Now That You Have Heard

 

 

• Scriptures: Matthew 7:24-27; James 1:22-25; Ezekiel 33:30-33
• Sermons We See

• RENEW 2015-“Is Your Religion As Good As You Sing It?”, “Blessed Assurance”

 

Transcript

Kerry Duke: Hi, I’m Kerry Duke, host of My God in My Neighbor podcast from Tennessee Bible College, where we see the Bible as not just another book, but the Book. Join us in a study of the inspired Word to strengthen your faith and to share what you’ve learned with others.

Kids at Vacation Bible school sing the song “The wise man built his house upon a rock” and “the foolish man built his house upon the sand.” But that’s not just children singing. That’s a real lesson about life, and Jesus talks about this in Matthew chapter seven, beginning in verse 24. He said, “Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock, and the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; and the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Jesus had just talked about people who say and don’t do. That’s Matthew 7:21 through 23. Now in verses 24 through 27, He talks about hearing and doing, and what a perfect end to this sermon. After He gives all this teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, He says it comes down to this: doing what Jesus said to do.

Have you noticed how many times in this sermon that Jesus uses illustrations that are very simple, that are taken from nature, from ordinary things of life? He talks about hunger and thirst. He talks about salt. He talks about the candle or candlelight. He talks about sunshine and rain. He talks about rust and moths. He talks about birds and flowers. He talks about dogs and hogs and wolves and trees, and now he talks about bad weather. And that bad weather represents what we call the storms of life. The trials, the tribulations, the hardships of life. The house and its foundation is what we believe and how we live.

We’re Christians. It represents our faith and how we practice our Christianity. If we’re not living the Christian life, it means that we’re building on the wrong kind of foundation, and what a fitting illustration this is. When you think about the storms that we’ve seen recently and in our lifetime, it ought to remind us of what Jesus is talking about here.

You have to be ready. You have to build your life on a solid foundation, applying yourself in the Christian life. It’s not only getting ready for the next life, it’s bracing yourself for the bad days, the hard times that come to each and every one of us, and it’s good and it’s wise for us, as Jesus says, to remember this and to prepare.

He said the wise man builds his house upon the rock. Well, let’s go back to the words of the wisest man that ever lived named Solomon. In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon talks about life. One of the things that he says in this book is that you don’t know what’s coming next, but there will be good days and there will be bad days.

We do know that much, so we have to be ready. In Ecclesiastes chapter three, you have this very famous section of Scripture where Solomon said, “To everything, there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to gain and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to sow; time to keep silence and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate, a time of war and a time of peace.” In Ecclesiastes chapter seven, verse 14, listen to what the wise man said. If we want to be wise, we need to listen to these words and remember them. In Ecclesiastes chapter seven, verse 14, Solomon said, “In the day of prosperity, be joyful. But in the day of adversity, consider: surely God has appointed the one as well as the other so that man can find out nothing that will come after him.” In Ecclesiastes chapter eight verses six and seven, he said, “Because for every matter there is a time and judgment, though the misery of man increases greatly for, he does not know what will happen. So who can tell him when it will occur?” Ecclesiastes chapter 11, verse eight—Solomon said, “But if a man lives many years and rejoices in them all, yet, let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that cometh is vanity.” Jesus also said that trials will come our way. In John chapter 16, verse 33, Jesus said, “In the world, you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” Jesus even told Peter Satan was trying to get him. Satan wanted to have him to sift him like wheat. That’s Luke chapter 22, verse 31 and 32. And of course, when you read the book of Job, you find job going through all kinds of troubles. You find him facing the storms of life one right after the other.

So bad times stormy weather will come. The best time to prepare is now, today. Do you remember what John F. Kennedy said about things like this? He once said, the best time to repair a roof is while the sun is shining. When we look at this passage in Matthew chapter seven, it reminds us of the fact that not only do we need to “repair the roof,” but we need to make sure that the foundation is secure.

Now, there are some people that don’t think that they need to prepare. They build their house on sand because they don’t think that there’s going to be a storm. That reminds me of some people in the Bible that we read about in Psalm 49. In Psalm 49, verse 11, the Bible says that “their inward thought is that their houses shall continue forever.”

