It is only Jesus who is completely stable.
It is only Jesus who is completely secure.
It is only Jesus who can withstand the storms.
Hey, welcome back to the Matthew devotional.
Today we're gonna be looking at Matthew chapter seven,
specifically in verses 24 through 27.
Now Matthew chapter seven is Jesus's close
to his famous sermon on the mount.
He's wrapping everything up, all his teachings
and everything he was sharing
with those who were listening.
And he's charging those who were listening
to put into practice all the teachings,
everything he taught, and then the consequences if not.
And so let's jump into verse 24.
Verse 24 says this.
Everyone that who hears these words of mine
and does them will be like a wise man
who built his house on the rock.
And the rain fell and the floods came
and the winds blew and it beat against the house,
but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock.
And everyone who hears these words of mine
and does not do them will be like the foolish man
who built his house in the sand.
And the rain fell and the floods came
and the winds blew and beat against the house
and it fell and great was the fall.
So Jesus is illustrating the importance
of building one's life on a solid foundation.
Jesus is using the metaphor of building a house
on the rock compared to sand,
which is a perfect example on the importance
of discipleship and obedience in his teachings.
You see, building on sand is easy.
You just start digging and you place your supports
and then you can start building up.
You probably get a better view
because a lot of the places I've been to with sand
actually have a great ocean view.
The temperature is consistent, it's hot.
On the other hand, building on solid rock, it's hard.
You see, building on rock takes time.
It takes hard work and it takes hours and hours
of blood, sweat, and tears.
And all that is just pre-work
before you can actually start building.
A lot of us don't understand that building on the rock
is actually most of it's prep time
before we even get started.
So why not take the easier option?
Why not build on the sand?
Architectural structures were and are built
on foundations of solid rock or concrete.
Solid rock is not easily moved.
It provides stability for the walls and for the roof.
You see, without a rocking foundation,
over time the ground will shift
and the house that's built on it, it'll start to move,
it'll start to crack, and it'll start to fall apart.
To avoid calamity, a wise man builds his house
on the foundation of the rock.
Now Jesus is talking about actual people.
He's actually not talking about houses.
He's possibly speaking of the faith of believers
or of people's lives in general.
Whoever the intended audience, the truth is the same.
It is only Jesus who is completely stable.
It is only Jesus who is completely secure.
It is only Jesus who can withstand the storms.
All right, some hard truth, are you ready?
For every person out there, no matter age,
no matter social status, no matter financial status,
whether you believe in God or not,
storms are going to come.
Hardships are going to come.
The rain is going to fall, and when it comes,
it's bringing with it winds and flooding,
and it will bash against the home you built.
The question is, what kind of foundation
is your life built on?
Because if it's not Jesus, then it's not going to stand,
and if it's not Jesus, it's not too late.
You see, everything else you could possibly
build your life on is temporary.
Your finances may be able to get you through this storm,
but what about the next?
Your cleverness may be able to reason you
out of the winds and out of the waves.
Your cleverness and your wisdom
might be able to help you reason yourself out of the storm,
but what if a bigger one comes?
Now, I'm not saying this to scare you.
I actually don't know when your storms
are going to be appearing in your life,
but I do know that storms are coming,
and I do know a person who, if you build your life on him,
if you build your foundation on him who is Jesus,
then those storms aren't going to be able to break you.
And to the believer, how are you building your foundation?
You see, discipleship is continual growth,
meaning that there's continual building
your life on this rock.
It's not just build a one-bedroom condo when you're done.
No, it's building that solid foundation
and continue building out, but not only out, but also up,
because growing in your faith means you grow your support
deeper and deeper into your foundation.
And as Christians, we should keep building.
We should build our foundation in Jesus,
but also build our house bigger to help others
through the storm and to teach them what it means
to build on the rock instead of on the sand.
Now, again, I'm not speaking of your actual home.
What I'm speaking on is your life.
You should be able to build your life on Jesus so well
that your heart starts growing for people.
You should be able to build your life on Jesus so well
that your compassion starts growing on people.
You should be able to build your life on Jesus so well
that the love and the wisdom that you have in Him,
you'll be able to share with many others.
So what are you building your life on?
And for the believer, are you still building?
Well, I hope today's devotional was helpful.
Stay tuned for more.
Grace and peace.
you