Parables 1 – Laying the right foundation

Now, while the children are heading to their classes, we can look up in our Bibles, our devices, the book of Matthew.

We've got a couple of readings from Matthew, and then we'll read some more in a few moments.

We're reading from the Sermon on the Mount.

Let me introduce our new sermon series to us.

And we're going to be thinking about parables with purpose.

So some of the stories that Jesus tells in Matthew's Gospel.

So in Matthew, Jesus is presented as the teacher.

And there's five big blocks of his teaching recorded there.

As Matthew invites us to recognize Jesus isn't just a redeemer for us, someone who saves us from sin.

He's also the one who teaches us, teaches us how to live in God's kingdom.

And one of the ways Jesus teaches is by parables.

And they are stories with purpose.

Everyday stories with a deeper spiritual reality.

Revealing truths about Jesus the King.

Life in the kingdom of God.

Stories that are an invitation for us both to reflection and to transformation.

So today, we will think about the parable that comes at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.

Perhaps a very familiar parable of the wise and foolish builders.

It's a chance for us to reflect on, how's my listening?

Am I listening to Jesus well?

What's my life built on deep down?

Am I prepared for the storms that come?

So let's read from chapter 5, verse 1 to 20, and then verse 43 to 48.

And let's hear the word of God.

Now, when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.

His disciples came to him and he began to teach them.

He said,

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you,

and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.

For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You are the salt of the earth.

But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?

It is no longer good for anything,

except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world.

A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead, they put it on its stand,

and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before others,

that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.

For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear,

not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen,

will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished.

Therefore, anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands

and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

But whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law,

you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

And then at verse 43,

You have heard that it was said,

and this is teaching from the Pharisees,

Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

He causes his son to rise on the evil and the good

and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?

Are not even the tax collectors doing that?

And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others?

Do not even pagans do that?

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Amen.

And we'll return and read some of chapter 6 and 7 in a few moments.

But before we do that, let's once again come before God in prayer.

Lord, as we bow before you, we would acknowledge that you are the great king,

that you are in authority over us as our creator and our sustainer and our judge.

Lord, we thank you for sending Jesus to be that long-promised king.

Lord, we thank you for sending us free from slavery to sin leading to death,

to bring us into eternal life and into the kingdom of God.

Lord, we thank you for sending us free from the kingdom of God.

Lord, we thank you for that call of Jesus,

that invitation to come to him, weary and burdened, and to find rest.

Lord, we pray for those in our church family.

We pray for those in our own families who are weary,

who are experiencing burdens of many kinds.

Lord, we pray that in your mercy you would draw them and us to the Lord Jesus

to find rest and to find hope in his love and in the good news that he brings.

Lord, we pray too for our society,

as we recognize that there are so many burdens and pressures,

there's so many fears that exist right now.

Lord, in all the doubt and fear and confusion,

may you and your providence draw many people to be looking to you

for hope and for help and for healing.

Lord, may you be at work among us.

Lord, we thank you that you don't just call us to yourself,

if you also send us out to be your witnesses.

Lord, we thank you for that privilege of being ambassadors for our King.

Again, we confess how weak we feel,

how often we fail to represent you well,

whether that's in the things that we do or indeed the things that we fail to do.

But Lord, we pray that with your help, by your grace and by your spirit in us,

you would enable us to live for you in such a way

that people without hope and without clarity on what is truth

would be drawn to Jesus, their Savior,

through us, through our lives individually and through our shared life.

We remember that Jesus said

that they will know we are Christians by our love

and we pray that our love would be evident

and it would be attractive and appealing,

that we would be enabled in some small measure

to reflect your amazing love.

Lord, we pray for your church in Scotland today.

We pray for rural places.

We pray for urban places, our towns and cities.

Lord, we thank you for church plants.

We thank you for established churches.

And we pray for those churches that are weak and discouraged.

Lord, we ask that you would build them in their faith

and their hope and their love.

And we thank you for those churches

that are knowing growth and encouragement.

Lord, continue to renew them in your word.

Lord, we pray that for every Christian church in Scotland,

we would know your spirit moving in power.

that we would be growing in maturity,

growing to be more like Jesus,

fed by your words,

dependent on prayer,

and then going out to live as your witnesses.

Lord, we pray for your church in the world today.

We think of nations in the news.

We pray that as France goes to the polls for a new president,

Lord, that you would be reviving that nation

in the Christian faith.

That we recognize a long history in the past of faith

and sending people all over the world on mission.

But Lord, so much of that heritage has been lost.

