Jump Start # 1630

Matthew 7:25 “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.”

The wise man and the foolish man—it was one of the early songs that many of us sang when we were kids in Bible class. It’s one of those songs that you acted out with hand motions. It’s more than a kids song, it is how the Lord ended the greatest sermon ever preached, the sermon on the mount.

The parable of the wise man and the foolish man is built around contrasts. The wise man heard and did what Jesus said. The foolish man only heard. He did not act upon what Jesus said. The foolish man never really believed. The wise man built his house upon the rock. The foolish man’s house was build upon the sand. The wise man’s house stood during the storms. The foolish man’s house collapsed.

What we forget is that both men had rain, flood and wind. The storms came to both men. The believer and the unbeliever, alike suffered storms. The storms were not the result of disobedience to God, nor punishment for evil doing, nor caused by wrong choices. The righteous wise man endured storms. This bothers us. We tend to think that if we are doing right, following the Lord, then the storms ought to bypass us. We should be exempt from storms because of our faith. That’s not how this story unfolds. The winds slammed against both houses. That doesn’t sound nice at all.

There are certain lessons we connect with here.

1. The choice of foundations is up to us. We don’t see the coming storms. We don’t think much about them. At the moment, the choice is a matter of believing Christ and doing what He says. Why is it that some have a solid foundation and others don’t? It comes down to a matter of choice. Any one can have a solid foundation. It will take dedication, effort and choices. You can have a solid foundation if you want.

2. The solid rock which the wise man built his house upon is Jesus Christ. That rock is unmovable. Later, Jesus would say that “upon this rock I will build my church.” How does one find that foundation? It comes from studying God’s word. It comes from the Bible. Time was spent with God’s word. Time was invested in learning, knowing, and believing what God said. Faith grew. The person changed. His attitude, behavior and thinking was shaped by the word of God. He became a man of the book. God’s word was a constant companion to him.

3. The foundation was built in good weather. That’s the key. One cannot wait until he is in the midst of a storm and then try to decide what he believes. It’s too late to bail water, try to hold the door shut and shore up the foundation. When the storm hits, it’s a matter of what I believe at that moment. This tells us that we need to be building a solid foundation now. The storm is coming. Too many wait until the storm hits and then they fall to pieces. They missed opportunities. They wasted time. They never built during the sunshine. Bible classes, sermons, articles, personal reading—these are all foundation blocks that will help you get that solid foundation. There is not one sermon or one class that will do it all for you. Piece by piece, block by block, a foundation is built. This means that sermons, Bible classes are times for learning. I need to come prepared to learn. Bring a Bible. Bring a pen and paper. Write things down. Go home and think about these things. Learn. Know. My friends who live in hurricane regions do not board up their windows when the hurricane is slamming against the house. It’s too late and too dangerous. The prep time is done before the storm hits. The same is for us spiritually. It’s in the sunshine that we must be growing that faith of ours.

4. Storms come. They always do. Storms come from different directions and with different intensities. Troubles at work. Problems at home. Issues at church. Financial burdens. Health failing. Aging parents. Teenagers. Demands pulling you several directions at once. Storms do not wait in line, they often come several at a time. They did for Job. They might for you. It is during the storms that your trust in God is relied upon. Storms are weathered and even makes us stronger because of our faith in the Lord. Without that faith, our house collapses. We throw the towel in on God and His people. We blame others. We get mad. We lose it. We say things that we shouldn’t. We don’t understand, “Why me?” The collapsed house is useless. No one can live in a collapsed house. The house is one’s soul and heart. He’s crushed by the storms. He didn’t do well because of the storms. He is ruined spiritually. His soul is lost because his faith never existed. The collapsed person is of no help to his family. He lives without direction, purpose or plan. The storms will define him. He will never fully recover unless he turns to the Lord and believes.

I have seen families go through terrible storms. I knew a 16 year-old, that on Sunday morning high-fived me as he walked out the church building. Two hours later he was dead because of a car accident. I’ve known sweet families that lost husbands, moms, sons and daughters, suddenly because of death. I’ve seen men in their 50’s who were counting on a coming retirement, lose their jobs. I’ve known mothers who buried newborn babies. I’ve known parents who had to make the sad and dreaded journey to prisons to visit their incarcerated kid. I’ve known young mothers who discovered that their husband was having an affair. The marriage ends. The young mother must find a new place to live, a job and carry on by herself. Storms.

Storms come. They are not nice. They can tear a place up. The only hope of getting through the storm is having a faith that is built upon Jesus. That comes from the word of God. The cotton-candy theology of today is no hope for the coming storms. The religion of feelings and self is nothing more than a house of cards, that will collapse with the slightest breeze. The solid rock is where we must be. That comes from the word of God.

Open that Bible up. Read it. Know it. Use it. Follow it. Become what God wants. This will not keep the storms away, but it will give you the strength to endure the storms and not be changed by them.

The wise man and the foolish man…more than a children’s song, it’s everyone you see today. Some are in the midst of a storm and they don’t know what to do. You can help them. Others are enjoying life in the sand, never realizing that a storm is coming their way and it will destroy them. Others are quietly laying block after block as they read their Bibles and gain insights, faith and strength in the Lord. They are ready for the storms.

Are you ready?

Roger