They can’t even imagine living somewhere else or something happening to that house, and they can’t even imagine something happening so bad in their lives that their whole world is turned upside down. But this happens. Non-Christians sometimes think like this. They think like the people in Psalm 49, verse 11, that their houses, and not just their physical house, but their whole life will continue the same because they have plans for the future.

Sometimes Christians think like that. They’ve got money, they have plans, and they think that just because they have enough money and they have those plans and they have those dreams, that those things are going to come true and stay true. So they’re building on a foundation that is like sand, and that is very, very sad because our lives can change.

They can change in a moment. Sometimes the unpredictable does happen. Sometimes the unthinkable does occur in our lives, and so we’re not able to predict what’s going to happen in the future. We have to be ready, and so the Bible tells us that the way to do that is not just to hear what Jesus said, but to do what he said.

You can have all the information in your mind. You can give the right answers. You can say, “Well, of course I have to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Of course, I have to put God first in my life.” But if you don’t translate that into and apply that to your life, then you’re building on sand.

Jesus didn’t say in this passage whoever does not do these sayings will be like a foolish man. He says, whoever hears these sayings and does not do them. So it’s not a case of ignorance that we’re talking about here in Matthew chapter seven. These are people that hear the word of God. They just don’t do it.

Of course that was true of many people in the Bible. There were lots of people in Bible times that heard the word of God, but they just didn’t do it. Think about the people in Noah’s day. Second Peter two, verse five. The Bible says that Noah was a preacher of righteousness, and yet only eight people, his family got into the ark.

In the New Testament, we find that the Jews were hardened in their heart and wouldn’t listen to what Jesus said. Oh, they heard it, but they didn’t understand it. They listened to what He said, but they didn’t take it to heart. That’s what Matthew 13, 15 and 16 says. And then you read about a man named Felix, who was a Roman official. He was a Roman governor. And the Bible tells us that he heard what Paul said. He heard him concerning the faith which was in Christ Jesus. And as Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come. Felix trembled. But then he answered, “Go your way for this time. When I have a convenient season, I will call for you.”

Now, how and why does this happen? How is it that we can hear what the Bible says, how is it that we can experience the fact that we don’t know what the future will bring, and yet we just ignore what we hear and know in our hearts? The Bible says in James chapter four, verse 14, you do not know what will be tomorrow. “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”

Now, I’m not saying that everything that’s coming in the future is bad. There will be good days and bad days. We’ve already seen that in Ecclesiastes chapter three, but we tend to think about everything in the future as being just what we want instead of looking at it realistically and realizing and remembering that there will be bad days ahead and we need to prepare for them by laying the solid foundation that Jesus talks about.

And what is that? It’s not only studying the Bible, it’s not only hearing it, it is doing it. It’s putting it into practice. Because when you put the Bible into practice, that gives you the firmness and the solidity and the foundation in your life that you must have when the storms arise. So what is this whole illustration about?

Well, we’ve already seen that the house is your life. That’s your soul. That’s what you do. It’s what happens to you and how you respond to it. The rock and the sand are what you base your life on either hearing and doing or hearing and not doing. And if you’re a builder or if you know anything about buildings, you know that the foundation is the key.

In Psalm 11, verse three, the Bible says, “If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” In Psalm 1 27, verse one, the Bible says, “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.”

Now let’s look at the wise man and the foolish man. In verse 24, Jesus talks about a man who hears what he says and does what Jesus says. Let’s go back and review a few things that Jesus has said in the Sermon on the Mount, and let’s just test ourselves. Let’s ask ourselves the question, am I not only hearing this, but am I practicing this? Am I doing this in my life? So Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” Is that what we’re doing? Jesus said don’t hate other people. Are we practicing that? Jesus said don’t lust. Jesus said don’t divorce for any reason. Jesus said don’t be vengeful. Jesus said speak and be friendly to other people (Matthew five verse 47). Jesus said don’t be religious to get attention (Matthew six, one through 18). Jesus said set your heart on heaven and not on money (Matthew six 19 through 24). He said not to worry. We need to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Matthew 6:25 through 34. He said to be fair, not harsh in our judging of other people. He said to ask God and to seek God. He said to practice the golden rule. He said to pray and so many other things in the Sermon on the Mount.