But we pray that you would draw people

and draw the nation back to yourself.

Lord, we continue to remember Ukraine

and we remember your people in Ukraine today.

For those who perhaps are unable to gather,

for those who gather with a sense of fear and sadness,

Lord, may you be present among them.

May you give them the deep and lasting peace

of knowing Jesus as Lord.

And we pray that you would enable the church

to continue to minister mercy

to those who are in need.

And Lord, we pray for a swift and a lasting peace.

Lord, we also pray for parts of the world

where our brothers and sisters in Christ

are persecuted today.

Where there is the threat of a police action

or a local community intervention

as they would seek to worship their God and Savior.

Lord, we ask that you would help them

to persevere in their faith

and enable them to love and to pray for their enemies.

And Lord, we pray for the many hundreds of millions

of people today who have never heard of Jesus,

who don't know anything of the good news of the gospel,

and who have no lasting hope.

Lord, we pray that by your mercy and by your spirit,

you would raise up people from all nations

to go to all nations,

making disciples of all nations,

as you have commanded.

Lord, that we would be willing to pray

and to give and indeed to go

and to sacrifice if you would lead us

in order to make Jesus known.

Lord, we pray that as we gather here today,

that you would make Jesus known among us.

Not just that we would grow in our information,

but that we would be transformed,

heart, mind and will.

And we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Now, before we turn back to Matthew,

we're going to sing again.

We're going to sing from Psalm 62,

and we'll see again the theme of God as the rock.

So let's stand and let's sing together.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

My honor and salvation rest

On God my rock and mighty fort,

O people, trust in him always.

To him alone pour out your heart.

The low-born man is but a breath.

The high-born man is but a lie.

Weighed in a balance side by side.

They come to nothing but a sigh.

Do not seek after wealth by force.

Or triumph in ill-gotten gain.

And even though your goods increase.

Set not your heart on what is vain.

My God has spoken.

I have heard that you are strong and loving, Lord.

Each one according to his deeds.

You will assuredly reward.

And now let's continue to hear Jesus' teaching from the Sermon on the Mount.

Here as he teaches about prayer in chapter 6 from verse 5 to 13.

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites.

For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others.

Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen.

Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans.

For they think they will be heard because of their many words.

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

This then is how you should pray.

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

And then we're going to turn to chapter 7.

And towards the end of the sermon, when Jesus begins to warn.

So he's promised future grace.

He's shown them his commands.

And then he issues final warnings.

Chapter 7, verse 13.

Enter through the narrow gate.

For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction.

And many enter through it.

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life.

And only a few find it.

Watch out for false prophets.

They come to you in sheep's clothing.

But inwardly they are ferocious wolves.

By their fruit you will recognize them.

Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?

Likewise every good tree bears good fruit.

But a bad tree bears bad fruit.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit.

And a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven.

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

Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

And in your name drive out demons?

And in your name perform many miracles?

Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you.

Away from me, you evildoers.

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house.

Yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man.

Who built his house on sand.

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell with a great crash.

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching.

Because he taught as one who had authority and not as their teachers of the law.

So this is the first of our stories with purpose.

It's the story of the wise and foolish builders.

As we begin, I wonder if any of you have ever been in an earthquake simulator.

Some of us live in extreme weather places and maybe you felt something like that.

But I remember being in an earthquake simulator when they would begin to make the floor move,

make everything on the walls begin to shake.

And in the safety of that science center, they were using that simulator to teach about the impact of earthquakes.

Especially in that case, the focus was on the many earthquakes that hit Japan.

And how then engineers are building, designed to cope with those constant storms that come.

That stress testing, both of the foundation and the structure, was vital to their building projects.

Well, this parable that we're reading today is about building.

And it's about storms and it's about foundation.

And it's the conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount.

Perhaps the most famous of Jesus' sermons, loved through all church history.

And that parable has a message, doesn't it?

A message about building wisely.

And building wisely requires both hearing and doing the words of Jesus the King.

Living all of life under his rule.

So we're going to think about this parable, but we're going to use the building image.

And so we're going to think, first of all, about the importance of following the designer's plan.

And we're going to think about building on the right foundation.

And then we're going to think about the importance of preparing for the stress test.

Preparing for the storm that comes.

So first of all, the importance of following the plan.

Verse 24 tells us this.

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

So the conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount.

We can think about the Sermon on the Mount as a blueprint.

A design plan for life in God's kingdom.

Because this sermon comes from who?

It comes from Jesus.

