Storm fronts…..
Storms …..
Matthew 7:24 “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.”
Storms on the east coast and storms on the west coast. It seems at the moment that all of Australia is enveloped in a storm front.
Jesus spoke of storms that hit our lives in another way. But these storms can cause at times far greater and long lasting destruction.
In the closing paragraph of Jesus Sermon on the Mount, Christ pictures two men, each building their home.
One man worked feverishly to build his house, and does not think about a solid foundation to withstand future storms, floods and winds.
Jesus calls this man the foolish man. V26
There is another man he too is building his home and he’s called the wise man v24.
So the story is simple, two men, building their homes, one is wise and the other is foolish.
But the story, though simple, is really a very powerful and dramatic commentary on people who hear Jesus words, and either do them or do not do them!
But the result is worlds, eternities apart. You could say the difference between heaven and hell!
The two builders according to Jesus, have both heard His message.
Then at the end of v24 and 26 we read of two men building their houses.
Both have listened and both are involved in spiritual activity.
Maybe they both belonged to the same church, both read the Word, attended the same meetings.
But there is one huge difference – one man is wise and builds on rock; the other man is foolish because…he builds on sand.
Note with me too, once the houses are built, we cannot tell what their foundation is! They possibly look the same.
What Jesus is saying is very simple – Many people hear Christ’s teaching but it’s those who obey His teaching that get into the Kingdom…that’s the bottom line.
I need to examine my life and see if I am a hearer only and not a doer because if you are you deceive yourself that you are a believer!
In other words, if you are not a doer of the Word, then it is not having any effect on your life or destiny.
1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
Building your life on the rock means being obedient.
Examine your life. Do you desire, more than anything else, to obey the Word of God?
This week let us not just hear God’s Word, but let us then put it into practice.