Escaping the Pit
Matt. 7:24-27
First Baptist Church, Chester, Illinois
Feb. 24, 2005 Mike Fogerson, Speaker
24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 "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. 26 "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall."
Matt 7:24-27 (NASB)
ETS: Jesus taught His audience how to build a house that stood through the storms.
ESS: Christian homes are intentionally made strong enough to weather the storms
OBJ: I hope you’ll check your home’s foundations for cracks
PQ: How ready is your house for the storm?
UO: Items
PTS: I. Dig Deep
II. Weather the Storm
TS: Let’s look at two items that we must be aware of that can help us get our homes ready for the storm.
I. The first item we must be aware of that can help us get our homes ready for the storm is...dig deep.
A. Sermon was preached near the Sea of Galilee...making this closing illustration of the two foundations very relevant.
a. Along the shore was alluvial sand (summertime, the sand was cooked like concrete, in the rainy season the Jordan would flood and this alluvial sand turned back into mush)
b. Some builders would build a house on the alluvial sand and come rainy season...unstable foundation
c. The wise builder (1970’s archeological dif discovered) would dig down into the alluvial sand as much as 10 ft. to the bedrock in order to establish the foundation for the house
* Hard work, long hours, difficult digging
* To the wise builder, there was no other choice (sand or rock)
B. Jesus said that those who lived out what He had been preaching about was like the home builder who dug deep. 24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 "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. Matt 7:24-25 (NASB)
a. When Jesus said "rock", they understood
"Indeed their rock is not like our Rock, even our enemies themselves judge this. Deut 32:31 (NASB)
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalms 18:2 (NASB)
For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God Psalms 18:31 (NASB)
The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of my salvation Psalms 18:46 (NASB)
O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. Psalms 19:14b (NASB)
b. He was asking, "Will you build your life on Me?", or settle for something pleasantly easier, less demanding, than what He’s asking.
c. Jesus classifies builders in one of two categories:
1. Wise (prudent, sensible, practically wise) "Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. Luke 6:47-48 (NASB)
2. Foolish But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great." Luke 6:49 (NASB)
C. Anything we choose to build our life on, except Jesus, is sand.
a. Jesus is already the foundation (1 Cor. 3:11), all we’ve got to do is decide to build on Him
b. Money, careers, family, outward professions of religion-shallow shifting sand
c. My fear...we’re raising a generation of shallow diggers
II The second item we must be aware of that can help us get our homes ready for the storm is...weather the storm.
A. In California last week, multi-million dollar homes went crashing into destruction due to intense flooding
a. Show video of houses collapsing
b. Retirement homes, dream homes, monuments to long hours and fat portfolios-now, trash heaps. Why? They couldn’t weather the storm.
B. Jesus gave a weather report with His closing illustration for the Sermon on the Mount."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. 26 "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall." Matt 7:25-27 (NASB)
a. 100% chance of rain, flooding, and hurricane-force winds
b. Wise Man: ready & his home did not fall Why? Dug deep, listened to storm warnings, founded upon the rock
c. Foolish Man: thought he was ready and his house fell. Why? Thought weatherman was wrong, thought storm would miss his house, build his house on sand.
d. Three things in common:
1. Both men wanted to build a house
2. Both houses looked good/sturdy in good weather
3. Both houses got hit by the storm...only one stood (foundation issue)
C. When storms hit, they expose what kind of foundation we have
a. Storms of life: job loss, death, gossipers, disappointments (church, kids, people)
b. Final storm occurs on the day you and I die
c. If I’m counting on my money, works, family, church membership, Sunday School roll to get me through my last storm...I’m in deep weeds!
d. At the final storm...it doesn’t matter what I think of myself, or what others think of me. The final storm/test is...what will God say?
Conclusion
When I’m up at McClure’s, it’s too late to build another house.
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Respectfully,
Mike Fogerson
