The Life That Stands Through A Storm

*THE LIFE THAT STANDS THROUGH A STORM*

Matthew 7:24-27

Dorn Ridge & York Manor February 26, 2012

(Perhaps a quarter of this message originated with another contributor.)

INTRODUCTION:

1.) Jesus was the great illustrator, and one of the places this is clearly seen are in His parables.

A.) Today, I want us to look at a very familiar parable of Christ.

B.) In this portion of Scripture Jesus tells of two men who illustrate false and true faith.

2.) The two builders represent all people.

A.) The wise man heard the Word of God and obeyed it.

B.) The foolish man heard the Word of God and ignored it.

I. THE WISE MAN BUILT HIS HOUSE ON A ROCK.

-- verse 24

1.) The rock provided a solid foundation.

A.) The Lord is our rock.

aa.) Psalm 28:1

B.) He is our only sure rock.

ba.) Ps. 62:2, 6-7

baa.) The Old Testament pictures God as a rock. In the New Testament we are given another great truth:

2.) Christ is our firm foundation.

A.) No other foundation will stand.

aa.) I Cor. 3:11

B.) This foundation is secure.

ba.) 2 Tim. 2:19

3.) Are you building your life on this foundation?

A.) Have you trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour?

aa.) There are many foundations we can build upon.

ab.) Many will build their lives on one foundation after another.

aba.) They will build on one foundation, and when it fails they will go build on another.

abb.) Sadly, some will spend their entire lives building on one foundation after another, and yet without ever building on the one true foundation of Jesus Christ.

abb-1.) Yet Christ is the only sure foundation which will not fail.

4.) Then came a fierce storm that challenged the structure of the house.

-- Verse 25

A.) We have all seen and perhaps even experienced physical storms like this.

aa.) I remember well the Ground Hog Gale of 1976.

aaa.) Up around here it was not that big of a deal, but I come from Deer Island. Around there, and Campobello, and Grand Manan it was the storm of the century.

aab.) It was a storm that wiped out wharves, sunk ships, took stores and businesses built on wharves that had been there over a century into the sea.

B.) But we have also experienced other storms that have tested the strength of our spiritual house.

ba.) The reality is that nobody can go through life without storms.

5.) The house of the wise man stood firm in the storm.

A.) When the storms come is the time when the physical structure is tested to its limits.

aa.) Likewise, the storms of life test our spiritual structure and foundations.

II. THE FOOLISH MAN BUILT HIS HOUSE ON THE SAND.

-- vs. 26

1. He heard the Word of God but ignored it.

A.) How many today have heard the Word of God, yet choose to build their lives on a different foundation!

2.) There are many choices for life’s foundations.

A.) Some choose to build on wealth.

B.) Some choose to build on pleasure.

C.) Some choose to build on the praises of people.

3.) On what are you building your life?

4.) Will your life hold up when the storm comes?

A.) For our lives to hold together when the storms of life come, we have to have strength from the firm foundation of Jesus Christ.

B.) Back in the days of sailing ships, one of the great ship builders of the past described how he would prepare a mast for the ship that was being built.

ba.) He had learned by looking at the trees what ones might make good ship masts.

bb.) When this craftsman found the ideal tree, he would go and cut down all the other trees on all sides of this tree for a distance of several feet.

bba.) In this way his selected tree would be powerfully hit by the full force of every storm and wind that nature would give.

bbb.) The shipbuilder was patient, because it might be several more years before this tree had endured sufficient storms to have the strength to hold the sails, while battering the winds and storms on a sailing ship.

bbc.) You see it was the storms of life that gave the tree its strength.

bc.) I don’t like the storms of life.

bca.) I doubt that anyone in this room rejoices when life’s storms come upon you or your family.

bca-1.) In fact something would be desperately wrong if you did rejoice in those times.

bcb.) But when your life is built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, you have a foundation that will not fail – even in the strongest of the storms that life will throw at you.