JESUS’S SERMON ON THE MOUNT
XIX “Foundational Truths”
3-11-07
Ken Peterson
Mtt. 7:24-29
INTRODUCTION
In 2001, the famous 185' Leaning Tower of Pisa was finally reopened to the public after being closed for a decade out of fear that it might collapse. The lean of the tower, built in 1173, is 17 ft. off vertical. The tower began to lean shortly after it was completed. The tilt was handy for Galileo’s famous experiment 450 years later of dropping two objects of different masses from the top to prove the heavier object did not fall faster than the lighter one. Through the 1990's engineers spent 25 million dollars trying to shore up the foundations and were able to reduce the lean by 16 inches, and it has now been declared “safe” for another 300 years. The problem with the tower was not bad workmanship or poor design. No, the problem was underneath. It is built upon the unstable sands of a former estuary that has been unable to support a tower of this size.
On the other hand, we have buildings that go through serious earthquakes, where the buildings are literally rocked and they come through almost undamaged. They survive because the foundations were carefully engineered to withstand such a shaking.
There are other shakings in our world. The recent plunge in the stock market may have you concerned about the foundations of our economy, or at least your economy. Our car accident a couple of weeks ago, returning from the presbytery meeting in Yakima, made me freshly aware of how suddenly things can change. While I’m deeply grateful there were no physical injuries to any of us, I’m also aware some or all of us could have faced a major medical crisis and debilitating or permanent injuries.
Yes, our health, our wealth, even our very lives all can quickly be shaken and can crumble before our very eyes. When people’s lives are shaken, they sometimes come to me. I want to talk to you today about the most important foundation in our lives when we face the destructive forces of life.
This morning, we’re at the end of Jesus’ most extensive teaching in His Sermon on the Mount. As he concludes the sermon, He is preaching for a verdict. Jesus knows that fear is an important motivator in our lives and doesn’t hesitate to use it. He concludes with four warnings that bring the sermon to a sharp conclusion. We’ve considered the first three warnings in the last two sermons.
1. There are only two ways, two gates– the broad, easy way that leads to eternal destruction and the narrow way that leads to eternal life.
2. There will be false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing that will try to deceive you and destroy you.
3. There will be those performing impressive signs and affirming allegiance to Christ who will not be really doing God’s will and can lead you astray.
Now, using a powerful image of two houses and their foundations, He issues a final warning that trouble will come. Be sure you’ve built your house to withstand the storms of life.
FACING THE STORMS
Certainly we’d all like our lives to be free from trouble and free from those things that batter us. But, as Job affirms, man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward (Job 5:7).Certainly some seem to have more trouble than others– but almost everyone, except perhaps the very young, when you get beyond the “looking-good” surface, has faced some trouble.
So Jesus is placing us firmly in touch with reality with His concluding illustration. There are two houses representing two people. They both look like good houses. But the storm is the test. Jesus uses exactly the same words for the storm assaulting both houses:
The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house;
to assure us the difference between the fate of the two houses was not in the circumstances they faced. The foundation is the sole difference. The wise man who built upon the rock weathers the storm. The foolish man who build upon shifting sand is destroyed by the storm.
Everyone does quite well on bright, cheery spring days when their bodies are vibrant with health and they have plenty of good food, friends, fulfilling work, not a care in the world, and plenty of money. But that is not the way life is. Jesus warns us that there will be times when all that can be blown apart by one of life’s storms. In those times, we need to know, “Are our lives founded upon that which cannot be shaken and cannot be destroyed?”
Who doesn’t want that kind of security? Jesus tells us there are two elements in making our lives that secure:
1. hearing or knowing Jesus’ words;
2. and then putting them into practice.
KNOWING JESUS’ WORDS
We need to be sure we have accurate knowledge of the truth about life and how life works. Today, there is a great effort to ignore objective truth as far as the faith and moral life is concerned. How you feel about things has been elevated as the all-important thing. The thinking of our day is that if you feel you’re all right with God you probably are. If you think you’re doing your best, then that’s okay. If you’re sincere about what you believe, that’s fine– it is your truth, and you should follow that. Polls consistently show that two-thirds of Americans believe there are few if any absolute principles to direct human behavior. But, a faulty grasp of objective truth can be disastrous.
