Introduction: On September 19, 1985 at 7:17 AM, an earthquake of a magnitude of 8.1 hit Mexico City. Of a population of 18 million, an estimated 10,000 people were killed, and 50,000 were injured. In addition, 250,000 people lost their homes, and property damage amounted to $5 billion. Over 800 buildings crumbled, including hotels, hospitals, schools, and businesses. Mexico City sits on top of a dried up lake bed which made the ground more soft which caused more destruction. The expansion of the capitol (Mexico City) and the gradual draining of the lake left the world’s largest population center located largely on unconsolidated lake-bed sediments. These soft sedimentary clay deposits amplified the seismic waves. The earthquake did tremendous damage because of the inadequate foundations of the buildings. Many lives may have been saved if proper precautions had been taken when the construction of these buildings took place. Many times foresight is short while hindsight is 20/20. No one ever thought that an earthquake would devastate Mexico City. A house is no better than its foundation! Jesus uses this imagery of a foundation to illustrate a spiritual truth. (READ–Matthew 7:24-27). 24 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. Now we need to understand that the immediate context of these verses show that the Lord Jesus Christ was specifically speaking about a person’s eternal destiny. Look at that first word of verse 24–the word “therefore.” It refers to something that has been previously said. So when we see “therefore,” we must look back to see what it is there for. (Look at Matthew 7:21-23) 21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. So, the immediate context is talking about a person’s eternal destiny. Jesus is specifically teaching about a person’s eternal destiny as it relates to the foundation that his life is built upon. Jesus Christ is the only sure foundation for salvation! He is the Rock! Look at verse 24 again! 24 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: Anything else that you try to build your life on is a foundation of sand! So if you are not building your life on Jesus, you are inviting disaster to wipe out what you have lived for! I know and we all can agree that the basic interpretation of this passage relates to salvation. But this morning I would like to make another application! Jesus is saying that we know that a house is no better than its foundation. Jesus applies that to a life and says that a life is no better than its foundation. This morning however we want to look at this illustration and relate it to the home. A home is no better than its foundation! How can we have a rock solid home? In building our homes today, we need to realize some things: I. WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT STORMS WILL COME! Storms are a part of life and come both to the just and to the unjust. In other words, there will be some things that will come along in this life at some time or another that will try the strength of your home and will try its very foundation. It is God who allows the storms to come our way that test the foundation. A. That Storm Could Be In The Area Of Finances! B. That Storm Could Be In The Area Of Health! C. That Storm Could Be In The Area Of Outside Interference! 1. It might be in-law (or out-law) problems! 2. It might be from folks who are your enemies! 3. It might even be from folks who are supposed to be your friends! 4. It might be from some other hindrances! D. That Storm Could Be In The Area Of Personal Conflicts Or Disagreements! Did you know that after almost 25 years of wedded life, my wife and I do not agree on everything? We are individuals with our own likes and dislikes and even with our own idiosyncrasies just like you! But the foundation of our marriage is solid and sure which allows us to get beyond those areas of personal conflicts or disagreements. WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT STORMS WILL COME! II. WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT GOD HAS LEFT US INSTRUCTIONS OF HOW TO BUILD OUR HOME! For every structure that is built, there is someone who oversees the construction! Psalm 127:1–“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it:” The Lord wants to be the Architect and General Contractor of both our lives and homes! If the Lord is going to build our life or our home, that means we are going to have to work off of His set of plans, His set of blueprints and follow His instructions! The Lord’s set of plans for constructing a life or a home is found in the Word of God A. He Gives Instructions To Husbands And Fathers. Ephesians 5:25–“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” Ephesians 6:4–“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” B. He Gives Instructions To Wives And Mothers. Proverbs 31:10-31–The virtuous woman. Ephesians 5:22-24–“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. 24Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” C. He Gives Instructions To Children. A good portion of the Book of Proverbs is written from a father unto his child. Ephesians 6:1-3–“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.” It takes every worker following the plans to insure building a good building! III. WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT OUR HOME WILL EITHER STAND OR FALL DEPENDING UPON THE FOUNDATION IT IS BUILT UPON! It doesn’t matter how large or how beautiful a structure is, if the foundation is not right it will not weather the storms! Building a good building begins with a laying a good foundation! Salvation is foundational to whatever you are building in this life! Does it matter what is built on the foundation? Of course it does! We’ve already said that we must use God’s blueprints to build the right kind of building. But the right foundation is foundational to what you are building! If we are going to let the Lord build our homes, where is He going to want to start the actual construction? It