What will you build your life on

So my name's Dave. I'm one of the pastors here.

A warm welcome to you if you're visiting.

So during the winter holidays last year, my wife, Emma, and I, we were in Mogo.

I don't know if you know where Mogo is, but it's near Batemans Bay on the south coast.

And we really love strolling the street, basically is one street, of Mogo.

And it's just rustic and quirky shops.

It's really leisurely.

There was art galleries.

We bought these little Aboriginal painted boomerangs that you stick to your fridge.

They were cool.

We just strolled the streets.

There was bookshops, other art galleries, and there was fudge.

Fudge, that's right.

It was delicious.

Maple and walnut, Will.

Maple and walnut fudge.

That was one of our highlights.

So in a safe and beautiful part of our country, Mogo was life-giving.

But as you know, the bushfires have now devastated that area, that town, leaving many houses and businesses in ruins.

Just south of Mogo, I read an article about a man who built his house 40 years ago.

Now, he was prepared.

He had a large area of the bushland surrounding his house backburned.

Backburned.

So confident was he that he was prepared that two years ago, he decided to stop paying for his house insurance.

And now everything is destroyed.

And now everything is destroyed.

Except for this lower level of stones.

Now, your heart goes out to him, doesn't it?

None of us want to experience that.

And I think he had an amazing attitude.

He's recorded saying, we're all upset, obviously.

But it's not the end of the world.

We're alive.

But he must be kicking himself, right?

He must be kicking himself that he didn't keep his insurance.

Whatever his house was worth, he just lost it in an instant.

It's really easy to say that in hindsight, isn't it?

If we saw him a year ago with the thousands of dollars that he'd saved, I wonder what we would think of him then.

It only looks foolish now because the bushfires have come through.

So what about you?

Are you a wise or a foolish person?

It's almost impossible to tell in good times, isn't it?

I think we Aussies love to live in the moment.

We love the present moment we're in.

We don't want to think about the future.

But God forewarns each one of us that a dreadful storm is coming.

Jesus warns us.

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

And as the children's talk does help us feel the impact of this.

The rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that 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 a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell.

And great was the fall of it.

Now what's this story about?

It's about our entire life.

Whether or not we are building our life on solid foundations.

Whether like the man from Mogo, we're prepared for the times of crisis that this life throws at us.

But also are we prepared for the final crisis?

This final crisis is that we all must meet God face to face after we die.

We all must.

And we have to give him an answer for the life we've lived.

It's going to be like meeting a hurricane.

The rain fell.

The floods came and the wind beat against every life that has been built.

One person will stand, the other will fall.

What's the difference?

We're told nothing.

Nothing about the houses themselves.

Except one thing.

The basis they're built on.

The foundation.

The story challenges each one of us to pause and examine our own lives.

What are you building your life on?

What is central to your life?

What must you have for your well-being?

What are you striving to keep and to have more of?

Do you look to romance?

If you have that person's attention and affection, then whatever else happens, you'll be okay.

Do you look to money?

Do you look to your accomplishments?

Do you look to your accomplishments?

Do you look to your work or your family?

Do you look to your possessions?

Are these things solid enough to be the basis of your life?

The problem with all these things is that they're fragile.

Loved ones can let us down.

We can fail.

and suddenly our accomplishments don't look so good anymore.

Our health can be taken from us in a moment.

But when the sun is shining, our life may look solid

and really good from the outside.

But it will be left exposed when God's storm hits.

But like a bushfire, once it is over, the land is revitalised.

It has new and abundant growth.

In a similar way, God says that once the final storm is over,

he is going to remake everything to be permanent and good,

only good as it was always meant to be.

Jesus calls this the kingdom of heaven.

It's coming.

At this point, you might be thinking that I'm implying

that the religious person is safe and can have confidence

to enter the kingdom of heaven and endure that storm.

But religious actions are just as shaky ground as anything else.

I think it's worse.

It's worse because the person is fooling themselves

into thinking that they're pleasing God.

Listen to what Jesus says from verse 21.

You can see it on the back of your handout.

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord,

will enter the kingdom of heaven,

but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

On that day, when we face God, on that day, Jesus says,

many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name

and cast out demons in your name and do mighty works in your name?

And then will I declare to them,

I never knew you.

Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

These are the people who put their confidence

in the public religious things they do.

Lord, I knew all the right words and the doctrines to say in the church.

Lord, I preached about you.

Lord, I went to church regularly.

Lord, I gave so much money to the church.

Lord, I volunteered so much time for you.

I never knew you.

Depart from me.

They are dreadful words.

I do not want to hear them.

When God's storm comes,

the person basing their life on religious acts will fall.

Never to rise again.

So if the religious person doesn't have any hope,

who does?

Let's go back to the story of the two house builders.

There are only two types of people.

There's no middle ground.

What's the difference between the wise and foolish person?

Now,

I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Sometimes I feel really foolish.

Foolish.

Like when I was at a family gathering the other day

and the topic turned to politics.

I had nothing to say.

I felt like a fool.

Or when renovating our kitchen

and Brendan gives me instructions,

I feel like a fool.

There's moments that just really highlight

what I don't know.

But knowledge and experience

isn't Jesus' measure

of a wise or foolish person.

