is what the WISE MAN decided to do.
And then Jesus told us about the FOOLISH MAN. He also felt the need to build a HOUSE. No doubt he also had a family and felt like he needed something that would protect them from the elements. And so he goes out and begins to SURVEY the area. He’s going to decide WHERE to build his house. He may have taken a shovel with him to check the soil. He finds a spot with a real nice view and he pushes his shovel into the ground and hits ROCK. Well, that’s not good because it will be too hard. So he moves on down a ways and finds another spot. It’s possibly a little LOWER DOWN the hill. It’s still a good view and so he digs down and finds nice, sandy SOIL. And he says to himself, “THIS IS THE PERFECT SPOT!!!” And so he builds his house upon a PILE of SAND.
It’s interesting because JESUS DEFINES for us which one is the WISE MAN and which one is the FOOLISH MAN.
The WISE MAN is the THE ONE who builds his house on a ROCK. He’s the one who HEARS the TEACHINGS of JESUS and “DOETH THEM.” AND THEN, BECAUSE OF THAT, He BUILDS HIS HOUSE upon a ROCK.
The FOOLISH MAN is THE ONE who builds his house on the SAND. He’s the one who HEARS the TEACHINGS of JESUS and “DOETH THEM NOT.” And because of that he does a VERY FOOLISH THING. He BUILDS HIS HOUSE upon the SAND.
Do you understand what I’m saying? Are you getting this?
It’s what you DO with what you HEAR that matters.
You READ the WORD of GOD and you OBEY IT.
You FEEL the HOLY SPIRIT DRAWING YOU and you MOVE.
You HEAR the WORD OF GOD preached and you LISTEN.
And these things CHANGE your LIFE. You begin to build upon a ROCK. The Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus told Peter upon this ROCK I will build my CHURCH and the gates of HELL WILL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT. More than a CHURCH you can build your LIFE upon JESUS. A SOLID FOUNDATION.
And Jesus says that YOU ARE A WISE MAN for doing that.
You see, it’s what you DO with what you HEAR that matters. I’ve made mistakes in my life. I’ve done things I’m ashamed of. Said things I shouldn’t have said. But when it comes to serving Jesus I AIN’T NO FOOL I have BUILT MY LIFE upon HIM!!!
THIS IS IMPORTANT!!!
It’s not enough to READ the BIBLE. The WORD of GOD.
It’s not enough to FEEL the HOLY SPIRIT draw you.
It’s not enough to come to church and listen to the sermon.
It’s not enough to BELIEVE in GOD.
Listen, it’s all about WHAT YOU DO with what you HEAR.
I don’t know how many people that I’ve known throughout the years that have HEARD the WORD of GOD. In fact, they have been SATURATED with it.
They have SEEN God move in other people’s lives.
I believe they have FELT the Holy Spirit of God Draw them.
They KNOW the WORDS of God but they WILL NOT do them. Do you know who these people are? THEY ARE FOOLS!
They build their lives on SAND. The most important thing in their life is HAVING FUN and GETTING MORE TOYS.
They build their lives on SAND. The next PILL. The next HIT. The next DRINK. The next HOOK UP.
They build their lives on their own terms. Their MOTTO is “I DID IT MY WAY. I PULLED MYSELF UP from my own BOOTSTRAPS. No one is going to tell me how to LIVE.”
And do you know who pays the price? Not just THEMSELVES but their FAMILIES. And NOT just THEMSELVES and their FAMILIES. The ENTIRE NATION SUFFERS when people LEAD FOOLISH LIVES.
It seems like to me that America is losing it’s DIRECTION. We’ve lost our MORALITY. We’ve lost our DECENCY. And it’s all because so many people here in America have BECOME FOOLS. They HEAR the WORDS of JESUS but they won’t do them.
II. I had a really great childhood. I grew up in the country. I was born with a best friend, my twin brother Mike. I had Troy Hurd, Sister Sharon’s son. I had Kevin Strickland here and Clay Carr. That’s right. I betcha Old Kevin has known me longer than anyone else here. And he’s still my friend. That’s amazing.
And we would run around and play outside all Summer long. But one day we decided to build a fort. A playhouse. We built it on the side of a hill out of some scrap wood and old barn tin. And one day we was inside of it and we noticed that it started TILTING just a little bit. I guess the WIND BLEW or somebody BUMPED IT TOO HARD. Anyway, we got out and needless to say, it fell down. Thankfully we weren’t in it.
Do you know why it fell? Because a bunch of FOOLISH 10 year old boys built it. That’s why. It didn’t have a WEAK FOUNDATION. It didn’t even HAVE A FOUNDATION.
And there’s something in this Verse that you’ve probably noticed but I’m gonna point it out to you anyway. The STORMS CAME. The storms came and BATTERED both houses. If you look at Verses 25 and 27 the first part of the Verses READ exactly the same.