Are we ready for the future? Are we prepared for the hard times, the unexpected trials of life? It depends on whether we’re doing these things and other things that the Bible talks about. When the storms of life come, then a man who hears what Jesus says and does what Jesus says will be ready. So in other words, when conflict comes, he’ll remember, he will be in the habit of doing what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount.

For instance, in Matthew chapter five, verse nine, blessed are the peacemakers. He’s going to want to make peace if he can. Now again, Romans 12 verse 18 says, “If it be possible, as much as lies in you, live peaceably with all men.” But he’s going to remember. A man who hears Jesus words and practices what Jesus said will be like a wise man who builds his house upon the rock. He not only has heard what Jesus said about this, but he puts it into practice.

He remembers Matthew chapter five, 13 through 16, where Jesus talks about being the salt of the earth and the light of the world. He remembers what Jesus says. In Matthew 5:21 through 26 where Jesus talks about settling differences between two brothers. He’ll practice that. He’ll be in the habit of doing that, and then when the conflict comes, it will be hard. It’s not going to be easy, but at least he’ll be able to have some experience in it and he’ll be able to weather those storms.

Here’s another example that’s very important for us to prepare against: the time of temptation. I’m talking about being tempted to sin. The Bible doesn’t tell us to wait until the temptation comes and then to pray and then to start getting ready for it. The Bible tells us to pray before that comes. Do you remember what Jesus told the apostles in Matthew 26 verse 41? “Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Jesus said pray that you do not enter into temptation. Don’t wait again until the temptation comes, but be prepared for it. And what about what Paul said about the whole armor of God in Ephesians six? Do you remember that illustration? It’s the illustration of a soldier who puts on his armor.

Now, when does he put that armor on? He doesn’t wait until he’s in the middle of the battle. He makes sure that he’s ready. He makes sure that he’s prepared by putting on the whole armor of God ahead of time. And so that’s why the Bible says this in Ephesians chapter six, verse 13, “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

So Paul says put this armor on so that when that evil day comes, you’ll be able to withstand it. Sometimes when people read this, they ask the question, “Well, what is this evil day?” He says to withstand in the evil day. And they’re thinking that Paul is talking about one particular day in life, one specific time in life, and that’s not the idea.

The idea is a day of evil, the time of evil—any time where you are especially tested and tempted in life. That’s what Paul is talking about, and that’s similar to what Jesus is saying in Matthew chapter seven. He says you need to take these sayings of mine, these teachings, especially in the Sermon on the Mount, and you need to put them into practice.

So what Jesus says about temptation in this Sermon on the Mount needs to be in our minds and needs to be practiced in our life, especially what he says about not looking and lusting in Matthew chapter 5 27 through 30. What I’m saying is this building the foundation means taking teaching like that, let’s say about lusting and about temptation and practicing and doing what Jesus says.Not just reading it, not just listening to it or hearing it, but actually putting it into practice by looking the other way, by turning away from temptation. Now, a person who does that, a person who makes that a habit in his life is going to be in a better position. He’s going to be stronger and more prepared to deal with even worse temptations that come in the future.

But on the other hand, someone who hears what Jesus says—maybe he hears it in a sermon, maybe he listens to it or he reads it and he does not practice it. In other words, he does not turn away from temptation. He does not look the other way. He gives into lust and he develops that as a habit in his life. He’s going to be weaker. His foundation is going to have cracks in it, and when the real storms of temptation arise in life, then that house is going to crumble.

Here’s another example, and that is sometimes people do us wrong in life. How do we handle that? How do we deal with that? If we’re wise, we will listen to what Jesus has said and we will build our house on a rock. That means we listen to what Jesus says and we do it. We put it into practice. We make it a habit of doing what he has said about dealing with things that are wrong in our life at times when people have done us badly.

So, Jesus says that we need to look and see if this is a big thing or a little thing. You remember in Matthew chapter seven verses one through five that Jesus talked about the mote and the beam. Sometimes we need to ask that question and be honest about it. Is this a little thing that I’m upset about? Is this a big thing that someone has done to me? What is my attitude? Am I being vindictive? Am I trying to show mercy? All these things are talked about in the Sermon on the Mount. And Jesus said, if you listen to these things and if you do them, then when the storm arises, you’ll be better able to handle it.

