BUILT TO LAST - Matthew 7:24-27

I know. I know for me, all right, like

it may not it may seem kind of weird to

some of y'all, but I'm I'm very

introverted naturally. Like I want to

like kind of shell up in these moments.

There's cool things that happens in

these moments when we get up and we go

and we say hey to other people. We

welcome others. We make them feel

welcomed and loved just to kind of get

to interact with each other. And so

these are always special taste and see

moments just as well. Uh but as we're

entering into the graduation season,

I've been scrolling through Facebook and

seeing graduating from college and then

high school graduations already

happening and then next week we have our

graduates graduating from Orange Grove.

And graduation season is always an

interesting one. I always thought it was

very interesting as a young man when I

graduated high school because it's one

of the few moments in my life where

everybody started asking questions about

my future. Everybody wanted to know what

was next. What's the next step? What are

you going to do? What school are you

going to? What branch of the military

are you potentially going to be in? What

trade school are you looking at? Or what

job are you going to take on? What

career are you going to pursue with said

degree, trade school, or whatever it is

that you're going to? But the main

question that was always asked and and

it always kind of just resonated me with

was this one. What kind of life are you

looking to build? What direction are you

wanting to go? But honestly, that's not

true just for graduates.

Every single person in this room is

building something whether we want to

realize it or not. And I'll explain

this. Some of us in here are building

careers. We're wanting to grow that

chain, go up the chain ladder, growing

to become the manager, the the store

director, or whatever avenue that we're

in, the foreman, the supervisor. Some of

us in here are building marriages. And I

want to say too that that's not just

directed at those that are young in

their marriage of four or five years.

That's directed at those that are still

in their that are 30 years, 40 years, 50

years. You are still building that

marriage. Some of us are building

families.

Some are building financial stability.

Some are building influence and a

reputation.

And some are just trying to build a life

that feels secure.

And there's nothing wrong with any of

these aspects of building because we're

all building something. Something is

being built. But I think that we in

order to look at how we are building and

what we are building on, we need to look

further into the word and see what we

are supposed to be building on. What is

the foundational aspect of everything

that we should be doing when it comes to

what we do? And I think that Jesus gives

us a great answer to this in Matthew

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7. And for some of us, this is

one that we've heard before and one that

we've maybe leaned on times of trial or

in times of struggle. I know for me and

my wife, the song Firm Foundation and

Matthew 7 verse 25 was one that we

Matthew 7:25

leaned on the most during our

infertility battles, during our adoption

process. And it was also just a special

moment to be singing the song of the

lyrics that we clung so tightly to while

also watching my wife hold my son.

That's the difference on what we are

building. Where are we rooting

everything that we do based off of? It's

not just what are you building, but what

are you building your life on is the

main question.

And Matthew 7 is the conclusion of the

sermon on the mount, which is the

greatest sermon ever preached.

And Jesus has spent chapters teaching

about all the things that we should know

and that we should understand when it

comes to our faith, when it comes to our

talk, when it comes to how we are to

live and to act. He taught on things

such as anger, lust, anxiety, prayer,

forgiveness, hypocrisy, what

righteousness looks like, and what it

actually means to be a follower of him.

And when Jesus gets to the end of the

sermon, he doesn't just end with some

sort of admiration.

No, he ends with a response.

He ends with a what are you going to do

with it? And throughout Matthew 7, Jesus

keeps narrowing down the road that we

are called to walk upon because he

starts off exactly with that. Jesus

describes two paths. He says that wide

is the way that leads to destruction,

but narrow is the gate that leads to

eternal life. One is crowded and one is

easy. One leads to destruction and one

leads to him.

Then he paints a picture of two trees.

He says, "One is a good tree that bears

good fruit, and there is a bad tree that

bears bad fruit. One produces while one

is dead."

And then he reveals two confessions. And

to me, this is probably the scariest

aspect of the whole sermon on the mount.

Jesus says in Matthew 7 that people who

Lord, Lord, with their lips while their

hearts remain far from him. Because what

does he say in that moment? He says,

"Depart from me for I never knew you.

But then there's the confession of those

whose obedience proves that their faith

is genuine and real. But now we get to

the aspect as he includes it of the two

builders.

And every section begins to force us to

ask the same question of all these

different options, of all these

different paths, of all these different

directions, of all these different

trees, of all these different

confessions.

Which one am I? Where do I land? and

where do I lay? And so let's look at

Matthew 7 24- 27.