And Jesus is the Son of God.

He is the Creator.

He is the Lord.

He is the Great Teacher.

And so when we listen to Jesus' words as our Maker and King,

He's calling us to live by the Maker's design.

Now for any of us who've ever built anything, whether that be Lego or flat pack furniture or even a house,

we know how important it is to follow the plan.

The designer's plan.

Well, the truth of the Bible is that God is the great designer of us.

And the way life works best for us if we live by His design.

And that's what Jesus is laying out in this sermon.

Three things to very briefly say before we get to our parable.

The Sermon on the Mount is a blueprint for life in what John Stott calls the Christian counterculture.

By which he means that Christians are called out from the world to live differently.

Just as was the case with Old Testament Israel.

So perhaps you remember the story in the book of Exodus where God's people were slaves,

but then God by His power called them out.

He had called them to Himself, made a covenant commitment to them.

So He called them to Himself, called them out, called them to meet Him on Mount Sinai,

entered into covenant and gave them His commands.

Now what have we got in the Sermon on the Mount?

Here we have Jesus the Lord, and He calls His disciples up the mountain to meet with Him.

And He speaks to them of grace.

And then He gives them commands.

And He calls them out to be different.

So having given the Beatitudes, He said to them,

You are the salt of the earth.

What's the function of salt in that day?

Largely to preserve, to stop corruption.

The Christian church has that responsibility within society.

Jesus said,

You are the light of the world.

The contrast there with darkness that people live in without God.

We are to be light that reflects the love of God and draws people to the Savior.

This whole sermon from Jesus is a reminder that there are two ways and only two ways to live.

One that accepts Jesus as Lord and one that rejects.

And the church is called to live under the rule of Jesus to be like a colony of heaven.

To live a different life.

To live by a different way.

To live by the ethics of grace in God's kingdom and in the world.

So we can also say that the Sermon on the Mount is a blueprint for a life of obedience to Jesus.

If we want to be obedient to Jesus, we have so much instruction in here.

And much of what we have, especially in chapters 5 and 6,

is Jesus teaching about greater righteousness.

Or about deeper righteousness.

Not just about surface level religion.

But on matters of the heart.

Jesus says some very striking things in chapter 5.

We read in verse 17.

I have not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them.

In verse 20, he said,

Unless your righteousness surpasses the Pharisees and the teachers of law,

you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

And at the end of chapter 5, he says,

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

He's calling us to a deeper heart righteousness.

Towards God's law.

Towards how we worship God.

In our attitude towards money, where Jesus is a greater treasure.

Towards other people, where we're slow to judge and we're quick to forgive.

So he's calling us away from the legalism that was around in his day and in our day.

It's all about surface and there's no heart commitment.

He's also warning us against the idea of license.

Well, if I'm saved by grace, I can just do whatever I want.

No.

We are to be careful to obey.

Jesus calls us to live out the Sermon on the Mount because he is both our Savior,

the one who saves us from our sin by dying for us,

and he is our teacher who teaches us and shows us how to live within his kingdom.

But this sermon is also a blueprint for life in the Father's family.

There's a couple of New Testament scholars, Jonathan Pennington and Ulrich Luzz,

who've done some work on this recently,

and they recognize that at the center of the Sermon on the Mount stands the Lord's Prayer.

And in a very real sense, the key to living the Sermon on the Mount is the Lord's Prayer.

So the good news of Christianity is that God is creator,

and we were made in God's image to know God.

The relationship with God is possible,

but because of our sin, because of our turning our back on God,

there is separation.

We stand justly under God's judgment.

But God, in his grace, has sent his son Jesus,

and Jesus has lived a perfect life for us as our representative and substitute,

and then he died on the cross, taking the penalty,

taking the punishment that we deserve,

and then he rose again in victory.

With the result that,

when we trust in Jesus,

our sins are forgiven,

we have eternal life,

and we are adopted into God's family.

We are invited to call God,

our Father in heaven.

And then,

we are called to live out the Father's family values.

So we pray,

your kingdom come,

your will be done.

So we cannot live the Sermon on the Mount without calling God,

our Father in heaven.

And so to read the Sermon on the Mount is to recognize,

here is Jesus' grand design

for how to live in the kingdom of God.

And the parable,

at the end,

reinforces that,

because it calls us,

once again,

to build wisely,

to both listen and do,

the word of God.

And so one thing that certainly reminds us,

as a church,

is that we must always prioritize

a discipleship that involves hearing and doing,

because that's the only kind of discipleship there is.

