Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: [25] 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. [26] And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: [27] 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.
Matthew 7:24-27 KJV
A brother saw a crack in the wall of his home and he called a painter to cover the crack. The painter came and patched up the wall. A month later, the crack came back. He called the painter to come back and redo the job. After the painter had finished the work, forty-five days later, several cracks showed up in the wall.This brother was frustrated at the incompetence of the previous painter and called for a professional and more experienced painter to fix up the cracks on his wall. This painter came in with his tools and observed the wall. He then went to the brother who hired him and said “Sir I cannot help you”. The man was annoyed and confused and asked if he also did not know how to fix a crack on the wall. The painter explained that patching the walls will not fix the issue because there were underlying problems with the foundation. This foundation had to be strengthened.
Some houses in hurricane prone countries are built to resist storms and earthquakes. These houses are often very difficult to build. One of the major differences between these and other houses is that the foundations go deeper than a regular house and the buildings are tied down to the foundation with tie-down straps, J-bolts, hurricane clips and other materials. The houses are also built to be impact resistant and to remain dry in a storm with sealants, waterproof materials and other mold and mildew-resistant materials . In Matthew 5,6 and 7, Jesus taught one of the greatest sermons ever preached. This sermon was the foundation for his ministry. After this, in Matthew 8, we began to see His miracles. After a long sermon, Jesus concluded this sermon differentiating between two individuals, the wise builder and the foolish builder.
What differentiated these two? Before exploring the differences, it is important to highlight the similarities. Both men were builders and had a dream to build a house that will last. The word house here can also be family, society, ministry, etc. The verses preceding this parable were about Jesus speaking about people who did mighty things in His name but were rejected, being called workers of iniquity. No man intends to build a house, family, society or ministry that will fail. Another thing to note was that they were both christians. Both sat under the greatest teacher of all time, Jesus and heard the greatest message of all times, the sermon on the mount for several days with Christ. Matthew 25:1-10 also shows the story of a wise and a foolish group. Both were virgins, untouched and reserved for the Lord, but a group was rejected for being foolish. The last thing to note is that both faced the same issue, the storms of life. Storms are designed to test the foundation, so God allows them. So what separated them? Wisdom is defined as the application of the knowledge of God’s word. Foolishness is defined as the inability or refusal to apply Spiritual truth to life’s challenges. The storm will come to everyone. Where we are fastened to is what makes the difference.
A requirement for the strong foundation for this present time is the same as the requirement for the time passed. God does not change.In Exodus 24:12, the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. We often neglect the call to “be there”. Moses did not know how long he would be there for or when God will speak to him. It was said that when he went up, a cloud covered him and God spoke to him through the cloud, but he was there for forty days and forty nights. We cannot build a solid house without knowing the blue print and cannot know the blue print for any thing that will last forever, without being in the presence of the eternal one. Beloved, the Lord is saying to you today “Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast“. (Isaiah 26:21). When Peter caught the revelation of who Jesus was in Matthew 16:13-19, Christ told him that upon this rock, not Peter, but the revelation of truth, He will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail. If you look around today at societies, families, ministries and churches that are being prevailed on by the gates of hell, check the foundation!
Prayer for today: Lord Jesus, as You have commanded me in Deuteronomy 13: 4 to follow after the You and fear You, and keep Your commandments and obey Your voice; To serve You and to hold fast and cling to You, I choose to yield Lord. Help me to base my life, home, ministry on Your word, by sitting at Your feet and observing to do all that you tell me. Then, my life, ministry, family and society will stand the test of time. Lord as You established the earth and it abides, establish me on the Solid Rock and I will abide forever. Amen.
0 Comments