And it says this, "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 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. So as we look at this text,

there's few things that understand. And

I think that there's three things that

we all can grasp from this. All that

just looking at this that we can

understand and they may seem kind of

very basic and very easy to grab hold

of. And I think that's the truth that

Jesus is getting here. Don't over

complicate things. Understand what it

genuinely looks like because the first

aspect that we have to dive into is that

everybody is building something.

Jesus says that there were two men who

both built houses.

And right away that tells us something

important.

Building is an unavoidable thing.

Every single person in this room like I

said is building a life and that

building is built upon every decision,

every habit, every priority, every

relationship. You are building towards

something and it is all influencing the

way that it is being built.

But what's interesting is Jesus does not

immediately focus on the houses. He

doesn't immediately go to, well, look at

this house versus this house because we

can tell the differences. No, he focuses

on the foundations that are underneath

them because that is where the root of

it all is. And I was beginning to think

about this as I was going over this last

night. I've never actually seen the

foundation of my house, the whole thing

in its entirety, but I know it's there

and I know that it's stable and I know

that it's holding it up. And I also know

too that being in South Texas, it's

unavoidable that sometimes the

foundation's going to settle a little

bit. There's going to be some cracks

that happen. There's going to be some

movement that can take place. But I've

never seen the cracks physically in the

foundation. I only see the cracks that

are manifested in my walls, in my roof,

in my doors when they stick.

So we must focus that is underneath the

house in order to keep the house afloat.

Both builders built. both builders heard

Jesus. Because that's a misconception

that we have about this text is

sometimes we would say, "Oh, well, the

one that built his house on the sand,

that's probably the non-believer." But

the one that built his house on the on

the rock, that's the believer. Both

heard the words of Jesus. Both heard

what he had to say.

And that's what makes this passage so

weighty because in verse 24 it says,

"Everyone then who hears these words of

mine and does them will be like a wise

man."

They both heard, both had been exposed

to the truth. Both had been gi

Jesus said,

but both did not respond in the same way

and in the same aspect.

Both had heard it, but not both had

surrendered to it.

And I think that that's a word that we

need to unpack for a second because I

think sometimes we can get in the habit

of sharing these churchy words. And I'm

not knocking them in any way. I think

they're fantastic and I think that they

add a lot of value to what we say

because they are things that really uh

communicate what we're trying to say.

But I think sometimes we can get lost in

the translation on what these words can

genuinely mean. Both did not surrender.

So what does it mean to truly surrender

to it? What does that look like? Well,

it means trusting Jesus enough to let

him lead your life. It means

understanding that you're not the one in

control anymore. The moment that you

cried out to the Lord and placed your

faith in him was the moment that it

stopped being about you and started

being all about him. Your old you died,

not even living. Not even got a pulse

anymore. The new you is in Christ and it

is all about what Christ's direction for

your life is surrender his will. It is

said your way is better. My way got me

here. Your way will get me out.

It means he is not just someone that we

admire.

He is someone that we genuinely follow.

He is not just someone that we agree

with. He's someone we wholly submit our

lives to. He's not just the savior

title, but the Lord in practice.

The wise builder wasn't earning the

foundation. Because I think that's where

we can fall too is we feel like we have

to earn status. We have to earn favor.

We have to earn love. We try harder. We

perform better. We look better. And if

we think that we can somehow fake it all

to the end, then somehow we'll have made

it.

But the wise builder wasn't earning his

foundation in any way, shape or form.

No, rather he just trusted the

foundation enough to build his whole

life upon it. And that's the danger that

Jesus is exposing here. Because hearing

Jesus is not the same as surrendering to

him.

How does this look? You can know

scripture and still not surrender.

You can attend church and still not be

surrendered.

You can know all the Christian language

and all the Christian ways and all the

Christian traditions and still not be

surrendered.

And look spiritually secure and yet

spiritually secure outwardly and yet

inwardly still not belong to Christ.

But here's the dangerous part.

Because before the storm came, both

houses probably looked extremely secure.

They probably looked magnificent. They

probably looked beautiful from the

outside. They looked amazing, identical.

But what was really the problem wasn't

what was facing outward, but what was

underneath it. And that's what makes

Jesus so Jesus warning so heavy. A

matter of fact, there's a a skyscraper

in New York. Some of y'all may have

heard of it. It's called One Seapport.

And so what ended up happening was

builders got this great idea of we're

going to build this huge luxurious

apartment building that just got all

kinds of these nice condos and all kinds

of nice suites and stuff like that that

people can live in. And we're going to

make it so nice and so beautiful. And

we're going to put it right in the heart

of the financial district. So we get all

the rich people that really want these

nice houses to have this nice building.

and we're going to do all kinds of cool

things. And so they set out to build

this skyscraper. Well, what ends up

happening is they figured out, hey, we

can cut a little bit of the cost if we

just do this soil improvement underneath

instead of rooting it in the bedrock,

which is what all other skyscrapers in

New York are built upon. And so instead

of putting in the labor, putting in the

time, patient with it, and probably

having to put a little bit more effort,

time, and money into it, instead what

they said, hey, we can save a couple

million, pocket that, build the

building, and it'll be fine. They told

us it's going to be good.

