Two men, the number is both important and irrelevant. It is important because there had to be two, one would not have been enough. It’s irrelevant because those two men represent every human being who has ever lived. Two men, the number is both important and irrelevant.
The story is a familiar one to those who grew up in Sunday School or Vacation Bible School. Two men decided to build homes, an activity as common then as it is today. The need for shelter spans and crosses cultural and time lines. For some it is the need to keep out the cold for others it is to protect them against the heat but for all of mankind there is an innate need to have a home of some kind. A tent, an igloo, a hovel or a palace they all do the same thing they provide privacy and protection for those who occupy them.
And so Jesus has come to the end of the Sermon on the Mount in continuing to explain the Kingdom of God Jesus reaches out to embrace a metaphor that would have been very familiar to him as a carpenter, the construction of a new home.
Ruth read our scripture this morning and it tells the story of these two men. And as a part of the story there are a number of things that the men have in common as well as areas where they differ.
First of all they both built homes. Now remember this is a metaphor and Jesus doesn’t play games here he is very upfront about what he is trying to explain and he begins by setting the guidelines of the metaphor.
What the men are building are their lives. They are taking what they have learned from Jesus on the sermon on the mount and they are deciding what to do with it.
Both men built houses and we know absolutely nothing about the houses they built we don’t know if they were big house or little house we have no idea about the quantity or quality of the material that was used in their houses. For all practical purposes the houses were the same.
In most cases Christ Followers are very similar to those who don’t follow Christ. There are no glaring differences, instead we discover that in most cases those who don’t know Jesus are very like those who do know Jesus. With one critical difference of course, they don’t know Jesus. After all they are our neighbours, our friends and our loved ones. Tom Rainer says “Most of the unchurched are concerned for their families. Their moral values are not radically different from ours. They work alongside of us, and their children and our children play together. Some of the unchurched are the teachers of our children. The unchurched live in our neighbourhoods and carry on friendly conversations with us. They often carry the same financial burdens we do, and they are just as patriotic as we are. And many of the unchurched live in the same home we do: they are our family members.”
The houses were the same what wasn’t the same were the foundations the houses were built upon. Life was the same and it brought the same storms to both men, what wasn’t the same was their foundation’s ability to stand up to the storm.
A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to stand in the snow on our lot along with two engineers and watch Billy Hubbard use a little excavator to dig holes and what we discovered was that down about a metre was bedrock. Which wasn’t all that surprising considering the amount of bedrock there is in this area.
And it wasn’t even a matter for concern because our building isn’t designed with a basement; it’s sitting on a slab. If it had been designed with a basement that would have been a matter of concern. When Billy told us that he was at bedrock and couldn’t dig any deeper the first thought that went through my mind was a scripture and not just any scripture it was Matthew 16:18 . . . Upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.
No doubt about it the church was being built on rock but what does that mean? In the physical it means one thing but what does it mean in the spiritual realm? Well time and time again the scripture uses “The Rock” as a metaphor for God and His unchanging nature. The first time was in Genesis 49:24 But his bow remained strong, and his arms were strengthened by the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel. But it certainly wasn’t the only time it was used Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock; his work is perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is! And Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
The metaphor of God as our Rock is used throughout the scripture. So, spiritually to build on the rock means to build on God, but what does that mean? And aren’t all churches built on God? Unfortunately not all churches are built on God, their foundations have deteriorated over the years and now they may be built on social concern or religious commitment but they are not built on God.
And that’s something we need to be careful of because it would become so easy for our vision to shift from God and his Kingdom to the building and all that’s involved there. So if we go back to our original scripture Jesus is telling his listeners that the rock that they needed to build their lives upon was found in his sermon. Even those of us with short attention spans can usually remember what was just said. So what are some of the rocks that we should be building our church upon?
Early in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus made this statement Matthew 5:17-18 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them. I assure you, until heaven and earth disappear, even the smallest detail of God’s law will remain until its purpose is achieved.
The first thing we need to build upon is 1) The Rock of the Word: If we are going to build a church with a strong foundation it will need to be grounded in the word of God. In 2005 it’s easy to decide that we don’t agree with this and we don’t agree with that. But we need to stay grounded in this book.
This is not just a great story, it’s not just a religious text this is the word of God. And when we start explaining away stories from the Old Testament by saying “This wasn’t an actual event it is just an analogy.” Or saying “Jesus didn’t really mean it that way.” Or “You have to understand what the Bible is really trying to say.” Then we are on shaky ground.
And what happens is if you can’t accept that Noah escaped the flood in an ark, or that David killed Goliath with a sling shot or that a giant fish swallowed Jonah then pretty soon you can’t accept that Jesus was born of a virgin or rose from the dead.
