- Growing up I was a beach bum. When summer rolled around there wasn't a week that went by that I wasn't throwing on my bathing suit, grabbing my towel and heading down to the beach. I love the beach, the smell, the sand, the water, the sunshine. And of course growing up, I loved to make sand castles.
- I remember my sisters and I loading up the all of our buckets and shovel into the trunk and heading out to the work site as if we were about to construct the Trump Plaza or the Sears Tower. You would have thought we were a bona fide construction company with as much stuff as we hauled. But it was serious business to us. We wanted to build a sand castle that would last, that would endure, that thousands of people could admire and gawk over. We wanted all the works, a tunnel, a moat, a tower, all the workings.
- So when we arrived the first thing we did is find the right location. As they say, what are the three most important thing when building, "location, location, location." So we surveyed the land and chose our spot. And we always chose our spot close to the coast line at that time. Because you needed the sand to be somewhat wet, and you didn't want to run to far to get water. So we began our construction and by the time we were finished, we could truly say with pride, "A Mighty Fortress is Our Sand Castle." They were always beautiful, and we liked to flaunt our castle as much as we could. But the same thing would happen every time. About an hour would go by, and that coast line we built next too would move on us. Because the tides of the ocean are always changing. And eventually that tide would roll our way, and we would watch in sorrow as our mighty fortress became mighty gone. But fortunately, there was always next week, and there was always another chance to rebuild what was lost.
- We all build castles don't we. Even we who are hundreds of miles away from the nearest ocean build castles. We build them with our lives, with our jobs, with our degrees. We build them in our church, with our actions, with our words. We all build castles and we want others to take notice and we want to build something we are proud of. And when our castle is damaged, when our plans crumble, we have that assurance that there is always tomorrow, that there is always another chance.
- But it's a funny thing, God doesn't really care about the castle's you or I build. They don't impress him very much. I mean we can build and build all our life. We can impress and impress, we can flaunt and flaunt, we can display all the right things, but God isn't too concerned with those things. It is too bad isn't it? Wouldn't it be much easier if all we had to do to please God was build a few grand castles. If all we had to do was say the right things and do the right things.
- Are you a Christian? "Well yes I am a Christian, you and 80 % of America."
- Do you believe there is a God? "Why of course I do. I even believe that Jesus is the Son of God."
- Should we help other people? "Sure we should help others, that is why I volunteer for VBS, that is why I am active in the community, that is why I send money to the Red Cross."
- It is too bad that saying the right things is all it takes. It is too bad God doesn't judge us by our words. Because we have got the language figured out. Why then, we could go around talking like a Christian and sounding like a Christian and that would make us a Christian, because if it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck and walks like a duck, it must be a duck. Oh, don't we wish it were that easy.
- Don't we wish that God would judge us by the castles we build with our words and with our actions. Don't we wish that God would be pleased merely by the way we look and by the outward appearances. It would so easy. Because we have all become experts at building castles.
- But Jesus confronts that line of thinking and offers a different view.
- Read 7:21-23
- You see Jesus is not saying that there is anything necessarily wrong with building castles. He is not saying that we should not try and live a certain way, and talk a certain way. There is nothing wrong with building a family, with attending church, with professing Jesus as Lord. No, these things are not wrong within themselves. I mean is it wrong to preach the name of Christ, or to bring about healing. But those things in themselves are not what pleases God. Those things will not save us when the tide comes rolling in. They may impress other people, they may get you good samaritan of the year award. They may allow you to be accepted and revered by people. But when the real storm comes, when the real tide rolls in, when the real judge appears, then our castles will undergo the true test.
- What are we looking for in life? No, I am not chasing rabbits as many preachers like to do. That question has everything to do with what we have already talked about. What are we looking for in life? What are you looking for in life? I mean what is your ultimate goal, your ultimate satisfaction. We all have a goal in life. For some it is clearly laid out, for others this goal drives our choices and our decision without us even being made aware of it. What are you striving for? What do you think it will take to make you complete and fulfilled? What are you basing your life on?
- In Palestine, during Jesus time, builders had two options. He could either build on the sandy surface or he could take the extra effort and dig through the sand and build on the bedrock. Sure both houses would end up looking the same. For the common passerby, they would see no difference. Both houses would be admired. Both would impress others. But when the storm comes rolling over the horizon and reaches the house, then the true test will come. Then the difference will become clear. One will stand and one will fall.
- What are you basing your life on? What are you living for? On what foundation are you building your castle?
- You see Jesus calls us to an inside-out faith. That is what this whole sermon on the mount is about. A call to have enough faith to build our lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ. A call to be different in character, in our your ambitions, in your devotion, in your relationships, in everything you do and in everything you are, as God's people we are to be basing our life on Jesus. And as Jesus concludes the greatest sermon ever written, he concludes by drawing out one final, one crucial difference between citizens of His kingdom and citizens of the world. One crucial difference that serves as the foundation, the base, the cornerstone for everything else.
- The difference? Jesus says it best, -- Read 7:24-27
- We build castles throughout our entire life. And when those castles begin to chip away we are grateful that we have another day to rebuild them. But written all over this passage and all over this sermon is the word judgment. One day you will not have another day. One day will become the last day. And as you stand before the Judge, as you stand the ultimate, eternal test, God will not look at the castles you have built, at the things you have acquired, at the positions you have held, at the possessions you have accumulated. He won't look at whether or not you said the right things or even did the right things. Your church attendance, your financial giving, your service in the church, those things he will not look at. Rather, He will look in your soul and he will discover who you truly lived for, who you based your life on. When he looks in your soul, who or what will he see?
- The story is told of a jet fighter pilot who was on a mission during the Gulf War. As he was flying over the enemy territory, he was shot down from a ground to air weapon. He immediately ejected from his flaming plane. But, as he was descending to the ground below him, he noticed the townspeople and the enemy armies were gathered together waiting for him to land, waiting to capture him. So in a panic, he maneuvered his parachute in order that he might land on the other side of a hill. As soon as he landed, he cut his parachute chords and ran as quick as he could into a bush were he buried his head in the mud. Within minutes, the enemy had reached the spot of the bush and were canvassing the area, trying to find him. Their bayonets literally coming within inches of his face as they poked through the shrubs and bushes. This went on all through the day.
- At nighttime he came up out of the bush and attempted to radio the home base, but never got a response. Day after day went by with no contact. When daylight came through, he buried himself in the mud. When nighttime came, he literally sucked the dew off the grass blades for hydration and ate bugs for nourishment. He was hungry, he was tired, he was thirsty. And as each day passed, his hope of rescue became less and less. He kept trying to radio the home base, but he kept failing. And the more he radioed, the more the batteries wore down. Until it came down to one final signal. He knew it would be his last chance. If this radio signal failed, he knew he would be completely cut off from his rescuers, and he knew the enemy would eventually capture him. So he sent the signal, and just as he did, an ally plane was overhead and received the signal. Within minutes, a rescue helicopter landed directly in front of the bush he was hiding in. When he saw the helicopter door open, he bursted out of the bush, sprinted with all his strength, and threw himself across the threshold of the chopper. And as he lay on his back, with his chest heaving and his pulse racing, all he could say was.... "Thank you for saving me... Thank your for saving me.... Thank you for saving me."
- An inside-out faith is a faith that is founded on the salvation of Jesus Christ. God has saved you, he has given you a new life, a new hope, and in every way our life should be a testimony of the salvation he has given us and the salvation he has offered the world.
- Can you say that with me,
"Thank you for saving me.... thank you for saving me....
- Now go and live it!