And that's the thing is that outside

this building looks impressive and

beautiful and amazing.

But the problem is is that what they

didn't realize is that this foundation

they built upon was not truly done well.

And so instead of anchoring it into the

bedrock, they out millions of dollars

because the building is now condemned

because it lands.

They can't build any further because

it's been told that it's too dangerous

to go any further and it might topple

over. All because they didn't focus on

the most important aspect of building,

which is a foundation.

And so in order to save time and money,

they were more concerned about cutting

corners and shortch changing process

instead of doing it the true and the

right way, being intentional,

and making sure that things were done

well. But the tragedy wasn't that this

building looked weak. That's not the

tragedy of what happened.

The tragedy was that it looked secure.

It looked like it was one that could

genuinely stand the test of time. But it

wasn't until it was built that they

realized the foundation was wrong.

And Jesus says that there are people

whose lives look exactly like that

spiritually.

And I love this part too because it

talks about storms. And we can all agree

that storms come. We're not we're not

somehow removed from the storms just

because we've placed our faith in Jesus.

But rather what we have to understand is

that storms will always reveal what's

underneath.

And if we're not paying close attention

to where we are rooted, to what our

foundation is, then when the storms of

life come and when the ultimate storm of

life, which is Jesus's returning, comes,

what is our foundation rooted in? And

what is underneath what we have built?

Because when the rain came and the

floods rose, the winds blew, the storm

did not create the weak foundation.

It only revealed it.

The collapse was already underneath the

surface long before the storm ever came.

And the Israelites at this time would

have really understood and grabbed hold

of this because Israel at that time was

prone to flash flooding. And so a lot of

times these dry rivereds could look st

and safe one moment but then suddenly

become overwhelmed with water the next.

A house could stand for a season and

then collapse immediately. Storm

And storms reveal storms in life reveal

our foundations.

And I think we can all relate to these.

Suffering reveals it. Pressure,

temptation, loss. Even taking into that

next chapter of of college and pursuing

a career and pursuing that next step of

life can begin to reveal foundations.

Culture can reveal our foundation. What

are being discipled by? What are we

being built up by?

But I don't think that Jesus is just

talking about temporary storms. Like I

said, I believe he is pointing towards

the final storm because look at what he

says in verse 27.

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. What Jesus is saying here is this

is not just something where it wipes it

out and you can rebuild it. This is

complete and utter destruction. This is

the final conclusion. This is the

ending. A great fall was it? There is

nothing left to rebuild. It is

completely removed.

And I think that this adds even more

weight to what he says in Matthew 7 21,

which is the one that I mentioned

earlier. Not everyone who says to me,

Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of

heaven.

That may not be that may like I said be

one of the most terrifying verses in all

of scripture because these aren't people

who are shaking their fist at God. These

are not people who are at enemy these

are not people who are willingly wanted

to be enemies of God. These are not

people who are genuinely trying to stand

against the will of God. These are

people who believed that they were safe

in their faith. These are people who

genuinely believed that they were doing

what was right. People who knew the

language, people who looked religious,

people who had the outward activity

figured out. But what does Jesus say to

them?

I never knew you.

The most terrifying part is not the fact

that they were walking in active

reunion. It's that they were walking in

selfdeception,

thinking they had it all together.

And this is where we need to slow down

and really examine ourselves honestly

because it is possible to build lives

that look successful externally while

neglecting the foundation that lays

underneath. We can build careers and

neglect our souls.

We can build schedules full of activity

and leave Jesus with the leftovers. And

so what does that look like? If church

is the first thing to go, if church is

the first thing out of the schedule

because we don't have enough time,

that's giving Jesus our leftovers.

Matter of fact, that's the whole reason

why why Cain's uh sacrifice was rejected

and Abel's was loved because Abel gave

the first of his flock. Cain gave the

leftovers before God. And a lot of times

that's what we're doing. We're giving

God the leftovers of our schedule and

saying, "Ah, this is all I got this

week. Oh, this is all I got for you

today. Oh, this is all I got for you in

this moment. He's not asking for the

leftovers. He wants the first fruits of

it all.

So, do we leave Jesus with the leftovers

and one that more impactful

and raise successful still successful

children and yet still failed to

disciple them.