That is why during the same sex marriage debates clergy have stood up and said “The bible doesn’t say anything against homosexuality.” What they are saying is “I don’t believe what the bible says about homosexuality because I don’t believe what the bible says.” And when you get to that point my friends you’re not a church you are just a place to gather on Sunday mornings.
Paul wrote to a young preacher named Timothy and part of his second letter to Timothy contained these words. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.
There are some cool things I want to do as we get closer to completion of the building. Before we lay the carpet in the worship centre we are going to have some permanent markers available and I want people to write their favourite scriptures on the floor.
The promises that mean the most to you, the verses that have gotten you through the tough times and have reminded you of God’s faithfulness. There is a hymn we sing at the Berkeley that says “Standing on the promises that cannot fail, When the storms of doubt and fear assail, By the living word of God I shall prevail, Standing on the promises of God.” Every Sunday in our new church home we will be standing on the promises of God.
And before the first service is held I want to play the entire bible though the facility on CD so when we open our doors for the first time our building will have been steeped in the word of God.
But those things won’t mean anything unless we determine in our hearts that we will remain committed to God’s word at Cornerstone Wesleyan Church. That is will be a central part of who we are in our preaching, teaching and worship.
One of the most familiar portions of the Sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew 5:13-14 “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world—like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see.
When Jesus started the story of the two builders he makes two statements. The first is found in Matthew 7:24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys me is wise. . . The second is found two verses later in Matthew 7:26 But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish . . .
So the second rock is the 2) Rock of Light and Salt This tells us that how we are viewed by the community is not simply based on what we believe but also on how we behave. If you are a believer, a follower of Christ, a Christian then there are certain behaviours that should be evidenced in your life and certain behaviours that shouldn’t be evidenced in your life. After Jesus told his listeners that they should act as Salt and Light in their communities he spoke about things like, anger and hatred, lust and adultery, lying and holding grudges.
Throughout the New Testament we are reminded of this time and time again with statements like Ephesians 5:8-9 For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behaviour should show it! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.
And Galatians 5:24-25 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
It’s so unfortunate that when Preachers try to confront Christians about their behaviour the person bristles and demands “How dare you judge me?” Actually it’s kind of easy because the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 5:12 It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your job to judge those inside the church who are sinning in these ways.
And Jesus stressed the importance of our behaviour in Matthew 7:17-18 A healthy tree produces good fruit, and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. And then he finishes up by saying Matthew 7:20 Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced.
People outside the church know when believers aren’t behaving the way they are supposed to be, they even have a special word for people like that. It’s hypocrite. And so Jesus tells us Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
If there is one portion of the Sermon on the Mount that is familiar to people of all Christian traditions it is the Lord’s Prayer. And three times Jesus uses the phrase “When you pray.” Not “If you pray” but “When you pray.” Which might indicate that he expects his people to pray.
And so we need to build the church on 3) The Rock of Prayer. Here’s a question for you, have you prayed at the property yet? If the answer is no I would encourage you to do so this week. Before we start construction God’s people need to bathe that property in prayer.
You need to pray for the safety for the men and women working on the church and also that we will have a positive spiritual impact on them. You need to pray for the children who will attend the children’s centre and their parents. You need to pray for the building committee so that we will make the right decisions and more importantly that we will be good witness to those we are involved with. And you need to pray for Cornerstone that we will be faithful in using our new building to reach our community for Christ. And you can pray for all of those things without ever leaving your car.
The bible tells us in Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. And the word of God promises us in James 5:16 . . .The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.
We need to be a church grounded on prayer. And before we worship for the first time in our new building we will be there to pray. And before we preach for the first time in the new building we will be there to pray.
And then Jesus said Matthew 5:43-44 “You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
We need to be a church built on the 4) The Rock of Love. It still sounds a little bizarre today, love your enemies, and we’ve had two thousand years to get used to it. I wonder what people thought when they heard it for the first time? “Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” If we are going to build a church on the Rock of Jesus Christ then it will need to be built on love of Jesus.
That’s why he came John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. And That’s why he died and that’s why he rose again, because of his love for you, and for me and for our loved ones and for our . . .enemies.
If we have the nicest church building for miles around, if we have the best singing and the best praise band and worship team in the city, if my preaching is second to none but we don’t have love, then we’ve blown it. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:13 There are three things that will endure—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
And Jesus reminded us in John 13:35 “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” And the love we show at Cornerstone Wesleyan Church will prove to the world, and to Kingswood, and to Hammonds Plains, and to Bedford, and to Sackville, and to Dartmouth and to Halifax that we are His disciples.
Hope this message has been helpful. PowerPoint is available email me at denn@powerpoint4preaching.com or visit our website at www.powerpoint4preaching.com