So let's think about the parable now,

and let's think about the importance of building

on the right foundations secondly.

So chapter 7,

and verse 24 to 27,

we have that parable.

And it's a very simple parable in one sense.

We have two builders,

and we have two construction projects.

One builder is described as wise,

one is described as a fool.

Just to help us get a sense of the kind of project

that Jesus invited his hearers to imagine,

in Jesus' day,

archaeology tells us

that many of the houses were either one or two stories high,

rough masonry on the outside,

and the foundations were cut into the bedrock.

That's important.

Also, when we remember the weather in the region,

for those of us who are interested in weather,

and we have some,

a little bit of weather trivia,

Jerusalem and London,

three different places,

but get around about the same annual rainfall,

22 and a half inches,

give or take.

London gets that over 300 days.

So you get wet days,

you get drizzly days,

you get sort of overnight showers.

Jerusalem gets it in 50 days.

What does that tell us?

When the rain falls,

it falls heavy and it falls hard.

They have a wet season,

which in Jesus' day,

brought storms that were very destructive,

which made it essential

that whenever you built something,

you built it with a foundation.

Everybody knew that.

So why is that a foolish builder?

So in any parable of Jesus,

one of the things to be looking out for,

if we want to understand

what's the point that Jesus is trying to make,

we try and look for the surprising detail.

And the surprising detail

is in verse 26.

Everyone who hears these words of mine

and does not put them into practice

is like a foolish man

who built his house on sand.

Why is that surprising?

Because nobody upon nobody

builds their house with no foundation.

It's just nobody does it.

This is folly.

And nobody would do it.

But regardless,

one storm comes

and there are two different outcomes.

So Jesus is talking about

two ways to live

and those two ways to live

have two different outcomes.

The one house,

the one life stands,

the other falls.

Now during that building process,

if we'd arrived after

the sort of initial construction phase,

perhaps the walls are halfway up,

if you were sort of walking past

each building site,

the foolish person may have seemed

so equally skilled

and equally efficient

as the wise

because the foundation

or the lack of foundation

was unseen

until the storm came

and the storm exposed

that vital lack.

The way we might think about it,

he exposed the fact

that he's a cowboy builder.

He's trying to take shortcuts

and he lacks true wisdom.

So that's the parable

and it's quite easy to understand

but it's important for us

to think about what point

Jesus is making

because it's really important

for us to think about

what foundation is my life,

my life built on.

One thing, one point,

the right foundation

needs right hearing.

So as so often

in Jesus' stories

and his teaching,

he teaches by ways of contrast.

That's how he gets his point across.

And here,

what's the contrast

between the wise and the fool?

The wise man,

we're told in verse 24,

hears the words of Jesus

and puts them into practice

whereas the foolish man

hears but doesn't.

The basic point being

that God's word

is not for information only.

We don't come to church

just to discover some facts.

We don't read our Bible

to grow in head knowledge.

Jesus wants transformation.

Transformation of our heart

and our mind,

our will

and our actions.

So imagine these men today,

both of them

coming to church

on a Sunday,

absolutely.

Both of them

reading their Bibles,

listening to sermons,

perhaps serving

on the same rotas.

But only one

truly obeys.

Only one has a heart

that is fully committed

to Jesus as Lord and King.

The right foundation

involves right listening.

It involves recognizing

that Jesus must both

be my savior from sin

and my teacher

for how to live

in God's world

as a child of God.

That's the only

right foundation

and it involves

that right listening.

This parable also

reminds us

that the right foundation

is a deep foundation.

It won't do

to just build

on the surface.

It takes us

to that imagery

that we've been

singing about

and reading about

at the beginning.

In the Old Testament,

God was described

as the rock,

especially in the book

of Psalms.

Eternal,

immovable,

strength,

salvation.

He's the rock of ages,

the one to shelter in,

the one to build

a life on.

And then Jesus came

in his ministry

and he came calling

people back to God,

calling people to himself,

calling people to his word.

Do we hear the claims

of Jesus?

To build your life

on me and my word

is to stand

in the end.

In a sense,

that claim to God,

to be God.

Jesus came

and he announced

the kingdom of God

is near because the king

had come to establish

his kingdom.

He called the people

to repent,

to turn from sin,

to turn to follow Jesus,

to believe the good news

that he was the promised

king and savior.

He called the people

to find treasure in heaven,

not to live for the stuff

of this life,

but rather to pursue

what is eternal.

And ultimately,

he wanted the people

to find their true joy

in him,

recognizing there's

nothing better

than eternity

in the presence

of the Lord Jesus.