Here’s another storm of life that sometimes arises, and it has to do with money. Sometimes we’re pulled by money. Sometimes we want the things of this world. It may not start out as something that’s sinful, but sometimes it becomes that because we get things out of hand, we get things out of proportion, and we forget what the Lord has said. Remember that Jesus said don’t lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. He said, no man can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and money at the same time. That’s Matthew six 19 through 24. And that teaching about money is another one of Jesus’ sayings that He’s talking about in Matthew chapter seven in the passage we’re looking at. He said, “Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine”—like the saying in Matthew six 19 through 24 about money—”whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his house upon a rock and the rain descended, the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock.”

Now the opposite is true as well, and that is when we have been devastated financially. We can be like a wise man or a foolish man. We can prepare for that day. How? By trusting in God, by putting into practice what Jesus teaches us in Matthew chapter six, verse 25 through 34. That’s where He said don’t worry about these things of life. God will take care of you if He takes care of the birds of the air, if he clothes the grass of the field and the flowers of the field, He’s going to take care of you.

So you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. That’s building your house upon a rock. It’s not just saying those words. It’s not just reading those words. It’s not just hearing those words in the sermon. It is putting those words into practice in your life, that is, building a solid foundation so that when financial trouble comes (it does to almost everybody at some point in life) then you’ll be in a better position. You’ll be able to weather that storm because you have set these patterns. You’ll be stronger. You won’t handle every situation perfectly, and it won’t be that you’ll be able to withstand those kinds of storms without having any kind of fear at all or any kind of anxiety.

But you’ll be able in the end to weather that storm. That’s what Jesus is saying here. You have to not only hear it. But you have to do it. You have to put it into practice in your everyday life. Now, that’s what a wise man does.

On the other hand, a foolish man does just the opposite. He hears these teachings of Jesus that he calls sayings, and he doesn’t do them. For instance, Jesus says to hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matthew five, verse six). This man doesn’t do that. Jesus talks about how to resolve conflict in life when you’re at fault (Matthew chapter five, verse 23). This foolish man doesn’t do that. Jesus talks about lust and divorce and things like that in Matthew chapter 5 27 through 32. This foolish man doesn’t pay any attention to that. Jesus says to keep your word (Matthew 5:33 through 37). He says to pray (Matthew 6:9 through 13). He says to forgive others if you want to be forgiven (Matthew six 14 and 15). He says to have the right attitude toward money. He says not to worry. He says to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. He says not to be judgmental, and he says to practice the golden rule. Now the foolish man hears that—and again, a foolish man here may be somebody who claims to be a Christian, this may be someone who goes to church—hears these words, reads these words sometimes in his Bible, but he never does really practice them.

In other words, this is the kind of person that is talked about in James chapter one, verse 22, 23 and 24. There, James says, “But be you doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like to a man be holding his natural face in a glass”—and that means a mirror—”for he beholds himself, he goes his way and he forgets what manner of man he was.” That’s like the foolish man here that Jesus talks about in the Sermon on the Mount. When bad weather strikes, he’s not ready. So for instance, if he has people problems, instead of using his head, he blows up, he gets mean. He causes strife. He says and he does things that he later regrets.

He even becomes bitter and hateful, all because he would not listen to and remember and obey what Jesus said in the Sermon on the mount. He heard what Jesus said about being a peacemaker in Matthew five verse nine, but he never applied that to his life. He heard what Jesus said in Matthew 5:23 through 26 about resolving conflict, but he never practiced that. He heard what Jesus said about the Golden Rule in Matthew chapter seven, verse 12, but it never translated into his everyday life.

When it comes to temptation, there are many people that are building their house upon sand. Why? Because they’re not putting into practice what Jesus said. Jesus tells us to beware of temptation. Jesus says to guard against temptation. Jesus says that we ought to pray and be ready against that time. There are some people that listen to that or they may read that, but they never really transfer it to their lives. Now this is what we must do. The Bible says in Psalm 119, verse 11, “Your word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

That’s exactly what we ought to do. We ought to take these sayings of Jesus and the rest of the Bible as well, but especially here what He said in the Sermon on the Mount. Put that in our hearts. Then when the situation or the temptation arises, apply what Jesus said to that situation. We have to do that until it becomes a habit.

