Sermon by Michael R. Martin
First United Methodist Church of Saranac Lake, NY
Matthew 7:21-29 (NLT)This parable ends the Sermon on the Mount. The bible often speaks metaphorically of God or Christ as a “rock.” The Holy Land is known for its torrential rains that often cause disastrous floods, so the parable about building a house on rock or stone had some relevance then, as it does now.
21 "Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as `Lord,' but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven.
22 On judgment day many will tell me, `Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.'
23 But I will reply, `I never knew you. Go away; the things you did were unauthorized.'
24 "Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys me is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.
25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse, because it is built on rock.
26 But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.
27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will fall with a mighty crash."
28 After Jesus finished speaking, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,
29 for he taught as one who had real authority—quite unlike the teachers of religious law.
Over here we have a library full of books. Imagine that you could read all of these books and remember everything in them. You would really have a lot of knowledge, wouldn't you? You would have a lot of knowledge, but you wouldn't necessarily be wise. Do you know the difference between knowledge and wisdom? If we have knowledge, it means we have it up here in our head. If we have wisdom, it means we know how to put all of that knowledge into practice in our daily life.
Some people know a lot about Jesus and they put his teachings into practice in their daily life. Jesus said that those people are very wise. He said they are like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. The storms come, the rain falls, and the wind blows, but their house stands firm because it is built upon the rock.
There are other people who also know a lot about Jesus and his teachings, but they do not put this knowledge into practice in their life. Jesus said they are very foolish. He said they are like a foolish man who builds his house upon the sand. The storms come, the rain falls, and the wind blows and the their house falls flat.
I’ll bet for most of us, when it comes to our living Christ-like, we are sometimes the house built on rocks and sometimes the house on sand, sometimes the wise and sometimes the unwise. We strive for the best, but live in a world of distractions – work commitments, family commitments, health issues, television, internet.
On what is your “house” built? Do you want to wait until the day of judgment to discover whether the subsoil was rock or sand? How might we determine the texture of the soil? Consider the following questions to test what really are our inner beliefs and why we might hold them.
- What is worth dying for? For what would we sacrifice our life? To save our children, our country, to recover a million dollars from the ocean floor, at the possible cost of our life?
- What is worth killing for? When is killing another human justified? Self-defense? Defense of family, or property? It is proper to kill to uphold certain principles, such as liberty or capitalism?
- What is worth working for? What is worth dedicating your life to, in service and labor? To become a star? To become a millionaire? To be a successful politician? Is it a worthwhile life to be nothing but a mother and raise a family? What kind of goals makes the sacrifices acceptable?
- What is worth living for? What makes life worth living? What is that thing or things that you must have or life is meaningless, and that if you have it, life is satisfactory, no matter what else you must endure? True love? If you are loved and love in return, is that all that matters? Are your children the end purpose of your life? Is a good family life meaningless if you never achieve success in your chosen career? Do you need to accomplish something in science, politics, sports, or the art world or else life isn’t satisfactory? For what is life worth living?
Some of these questions are extremely hard to pin down. Maybe we don’t want to be pinned down. Most of us are like bees in a flower garden. We move from one flower to the next always believing that the next flower will be “it”, whatever “it” is!
Your answers to these questions will probably tell you what the subsoil of your life is, and it will tell you a lot about what the Lord is going to say to you on “that day” when all will be revealed. Is he going to “know you” or want you to go away, because you are an “evildoer”?
Putting into practice the words of Jesus is the basis of a sure foundation, but our world is full of temptation to ignore the words of Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mount, much is said. For example, “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.” But I have heard it said that that is a lot of nonsense because it destroys what a man is all about!
“You are the light of the world!” People should look to you for moral & spiritual guidance – Jesus is counting on you. Many may hope that is not true – to much pressure, not enough opportunity to do whatever you want. “Love your enemies.” It is said that is just one of those impossible morals which no one can follow. “Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth.” But our whole economic system is built on the reverse of that one! “Do not be anxious about your life.” Who can stop worrying? “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” If I have time, I’ll think about the king and the kingdom.
Life is full of storms. Jesus wants us to follow his words, to build our lives and our families on these words. He wants us to be ready for the inevitable storms of life –economic downturns, pension defaults, war, depression both mental and economic, relationship that fade, death of those who love us and whom we love, devastating illness, protracted disease, doors shut to advancement, being so foolish as to end up in serious trouble of any and every sort. Yes, even weather related events—hurricane, earthquake, drought, famine—they all may come. Will we stand, having built our present and our future on Jesus?
Jesus, Lord and Savior of us all in all times, is the rock. Following him and what he says is the beginning of wisdom. Jesus, we want to know what you taught, but more importantly, we want to have the wisdom to take what you taught and put it into practice.
Read your bible, study the scriptures, enhance your knowledge. And you would be wise to put it into practice in your daily lives!
First UMC of Saranac Lake, 8:30AM
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