Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, July 16, 2017 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister TOPIC: Christian Living Preparing For Tomorrow Today Matthew 7:24-27 (NKJV) Please open your Bibles to today's scripture text in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter seven. And let's read verses 24-27. Matthew 7:24-27 (NKJV) 24 Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. PRAYER ****************** I N T R O D U C T I O N When we were young, probably none of us gave a whole lot of thought with regards to our future. We were too busy playing with our childhood friends. And later our minds were on our boyfriends and girlfriends...and Friday night ball games...and going out on dates...and the prom and graduation. We were too busy enjoying the moment to even think about the future.
Then we got married...and had kids...and went off to work for the next 20-30-40 years. And before we knew what hit us we went from being parents to becoming grandparents and even great-grandparents. And we wonder, How did my life pass by so quickly? And we start thinking about things we never thought about before such as retirement...and Social Security Checks...and Medicare. And we start worrying about things such as declining health...and how we're going to survive on a fixed income...and making out our will. You see, all the sudden Preparing For Tomorrow Today becomes of primary importance to us. **************** In Jesus' Parable of The Wise and Foolish Builders Jesus focuses on this matter of preparing now for the future. Only Jesus isn't talking about social security benefits or pension plans. He is talking about building a rock solid foundation now that will not only help us withstand anything we may face tomorrow, but will help us stand firm until our time here on earth has ended and on into eternity. Jesus told this Parable at the very end of His great Sermon on The Mount. In that great sermon Jesus described for His listeners how to live as a citizen of God's kingdom. But as He brought His message to a close, Jesus knew that many who had listened to His sermon were going to walk away from that grassy hillside and never put into practice the things He taught.
So before they left, Jesus told this Parable of The Wise and Foolish Builders to stress a very important truth and that truth is... Hearing God's word is of little or no use unless one puts the word of God into practice in his or her life. As we look more closely at this parable there are two truths I would like to point out. TRUTH #1: You Cannot PREDICT Life's STORMS 1. In the first part of verses 25 and 27 Jesus talks about storms that were faced by both the wise and the foolish builders. First in verse 25 Jesus describes the storm that hit the home of the wise builder... v.25a and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house Then in the first part of verse 27 Jesus describes the storm that hit the home of the foolish builder... v. 27a and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house;
2. You know living here in hurricane alley as we do in eastern North Carolina, you often hear people discuss which kind of storm they would rather go through, a hurricane or a tornado. More often than not, I think many of us would choose to go through a hurricane rather than a tornado; because at least with a hurricane we would have several days to prepare, whereas with a tornado, we might have no time at all to prepare. 3. Well in His parable, Jesus teaches a very important truth. And that is, when it comes to the storms of life we don't get to pick and choose our storms. Life's storms are UNPREDICTABLE! For one thing... (A) We cannot predict the NATURE of life's storms. Notice the wise builder got hit with the same kind of storm the foolish builder got hit with. When it comes to life's storms God doesn't have one type of storm for Christians and another type of storm for non-christians.
* Every single day Christians and non-christians are injured or killed in automobile accidents. * Every day Christians and non-christians are victims of crimes. * Every day Christians and non-christians are hit by financial troubles. * Every day Christians and non-christians go through the terrible pain of divorce. * Every day Christians and non-christians get the bad report that they have cancer. Check the admissions book at any local hospital and you will find the names of Christian and non- Christian patients. Check the obituaries in the local newspaper and you find the names of Christians and non-christians. You see, we cannot predict THE NATURE of our storms in life any more than the wise and foolish builders got to choose the nature of their storm.
(B) Secondly, we cannot predict the TIMING of our life storms. The wise and foolish builders couldn't turn on the local news and hear a storm forecast or look at the approaching storm on a Doppler Radar. They had no way of knowing the timing of their storms. The same thing is true when it comes to life's storms. In fact, have you ever noticed how life's storms always seem to come at the most inopportune, most inconvenient times possible? A life storm might hit on your birthday...or on your anniversary...or at Christmas time or some other holiday. A life storm might hit on the day you're planning to leave on a long-awaited vacation...or it might hit around the time you are about to celebrate a family wedding or a big graduation. A life storm might hit the first thing in the morning right after you just got out of bed, or it may hit in the middle of the night when you're sound asleep.
You see, we never know when we're going to get that dreaded phone call or knock on the door, or that dreaded letter in the mailbox. None of us knows when these things may happen! We cannot predict the NATURE of our life storms. We cannot predict the TIMING of our life storms. (C) And thirdly, We cannot predict the DURATION of our life storms. Jesus doesn't tell us in His parable how long these storms lasted for the wise and foolish builders. We don't know if they were storms that quickly blew through and were followed by bright sunny skies; or if these storms lasted all through the night into the next day. That's the way it is when it comes to life's storms. If God gave us a choice in the matter, we would beg Him to bring the storm to an end quickly, wouldn't we? But the truth is, when it comes to life's storms, they may last for days...or weeks... or months...or even years.
