Building on Christ

Jesus urges us to build our lives on his promises. He has saved us and will raise us up: what is their to worry about?

Transcript

Matthew 7:24-27

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31–33, ESV)

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24–27, ESV)

Matthew’s Gospel records Jesus first great sermon on a mountainside with his followers. We know it as “the Sermon on the Mount.” Most of us know how it begins: “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven; Blessed are those who mourn; who are meek; who are merciful; who are peacemakers.” We hear the beatitudes every year on All Saints Sunday.

Jesus goes on to say that his followers will be the salt of the earth and light for the world. You don’t need a lot of salt to season food; just a little bit gives it flavour. You don’t need a lot of light to brighten a room; one good LED bulb will do it. In the same way, Jesus says, just a few people who live in his name can change the world.

He talks about anger being murder, about lust being adultery, about loving your enemy and praying for those who persecute you. He tells us to give to the needy, to pray, and to fast, but to do it for the Lord and not to prove your “spirituality” to others. He tells us we cannot serve God and money. These are the simple ways that Christians look different from people who live by their own sinful nature and the prompts of the Devil.

But then he changes tack and starts talking about something with which we can all identify: anxiety. “Do not be anxious about your life,” Jesus says. Your anxiety cannot add  even one hour to your life. Do not be anxious about your next meal, about your next drink, about what you’ll wear. Do not even be anxious about tomorrow because, Jesus reminds us, “tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” Jesus would not have shared so many words about anxiety unless he knew that anxiety is what drives most of our lives. I’m reminded of the Jimmy Buffett song “It’s my job.” He sings,

I've got an uncle who owns a bank: He's a self-made millionaire

He never had anyone to love, never had no one to care

He always seemed kind of sad to me and I asked him why that was

And he told me "It's because in my contract there's this clause

That says “It's my job to be worried half to death.”

And that's the thing people respect in me.

I don’t need to ask if you’ve ever worried about any of these things. I know you have. So does Jesus, else he wouldn’t have preached about it! When you’re worried, you can literally make yourself sick – physically and mentally. You can become paralyzed, unable to move forward. When you worry, your attention is on yourself and your problems. You hardly have any energy left to be salt or light. You find, instead, that you get angry easily, fall prey to addictions easily, and in general struggle with life. 

“Do not be anxious,” Jesus says. “For the LORD will vindicate his people and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone” (Deuteronomy 32:36, ESV). “And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43, ESV).” There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.  We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:18–19, ESV). “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:40, ESV). The one who builds their life on Jesus has a strong place to stand in times of fear and anxiety.

This is why Jesus finishes the Sermon on the Mount with the parable about the home builders. The difference between the two men is not the circumstance of life. The rains fall on both men. The winds blow against both their houses. The floods do not spare either of them. It’s not even that one house is made of brick and the others of hay or straw, like the little pigs of the famous fairy tale. The difference between the homes are their foundations. One is built on rock, the other on sand.

Later in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus will ask his disciples who they think he is. Simon will brave an answer: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16, ESV). Jesus gives Simon a new name: “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:17–18, ESV). You are Petros – little rock – and you are building your house on the solid foundation of this greater rock – that I am the Christ, the Son of the Living God. I am the Messiah. I am your Saviour. I am your crucified, resurrected and ascended Lord. Those who build on that rock will have a house that can withstand anything. Even anxiety. 

Years ago, a farmer needed help, so he advertised to hire a farm-hand. The farmer received many applications, and he interviewed almost all. One question he always asked was "Why should I hire you?" The response was usually some form of bragging about how strong the worker was, or how smart, or how hard he worked but none of the men seemed just right. Finally, one man's response to the question was "I can sleep on windy nights."

This puzzled the farmer, but he took a liking to the young man and hired him. The new hand worked well around the farm, busy from dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man’s work.

Some time later, the farmer was awakened in the night by a violent storm. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand’s sleeping quarters. He shook the man and yelled, “Get up! A storm is coming! Tie things down before they blow away!” The man rolled over in bed and stayed sound asleep. 

Enraged by the response, the farmer worriedly began to check everything. They found that the shutters of the farmhouse had been securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the fireplace. The farm implements had been placed in the storage shed, safe from the elements. The tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn had been properly locked. The haystacks were covered, the cows were in the barn, the chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred. Everything was tied down. Nothing could blow away. All was well. Even the animals were calm. It was then that the farmer grasped the meaning of the young man’s words, "I can sleep on a windy night."

Holy Week is not just a remembrance of awful things being done to a generous prophet. It is hearing again the account of how God sent his Son to be our rock in life’s storms. He is a solid place on which to build the house of our lives, so that when times of anxiety and fear come, when the rains come down and the winds blow and the flood waters rise, we can sleep soundly, and find our rest in Christ. This is what Jesus means when he says:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”

Amen.