The House Built on the Rock

(Mat 7:24-27) Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: -25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. -26. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: -27. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Our subject today is the House Built on The Rock. As we study together you should be able to see that you are building your house either on the Rock, Christ Jesus, or upon the sand, fleshly lusts. Consider with us this message of our Lord and be a wise man by building your house upon the Rock. Don't let the devil deceive you into thinking that your life can be safe and secure when you build it upon the sand. Your house will be tested by the storms of life and only the house built on the Rock will stand.

Our text begins with the word, therefore, which implies that for some specific reason the Lord was telling us this element of His truth. Let us back up and read a little to get the context of what the Lord is teaching. (Mat 7:15-23) Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. -16. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? -17. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. -18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. -19. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. -20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. -21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. -22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? -23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. And so we see that in this part of this great sermon on the mount, Jesus, was telling us that there would be false prophets that would attempt to miss lead us. They would come to us in Sheep's clothing attempting to hide their real self. Now because there will be false prophets like this, you need to know how to conduct your life so that you will be safe.

It is one of Satan's most effective deceptive means to have ministers of the gospel working for him. It is so effective because you do not suspect them to be workers of evil. They are ministers of the gospel and therefore they are expected to promote righteousness and not evil. However, Jesus tells us that there would be such people and that we should be on guard that they do not deceive us.

Now Jesus did not tell us to become private investigators and spend our time and energy running around with a magnifying glass on all the minister that we know to see if any of them are false prophets or not. No! Jesus simply tells us how we are to build our lives and that in so doing we will be safe. Just because many will be saying that we do not have to live a righteousness life to enjoy the kingdom of heaven does not make it so. Jesus said that many would be deceived. In order to receive the kingdom of heaven, you must build on the Rock. And to build on the rock you must hear the sayings of Jesus and do them. You spend your time and energy hearing and doing the sayings of Jesus and you will be safe. What others do is their choice and they will be accountable for what they do. You do not have to be worried that they are getting away with something or enjoying something that you cannot. Actually no one gets by with anything for God sees all and knows all. And, no one enjoys sin for long for the wages of sin is death.

Let us then concentrate on building on the Rock. Just who is this rock and how do we build upon it? (Psa 95:1-7) O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. -2. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. -3. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. -4. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. -5. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. -6. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. -7. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,

Yes, the Lord is our Rock and we build upon it by worshipping Him with all of our heart. Come before His presence with thanksgiving, believing that He is a great God and a great King above all gods. It is our Lord that has provided the opportunity to be saved. The plan of salvation was completed by Him and salvation is offered to us today because of Him. We therefore are very thankful and make joyful noise in our praising and singing to Him. We are the people of God when we hear His voice. By hearing His voice the Bible means we hear with the intent of obedience. Now when you hear as many do the words of God and they roll off you as water off a duck's back, you are not hearing as our lesson is talking about hearing. As Jesus teaches us, the wise man is the one that heareth His sayings and doeth them.

There are a lot of people in this world today that can tell you what things Jesus taught. They know the concepts. They know the words. But, buy the way they live you can see that they are not doing the sayings of Jesus. You cannot build on the Rock in such a fashion. To build on the Rock, you must hear and do the sayings of Jesus. To fail to do is to fail to hear. James teaches us (James 1:21-27) Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. -22. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. -23. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: -24. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. -25. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. -26. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. -27. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Be a doer of the word. Lay it to heart. Love it. Obey it. Learn it and keep it. Remember the context that Jesus is teaching this lesson. It is that there are false prophets that will deceive many. Indeed there are many today that are teaching things contrary to the teachings of Jesus. For example there are many that are teaching that we all have to commit sin every day and that we cannot help it. In order to teach such doctrine with some convincing authority, they twist the scripture and take it out of context to try to tell you that you have to commit sin. Now I will tell you that you do not have to commit sin and that you don't have to be a theologian to figure that out. All you have to do is listen to the Lord and let the grace of God teach you the right way.

