Stormproof – Matthew Ch7v21to29

Sermons Archive - Greenview Church

(0:00 – 0:29)

Well, it’s so good to be here with you again. I was here, I think, in June, and you invited me back, so it must have went okay. And it’s just been so good to sing those songs.

I’m not sure who picked the hymns, but I think they’ve already read my sermon, so I suppose I better still give the sermon, but you’ve already got the message just by singing the songs. We are looking at Matthew chapter 7, so you want to find that in your Bible. It’s on page 972 of your church Bible.

(0:29 – 1:05)

Matthew 7, and we’re at the very end of the Sermon on the Mount, verse 21, and we’re going to read to 29. And I was really pleased we sang, Don’t build your house on the sandy land, but I don’t think that’s probably the tune Jesus is going for, even with the jazzy piano. At the end of his sermon, in actual fact, having read the whole Sermon on the Mount quite a lot of times recently, having preached it in my church, these words at the end really pack a punch that probably don’t go da da da da da da da da da.

(1:07 – 1:46)

But I loved singing it. Are you ready? Not everyone, says Jesus at verse 21, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he 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 perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you away from me, you evildoers.

(1:47 – 2:23)

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 foundations 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.

(2:23 – 3:03)

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. I wonder what you think is important for society or people or even a family to build on in order to flourish.

(3:03 – 3:42)

What is important to flourish? My best mate, Alan, in the year 2001 came home from work and he was told he had like an hour to get out his flat, which is fair enough because when I was in his flat and I stood to the edge of the flat, he’s six foot, I’m five seven, and he stood in the middle of the living room and I stood on the edge, we are the same height, that’s how much it was dipping. Get out this block of tenements, it’s gonna fall. Get out, it’s condemned.

(3:44 – 4:12)

What do we need to flourish? Stability. Stability as a concept is not immediately attractive, is it? It’s not flashy, but my goodness, you need and want it in an earthquake, in a storm. Children need and want stability in their parents, in their schools.

(4:13 – 4:40)

We want it in our government, in our security. We want it in our food supplies. For humans to flourish, for surviving the storms of life, is there anything more foundational than real stability? Yet it did not fall because it had its foundations on the rock.

(4:40 – 5:06)

Lord God, as we look at your word, this word that your eternal son spoke, spoke as a prophet to the people as Moses had done. May we feast on it and may we hear you. Lord God, speak to us, open our hearts, help us to concentrate and help us to respond to you rightly.

(5:06 – 5:25)

Help us not to be the foolish man, oh make us wise, Lord Jesus, by making us, pushing us to desire to obey you and build on your words alone. This we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

(5:27 – 5:48)

Therefore, at verse 24, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And so our first point today is to be storm-proof, we need to build on Christ alone. Build on Christ alone.

(5:49 – 6:11)

These are Jesus’ words, aren’t they, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. And so when he talks about his words, what he’s specifically referencing is all the words that have come before, what we call Matthew chapter 5 through to 7. And really listening to and living out this sermon is transformational. And so I’m going to refer to the sermon throughout.

(6:13 – 6:40)

We can, though, safely say that all the prophetic words of the teaching of Jesus could be described as rock solid, good for building your lives on. Look at 25. The rain came down, the streams or the floods rose, the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall because it had its foundations on the rock.

(6:41 – 6:58)

Rain, floods, wind. Jesus does not say, follow me for a storm-free existence. The floods came, storms in life will come, and sometimes they will be very intense.

(6:59 – 7:20)

You may have survived some already, maybe right now in the middle of one. You may be wondering how you can stay standing. So the question is not, will there be storms? The question is, is the house still standing after them? And in verse 24, the answer is yes.

(7:22 – 7:38)

Why? Because the bricks were really good, the bits we’ve added. No, it’s because the foundations are rock solid. Unlike my mate’s flat, they’ve not been built on top of a mine.

(7:39 – 7:58)

The foundation is the very words, isn’t it? The teaching of Jesus. The words of Jesus, therefore, are rock solid and can make us storm-proof. And wisdom, then, is building on Jesus’ foundational words.