You may be going through a life storm...a trial...a hardship...a serious problem that has been going on for quite some time now and you wonder when God is going to bring you out of the storm to peaceful waters again. None of us knows the answer to that. While it is true that we cannot PREDICT the NATURE...or the TIMING... or the DURATION of our life storms, Jesus teaches us there is one thing WE CAN DO and that is... TRUTH #2: You Can PREPARE Your FOUNDATION So You Can WITHSTAND Life's Storms ILLUSTRATION: Several years ago southern California was deluged heavy rains that didn't stop for several days. And I'm sure you can probably remember those vivid images of several multi-million dollar homes being washed down the mountainsides by huge mudslides. Despite their outward beauty, those homes could not survive the storms because of a very critical architectural decision that was made when the homes were constructed, and that was they chose to build the homes on what they thought was solid ground, but as it turned out those beautiful homes were built on a very foundation.
1. One does not have to be an architect or a building contractor to understand just how extremely important it is to build on a good, solid foundation. If that is true in building a building, it is certainly true when it comes to building our lives. 2. Everyone builds his or her life on something. -Some build their lives on a foundation of money. -Some build their lives on a foundation of material things. -Some build their lives on a foundation of pleasure. -Some build their lives on a foundation of work. Everyone builds his or her life on something. 3. But as Jesus illustrates in this Parable of The Wise and Foolish Builders, there are really just two foundations one can build upon in this life. -We can choose to build our lives upon the WORD OF GOD, which is represented by the rock in His parable.
-Or we can choose to build our lives on something other than THE WORD OF GOD, which is represented by the sand in this parable. 4. In his commentary on Matthew, J.C. Ryle gives us this insight into this parable. Listen carefully! In this parable Jesus gives us a striking picture of two classes of Christian hearers. Those who hear and do nothing----and those who hear and do as well as hear--are both placed before us, and their histories traced to their respective ends. The man who hears Christian teaching, and practices what he hears, is like "a wise man who built his house on a rock." He does not content himself with listening to exhortations to repent, believe in Christ, and live a holy life. He actually repents. He actually believes. He actually ceases to do evil, learns to do well, abhors that which is sinful, and cleaves to that which is good. He is a doer as well as a hearer. (James 1:22.) And what is the result? In the time of trial his faith does not fail him. The floods of sickness, sorrow, poverty, disappointments, bereavements beat upon him in vain. His soul stands unmoved. His faith does not give way. His foundation may have been obtained with much labor and many tears. and many an hour of wrestling in prayer. But his labor has not been thrown away. He now reaps a rich reward. The faith that can stand through the trial of storms is the true faith. (Ryle goes on to say this about the foolish man...)
The man who hears Christian teaching, and never gets beyond hearing, is like "a foolish man who built his house on the sand." He satisfies himself with listening and approving, but he goes no further. He flatters himself, perhaps, that all is right with his soul, because he has feelings, and convictions, and desires, of a spiritual kind. In these he rests. He never really breaks off from sin, and casts aside the spirit of the world. He never really lays hold of Christ. He never really takes up the cross. He is a hearer of truth, but nothing more. And what is the end of this man's shallow faith? It breaks down entirely under the first flood of tribulation. It fails him completely, like a summer-dried fountain, when his need is the sorest. It leaves the man high and dry, like a wreck on a sand bank. Most true is it that what costs little is worth little! A faith which costs us nothing, and consist in nothing but hearing sermons, will always prove at last to be a useless thing. 5. Brothers and sisters listen carefully! The storms of life will reveal your true foundation. If you are putting God's word into practice. If you are truly trusting in God's promises. If you are truly seeking to obey God's commands and live by His principles, your faith in the LORD JESUS CHRIST will help you to withstand any storm in life. But if you are merely hearing God's word but not putting it into practice; if you are simply going going through the motions in your spiritual life, one day a storm will come into your life that will expose the weakness of your foundation. 6. Remember, YOU CANNOT PREDICT WHAT STORMS MAY COME YOUR WAY OVER THE COURSE OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE; BUT YOU CAN PREPARE FOR THOSE STORMS TODAY BY BUILDING YOUR LIFE ON THE ROCK SOLID FOUNDATION OF THE WORD OF GOD.
C O N C L U S I O N GREG ELDER tells this humorous story that illustrates the importance of building on a solid foundation. Elder says, When I was growing up near the Atlantic coast I used to love to go to the beach and build beautiful sandcastles. On one particular trip to the beach I had a problem with some bullies who kept coming along and kicking down my sandcastles. Every morning I would go down to the beach and build a new sandcastle, and before day's end those bullies would come along and kick it down. Well one day I came up with a brilliant idea that would stop the bullies from destroying my sandcastles. I drug some concrete blocks from under the beach house where our family was staying and I built another sandcastle, this time on top of those concrete blocks. And when I was finished, no one could see the concrete blocks that were concealed by the sand. Elder says, I went and hid behind one of nearby sand dunes and waited for the bullies. Sure enough they showed up as expected. I could hardly contain my laughter as I watched them circle around my sandcastle and prepare to kick it down on the count of three. And with a loud holler the bullies kicked with all their might and each boy screamed in agony when their bare feet came into contact with the concealed concrete blocks. And while the bullies were hopping around on one foot, Elder said, It thrilled my heart to see that my sandcastle was still standing! Satan, the bully will do everything he can to kick down our faith. He will use the trials, and troubles, and temptations of life to discourage us and beat us down. But if our house is built upon the rock...the unchanging, eternal word of God, our house will stand firm through any storm!
Matthew 7:24, 25 (NKJV) 24 Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.