Matthew 7:24-27 Luke 6:47-49

Matthew 7:24-27 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 “The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

Luke 6:47-49  47 “Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 “But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

The difference between admiration and action is revealed in adversity.  It is easy to stand in awe of the content we have been studying in this amazing passage of Scripture.  However, as important as it is to appreciate the teachings of Christ; appreciation without application is of very little use.  Jesus concludes His message by calling His hearers to action.  We would be wise to evaluate how we have responded to the things we have read over the last several weeks.  If you are a regular reader and have followed the entire series of the Sermon on the Mount; what are you doing differently now than you were doing when you started reading?  If you can’t think of anything, you need to pay special attention to the warnings in today’s passage.  Be assured that adversity is on its way into your life in the not too distant future.  The impact that adversity has will be determined by how you have applied the teachings of this text.  As James says, we must learn to be doers of the Word and not just hearers of the Word.

A HOUSE ON STONE: The storms of life are inevitable.  We live in a sin cursed world, surrounded by sinful people and we all have sinful hearts.  We will face temptations and experience trials.  The question is how will we stand up during those times?  The determining factor as to how we will be able to face adversity in our lives is how we apply God’s Word to our lives.  Those who are wise hear God’s teaching, compare their lives to what they have heard and then make the changes that are required.  This is like digging a deep and solid foundation for a house.  It takes time, effort, money and requires intentionality.  God’s Word is like a rock that does not move.  We can build our lives on the teachings of Scripture and be assured that no matter what happens; our faith will be strong and we will be able to honor God through the trials we face.  Any time we are exposed to God’s Word, we should come away with a plan of action.  That plan should include measurable goals and we should regularly evaluate our progress.  Just like when we build a house, we should enlist the help of other people to help us build the truth of God’s Word into our lives.  When we hear and apply God’s Word, our faith will stand firm during the trials of life and we will be rewarded when we stand before God to give an account of our lives.

A HOUSE ON SAND: It is far easier, cheaper and faster to just build a house on top of the ground.  The house will even stand and look fine to everyone who sees it until a storm hits.  When the wind and waves of life begin to pound against us; if we have not put the principles of Scripture into practice in our lives; we will suffer greatly.  Our hearts and the society in which we live are like the sand.  Our thoughts and emotions shift from one day to the next.  Society is in constant flux.  Things that used to be wrong are now considered to be right.  Things that used to by right are now considered to be wrong.  Our feelings and our will are easily affected by the circumstances we face, the amount of sleep we got or even the kind of food we have eaten.  These are not reliable foundations on which we should build our lives.  When we simply allow God’s Word to go in one ear and out the other without making changes in our lives; we are building our lives on the shifting sands of our own hearts and the circumstances we face.  God expects us to make commitments and fulfill them every time we are exposed to the teachings of His Word.  No matter how smoothly our lives are going at the moment; there are storms on the horizon.  If we are not living according to God’s Word; those storms will overwhelm us now and when we stand before God we will suffer loss.

APPLICATION: Every time we read or hear God’s Word we need to understand how the teaching should be applied to our lives and then make clear and measurable goals in our lives.  We then need to follow through on those commitments.  Don’t allow indifference, expedience or laziness to make us vulnerable to adversity and disqualify us from the rewards God desires to give us when we are judged by Him.