Jesus.

And Jesus also

calls us to trust

him as the one

who lives out

the sermon

that he taught,

that he preached.

I thought about that

in Easter.

Jesus is the one

who practices

what he preaches.

Jesus is the one

who came

as the light

revealing the glory

of God

into this world

filled with the darkness

of sin.

Jesus is the only one

who always sought

the kingdom of his father,

who always pursued

the will of his father.

Jesus is the one

who on the cross

loved and prayed

for his enemies.

He's willing to die

to make enemies friends.

And this parable

is calling us

to build our life

on this Jesus.

Because the only

alternative is that

we're simply building

a life for ourselves.

And what we need to

understand through

the Bible,

and we sang it as well

in Psalm 62,

that all of our work,

all of our achievement,

all the glory that we

might attain

will be swept away

in the end

by death.

those things

that are not Jesus

that we are building

our identity on,

they are in reality

as fragile

as a spider's web.

And they will not stand.

And what we need,

and Jesus calls us to this,

we need solid rock.

We need Jesus

as Savior

and Lord.

And another thing

when it comes to

building on the right

foundations,

think about the words

of Jesus.

Right foundations

means a lifetime

of discipleship.

This hearing

and putting into practice,

this isn't a one-off thing.

This isn't a,

I remember a number

of years ago

I prayed a prayer

and I committed

my life to Jesus.

It's not,

I can look back

and remember

the day of my baptism,

perhaps if we were baptized

when we were older.

It's not a one-off thing.

It's a new way of life.

It's a new king

and a new kingdom

and submitting

to his authority

day upon day upon day.

We can connect that

with the baptisms

that we had today

and families

as spiritual units.

It's a reminder

that our goal

as parents

is both to teach

and model

a life of following Christ.

To hear the words

of Jesus

should remind us

too of our priorities

as a church.

Reminds us of the goal

of our Sunday services.

It's the goal

of all our discipleship groups

through the week.

we want to help

one another

to be wise

towards God

and not to be foolish.

That we would hear

and that we would do

the word of God.

So as we begin

our community groups again,

let me invite you

to encourage you

to commit to one of those

so that together

we might hear

and do together.

This parable

calls us

to commitment

to passionate commitment

to Jesus as Lord.

I read a very striking

it was actually

just a very striking sentence

or a couple of sentences

from a professor of theology

in the States.

He said that as a society

and I think we can include

the church in this

we have become passionate

about the trivial

and apathetic

about the vital.

Think about what excites

our own hearts.

Isn't it sadly the case

that we get more excited

about what's happening

in the world of sport

or the world of television

and entertainment

about our plans

and prospects

than we are

about knowing Jesus

as Lord.

About spending time

in his word.

About spending time

in worship.

I think one of the challenges

coming out of pandemic

is to pray

for that grace

to fight for godliness.

To fight for passion

for Jesus again.

Because it was so easy

for apathy to say.

And it's important

for us to be

passionately committed

to Jesus

to be ready

for the storms.

And let's turn there next.

Final thing

to say

is that

this parable

calls us to prepare

for the stress test.

To prepare

for the storm

that will come.

So going back

to Japanese engineering

the number of

storm seasons

they have

make it apparent

to them

that they need to build

with earthquakes in mind.

They need to build

with foundations

that are able

to withstand storms.

Jesus says

a wise builder

is ready

for the storms

that come.

Ready for the storm

that will come.

Not if it comes

but when.

What storm

did he have in mind?

And why should we all

pay attention

to his wisdom?

So perhaps

in our minds

we hear

storms

and we think

when we talk about it

the storms of life.

Whether that's grief

or unemployment,

illness,

relationship breakdown.

Those storms

are real

and painful

and they do

serve that purpose

often of exposing,

revealing

what our life

is really built on.

But I don't think

that's the storm

that Jesus is talking about.

Most likely

this storm

is pointing us forward

to the day

of judgment.

Now why

say that?

It's because

the context

of the parable

comes with these

final three

warnings

that we read.

So if you've got

your Bible

you can look at

chapter 7

and verses 13

to 14

and Jesus warns

about direction.

He says make sure

you enter through

the narrow gate.

There's one way

it's a hard way

it's the way

of the cross

but it's the way

to life

but there's a broad way

there's a way

of comfort

there's a way

most people choose

but that way

leads to destruction.

That's final

judgment language.

And then in

verses 15

to 20

he warns them

about influence

so he says watch

out for false

prophets.

