**not a word for word transcript, but the sermon manuscript**
SOLID
There is an old hymn that has been floating around in my brain off an on for the last several months—it says, “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand—all other ground is sinking sand.” It is a beautiful sentiment for sure. We would all love to say during the good times of life that our foundation is on Christ—but when the storms come, that is where we really discover upon what we have built our hope and our lives.
So, the question we are asking ourselves today is: On what foundation have I built my life?
The passage we are going to be looking at today is in Matthew Chapter 7—
And as we turn there, I want to give you a little background on the passage.
Jesus has been preaching his famous Sermon on the Mount. In his sermon, Jesus talks about several different topics—the law, anger, adultery, divorce—And one common thing he addresses is the correction of traditional beliefs. He tells his listeners that adultery is more than a physical act—and that even looking at a woman with lust is sin. He tells people that not only are they supposed to love their friends, they must love their enemies as well. He tells the crowds that spiritual actions are not supposed to be done to appear holy for other people—so when they would pray, tithe, or fast, they shouldn’t make it public knowledge—these were all counter cultural. In those days, people would flaunt how much they gave. They would pray noisily and publicly. They would let everyone know when they were fasting—He called into question everything that was traditionally accepted… even addressing the things that had a holy appearance. He called into question their very interpretation of SCRIPTURE. Honestly, Jesus may as well have thrown a wrench in their entire definition of sound doctrine. As much as we would love to believe otherwise, this sermon was not an easy one for his listeners to hear—much less accept.
But then he made it even harder.
Starting in verse 21 through the end of the chapter
Matthew 7:21--“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, go away from me, you evildoers.’
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall.’
28 Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching. 29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.”
WOW—talk about an abrupt and harsh landing. For the record, this is not the way preachers are taught to close sermons—in fact, basically this whole sermon could be used as a “what not to do” in preaching 101. That really doesn’t have much to do with anything—But it is just an observation Jason and I have made and it’s fun to talk about—so that was free.
But let’s take a look at this passage. I am going to kind of reverse engineer this thing and focus on the second part before the first part. In verses 24-27 Jesus gives his listeners an illustration:
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall.’
This week in VBS the kids learned that the most important part of any building construction was the foundation. Without a foundational structure to support it, a building would crumble under its own weight—especially if you added in other elements such heavy rain and wind.
And actually, Jason’s first youth pastor position was at a church where we saw first-hand the troubles of a weak foundation. The church had been built completely debt free on what appeared to be solid ground. However, not long after the building was completed, they discovered that the bedrock they had built upon was limestone—and while limestone is durable for finishes, it is not good for building on because it is a brittle stone. It began to crumble and, suddenly, so did the building. Contractors were brought in to repair the foundation, and they were able to sure it up… but the walls were all severely cracked (some cracks were wide enough to see into the rooms from across the hallway) and the brand-new building they had built without any debt was now in debt well over a million dollars. Oops.
But what does any of this have to do with our walk with God? Let’s examine. “Everyone then who hears these word of mine…” This is key. Jesus is talking to those who are hearing—listening—to his message. But he continues and says “… and acts on them”—there is more to following God and having a solid foundation than simply listening to Jesus’ words. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock.
But Jesus points out another group. Again, from the same core group “Everyone who hears these words of mine…” but this group has a different response: “and does not act on them…” These are the “pew warmers” if you will. They are just there to fill a seat, maybe be entertained, enjoy the message… and then go off and do their own thing. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall.
But again, let’s look at the context of this passage. Jesus just called into question everything that these people believed to be good, right, and pure. He shook their very understanding what it meant to be holy—and then he says, “Everyone who hears these words of mine…” and tells them that if they apply what they have heard and act up it, they are founded on a solid foundation—but the ones who ignore it, fight it, or deny it, they’re destined to crumble.
Again, though, this goes against what they believed. Anyone with any strong religious convictions would have heard this and at the very least, considered the possibility that this was blasphemy and heresy. Because, not only did Jesus call in to question everything they believed. He declared himself the foundation!