all starts with the foundation! WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT STORMS WILL COME! WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT GOD HAS LEFT US INSTRUCTIONS OF HOW TO BUILD OUR HOME! WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT OUR HOME WILL EITHER STAND OR FALL DEPENDING UPON THE FOUNDATION IT IS BUILT UPON! IV. WE NEED TO REALIZE WHAT IT TAKES TO BUILD A HOME THAT WILL STAND. (Turn to Luke 6:47,48) 47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: 48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. A. Building A Home Takes Want – “Whosoever cometh to me…” If you want to build your own home in your own way, God will let you! But, don’t blame God when your home falls apart in the storms! B. Building A Home Takes Wisdom – “Whosoever…heareth my sayings.” Not only must we come to God, but we must be open to God’s plan for the home from the Word of God! If we come to God and He reveals His plan to us, but we turn a deaf ear to Him, and say, “Well, that’ll never work,” what good does that do? We have to realize the wisdom of God’s plans! We can’t nitpick God’s plans! We can’t take what we like and leave what we don’t like! C. Building A Home Takes Willingness – “Whosoever…doeth them.” Not only must we accept God’s plans as being the right plan, but we must put them to work! We must use them! We can’t say, “Well that’s a good plan, but I’m going with my own plans.” D. Building A Home Takes Work – “digged deep” (Luke 6:48) In the average home today there is: 1. More Sin Than There Is Godliness! 2. More Deceit Than There Is Truth! 3. More Blame Shifting Than Accepting Responsibilities! 4. More Exposure To The World Than Exposure To The Scripture! 5. More Strife Than Love! 6. More Fighting Than Praying. 7. More Excuses Than Obedience. 8. More Complaints Than Praises. Conclusion: So, where do you stand this morning? 1. Where Do You Stand In Your Personal Life? a. Are you building your life on the right foundation? The foundation of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? 1 Corinthians 3:11–“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Hear what the great Architect of life says: Matthew 7:26-27–“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: 27And 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.” b. Maybe you’ve got the right foundation, but the building materials you’ve been using are all wrong because you’re building with the wrong set of plans. 2. Where Do You Stand In Your Home Life? If your home is not weathering the storms, something is wrong. Or maybe, just maybe you are using the wrong set of plans to build the home. Psalm 127:1–“Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it:” The Lord wants to be the Architect and General Contractor of our lives and our homes! If the Lord is going to build our home, that means we are going to have to work off of His set of plans, His set of blueprints and follow His instructions! The storms will come! God has left us instructions of how to build our life and our home! Our life and our home will either stand or fall depending upon the foundation it is built upon! It takes some key ingredients to build a life or a home that will weather the storms! It takes Want! It takes Wisdom! It takes Willingness! It takes Work! (You’ve got to dig deep!) Introduction: We began examining this matter of how to have a Rock solid home. We said that whatever we are building–a house, a life or a home–a good foundation is essential. Jesus uses this imagery of a foundation to illustrate this spiritual truth here in our text. We said that if we want a life or a home that will stand through the storms of life, then we must build upon a good foundation! (READ–Matthew 7:24-27). 24 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. The context of this Scripture shows that Jesus is specifically applying this to a person’s life. In other words, Jesus is saying your life is no better than the foundation you are building it on and there is only one acceptable foundation–the Lord Jesus Christ Himself!!! But then we began looking at this illustration and relating it to the home. A life is no better than its foundation, but a home is no better than its foundation either! In building our homes today, we said that we need to realize some things: The storms will come! God has left us instructions of how to build our lives and our homes! Our life and our home will either stand or fall depending upon the foundation it is built upon! It takes some key ingredients to build a life or a home that will weather the storms! It takes Want! It takes Wisdom! It takes Willingness! It takes Work! (You’ve got to dig deep!) So What Does A Home Need In Order To Stand Through The Storms Of Life? I. THERE NEEDS TO BE AN ABIDING PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES! (John 15:4-5; 7) 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. I’m talking about the abiding presence of Jesus! “Abide” means “to stay.” So how does one experience this abiding presence: A. It First Begins With A Relationship With Him! We First Need Salvation, Then We Need To Just Stay With Jesus! 1. Husband And/Or The Dad, You Need To Be Saved! 2. Wife And/Or The Mom, You Need To Be Saved! 