Last night, Rachel worked for hours building a gingerbread house, and in her own artistic flare, she put so much thought and effort into it. It’s beautiful. She is beautiful on the inside and outside. I looked at the house this morning, and it made me think about what Jesus says at the end of the sermon on the mount.
Matthew 7:24-27 – Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 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. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
Did you notice in this sermon illustration that Jesus describes life’s storms as a matter of fact? He does not say “if” storms come your way. He states, “the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed.” I know, without a doubt, your life will be filled with testing moments. I have seen it in my life, and I have seen it in your life. The question is, will you stand up to the test. It all depends on how we have built our house.
Rachel’s gingerbread house is beautiful, but it is not built on a firm foundation or out of weather-resistant materials. It would not take much shaking before it crumbles. Your lives are that same way. Some of you have been foolish and built your lives on foolish foundations. You hear the words of Jesus but don’t do them. And some of you are not even making the effort to hear the words of Jesus anymore. When your spiritual house is built in this way, everything will fall apart, and great will be its fall.
Instead, build your house on the words of Jesus. Hearing and doing what He said so that when the storms of life come, your life doesn’t come crashing down like a gingerbread house in a winter storm. This means you’ve got to build your heart and mind solidly on Jesus and His Word, grounding yourselves in secure confidence that no matter what happens, you will weather the storm. Only in Him can we be assured that our foundation is rock-solid. Make the effort to hear and do.
I love you,
Alex Mills