He says watch

out that you're

not a bad tree

bearing bad

fruit because

what does he

say?

Verse 15

every tree that

does not bear

good fruit is

cut down and

thrown into the

fire.

That's final

judgment language.

And then he

says be careful

that you're not

just saying

you're following

Jesus but you're

actually doing

his will.

He says not

everyone who

says to me

Lord, Lord

will enter the

kingdom of

heaven but

rather

some will

hear I

never knew

you.

Away from

me you

evil doers.

To be away

from Jesus,

to be away

from all that

is good and

light and

love.

That's final

judgment

language.

And so

Jesus is

warning about

the importance

of building on

the right

foundation.

Because he

says in

verse 25

that when the

rain came

down and the

streams rose and

the winds blew

and beat against

the house of

the wise man

it did not

fall because

it had its

foundation on

the rock.

But in

verse 27

when the

storm came

and the

winds blew

and beat

against the

house of

the fool

it fell

with a

great crash.

Jesus'

point is

that the

storm will

come.

We will

stand before

Jesus the

judge one

day.

Are we

ready for

that day?

That stress

test that

will

ultimately

and finally

reveal the

foundation of

our life.

And so

Jesus'

sermon and

Jesus'

story has

that shocking

ending.

Why?

Because we

need this.

We need to

be reminded

to continue

trusting and

loving Jesus.

Or we need

to be woken

up to see

the serious

eternal

significance

of choosing

to reject

Jesus.

Perhaps we

find ourselves

laying foundations

and preparing

for so much.

We make good

financial plans

and plans for

our family's

future.

Perhaps we

plan for our

fitness or

future holidays.

But do we

plan to do

with our

faith?

To do with

our eternal

future?

So often

we can find

ourselves

simply drifting

without ever

thinking.

Drifting

towards death

and drifting

towards that

day of

judgment.

We live in a

society that

by and large

has lost that

sense of God.

Lost the

sense of sin

and judgment.

Lost the

sense of

eternal reality.

And because

of that,

there's a

sense of not

having the

need to be

prepared for

death, to be

prepared for

judgment.

And also

there is no

solid foundation

for hope.

As Christians

we have a

hope that

lasts beyond

death.

And so

Jesus issues

this loving

warning to

be ready

before the

ultimate stress

test comes.

An invitation

to build on

the solid rock

today, to

trust Jesus

as creator

and king, to

follow him and

to follow his

plan, to

build our

life on

Jesus, on

the salvation

that he has

provided,

and the

wisdom from

God that

he taught.

Think about

Jesus in

relation to

this sermon.

He is the

one who

lived the

perfect life

for us.

He is and

will always

be the

one truly

wise man.

The one who

was perfect

like his

father.

The one who

perfectly kept

the whole

law and

who came

to save

sinners.

Who came

to save

foolish people

like us.

Who would

choose by

ourselves to

build a

life far

from God

and his

ways.

Dying for

us in

order to

save us.

Jesus

willingly

facing the

storm of

God's

judgment,

entering the

darkness of

the cross,

feeling the

father's

judgment blow

and beat

on him,

feeling

abandoned by

his father

so that we

never have

to feel

that.

So we

never have

to experience

the judgment

of God

if we

trust in

him.

The Jesus

who rose

for us,

who passed

his great

stress test

and in

his eternal

life there

is for us

the guarantee

of our

eternal life

that just

as he

stands so

we will

stand in

his presence

to enjoy

him forever

if our

faith is in

him.

So this

parable calls

us to

trust him,

trust him

as solid

rock for

now and

for eternity

to follow

his commands

that we

might be

safe and

secure when

the storm

comes.

Let's pray

together

briefly.

Father we

thank you

for this

simple yet

powerful story

that Jesus

told and

Lord as we

consider and

we pray that

you'd help

us to keep

upon reflecting

on it

help us to

reflect on

who Jesus

is and

what he has

provided in

his salvation

and in his

teaching all

that we need

for a life of

faith and a

life of

godliness and

to secure

our eternal

life.

Lord help us

to reflect on

what our own

life is built

on, where our

priorities really

lie, what we

give our time

and attention

and joy to

and Lord help

us to remember

the realities

of death

and judgment

as hard as

they may be

that we would

hear the loving

warning of

Jesus, that

we would be

prepared so

that we might

stand and

so that we

might enjoy

eternity in

the presence of

our loving

king.

And it's in

his name that

we pray.

Amen.

Now let's

close our

time singing

the classic

hymn Rock of

Ages and let's

stand together

to sing.