“And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house”
Rain, Floods and Wind. Sounds kind of like Oklahoma EXCEPT they left out Tornadoes and Earthquakes.
And when this happened to BOTH HOUSES the RESULTS were totally opposite.
The FIRST HOUSE that Jesus spoke about, the one built by the man who OBEYED the TEACHINGS of JESUS, the HOUSE built by the WISE MAN. The one built on a ROCK. The storms came and his house stood FIRM.
The second house was built by the man who HEARD the words of Jesus but REFUSED to OBEY THEM.
He was a FOOLISH MAN who built his house on the SAND. And when the storms came, his house COLLAPSED.
Can I tell you all something today? The STORMS OF LIFE are coming for all of us. The WIND the RAIN and the FLOODS are coming.
If you’re a younger person here, and your mama and daddy are still alive, they’re not gonna be for ever.
If you have children, they’re gonna get sick. You’re probably gonna have times when you feel scared and you’re gonna feel DESPERATE.
If you’re MARRIED or you’re planning on getting MARRIED, there’s going to be STRESSFUL TIMES in your relationship.
SICKNESS will COME. LOSS will COME. PAIN will COME.
Listen, NO ONE is IMMUNE from the STORMS of LIFE. They came for the WISE MAN and they came for the FOOLISH MAN. The difference was what happened to the house. And so you better have YOUR HOUSE BUILT upon the ROCK. You better have a STRONG FOUNDATION. That’s what makes the DIFFERENCE in the OUTCOME. What your LIFE is built upon.
III. And so lastly, let’s go ahead and look at the outcome.
Verse 25 “And it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.”
Verse 27 “And it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
You know, I think God wants us to relate HIS WORD to our lives today. And when you really relate what Jesus was saying here, it’s TRULY HEART BREAKING. Jesus wants you and I to realize that a HOUSE, a LIFE, built on anything but HIS WORD, HIS TEACHINGS and HIS SALVATION is going to FALL. And GREAT WILL BE THE FALL OF IT.
So many people I’ve known who have built their life upon things of this world have LOST IT ALL when they DIED. All of their PLEASURES and TOYS. Their MONEY and ASSETS that were SO IMPORTANT to them are left to someone else. And what happens to them? They wind up in an ETERNAL HELL. All because they built their LIFE upon the SAND.
ILLUS: Last Saturday, not yesterday but a week ago, we went down to Eli and Amanda’s house in Depew, Oklahoma. Eli pastors a church there. Of course, as most of you know, our son Eli married Roger and Kelly Barnes daughter, Amanda. She’s a wonderful wife and mother. Anyway, they bought a house there in town. It’s well over a 100 years old. It’s been totally redone. It’s a beautiful home. A HUGE FRONT PORCH. I mean, it’s a show place. Arguably, the prettiest house in town. But when they bought the house it had one problem and because of that problem, they got a great buy on it.
Here was the problem. One of the two front pillars of that HUGE porch was giving away. It’s foundation was collapsing. It was leaning over. Thousands of pounds were sitting on that pillar and slowly but surely it was leaning further and further away from the house.
You see, over 100 years ago when they built the house they hadn’t went all the way down to the ROCK. The footing was setting on SANDY DIRT. It was kind of scary. If it would have given way the front of their house would have been destroyed. And so we began digging and man it was HARD on this OLD MAN. Good thing I had my two boys doing most of the work. But finally, we was able to get down to the rock back under the edge of the foundation. And once we got there we set up TWO, 12 TON JACKS, between the rock and the FOUNDATION. And we began JACKING and LIFTING that pillar. We had winches further up the PILLAR and we started PULLING on it. Silas was WINCHING on the come-alongs and Eli was CRANKING on the JACKS and I was ... UH, well I was watching. I was the BOSS MAN OK? Anyway, it was a slow and, like I said, a scary process. And slowly but surely the PILLAR stood back up straight. After we got it back up where it was supposed to be, we left the JACKS in place and we FILLED UP the HOLE and everything in the HOLE with CONCRETE. Hundreds and hundreds of pounds of concrete setting on SOLID ROCK. I don’t think it will ever move again. And as I thought back over that project, it came de me think about friends and loved ones who are starting to lean. Things are getting tough and they have a foundation of sand.
So let me ask you something. WHAT ARE YOU BUILDING YOUR LIFE UPON? Is it upon the SAND. It might be easy but it won’t last? What are you teaching your kids? What kind of example are you setting for them? What’s really important in your life?
I thought about JACKING that pillar back up straight. What an example of what Jesus will do in YOUR LIFE. Getting down to that ROCK and then using it to STRAIGHTEN THINGS back up. Even though you’ve made mistakes, it’s NEVER TOO LATE to put your TRUST in HIM. It’s never TOO LATE to REBUILD YOUR LIFE just as a WISE MAN WOULD DO. Build it upon Jesus.
Let’s Pray