Over President’s Day, this last month, we made a quick trip to Everett to visit our family there. My niece and her husband recently bought a new house in Edmonds and we wanted to see it while we were there. We used Map Quest for directions and got a detailed set of instructions on where to make each turn through twisty, cul-de-sac filled neighborhoods. We followed the directions flawlessly. But, as we made the last turn, we were on a dead-end street with only one house that did not match the address we were seeking. The numbers of streets and houses said we had to be close, but where was it? Ladies, let it be known, this male stopped four times to ask for directions a total of six people! Some were as confused as we were and some offered ideas all of which ended up wrong. Finally I gave up on roads– they kept meandering around these developments until I even lost a sense of direction. We managed to find our way back to the dead-end where Map Quest left us stranded and I told Polly I thought we’d do better on foot. So, we walked through a yard, down a steep bank, and there was the house– actually just 100 ft. beyond the dead-end road. The problem was, the entrance to that development and the road that would lead to the door of my niece’s house was about a mile from where Map Quest had us. Map Quest got us right next to the property, but there was no road.
Now we came within just a whisker of giving up. If we had given up, we’d have been within 200 ft. of the house, but never known it. We may as well have never been there or been 200 mi. away. Truth can never be approximate. It is not relative. It is objective. There was one road to that house and we were not on it.
Jesus has been giving us the truth in this sermon. He’s been stripping away the lies and the delusions we often fall for. He gets right to the heart of the matter again and again. And what’s in the heart is what matters. Jesus has been telling us that lust, anger, unforgiveness, anxiety, and pride all destroy our lives. And things like peace, mercy, giving, prayer, loving, and not judging others all lead to life. We ignore these things at our peril. Jesus has been teaching about the foundational elements of life. Our mindless pursuit of more things has left our souls empty, the busyness of our culture and the belief that more is better has left us stressed and harried. Jesus is offering us a different way– the way of getting our relationship with our heavenly Father right and entering into the security of His loving care for us.
Knowing the truth is one part. But both builders in the parable know the right facts and built fine-looking houses. To the casual observer there was probably little difference in the looks. To put it in our modern context, we’d say that both people went to church, were active in church, and had the outward signs of the faith. The both had a “Christian” vocabulary speaking words about faith, prayer, and God. Now, let’s look at the second key to a good foundation that holds up to the storms. This is the variable–
Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice (24).
PRACTICE
Here is the essential difference between the two houses. The wise man puts the words of Jesus into practice. The foolish man doesn’t. They both heard the same words. But faithful practice is what builds a sure foundation.
This reminds us of James 1:22-24
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
In James’ illustration, not applying the truth of God’s Word is like looking at yourself in the mirror and the mirror reveals things about yourself– your face is dirty, your hair is messy. Then, you walk away without doing anything about the problem. The point of looking in the mirror is not just to gain information, but to use that information to make needed changes.
The Sermon on the Mount has revealed our hearts. To merely listen to it and say:
- “Yes, I'm too judgmental, too critical of others, Jesus really nailed me there!”
- “And that teaching on lust– that was right on. I’m sure we’re all guilty.”
- “Worry– yes, that’s me for sure.”
- “And, ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,’ that sure is not where I am, but I know I need to be there.”
And, the list can go on and on with all the wonderful teachings in these three chapters. Agreement but not doing anything about it doesn’t do anything. Here Jesus is making the point clear, we must put them into practice.
There's a curious phenomena in our lives. When we hear and accept the diagnosis of what is wrong with us, we have the feeling we've done something about it. We live in a time when we hear so much and do so little. Neil Postman refers to this as a “Low Information-Action Ratio.” We are bombarded with all kinds of contextless information on the internet, radio, and TV. This actually trains us to NOT ACT on what we learn and hear. On a Christian radio station, you can probably hear four or five good sermons every morning. To practice one truth may absorb several days. But we have so much good advice, we have input paralysis and end up doing nothing about any of it.
