Rock of the Wise and Ssand of the Foolish

 N. T. #82 "Rock of the Wise and Sand of the Foolish"

June 1, 2023

Matthew 7-Part 10

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. (verse 24)

LET IT GLOW 

I have shared about the strong straight winds that came across our farm years ago. It happened before we moved into our farmhouse. (It is probably a century old by now.) We happened to be in the northeast visiting our daughter when it happened. (We think it was a tornado because a piece of tin wrapped around a tree.) The result of the storm was the top of our pine tree in the yard came off and the tree eventually died; our old barn my grandpa and dad built decades earlier imploded; tin from the old chicken house lay in the eastern field; the south wall of the house has a gap between it and the rock wall around it. Had the house not had a 4' rock wall around it, our house would have fallen too. What a merciful God we have! 

You may recall the childhood song about the wise man who built his house upon the rock. The rains came down and the floods went up and the house upon the rock stood firm. In contrast, the foolish man who built his house upon the sand had his house fall down and go splash when the rains came down and the floods went up. the thing is, those two had different foundations for their house. Here is the source of this song, verses 24-27. Let's take a closer look at the two contrasting results.

Jesus is concluding His Sermon on the Mount, which explained what kind of life pleases the Father. Yet, Jesus knew some of His listeners would leave and never apply a word they had heard. Whoever takes the words of God and builds them into their life is like a wise man who builds his house on a rock. Rocks are hard to build on. It takes great effort to attach a foundation to a rock. It requires tedious labor to accomplish this. The one who builds a house on a rock is secure. That rock is the Word of God. We are secure in Jesus when storms of life come. 

[Resource: Experiencing God Day-By-Day, by Henry and Richard Blackaby]

Is your life firmly built upon the Word of God? What about others around us?

LET IT GROW

It isn't so for the foolish person who does not build their life around the Word of God, the rock. It will crumble when the rain and floods come, like the one who built his house upon sand. 

The two men in Jesus' lesson had 3 things in common:

1. Each built a house. (verses 24, 26)
2. Both heard the Words of Jesus.
3. Both men encountered a violent storm. (verses 25, 27)

That is where the similarities end and the contrast begins. One man is wise and the other is foolish. Wisdom is the ability and willingness to apply spiritual truth to life's circumstances. Foolishness is the inability and unwillingness to apply spiritual truth to life's realities.

To build on the rock is harder and more time consuming. To build on the sand is easier, cheaper, and faster to do. How long do we want our house to stand?

If we want stability in our personal life, our family, our ministry, our community, we need a strong, sturdy foundation of God's Word. 

The storm revealed which man was wise and which one was foolish. the trial of life will expose what our foundation is made of.

[The Tony Evans Bible Commentary]

Do we desire to be strong in faith, living for Jesus, grounded in His Word, doing His will His way? What an inheritance there will be in heaven for those who are faithful!

Or do we want to live for self, fulfilling our desires? The rewards are experienced here on earth, not eternal.

LET IT GO

Help us be strong in faith, Your love overflowing to others, obedient servants of Jesus.