(7:59 – 8:15)

Nice and easy. Verse 26, we see, though, there’s an opposite and foolish response. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice, well, they’re like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

(8:16 – 8:28)

What a stupid thing to do. I’ve just been on a beach holiday, and the sea kept taking away my sandcastles. You wouldn’t go to the beach and say, do you know, let’s build here.

(8:28 – 8:45)

Let’s set up home here, have the family home. Let’s have our little ones running around here where it looks nice, but, well, at any moment, it might collapse on their heads. But hey-ho, you just wouldn’t be that foolish, would you? You don’t build on sand.

(8:46 – 9:17)

Verse 27, the rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew, and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. And whilst you wouldn’t be that foolish with your choice of home, surely, because you know it’s stupid, you would be that foolish with what you believe and what you build your life on. Many Olympians have built their life striving for this moment, every four years.

(9:19 – 9:51)

And whether they achieve the dream or not, so many of them end up with post-Olympic depression. An extreme high will almost certainly be followed by a low, often an extreme low. The Olympic dream is not the most stable way to live, is it? Maybe you’re building your life on a relationship, on your family, on your career, on your identity, on trying to get happiness, and none of these are bad things.

(9:52 – 10:01)

But none of them are God. None of them can bear the weight of your life in a storm. None of them are rock solids.

(10:03 – 10:28)

Jesus telling us there will be collapsed lives in storms, you know, it’s a warning, isn’t it? He’s like the building inspector that said to my mate, out. What he’s saying here is, what is your life built on? Building inspector said to my mate Alan, these flats are condemned. Leave that house behind or risk death.

(10:28 – 10:33)

Change house now. Move on Macallum. New foundations needed.

(10:34 – 10:46)

That might be you. You might need to build on Jesus for the first time. To turn away from the old life and to turn and to follow Jesus.

(10:46 – 11:02)

Maybe it’s time right now for you to move house. Or you might be a Christian, you might have moved house already. And you may be realising that some of your foundations are still a bit, well, shaky.

(11:02 – 11:23)

I discovered that in my mid-thirties. I had this image of myself, a good teacher, a dad, an elder serving God. And too much of my emotional stability was placed in that identity and not solely on God and his words.

(11:23 – 11:42)

I didn’t realise that until a storm hit me at work and some collapse took place. I ended up off my work with anxiety because I had some sand in my foundations. The warning had been there all along, but you know, I hadn’t heeded it.

(11:42 – 11:56)

And so I wasn’t totally stormproof. And my life wasn’t totally collapsing because I was a Christian who’d built on Christ. And so I didn’t need to evacuate the building, but there were repairs needed.

(11:56 – 12:15)

And basically sand had to get replaced by rock. A bit of sweeping out required. There’ll be areas of your life where the words of Jesus are not being lived out fully, where there is sand in your foundations, where you followed other prophets.

(12:16 – 12:41)

Inevitably, if you ignore that, cracks develop in your walls. Collapse could take place. And so in this sermon today, Jesus is either saying to you, leave the old house behind, or there’s some weaknesses in your foundations where you’ve let sand in and you need to let me clear it out.

(12:42 – 12:58)

You see, we become stormproof by building on Jesus alone. Being stormproof clearly requires you hear and know the words of Jesus. So do keep coming to church gatherings and studying your Bibles.

(13:00 – 13:16)

However, it’s not just knowing or hearing the words of Jesus, it’s doing. Hear and do. Second point, be stormproof by doing what you’ve heard.

(13:16 – 13:41)

And I want to encourage you to listen and do what Jesus says by thinking quickly about what it tells us about Jesus that He gives us such a warning. Why does Jesus point out a sin to us? Well, it’s because He sees the danger. He sees the harm.

(13:41 – 13:55)

He wants to remove it. The doctor spots the cancer on the scan to try and eradicate it, to take it away. And Jesus only wants you to build on rock.

(13:56 – 14:16)

He only wants to take away the sand, the sin, because He knows that’s the good thing for you. That’s why He says in chapter 5, 29, if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better to lose one of your members than your whole body be thrown into hell.

(14:16 – 14:22)

Jesus is wise and loving. He cares for you. These wise words are compassionate.

(14:24 – 14:39)

They’re kind. They’re merciful. And so listening to His words and accepting His authority is the only thing that is able to make you stormproof in this life.