Remember, Jesus' words have power to create the reality of which they speak in our lives– "These words of mine....” People at the end of this sermon commented on the authority that these words came with (29). If I say something about the economy, no one takes much note. But, if Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke says something, it often has major impact on the stock market because he has authority to do something. In Jesus, people recognize authority. Jesus is not just talking about ideas. Jesus’ words are inspired by God, in fact they are God’s words. They are the words of the One who created us and the entire universe. He knows the anatomy of our inner beings better than anyone could ever know. He knows what makes life work and what destroys life. We can trust what He tells us with absolute confidence. It can never be wrong.
Furthermore, the Holy Spirit accompanies these words and empowers them to do what they are saying. This is not a self-help program. Instead it is a Spirit-directed, Spirit-empowered transformation. This is unique to Christianity. No other religion offers that life-transforming power. They are all variations of good advice that you must, in your own strength, try to follow. In contrast to that, when we become a Christian, Jesus comes into our lives and begins working from the inside out, transforming our inner natures and character. But we do have an important first step to make in this. In faith, we need to say “yes” to Jesus, letting Him take over, be in charge. That act of our wills places us upon His firm, rock foundation.
Putting Jesus’ words into practice in our lives and inviting Him into our lives are hand-in-glove, for there is no separation between Jesus and His Word. In fact, He is The Word, as John so aptly puts it.
CONCLUSION
Trouble comes to all of us at some time. In His last night with His disciples, Jesus told them,
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world (John 16:33).
Our peace and our security is in Jesus.
As a pastor, I’ve seen many people go through terrible storms. Those who have their foundation upon the Rock, Christ Jesus, through trusting Him and His Word have incredible strength to weather whatever life throws at them. Indeed they are abiding in the One who has “overcome the world,” Jesus. He has conquered death and everything else that threatens to destroy us in this world.
The words of our closing hymn, “How Firm a Foundation” took on depth of meaning for me in a storm I faced in college. Our college hymnal had five verses and I memorized them all to sing into the teeth of the howling winds of doubt that assaulted my soul. It has been useful many, many times since. But it has also been a blessing to many other believers throughout its history. It was a favorite of President Teddy Roosevelt. General Robert E. Lee wanted it for his funeral hymn “as an expression of his full trust in the ways of the Heavenly Father.” And, I found this interesting note about our 7th president, Andrew Jackson, who incidentally was a Presbyterian and (for a bit of trivia) was president during the only year our country has been free of debt, 1835. He retired to his famous home, the Hermitage. As he neared death he had neighbors and a local pastor at his bedside. He said, “There is a beautiful subject on the exceeding great and precious promises of God to His people. It was a favorite hymn with my dear wife till the day of her death. It commences thus: ‘How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord!’ I wish you would sing it now.” So, the pastor and visitors sang all seven stanzas of the hymn.
We only have five stanzas, but they are powerful ones. The hymn mostly quotes Scripture, affirming unshakeable promises God has given to us– a sure foundation. Note the ascription at the top of the hymn from 2 Tim. 2:19, God’s solid foundation stands firm... the Lord knows who are His. Appropriately, the first and last verses are about Jesus. The 2nd verse is a quote from Is. 41:10. Verses 3 (added in the bulletin) and 4 are Is. 43:2-3.
JESUS’ SERMON ON THE MOUNT
XIX. “Foundational Truths”
For Further Study and Reflection on Sermon for 3/11/07
Reread Mtt. 7:24-28
2. Read James 1:22-27 for more about putting into practice what we hear.
In verse 25 it gives two rewards for obedience to God’s law. What are they?
Have you found this true in your own life?
or stronger? What could you do to more firmly establish your spiritual
house upon the rock?
you wish, on how Christ helped you through them.
13:54) Name some things that made His proclamations so authoritative.
hardest for you to put into practice?
If time, additional scriptures to read and discuss how they shed more light on Matt. 7:24-28.
2 Timothy 2:19
Ezekiel 13:10-16