Edward Snyder
BL425 The Parables of Jesus
Matthew 7:24-27
A Sermon on the Parable of the Two Builders
Opener:
I grew up in Southern California, graduating from Torrance High School in 1979. At most high schools guys are into sports like football, baseball, and basketball. But my high school offered not only those sports, but also surfing. In the sophomore year a student could take surfing as a P.E. elective. Because I had been surfing since seventh grade, I looked forward to getting school credit for something I loved.
Life as a surfer has many similarities to the Christian life. For instance, as a Christian we look forward to
going to paradise. As a surfer, I went there
two times -- well, to the Hawaiian Islands, at least -- not quite heaven, but close.
In 1983, Southern California experienced one of the worst storms it had seen in decades. The waves were enormous. Homes in Malibu were swallowed by the high ocean tides, marinas were devastated, breakwalls crumbled, and piers gave way to the massive swells and breakers. But, remarkably enough, after the storm passed, those people rebuilt their homes and businesses on the same beach. I still wonder why.
The same storm that had been their tragedy was my delight. As a surfer, this was the opportunity of a lifetime -- a chance to ride some really big waves, to prove my manhood, to gain the respect of my surfing buddies, and to be known as a big-wave surfer -- but that’s another story. Today’s sermon is titled, Are You Living in a Beach House?
25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell and great was its fall” (NRSV).
Introduction:
I
am shocked when people build multi-million dollar homes on the California coast in Malibu.
They are building on sand bars. And, these properties are considered prime real estate.
And yet, who wouldn’t love to have a home on the beach? Wouldn’t you love
building sand castles, reading on the beach, surfing, romantic walks, etc.?
People
can build there because we have FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA
underwrites our flood insurance so that when the floods and storms come we will get our
money back if our property is destroyed. All
of us who either build houses on the shore, or on a flood plain know, that the question is
not whether the floods will come, but when will the floods come? You have a
50/50 chance of having a catastrophic flood during the term of an average mortgage, if
your home is in a 100 year flood plane.
Jesus’
story illustrates the difference between those who follow him, and those who don’t.
The difference between them is not that bad things happen to one group and good things
happen to the other, it is how the two groups can handle the day of disaster. Some people
have eternal life insurance; others do not.
For most of us, there will come a time when our whole life will change in a moment or in a day. It may be a health issue: cancer, stroke, or a heart attack. It may be an auto accident, it maybe a flood or an earthquake. Or it might be the day when something in your life that you wanted to keep hidden is exposed. Whatever the occasion, such events can change our world in a moment. Nothing will ever be the same again.
Most
of us can probably remember such a time. Do you remember what you felt like? I would love
to sit here and say, “If you follow Jesus, that will never happen to you.” But I
can’t, because that is not what Jesus said. He said, “when the rains come and
the waters rise”, not “if.”
For
me that time occurred last year. I was in the middle of my second quarter at Northwest
Nazarene University, when I received word that my Dad had been diagnosed with terminal
cancer. He was living on a day-to-day basis. My world crashed. I couldn’t leave to be
with my Dad, who lives seven hundred miles away. I had two more weeks of school until
Christmas break. I was at the end of my rope. The storm had come.
Jesus
challenges us to see that our purpose in life isn’t limited to the degree of pain or
pleasure we find in our 70 or so years on earth. It is much larger, much broader. God has
already defined what life is about for us; it is finding him and Jesus Christ whom he
sent. John 17:3 basically says, “Do you want to know what real and everlasting life
is? It is knowing God and Jesus whom he sent.” That is what we were made for, and
everything else revolves around that. This is where the real battle lies. In knowing him,
trusting him, and finding our life in him, even when the tragedies of life seem to be
telling us he is against us and not trustworthy. That is the real battle.
Jesus
is very realistic here, and all of you who have been through the storms of life should be
able to identify with this. Jesus doesn’t say, “If you follow me you will float
up to heaven on feather pillows.” Jesus himself, the Son of God, still has scars in
his hands, feet, and side from the storms he endured. All of us who have been through
difficult times know, we may now be wiser and stronger, but we all know the battle had its
cost, and we are not about to say we enjoyed a single minute of it. That just
wouldn’t be true. What Jesus says here is that those who live His way -- those who
follow Him -- will survive. We will walk through the storm, and still come out whole and
intact.
My
Dad died on December 30, 1999. I was by his side. Through God’s mercy I was allowed
to see Dad, pray with him, laugh with him and cry with him before he went to be with
Jesus. It was simply awesome to see someone who totally loved the Lord prepare himself to
meet Him face-to-face. He was not only ready to go -– Dad was looking forward to it.
I told Dad, “Tell Jesus I said, Hi.” He smiled.
Two
men were shipwrecked on two different deserted islands. One pulled himself onto shore
bitter and angry -- angry at God for letting the ship go down, angry at the captain, angry
at the other sailors. He immediately ate everything he could find from the ship. He
deserved it, he was done wrong. He spent his days foraging, nursing his anger, his
self-pity, his hatred. Many times ships and planes passed, but he wasn’t ready. He
had no signal fire, he wasn’t even looking for them, and he was too busy with all of
his other stuff to worry about it.
The
other man pulled himself onto the shore, and after regaining his strength began to
prepare. He built a signal fire on a hill and had a routine for watching the shipping
lanes. He rationed his food and made tools to fish and garden. He knew what it would take
to live and be rescued and he pursued it. All of you can imagine the very different fates
of the two sailors.
What
is the condition of your house? Are you living in the sunshine, hoping the rains
won’t come? I have bad news for you, they will. They come to all of us. When they do
come, will you survive? Not everyone does. In fact, most don’t. The day of trouble
makes them bitter, angry, alone, and they go that way to their graves.
Jesus
says, “Follow me and I will show you life -- real life, a life that begins now and
continues on into the next world -- a life that will survive the floods, and weather the
storms -- a life whose value will be evident to all. Follow me, and such a life can be
yours.
The good news is that your Father God loves you. He didn’t say that there wouldn’t be storms, hurricanes, and twisters. He never said there are no consequences for our poor decisions. What he did say is in the storm he will be our shelter. In the hurricane he will be the life preserver. In the twister he will be the storm cellar.
The Bible says in Deuteronomy 31:6, “The Lord your God goes with
you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Is
that comforting or what? Yes, even when we
blow it, He still loves us and sticks with us. He
is the calm in the midst of the raging storm.
Conclusion:
(Read again…)
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell and great was its fall.”
My hope is built on
nothing less,
Than Jesus blood and
righteousness.
I dare not trust the
sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on
Jesus’ name
(Chorus)
On Christ the solid
rock I stand,
All other ground is
sinking sand,
All other ground is
sinking sand,
When darkness seems to
hide His face,
I rest on His
unchanging grace.
In every high and
stormy gale,
My anchor holds within
the veil
(Chorus)
His oath, His covenant,
His blood,
Support me in the
whelming flood.
When all around, my
soul gives way,
He then is all my hope
and stay.
(Chorus)
When he shall come with
trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him
be found!
Dressed in His
righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand
before the throne.
(Chorus)