At my wife Jenny’s request, I build a “Log Rock Garden”. The logs are shaped in a half circles whilst the rocks are placed on the sand inside the logs. Over a period of years, with the sun, wind and rain, some of the logs started to break up on the exposed side, from the outside to the inside. I had spent hundreds of rand to treat these logs but I ran out of material and was unable to treat all the logs equally. Those that were untreated properly were the ones that fell prey to damage and needed to be removed. The biggest problem was not securing new logs. It was disposing of the damaged logs. Due to the difficulties surrounding going to dump sites and the expense of hiring a contractor with a truck, I landed up burning these five logs. Some of the logs were treated properly … they were the “wise”. Others were not treated properly … they were the “foolish”. So … we hear our Lord saying:
Mt 7:24 “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. 25 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. 26 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. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
1) Turbulence will fall upon all who profess Jesus as Lord.
Mt 7:25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house.
Note that Jesus does not say that hardships might come. He says it will come! The rain came down, the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against the house.
(1) Jesus said that because we are in the world we will experience turbulence from every area.
Jn 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Primarily this relates to spiritual attacks and onslaughts against God’s people and His Church.
(2) James informs us that we will experience a variety of challenges.
Jas 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Both he and our Lord are encouraging us that although the rain, floods and winds of spiritual attack comes in the most forceful manner, in Him we may find “peace” and be able to “persevere”.
(3) Paul takes these attacks further to include our famine, nakedness and death
Ron 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In a nutshell Paul informs us that nothing is able to separate us who are born again from the safety and security of God’s love which we enjoy because of our Savior Jesus. In our main text Jesus promises … yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock … because He is our Rock in whom we trust, our souls are secure eternally. We have to shout out loud and rejoice … because Jesus has said:
Jn 10:28 “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”
Theologians call this the “eternal security of the saints”!
2) Apart from the wise there are the foolish.
Mt 7:26 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.
Who are the foolish? A quick answer would be “the opposite of the wise”.
1) The foolish person is the person who knows there is a true God but replaces Him with idols.
(1)
Ro 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Again, the idols (images) mentioned here are not exhaustive and would include anything material, spiritual or fantasy. The fool is the person who knows there is a True, Living God but purposely replaces this God with a god he creates to suit his morality.
(2) The foolish person is one who is scornful, abusive and insulting towards God.
Ps 74:18 Remember how the enemy has mocked you, O LORD, how foolish people have reviled your name.
Because the foolish person does not know God personally, they become abusive towards Him without considering that this God is the only God, and will hold them to account. Never forget that God’s Commandments are not obsolete!
Ex 20:7 “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”
3) Where the wise enjoy a solid foundation because of their Rock, the foolish crash because of a foundation of sand.
Mt 7:26 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. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Remember the analogies used here point to spiritual realities! Where the “Rock” is God … the “sand” must imply the devil! All Churches have people in them who are not Christian! They are nice people, well mannered, respectable, educated and moral … but they don’t know Jesus as Lord. They hear the Word and are familiar with the Gospel and might even do various duties within the Church, give money and vote at members meetings … but have no relationship with the King of the Kingdom. Sadly they do not respond to the Gospel the way the wise have. If they don’t belong to Jesus they belong to the evil one (Ephesians 2:1-3). Building one’s life upon the soul’s enemy is building on sand. Such a person will never stand during the turbulence that comes the way of all people.
Father of grace and mercy, thank You for choosing me in Jesus my Rock for heaven. Thank You. Amen.