Sermons from Moorpark Presbyterian Church

Say What?

by Dave Wilkinson

Matthew 7:24-27

April 2, 2000

In his best-selling book The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey shares an experience from his youth. This was how the truth of how God spoke to us in Jesus dawned on him with profound meaning. "I learned about incarnation (God becoming flesh) when I kept a salt-water aquarium. Management of a marine aquarium, I discovered, is no easy task. I had to run a portable chemical laboratory to monitor the nitrate levels and the ammonia content. I pumped in vitamins and antibiotics and sulfa drugs and enough enzymes to make a rock grow. I filtered the water through glass fibers and charcoal, and exposed it to ultraviolet light. You would think, in view of all the energy expended on their behalf, that my fish would at least be grateful. But every time my shadow loomed above the tank they dove for cover into the nearest shell. They showed me one 'emotion' only: fear. Although I opened the lid and dropped in food on a regular schedule, three times a day, they responded to each visit as a sure sign of my designs to torture them. I could not convince them of my true concern. To my fish I was deity. I was too large for them, my actions too incomprehensible. My acts of mercy they saw as cruelty; my attempts at healing they viewed as destruction. To change their perceptions, I began to see, would require a form of incarnation. I would have to become a fish and 'speak' to them in a language they could understand."

That is certainly what God has done in Jesus. He has talked to us in our own language.

At the end of the Sermon of the Mount. Jesus says to us:

Read Matt: 7:24-27

That is what is called clear communication.

A few years ago a notice was sent home with some high school students: "Our school's cross-graded, multi-ethnic, individualized learning program is designed to enhance the concept of an open-ended learning program on the continuum of multi-ethnic, academically enriched learning, using the identified intellectually gifted child as the agent of his own learning." One parent sent back a note which read, "I have a college degree, speak two foreign languages, and four Indian dialects -- but I haven't the faintest idea what you are talking about."

You may have had this kind of experience. If you haven’t, you don’t do your own taxes, read educational publications, theology books, or initiatives on the ballot. But you won’t get this if you listen to Jesus. This is why Luke tells us that people hung on His words.

Jesus is a craftsman who knows about building houses. When he speaks about foundations he knows what He is describing. This is no parable dreamed up by a scholar in his study. This is the illustration of a practical, experienced man with callouses on his hands who for many years made His living in construction.

In Jesus' parable each man builds a house. That's not up for grabs. We are all house builders. We all decide on careers, on marriage, on family. We all make decisions that effect our futures. Jesus is talking about these major decisions and how we need to make them.

Some people build large and some build small. Some people build ranch style. Others build Federalist mansions. Others build with adobe. Some have wall-to-wall carpeting. Others put hot tubs in their living-rooms. The parable isn't interested in any of that. The point is simply that we all build. Even non-decisions are decisions. Even a non-house is a house -- even a cardboard box at the dump can be a house. In the words of the 60's hippie who was found living in an empty refrigerator: "Everyone's gotta be somewhere, man!" One way or another, we all build.

In the parable, each house faces a storm. We all have storms. This parable isn't about finding a safe place to live where storms don't happen. It's a parable about building houses to survive storms. We'd like a safe place where storms don't occur but that's not an option.

The one variable in the story is the foundation. This is a parable about Jesus Christ as a foundation for our lives. He is telling us that He and His words are faithful -- that we can build our lives on Him and be secure.

Jesus says that our Christian walk consists of two elements. The first step is hearing what he has to say to us. Jesus said that the first essential step in foundation building is to give Him our full attention. But what finally matters is not how high you jump as you listen to Jesus. It's how straight you walk after you hit the ground. That is why Jesus said that the second essential step after hearing His words is to act on them.

Hearing and doing are summed up in one word -- obedience. It is Jesus' claim that obedience to Him is the only sure foundation for life. And it is His promise that a life which is founded in relationship to Him is safe no matter what storms come.

Jesus asks us: "If you do not chose to trust me, what do you propose to put in my place? Family? Ambitions? The church? Your work? The scientific method? Expensive adult-type toys? He assures us that when the storms arrive, everything but His words will fail us.

Some of these things may be fine for building with. There is certainly nothing wrong with the church, with family, with work or the scientific method. Even ambition and toys have their place. But they will not work as the foundation. Only Jesus and His words enable men and women to survive the inevitable storms.

Jesus' parable reflects the kind of thing that can happen in a desert climate. A builder must think ahead. I’m not just talking about pulling permits.

There are lots of gullies which provide pleasant, shady, sandy hollows in the summer. They look like good places to build. But in winter they turn into raging torrents of rushing water.

Even in an ordinary site it is tempting to begin building on the smoothed-over sand and to not go to the effort of excavating into the shelf of rock beneath. But that is the way to ruin.

What is the difference between the wise and the foolish builders in the parable?

The wise builder recongnized danger while the foolish did not. The foolish builder was short-sighted. He never bothered to think what his chosen site would look like six months later.

In every decision of life there is a long view and a short view. The wise person never barters future good for present pleasure. He or she looks at things not in the light of the moment but in the light of eternity.

The wise builder went to the effort to dig down to bedrock. But the foolish builder wanted to avoid work. The sand was much easier and much more attractive. He wanted the easy way.

What is the foundation for us? Jesus says: "If you want a life that will last for eternity, build on me." Jesus is Lord. He requires that we acknowledge His Lordship with our lives. We cannot have Jesus' teachings without Jesus. But neither can we have Jesus without His

teachings. We must build on both.

One final lesson from the parable is that the difference between the wise and foolish builders is only apparent to the world when the storm comes. It is only when the storms arrive that their lack of foundation is revealed. So if the storms come and you find yourself being knocked off your foundation, it's time to evaluate how far you have actually dug to the bedrock of Jesus Christ.

What happened to this house without a foundation? The river beats vehemently against it. The river bed has long been dry. But suddenly it is flooded and the torrent came with tremendous power. Perhaps it is persecution. Perhaps it is temptation. Perhaps it is prosperity. Perhaps it is trouble. Perhaps it is grief. Perhaps it is even death. But anyhow, the flood beats against the house; and now we read the next word..."and immediately it fell."

The end of the house in Jesus' parable is tragic. But it doesn't have to be. Jesus says to those who are with Him on the Mount: "Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them..." He uses the present tense. Yes, storms are coming. Avoiding them isn't an option. But it is not too late to get ready.

Jesus' words certainly have immediate application to us as we face the storms of this life. When we know Jesus, we are not easily upset by life's difficulties. But there is a second, even greater application of His words. The foundation of Jesus is not only strong for us in the storms of this life, it is also strong for us in the storm of death. When the final test comes, it is the foundation on which our life is built that matters.

And in this test we have confidence because we know the eternal strength of our foundation. We don't hope in Jesus only for the storms of this life. We build on Jesus for our eternal home.

Watchman Nee tells about a new convert who came in deep distress to see him. "No matter how much I pray, said the man, "no matter how much I try, I simply cannot seem to be faithful to my Lord. I think I am losing my salvation." And Nee said, "Do you see this dog here? He is my dog. He is house trained, he never makes a mess. He is obedient. He is a pure delight to me. Out in the kitchen I have a son...a baby son. He makes a mess. He throws his food around, he fouls his clothes, he is a total mess. But who is going to inherit my kingdom? Not my dog. My son is my heir. You are Jesus Christ's heir because it is for you that he died."

So it is with us. We are Jesus Christ's heirs, not through our perfection but by means of His grace.

And in response to His grace, we are called to place our foundation on His words -- to come, to hear His clear voice -- His transparent communication -- and to obey.