Your Lord has so worked out this plan of salvation that you don't have to err in carrying it out. Listen carefully to what Jesus is telling you. Nowhere is He telling you to commit sin. Instead He is telling you to Love God, to love your neighbor, to be honest, to give, to serve, and to follow His example. His example is one of no sin. God has given you a conscience that is sparked by His grace to lead you in the right way. (Titus 2:11-15) For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, -12. Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; -13. Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; -14. Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. -15. These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

The grace of God hath appeared to all men. Thank God this does not depend on your social standing. It does not depend on your intelligence or lace of it. It does not depend on your economic position. No! The grace of God hath appeared to all men. And, it teaches us something. It teaches us that we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. Praise the Lord for His Word that is so easy to understand. You may do evil and have a thousand counsellors advise you to do so, but that will not stop the grace of God from convicting your heart of your evil doing. God knows what you are doing and He will teach you the right way. In order to commit sin, you will have to reject the Lord and His teachings. And if you do so then why would you expect that The Lord will accept you?

Let us now consider for a little the thought of building upon the sand. What our Lord has reference to in this text is that to build a life on false assumptions is like building a house without first making sure that you have a good foundation under it. This would be a very foolish thing to do as the house will inevitably collapse. So it is that when you live your life according to false teachings and beliefs that you will not have a secure life. Too often children are prone to just pick up their parents beliefs without ever checking them out for themselves of to follow the beliefs of the crowd just because many are living that way. Remember that our Lord reminds us that many will be lost because of their failing to build on the Rock. In our text the foolish man heard the sayings of Jesus but instead of doing them, he rejected them to do according to the sayings of others. There are an infinite number of reasons that people are so foolish as to reject the sayings of Jesus and one of the big reasons is because so many others are doing it that there must not be any thing wrong with it. That argument sounds almost reasonable were it not for the fact that Jesus warned us that such would be the case. No matter how hard you work and try to justify yourself, the grace of God will continue to convict you of sin. No matter how smooth the sand that you build upon, it is still sand and not the Rock.

Your house will be tested and only the house built on the Rock will stand safe and secure. The house built on the sand will fall. Our lesson says that the rain descended, and the floods came and beat upon the houses. Yes, both houses suffer the storms of life. Just because you build on the Rock does not mean that you will have a smooth sailing life. No! Every house will be tested by the storms of life. You build on the rock so that you will have the faith and endurance to withstand the storms. (1 Pet 4:12-18) Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: -13. But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. -14. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. -15. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men's matters. -16. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. -17. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? -18. And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

Yes, Peter is telling us that our house will be tested and that we should not be surprised when it happens. But we should be built firmly on the rock so that our house will stand. In fact Peter teaches us to rejoice because we are partakers of Christ's sufferings. This is not an easy thing for the human to do for the human sees only the things that the physical eye sees. It is the eye of faith that reaches out and grasps the unseen hand of God and holds on through the storm. To understand that our house will suffer the storms of life and to be prepared for it is a great blessing from God. Don't think it strange. It will happen. Prepare for it by building on the rock. Take in the teachings of Jesus, your Lord. Let his words sink into your being. Put them to work in the way that you live. Listen, hear and do the saying of our Lord.

The faith of one that builds on the sand is easily shaken. There is no foundation to false teachings. They will not help you through the storms of life. Instead of rejoicing that you have opportunity to be a partaker with Christ's sufferings, you will be crying, Why Me? Why is this happening to me? You will be devastated by the flood. (Isa 59:19) So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. Yes, the enemy will come in like a flood and only those that build on the rock will have the help of the Spirit of the Lord.

Listen to the instructions of Jesus, our Lord: (John 14:15-26) If ye love me, keep my commandments. -16. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; -17. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. -18. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. -19. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. -20. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. -21. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. -22. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? -23. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. -24. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. -25. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. -26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

If you will truly love Jesus, and keep his words, He will send the Holy Spirit to help you to lift up a standard against Satan. The Holy Spirit is the spirit that teaches you how to live a holy life. He teaches you to establish standards or safeguards for your soul. He teaches you how to conduct yourself so that you will be able to live honest, moral, and godly in this present world.

Are you that are listening to my voice today building on the Rock or are you building on the sand? Only the house built on the Rock will stand the storms of life. All houses built on the sand will be destroyed by the storms of life. Will you let this be the day that you take the Lord's words to heart and begin to do them. He that heareth and doeth the sayings of Jesus is the wise man that build his house upon the Rock. He that rejects the sayings of Jesus is the foolish man that build his house upon the sand.