Matthew 7:24-29 Build on the Rock
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.
“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”
In the last few decades, several ministries that once appeared to be solid have now fallen apart. What has happened? In some cases, the ministry made a good start, but either leadership changed personnel or the leaders lost sight of their calling and God’s will for them. But yet another problem may have been a shaky foundation in the wrong location.
What does Jesus say about those listening to his teachings? “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them…” Good disciples must begin by listening to their Master and following His leading completely. Discipleship means submission to the Master in every regard, not arguing, or complaining, or attempting to change the Master’s teachings so that they are more palatable.
“I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.” Part of being a disciple is recognizing the authority of the Master and the wisdom of the Master. Yet another part of discipleship is consistency; you can’t accept the Master’s teachings today and succumb to doubts, changing your mind tomorrow if you want true wisdom.
James 1:5-8 tells us, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Asking in faith without doubting allows us to build spiritual houses on the Rock of Jesus Christ.
“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” When we are double-minded, we will be unstable in all our ways, and as soon as we come under any stress, our spiritual houses will be swept away in a tide of doubts and disappointments.
“And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” While we are not able to hear Jesus utter these teachings, we can trust the reaction of the people who did hear them. Those people had heard enough religious experts that they recognized true spiritual authority when Jesus was teaching. Many if not all of those people eventually became Jesus followers despite all opposition because they had faith that Jesus was sent from God to give them this message.
If you consider yourself to be a disciple of Jesus, what is the basis for your discipleship? Are you really trusting Jesus, or are you trusting in your own righteousness? Trust in yourself and you will be as foolish as the man who built his house on the sand. Notice that Jesus did not say, “If you hear my words and trust in your ideas about me…” Jesus did not say, “If you decide that you like what I am saying…” Jesus doesn’t give any of us choices apart from hearing his sayings and doing them. David Yonggi Cho once told an American evangelist that the secret of his ministry was simple: “I pray and I obey.” For any of us wanting to be disciples, we should follow that advice. Pray and obey.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to pray, to obey, and to do Your teachings. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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