So, upon what are you building your life? Is it really Jesus?
Let’s go back to the beginning of the passage. In verses 21-23, Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, go away from me, you evildoers.’
Not everyone who refers to Jesus as Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven. ONLY THE ONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER IN HEAVEN! This is extremely similar to Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts upon them… Do you realize what this means? It is not enough to just KNOW about God. It not enough to just HEAR God’s word on Sunday morning… IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO JUST SIT IN THAT PEW EVERY WEEK—THAT DOES NOT SURE UP YOUR FOUNDATION.
Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord….
· Did we not prophesy in your name?
Just saying, “thus says the Lord…” does not mean that the Lord really said it. And even if he did say it, there were plenty of people in the Old Testament who declared the word of God who were not walking with him.
· Did we not cast out demons in your name?
The Bible tells us that demons tremble at the name of Christ—it is the name of Christ, not you, that is causing them to flee.
· Did we not do many deeds of power in your name?
God IS power. Just because you happened to be an avenue through which his will was accomplished does not mean that you are acting upon his word or his will.
Yes, these things are easier to do when you are doing the will of God, but people who are not walking with God do them as well.
Prophesying, casting out demons, doing powerful works in God’s name—these are all well and good, but they are NOT the foundation that we must be building on.
Let’s apply this to here and now, okay. There are plenty of things that we tend to build our lives around and upon.
We build our lives on our careers—let’s face it, when COVID started and people were suddenly laid off from there jobs left and right, a lot of people faced a crisis of faith. Sure, they wanted to believe that God would provide, but their faith was really founded on their own ability to provide.
We build our lives on our political stances—Don’t you dare tell me that is not the case. The last two elections I saw how people put aside any notion that God was on the throne the moment the candidate they didn’t want take the presidential seat. And over the last several years, I have seen people who proudly proclaim the name of Christ spew absolute hatred for those candidates. I want to ask you, is that doing the will of our father in heaven?
We even build our lives on things that seem spiritual. We build our lives on Bible translations, Biblical interpretations, and theological stances. Yes, the Bible is important—and theology (the study of God through scripture) is important as well… but even then, those are not foundational materials. Every church you enter will be different. They may use a different Bible Translation (or have no translation preference). They may have different understanding of Biblical interpretation (whether literal or plenary). They will have different theological stances—whether slight or extreme. At any given point, there are upwards of 50,000 church denominations, non-denominations, or affiliations—each one having different theological beliefs and doctrines. But you know what? That is okay—because, those are pieces of the building of our faith… not the foundation.
When I joined the Church of the Nazarene as a member, I took a class which taught me the basics of the denominational beliefs and stances. If I decided that I agreed with the beliefs and stances, I could become a member, and if I didn’t agree I didn’t have to become a member—I could still attend, I wouldn’t be looked at like was some heretic for disagreeing with the denominational belief—because the denomination doesn’t view it’s stances as essential to faith in Christ… but for the denomination to continue in its missional direction, it is best for members—who serve on the board, go to assemblies as voting delegates, etc-- to have the same beliefs in certain areas: areas like approved baptism methods, encouraging and supporting women in ministry, and at least be supportive our the denominational stances regarding tobacco and alcohol use—just to name a few. But again—these are not foundations on which our lives should be built upon. If you don’t agree with the church of the Nazarene, it is not required for salvation that you be a member.
What is required for salvation?
Jesus.
It is that simple!
So upon what foundation is your life built?
Is your life built on your job—your financial security?
Is it your political stances and your presidential candidates?
Is it built on your 1611 King James Bible or the denominational theologies you were raised with?
They’re all just sand.
You want a solid foundation—it’s nothing but Jesus. When your life is founded on Christ, you WILL do the will of the father. When your life is founded is on Christ, you will hear is words and ACT UPON THEM. When your life is founded on Christ, when the storms of life come—and they will come—you might get shook, might get damaged, but you won’t be destroyed.
So, what foundation is your life built upon?
On Christ the solid rock I stand—
All other Ground is sinking sand.