First ministry that God has entrusted us

with is our family. How are we building?

How are we raising? How are we loving?

And how are we leading them well to

where when they know that that church

and that Christ is of the highest

priority?

But a lot of times that's the first

thing that we let go of because we don't

place a priority on the things that we

genuinely want them to value. And here's

something that I'll really relay to you

with this. Not just because I've become

a parent here recently and I'm all of a

sudden the expert. This is because I've

talked to numerous parents who have had

numerous conversations with me. Your

children will value and prioritize what

you value and prioritize. If you place

no priority on it, don't expect them to

place a priority on it themselves. If

you place no value in it, don't expect

them to not value it either.

They will value and prioritize. You

value and prioritize. And if your

relationship with God is one that is not

of high priority and of high value,

then we can't expect to not do the same.

You can raise successful children and

still fail to disciple them. And this is

an area too where dads, we really need

to get on board with this. We really

need to get

because if we let the the women take

control, and I'm not saying that women

are doing a bad job at all. Rather, what

I'm saying is they're doing such a

fantastic job. Imagine how much

difference it would make too if you got

on board with it. If you walked

alongside them in that, if you led

spiritually in your home. If you made

sure that you were doing what you were

called to do.

Imagine how much of a difference we

could make not only in our communities,

but in our state and in our nation.

We would begin to see revival happen.

Why? because we understand that our

priority is the ministry that God has

entrusted us with, which is the family

that he has blessed us with.

So where are we building foundation?

Where are we genuinely showing what it

looks like to walk with Christ? Because

we know all these things. We can know

the church language. We can know all the

church traditions. We can know all the

church ways to walk, but still never

fully surrender our heart to Christ.

And I think of a story too in Ezekiel 13

where the same problem was relayed

before the Israelites.

God condemns false prophets for

whitewashing these weak walls that were

built. Making people believe that

something was secure when it really

wasn't. Matter of fact, all they were

doing was they were just putting duct

tape and bubble gum on it, hoping that

that would somehow just hold it long

enough.

Outwardly it looked like a strong wall,

but inwardly it was unstable and broken.

And guess what God does in that moment

to really reveal the integrity of that

wall?

He sends a storm upon it. The same that

we see in Matthew 7, rain, hail, floods.

He sends it and storm exposes it for

what it really is. And Jesus is giving

the same warning here.

If this passage only ended with

collapse, there would be no hope.

But Jesus does not just warn us about

sand. That's where we get focused on a

lot is the sand. Well, I want to build

my house on the sand. Okay. Well, you

don't have to build your house on the

sand. Are you building your house on

dirt or do you want to build your house

on the genuine rock that is the word of

the Lord? There is only one true and

right foundation and it is the rock that

we find in Jesus.

Because that's what Jesus does

throughout this text is he's lovingly

pointing us back to the rock. He's

lovingly showing us back towards him.

Because a life built on Jesus is one

that actually lasts.

It's the only one that will withstand

the test of time. It is the only one

that will further lead into eternity.

And notice the language that Jesus uses

when he talks to the one who built his

house upon the rock.

It says, "Whoever then hears these words

of mine and does them will be like a

wise man." The wise man built his house

on the rock.

Notice something important.

The wise builder was not wiser because

he was somehow the smarter builder.

No, he was wiser because he trusted in

the right foundation.

The wise builder wasn't earning the

foundation. and he was trusted it enough

to build his whole life upon it. And

here's what I mean by the foundation

because I think that a lot of times we

can then fall into that trap as well of

well try harder, perform better, do

better, work harder,

modify your behavior just enough to

where it looks good enough. But I want

you to understand that the foundation is

not based in church attendance. The

foundation is not based in your parents'

faith either. And that's where I want to

speak to the graduates for a minute is

that your faith is now at a crossroads

where it becomes personalized to you

where now you can no longer have to rely

on what your parents do. But now you've

got to make it your own

that faith. You've got to nurture that

faith. You've got to grow that faith.

You got to be in the word in your faith.

You got to make sure you're praying

consistently in that faith. And also

understanding that the foundation isn't

morality. It's not about just being a

good person.

The foundation is Christ and Christ.

Where are we rooted? Where do we have

our faith? Where are we building

everything upon this life? Are we

trusting him? Are we following him? Are

we surrendering to him daily? Are we

living our life genuinely upon him?

Because that surrender produces

something. It doesn't produce

perfection,

but it does produce transformation.

Because genuine faith in Jesus changes

the entire course and direction of your

life.

Not because you are trying to earn your

salvation because we can't earn it.

