Building on the Rock

BUILDING ON THE ROCK
Sermon by Judy Turner

We listen as Jesus concludes the greatest sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount, with these words:
Matthew 7:21-29
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

We Begin Building a Solid Foundation by Believing the Truth
Building out lives on a solid foundation begins with what we believe. Beliefs determine behavior, our choices, our values. We basically have two choices: believe what Jesus says, or believe what our world says. Rick Warren asks, “Have you ever been sick in bed for a day and watched a day’s worth of talk shows? That will really make you sick. I had the flu a while back and wrote down some talk show myths. They are projected as truth:
1. All your problems are somebody else’s fault
2. This world owes you happiness
3. You’ll be happy if you get whatever you want
4. You can have it all
5. You shouldn’t have to wait for anything
6. Having enough money will make you secure
7. There is never any reason to feel guilty
8. Pornography and perversion are innocent
9. Because you’re God, the answer lies within you.”

The Broad Way and the Narrow Way
Try building a life on those beliefs…and what do you get? Disappointment, with a lot of broken dreams and broken relationships, lots of pain and regret, enslaved to addictions. Jesus says there is a broad way that looks attractive, and many take that way. But it ends in destruction. Jesus invites us to, “Enter by the narrow gate”, which is Jesus Himself. And take the narrow way that is not the world’s way. Get to know Jesus. Walk with Him every day as He leads, and you will live in Truth. The Truth will set you free, and you will not miss out on anything. You will discover the life that really matters, the life truly worth living. We only have two options; we either build our lives on what the world says or what Jesus says.

The World’s Way or Jesus’ Way: Which is More Reliable?
Which do you think is more reliable? Have you noticed that what the world says is truth keeps changing, shifting, like sand on the seashore? We look to science for truth, but science textbooks are outdated almost as soon as they are written, because of new discoveries. Have you noticed that lists of what foods are good for us and which are bad for us keep changing? We were once told that coffee and chocolate were bad for us. Now science has discovered ( hurray for science! )That chocolate is good for us, and even coffee! 73 million Americans are baby boomers, born between 1948 and 1964. How many baby boomers do we have here? I remember seeing a book on the shelf in my childhood, Dr. Spock’s Baby Book. Next to the Bible, that was the best-selling book of all time. Probably that book was in your home too. A generation was raised on Dr. Spock’s advice. But when Dr. Spock was in his seventies, he held a press conference and said, “Oops. I was wrong. That’s not the best way to do it. I’m sorry. Never mind.” No wonder there are so many dysfunctional people in America!

In a world where something’s changing every day, you don’t want to put your faith in something you can’t depend on tomorrow. Jesus says, “Though all heaven and earth shall pass away, yet my Word shall remain forever.” We can absolutely trust that as we follow Jesus, as we put His words into practice, we will discover Life in the Kingdom of God.

We Can Know About Truth and Never Apply It in Our Lives
The strange thing about us humans is we can hear words of truth, words of guidance for our lives, and never apply them. We can be like the students my daughter deals with as she teaches English at a university. Every semester there is a student who signs up for the class, shows up the first day, and says, “Do I have to buy a textbook?” Carissa has learned to give the first exam early in the semester so that some students will have the shocking realization that they have to read the assignments and take in what they’ve read.

We can hear Jesus’ words and never really put them into practice in our lives. Jesus says the wise person is one who hears these words of His AND puts them into practice. What would you say about a person who spent thousands and thousands of dollars studying to be a doctor, went to college and medical school, but never practiced medicine, never saw a patient, never even put a bandage on a wound? Is he a doctor or a fool? What would you say about a soldier who trained for combat but when he found himself in battle, didn’t apply a thing he’d learned, didn’t even put on his helmet, let his weapon just lie on the ground while he walked blithely out into the midst of enemy fire? Is he a soldier or a fool?

What would you say about a person who has listened to the words of Jesus as he preached the greatest sermon ever preached? (And think about who is speaking these words : Jesus is God, who knows the purpose of human life, because He created us in the first place, and who knows how to live this life fully, abundantly, perfectly, because He came and did it!) What would you say about the person who hears Jesus say, “Don’t worry because your heavenly Father will take care of you,” and yet remains consumed with worry? What about the person who hears Jesus say, “Love your enemies”, yet continues to nurture bitterness and hatred in her heart toward those who have hurt her? What about the person who hears Jesus say, “Judge not, lest you be judged,” but continues to regard others as worthless who don’t meet his standards? What about the person who hears Jesus say, “You cannot serve two masters, you cannot serve God and money,” yet continues to do whatever it takes to get more money? What would you say about the person who hears Jesus say, “Seek first the Kingdom of God”, yet doesn’t change any of his priorities in life? Is that person a Christian or a fool?

Hearing AND DOING What Jesus Says Ultimately Matters
“Oh,” we might say, “Is that going to be on the final exam? I didn’t know He actually meant for us to live this way.” When we stand before the Lord of the universe at the end of time, or at the end of our earthly lives, whichever comes first, what will the Lord say? I cannot imagine anything more terrifying than for Him to look at me and say, “I don’t know you.” “But Lord, I came to church and I even gave money. I did things for you… “ He might look at me with great sadness and say, “But you never got serious about being my follower. You listened to my teaching, but you never applied it. You never really made me Lord of your life. You did the right religious things, but for the wrong reasons. It was all about appearances, so people would think you were a good person. But you never let me change your heart. I’m sorry, I don’t know you.” I can’t imagine the utter desolation of hearing those words from Jesus, “I don’t know you.”

The Good News
But the good news is we have this day, this moment, to repent, to turn, from all the ways we’ve been building our house on the sand and start building our house on the rock, Jesus. We can turn from living by what the world says, and discover life in the Kingdom of God. We can ask Jesus to be in charge and seek to walk with Him daily. We can ask His Holy Spirit to help us live beyond worry, anger, lust, lying, greed for money and things, judging others. We can make progress in loving as God loves. We can start living in the unshakable Kingdom of God. Maybe we made the commitment to follow Jesus, but we’ve gotten distracted or stuck, and barely gotten beyond just laying the foundation for our lives of discipleship. I once saw a foundation laid and the house starting to be framed, but then it just sat there for years. Maybe we’ve gotten stuck in disappointment or grief, or worry, anger, or we’ve been pulled away from what really matters as we let the world establish our priorities and set our agenda.

Today, wherever we are, we can repent, turn toward Jesus and take the next step with Jesus. Then we can consistently choose to walk with Him today, tomorrow, the next day, doing what He says. Then, at the end or our lives, or at the end of time, whichever comes first, we can hear Jesus say, “Hello, Judy, David, Ben, Mary Ann, Erica. …..(your name), Welcome home.”