Now that’s building strength. That’s reinforcing the foundation of your life. A foolish man doesn’t do that. He forgets about what he is promised. He forgets about what he is, and his whole world comes crashing in. Why? Because he’s not put into practice what Jesus has said before.

Then when it comes to money, there are two kinds of storms that we’ve already talked about. Now, let’s apply those two storms to a foolish man. A foolish man is someone who knows what Jesus has said in the Sermon on the Mount, but he didn’t listen to it enough to put it into practice. And what happens? Jesus says, the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

Let me emphasize the word “great.” This person’s hopes and dreams and plans and goals, this person’s whole life will come crashing in. Why? Because this individual did not pay attention to Jesus enough to do what Jesus said. And that especially applies to a person’s attitude toward money and the things of this life.

It’s a dangerous thing to have the wrong attitude toward money. Paul said in I Timothy six, verse nine and 10, “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition; for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, the which, while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” That’s I Timothy six verses nine and 10. But what about the other extreme? Suppose a man loses everything that he has or almost everything that he owns. That’s hard. That is a very hard trial of life.

But if a man has built on a solid foundation, he’ll be able to withstand that kind of storm. A man on the other hand who has not put into practice what Jesus has said about laying up treasures in heaven and not on earth—serving God and not money—will not be able to weather that storm. He’s going to be like a person who owns a million dollar house and he doesn’t have a dime of insurance, and a storm comes and it destroys that house. That’s what his spiritual life, his emotional life, his family life, his whole life will be like because he didn’t build on a solid foundation.

Now, let’s look at a few examples in the Bible of people who weathered the storm because they built their house upon a rock, so to speak. And then we’re going to contrast those examples with some men in the Bible who built upon sand.

First of all, Joseph. How did he endure the envy and the hate, the prison and the lies that were told about him? How did he stand tall during all that? Because his house was built upon a rock. He put his trust in God. He was a thankful person. He was an honest young man, and he was able to weather those storms.

Job. Job lost everything. He suffered more than you and I will ever suffer in our life. And he lost more than you and I will ever lose in our lifetime. And what happened? He stood firm. Why? Because he was a righteous man. He had built his house upon a rock.

Then think about the Apostle Paul. He was beaten, he was put in jail, he had health problems. There were all kinds of calamities that Paul faced. Just go back and read II Corinthians chapter 11 verses 23 through 28 and think about all that Paul suffered in his lifetime. How could he withstand that? How could he endure all that persecution and all those problems? It’s because he built his house upon a rock in II Timothy, chapter four, verse seven. That’s why he was able to say, toward the end of his life, “I have fought a good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.”

Now, on the other hand, there are some foolish men in the Bible who collapsed in the storms of life. King Saul did not listen to Samuel. Oh, he heard the words, but he didn’t put into practice what Samuel taught him, and his life was filled with envy and hate and fear and chaos, and it became worse and worse until finally his house completely collapsed and he took his own life.

Judas Iscariot is another example. He heard the teaching of Jesus. He saw Jesus’ miracles. He was only inches away from the Savior physically speaking, but he didn’t live it. He was a deceiver. He was a thief. He was a greedy man. He was not trustworthy, and the house he built came crashing down on him in the end.

And then there’s Pharaoh. In the time of Moses, God told him what to do. He heard the word of God through Moses and Aaron, but he was stubborn. “Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice? I know, not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.” And in the end, his whole world came crashing down on him and the whole nation suffered because of this man’s stubbornness and rebellion.

The storms of life will come to you. What kind of foundation are you building on—the solid rock of faith in God’s word, or the shifting sand of human feelings and opinions? And God doesn’t give us a weather forecast in the Bible. He doesn’t tell us when these things are going to happen, and he doesn’t tell us what kind of storm is going to strike.

But the Bible does tell us to prepare. Make sure your foundation is right by building upon the rock solid foundation of Jesus’ Word and by putting that into practice in your life.

Thank you for listening to My God and my neighbor. Stay connected with our podcast on our website and on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever fine podcasts are distributed. Tennessee Bible College, providing Christian education since 1975 in Cookeville, Tennessee, offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Study at your level. Aim higher and get in touch with us today.