Because you have actually trusted the

one who saved you. You place everything

you have into the hands of Christ and

saying I let you lead and I follow.

But I also want to push into this too

that works are not the foundation

either. But I do think that our faith

and our works go hand in hand. I think

our faith reveals our I think our faith

then begins to come out through our

works. And I think our works reveal our

faith.

Works are not the foundation but works

can reveal the foundation.

So what does it actually look like to

build our life on Christ?

It looks like abiding in him when

culture pulls you elsewhere. It looks

like trusting his word over your

feelings. It looks like repentance

instead of pretending.

And it looks like prayer.

It looks like being planted in the

church. It looks like serving and loving

others. It looks like surrendering areas

of your life that you've kept in control

for too long.

And graduates, I want you to hear me

clearly on this one. The question isn't

whether storms are coming.

The question is, what is your life

sitting on when they get here? The world

is going to tell you these lies.

This build visibly, buildfully, build

quickly, and build whatever makes you

happy. Do those things and you will be

successful in this life. That's what

culture will lie to you with. But Jesus

who speaks the truth into the situation

tells us this. Build deeply, build

carefully,

be intentional, and build on something

that will stand when everything else

shakes.

Because the beautiful thing about the

gospel is that Jesus does not merely

warn us about the collapse that is to

come. He offers himself as a foundation

that cannot be shaken.

And at the end of the story, both

builders had heard these words of Jesus.

And here's the thing is that so have you

this morning.

And Jesus leaves every person with the

same question. What are you going to do

with what you have heard? Because if a

because a life that looks successful

externally can still collapse eternally

if it is not founded on Christ. So maybe

this morning the question is not, do

people think I'm spiritual? It's not

about what I think. It's not about what

Pastor Roland thinks. It's not about

what your friends or your family think.

The question is, what foundation is

underneath my life?

What am I trusting in when the hard

times come?

Is truly surrendered to Jesus? Or have I

learned how to look secure spiritually?

Have I learned how to fake it when I

come in here?

And the good news, the gospel is this.

Jesus expose weak foundations to shame

us. That's never what he's about. Jesus

is not about bringing shame to our life.

Jesus is about bringing life and hope

and peace and joy into our lives.

He exposes them so that we will run to

the only foundation that genuinely

lasts.

And so the invitation is again not to

pretend harder, to perform better, to

look more religious. It's to repent, to

surrender, to trust, and to know that

your life should be built upon him.

Because one day every foundation will be

exposed.

Not by appearance,

not by its reputation,

not by what people assumed about you,

but by what our lives were actually

built upon. And when storms rise and in

eternity exposes every foundation, Jesus

says there is still a life that stands.

Not the perfect life, not the impressive

life, but the life that was surrendered

and built upon Christ. So the question

this morning is not whether you are

building something. The question this

morning is is what are you building life

on? Let us pray.

Father God, we just Lord, we just humbly

come before you this morning, Lord, just

lifting our hearts up to you. And Lord,

just asking that that important question

of what is our life built upon? And

Lord, I pray you begin to reveal that

foundation us. And Lord, I pray that

that foundation be rooted in you. And

Lord, I pray that you just continue to

just walk with us, continue to shape and

to mold us as you have called us to be.

But Lord, also pray that you just give

us this opportunity this week to to

share about you with someone, Lord, to

want to talk to someone about you, Lord,

to want to to lean in more, but Lord,

also that we don't fall into the trap of

wanting to perform or wanting to to try

harder, but Lord, that we just surrender

everything to you, Lord. That we let go

of control and let you be in control,

Lord. That we turn over our entire life

to you. and Lord that that you should

continue to just be with us in that

moment.

Lord, I'm just grateful for you. Lord,

I'm just grateful for this morning,

Lord. Just continuing to pray over these

graduates,

Lord. Just praying that you just

continue to be with their hearts and be

with their minds and Lord, just continue

to be with their families and Lord, just

continue to just show up in mighty ways.

Lord, just praying that they're lights

as they continue to step into this next

chapter and Lord, that they go and do as

you have called them to.

And Lord, this morning as we just as we

praise your great name, Lord, I pray

that we just reflect on all the

wonderful things that you have done for

us.

Lord, I just lift these things up to

you. Your name.

Amen.

Well, this morning as we close out our

time in worship, we're we're going to go

into a time of worship as well and

prayer. And so, if you'd like uh for one

of us to pray, myself and Pastor Roland

will be up here. And if you want us to

pray over you, we'd love to. And also,

if you want to just bring your family up

here and kneel at the altar, you're more

than welcome to as well. But we are so

grateful for you joining us this

morning. We love you, church.