3. Children Need Salvation At An Early Age! Mark 10:14–“Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” B. We Need To Abide In Him When The Going Is Easy. The problem with having it easy in life is that there seems to be no urgency for dependence on God. God help us to abide in Him when things are going good! C. We Need To Abide In Him When The Going Gets Tough! A problem that I see many times is that when the going gets too tough, folks want to abandon ship. They want to jump out of the boat and into the storm! That is when we need Him most! Just like the marriage vows we took with our spouses–for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness or in health, so we need to stick with Jesus through whatever comes in life! D. We Need To Abide In Him When We Can See Our Way Clear And We Need To Abide In Him When We Can’t Even See The Next Step! We need to abide in the one who sees all and knows all–He understands what we are going through better than anybody! We need to abide in the one who is powerful enough to overcome any obstacle we face! We need to abide in the one that goes with us wherever we go! He will never leave us or forsake us! Standing somewhere in the shadows, you’ll find Jesus! We need to lean on those Everlasting Arms! Colossians 2:6-7–“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.” We need to be like the Apostle Paul who said, Galatians 2:20–“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” We need to live in Christ and Christ needs to live in us! THERE NEEDS TO BE AN ABIDING PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES! II. THERE NEEDS TO BE AN AUTHORITATIVE PRINCIPLE IN OUR LIVES! What is that Authoritative Principle? It is the Word of God! John 8:31–“If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” A. The Principles Of This World Are Shifting Sand! 1 Corinthians 1:19-20– “For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. 20Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?” My friend, the wisdom of God is foolishness with this world and the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God! It doesn’t matter the number or the names of the Universities that one may have attended, studied, or graduated from. It doesn’t matter the number of degrees they have behind their name. It doesn’t matter how much they have studied. It doesn’t matter how much they are applauded by those in academia or by the media or by the world. It doesn’t matter how many books they sell in the marketplace. Psalm 1:1–“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” When we choose the wisdom of the world over the Wisdom of God in building our homes we are building on shifting sand and we are in trouble! Example: For years parents raised their children according to Dr. Spock, but Dr. Spock acknowledged before his death that he was wrong on some things. Yet his books still sell and people continue to raise their children according to a faulty wisdom! We had best leave the advice from the talk show hosts, the secular psychologists, the newspaper columnists and all the rest of those who portray a worldly wisdom because it is nothing but shifting sand of man’s wisdom! B. The Principles Of Our Feelings Are Shifting Sand! Feelings can be deceptive because our hearts are deceitful. Jeremiah 17:9–“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Proverbs 14:12–“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” Our feelings are useless as principles because our feelings can change. We must not follow our own reasonings or feelings because that is shifting sand too! C. Only The Principles Of God Are Solid Rock! 2 Peter 1:19–“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed…” We can’t improve upon perfection! We can’t improve upon the highest wisdom! We can’t improve upon the Word of God! Luke 6:47-48 – “Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.” If we are going to build our homes on solid foundations we had better get back to the authoritative principles of God’s Word! Deuteronomy 6:6-7–“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.” THERE NEEDS TO BE AN ABIDING PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES! THERE NEEDS TO BE AN AUTHORITATIVE PRINCIPLE IN OUR LIVES! III. THERE NEEDS TO BE AN ATMOSPHERE OF PEACE IN OUR LIVES! Matthew 12:25–“…Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:” If a house is characterized by fighting and contention, it is being built on shifting sand! Where there is strife and conflict you can be assured of one thing, somebody has a pride problem! Proverbs 13:10–“Only by pride cometh contention:” What maintains an atmosphere of peace in our lives? It is the fullness of the Holy Spirit! When there is strife and conflict you can be assured that somebody in that battle is not filled with the Holy Ghost! Galatians 5:22-23– “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” When we are spiritually minded instead of being carnally minded, there is life and peace! Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. IV. THERE NEEDS TO BE AN ABUNDANCE OF PRAYER IN OUR LIVES! Ephesians 6:10–“…be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” We do that by putting on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil! Ephesians 6:18–“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” Philippians 4:6-7–“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” A. Prayer Is A Dependence Upon God! Proverbs 3:5–“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” B. Prayer Is An Acknowledgment Of God! Proverbs 3:6–“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” THERE NEEDS TO BE AN ABIDING PRESENCE IN OUR LIVES! THERE NEEDS TO BE AN AUTHORITATIVE PRINCIPLE IN OUR LIVES! THERE NEEDS TO BE AN ATMOSPHERE OF PEACE IN OUR LIVES! THERE NEEDS TO BE AN ABUNDANCE OF PRAYER IN OUR LIVES! V. THERE NEEDS TO BE AN AUTHENTIC PRAISE IN OUR LIVES! Psalms 34:1–“I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 50:23–“Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I show the salvation of God.” Psalms 101:1-2 I will sing of mercy and judgment: unto thee, O LORD, will I sing. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. VI. THERE NEEDS TO BE AN ACCEPTABLE PATTERN IN OUR LIVES! Ephesians 5:22-25–“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” Titus 2:3-5–“The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Conclusion What is your life being built upon? What is your home being built upon? It all must start with a good foundation or else it is destined for destruction! If you want a Rock solid life that will stand the storms of life, you must have these essentials! If you want a Rock solid home that will help you weather the storms of life, you must also have these essentials!