And I'm thankful for that.

What's the difference?

Compare verse 24 and 26 with me.

Everyone then who hears these words of mine

and does them.

And the other group,

everyone who hears these words of mine

and does not do them.

Notice that both of them hear Jesus' words.

Again,

coming to church,

hearing Jesus' words is not enough.

Religious activity is not the difference.

The wise person treats Jesus as their Lord

over their entire lives

and wants to do what he says.

The foolish person,

whether religious or atheist,

they build their lives ignoring him

while chasing other things.

Now that sounds a bit arrogant of Jesus,

doesn't it?

That our future depends

on whether we obey him or not.

If I said that your life depends

on obeying all that I say,

what would you think of me?

I'm guessing not very good things.

So who does Jesus think he is?

He spoke as if he was God.

Let me just give you a taste

of some of the commands

he had just given

before telling this story.

You have heard

that it was said

to those of old,

you shall not murder

and whoever murders

will be liable to judgment.

God gave the command

in the Old Testament,

do not murder.

If you do,

you deserve punishment.

Back then,

the punishment was the death penalty

and whatever followed after death.

Would you agree with me

that that is a really good law?

It brings safety

and stability

to our society.

It allows us to thrive.

But hear what Jesus does

to God's law.

You have heard

that it was said,

you shall not murder.

But I say to you

that everyone

who is angry

with his brother

will be liable to judgment.

You have heard

that it was said,

you shall not commit adultery.

Again,

I think we would all agree

that this is a good commandment.

It brings security,

stability

to our families.

But I say to you

that everyone

who looks at a woman

with lustful intent

has already

committed adultery

in his heart.

You have heard

that it was said,

you shall love your neighbour

and hate

your enemy.

But I say to you,

love your enemies

and pray for those

who persecute you.

There's much more

that Jesus teaches,

but I'll sum it up

with this one line.

He says,

you therefore

must be perfect

as your heavenly father

is perfect.

Jesus wants my heart

and my mind

to be perfect,

let alone my words

and what I do.

I imagine like me,

when you hear

Jesus' words,

you're thinking,

who can possibly

do that?

You could hear

Jesus calling us

to be perfect

and think,

it's impossible.

No one can do it.

So that's unfair.

Or you can look

at your life

and think,

yeah,

I'm not perfect.

But I'm still

responsible for that.

Jesus' words

hit me hard.

But,

if I was to do them,

they are the right

and good way to live.

if a perfect standard

is right

and good,

then of the wise

and foolish builders,

I am the fool.

I am the fool.

I deserve to fall.

If you're feeling

like you've got

no solid ground

to stand on

before God,

if you fear

that God's day

of testing

is going to reveal

how far you are

from perfect,

that nothing you've done

makes you confident

of entering

the kingdom of heaven,

then you are ready

to build

your life

on the rock.

Until you admit

that you are

a fool,

you cannot be wise.

Until you fear

that you deserve

to fall,

you can't be safe.

all the ways

we've tried

to make ourselves

feel safe

and secure

with our money

and accomplishments

and relationships,

when we realise

that these things

won't hold us,

they won't work,

only then

can we turn

to the one person

who can really

give us life

and security.

This is Jesus'

promise to you

and me.

Here's the good news.

Blessed

are the poor

in spirit

for theirs

is the kingdom

of heaven.

It's not the good person

who enters

the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed

is the poor

in spirit.

who knows

they've got

nothing

to offer.

Theirs

is the kingdom

of heaven.

Immediately

after saying

these things,

Jesus came

across a man

who had a skin

disease

all over him.

the diseased

and unclean

man

knelt

before Jesus

and said,

Lord,

if you are

willing,

you can make

me clean.

Jesus

reached out

his hand

and touched

the man.

I am willing.

Be clean.

Be clean.

man

and

immediately

the man

was clean.

This man

is like

us.

All the ways

we've fallen

short of what is

good and right

has made our

conscience

dirty before God.

But Jesus

not only shows us

how far

we are from

perfect,

but he is also

the one with

the power

to reach

out his hand

to see

your conscience

and say,

I am willing.

Be clean.

You can be

100%

sure

that you're

clean

because God's

own son

took the fall

that we

should have

taken

when he died

on the cross.

And he rose

to life again

to give you

the most

solid

and unshakable

ground to stand

on before God

because he alone

was perfect

like his

heavenly father.

And he gives

to us

his perfection,

his perfect

standing

before God.

Jesus

is the

solid rock.

When we

acknowledge

that we

fail to live

the way we

should,

when we

recognize

that all

our

attempts

of trying

to get

safety

in money

and

relationships

or

achievements

or

religious

acts

are going

to fail

us,

when we

turn and

listen to

Jesus,

looking to

him for

forgiveness,

wanting to

do what he

says because

his ways

give us

life,

this is the

wise person

who builds

their life

on Jesus.

Jesus.

And when

the storm

hits,

you won't

fall.

Not because

of the

house,

but because

of the

rock you're

on.

You've

built your

life on the

one who

can save

you.

Instead of

hearing the

words,

depart from

me,

you'll hear

the words,

welcome

home.

Welcome

home.

God's

severe storm

is coming.

Will

you keep

building on

sand?

Amen.