Building For Life

 

·         Matthew 7:24-27 (KJV)  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: 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. 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: 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.

·         Luke 6:46-49 (MSG)  Why are you so polite with me, always saying ‘Yes, sir,’ and ‘That’s right, sir,’ but never doing a thing I tell you? These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on. If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss.

·          Before we begin, let’s put this parable in context – Jesus is teaching His disciples (the Sermon on the Mount), not preaching to sinners. In fact, The Message introduces this passage to show us that Jesus always expects more from His disciples to than He does from the crowd:

·         Matthew 5:1-2 (MSG)  When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

·         That’s why there are TWO WAYS in Matthew 7:13-14, one which is narrow (Greek: tethlimmene – “restricted or confined”) leading to life and one which is broad (Greek: eurychoros – “broad country”) leading to destruction. TWO KINDS OF DISCIPLES!

·         That’s why there are TWO TREES in Matthew 7:16-20, one which bears good fruit and one which bears evil fruit. TWO KINDS OF DISCIPLES!

·         That’s why there are TWO HOUSES in Matthew 7:24-27, one which is build on a foundation that stands and one which is built without a foundation that collapses. TWO KINDS OF DISCIPLES!

WHAT JESUS TEACHES US ABOUT LIFE:

1.     Every person is building a HOUSE.

·         In Scripture, the word “house” can be used …

·         of a person’s own life (Matthew 12:43-45)

·         of a person’s family (1 Timothy 3:4-5)

·         of the church itself which is the Lord’s house (1 Peter 2:5-9)

·         Whether a person is building a life, a character, a family, a society or a church, the Bible principle is to BUILD CAREFULLY!

·         1 Corinthians 3:10-13 (MSG)  Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing.

2.     Every person is either a WISE or FOOLISH builder.

·         Proverbs 24:3-4 (KJV)  Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

·         Three keys words from the book of Proverbs:

·         Knowledge is the OBSERVATION of facts

·         Understanding is the EXPLANATION of facts

·         Wisdom is the APPLICATION of facts

·         The Biblical concept of “hearing” is the same as “obedience” – in other words, if you don’t DO what is said, you didn’t really HEAR it! There are many similarities between the two builders in Jesus’ parable; in fact, the only real difference between the wise man and foolish man is a foundation, which Jesus calls obedience.

·         Luke 6:46 (KJV)  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

·         James 1:22 (KJV)  But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

·         The foundation of a person’s life is OBEDIENCE to the Word of God. Disobedience in a person’s life is like foolishly building a house without a foundation.

3.     There are three MAJOR PARTS of a house.

a)     Proper Foundation

·         Psalm 11:3 (KJV)  If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

·         Ephesians 2:20 (KJV)  And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

·         Hebrews 6:1-3 (MSG)  So come on, let’s leave the preschool fingerpainting exercises on Christ and get on with the grand work of art. Grow up in Christ. The basic foundational truths are in place: turning your back on “salvation by self-help” and turning in trust toward God; baptismal instructions; laying on of hands; resurrection of the dead; eternal judgment. God helping us, we’ll stay true to all that. But there’s so much more. Let’s get on with it!

·         THE FOUNDATION IS SALVATION

b)    Proper Structure

·         Noah’s Ark illustrates this truth: God gave Noah the instructions on how to build the ark of safety, and it had to be built according to the Divine pattern in order to withstand the flood. Only those within the framework of the ark survived the 40 days.

·         Genesis 6:15-16 (KJV)  And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it.

·         Moses’ Tabernacle illustrates this truth: God gave Moses the pattern for His house, a framework that held together amidst the desert storms in the wilderness for 40 years of wandering.

·         Exodus 25:8-9 (KJV)  And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

·         Forty is the number of TESTING in Scripture. God tests our obedience by seeing if we will live within the framework of His commandments.

·         THE STRUCTURE IS GOD’S COMMANDMENTS

c)     Proper Covering

·         Again, Noah’s Ark and Moses’ Tabernacle illustrate this truth: Each of them would have been “operational” without a covering, but neither of them would have been “comfortable” without a covering to protect the occupants.

·         In particular, the coverings of the Tabernacle were beautiful on the inside (fine linen) and unattractive on the outside (badger skins). You didn’t really understand God’s blessing on Israel until you got under the covering (and saw the gold)!

·         Exodus 26:14 (KJV)  And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams’ skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers’ skins.

·         THE COVERING IS GOD’S FAVOR

4.     There are three MAJOR TESTS of a house.

a)     Floods Test The Foundation

·         Isaiah 59:19 (KJV)  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.

·         Revelation 12:15 (KJV)  And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

·         In today’s society, the enemy sends floods of all kinds against the foundation. He knows that if he can get people to embrace something other than Biblical salvation, it doesn’t matter what else they build because it will ultimately fall.

·         FLOODS REPRESENT ATTACKS FROM SATAN

b)    Winds Test The Structure

·         Ephesians 4:14 (GW)  Then we will no longer be little children, tossed and carried about by all kinds of teachings that change like the wind. We will no longer be influenced by people who use cunning and clever strategies to lead us astray.

·         There are many voices today that say God’s commandments are not necessary. Some say that if something is not a “salvation issue” it is not an issue at all, but God’s Word teaches that there are many “maturity issues” for disciples!

·         WINDS REPRESENT FALSE DOCTRINE

c)     Rains Test The Covering

·         Isaiah 4:6 (KJV)  And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain.

·         In life, there are many situations and circumstances that seem to temporarily “block” God’s favor – at least, in our opinion! However, this is not really the case; trials are simply a test.

·         In the same way that Satan attacks our salvation and false doctrine attacks God’s commandments, the trials of life attack our sense of God’s favor.

·         RAINS REPRESENT LIFE’S TRIALS

·         Whether you are building a life, a character, a family or a church, this threefold test of your house will come – it is just a matter of time.

·         So what is the difference between a wise disciple and a foolish disciple? Simply this: the wise disciple is OBEDIENT to the Lord no matter what attacks, false doctrines or trials come his way.

·         The foolish man’s house went up the quickest but lasted the shortest time. The wise man’s house took much more time to build but lasted the longest time. We need to build for the long term!

·         OBEDIENCE IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE!

·         James 1:22-25 (NLT)  And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don’t obey, you are only fooling yourself. For if you just listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you keep looking steadily into God’s perfect law—the law that sets you free—and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.