(14:39 – 15:00)

And in the judgment to come. And so it’s a good thing for you to accept the authority of someone over you who is only good, only true, and only loving. And so I ask with you and plead with you today to listen and do what He says.

(15:01 – 15:23)

For if you listen and do, you know you’ll be amazed. Verse 28, when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, at His instruction, at His law. Because He taught as one who had authority and not as our teachers of the law.

(15:24 – 15:37)

So please listen, says Jesus, and do, because I am good. Listen and do because He is our promised prophet. Our promised prophet.

(15:38 – 15:47)

I wonder if you knew that. A prophet is someone who gives God’s instructions. And there are 39 commands in the Sermon on the Mount.

(15:48 – 15:56)

From rejoice and be glad when you’re persecuted. It’s a hard one. To beware of false prophets.

(15:56 – 16:07)

39. Not including the many implications from teachings like, you are the light of the world. He gives us commands to follow.

(16:07 – 16:35)

And He warns as a prophet that to be stormproof, you must hear and do. And so as well as knowing Jesus as our Savior, our saving King, we need to know Him as the prophet we listen to. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the promised prophet to be listened to and obeyed.

(16:36 – 16:49)

You know, I’m sure the Old Testament prophets gave people instructions from God on how to live. The prophet is the messenger of God. He’s therefore got God’s words.

(16:49 – 17:12)

He’s there for to be obeyed. Jesus is the promised prophet. Moses, of course, being the great prophet leader, he said, and you can read later in Deuteronomy 19, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.

(17:12 – 17:25)

You must listen to Him. God had said to Moses and had promised this. I will raise up for them the people a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites.

(17:25 – 17:43)

I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account, listen to this, anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.

(17:44 – 18:09)

Jesus is this promised prophet that the Jews were waiting on. They were waiting on their Messiah, their Christ, and they hadn’t realized that the Christ would also be the prophet, the one who was to be heard and obeyed. Now, in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew presents Jesus as the new prophet like Moses.

(18:10 – 18:27)

Crowds of people being taught where? Up the mountain. Taught about what? About the law, given God’s instructions to follow. This should remind us of that promised prophet that Moses spoke about.

(18:27 – 18:53)

It reminds us of Moses teaching and receiving the law and giving it to his people after they’d been saved from Egypt. And why am I telling you all this? This is not for a multi-choice test at the end. It’s because knowing Jesus as God’s promised prophet and the Messiah who saves us should give us confidence in who he is and in his words.

(18:55 – 19:33)

Joyfully, we should put his words into practice, believing they’re the very words of God to give us the stability we need to flourish and to survive the storms. This is what Jesus is telling us when he says, verse 24, everyone who hears these words of mine, and, look at it, puts them into practice, is like a wise man who built his house on a rock. That is exactly what Jesus wants for his followers. Storm proof because you listened and obeyed. He wouldn’t say it otherwise.

(19:35 – 20:04)

And so I want to challenge you now and ask whether you actually accept Jesus as your authorised prophet who you obey by reading again the words at verse 21. I think they confirm that if we don’t have Jesus as our prophet, we don’t truly have him as our saviour. It confirms that we need to hear and do.

(20:04 – 20:32)

This is what he says. He says, 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, who puts it into practice. Jesus is our saviour, not just when we say Lord, but actually as we live with him as Lord, as the prophet to be obeyed.

(20:35 – 21:05)

Doing the will is obviously not what saves you, but it is the sign you are saved. It is the watermark on the ticket, or, that doesn’t work these days, the QR code. Willingly doing the Father’s will as given by his promised prophet is the evidence that the Spirit is at work in your life.

(21:08 – 22:05)

So if true faith is hearing and doing, then to check your faith is genuine. The building inspector might point you back to some words from Matthew 5 to 8 and say, you’ve heard, so are you doing? Are you forgiving others as you have been forgiven? You have heard, so are you praying for those who persecute you? You have heard, so are you laying up treasures on earth or in heaven? And if we’re really honest with ourselves when we read over Jesus’ prophetic words in the Sermon on the Mount, and I would encourage you just to go home and do that very thing, we’ll see some sand in our foundations. We’ll realize that we truly do need to mourn our state.

(22:07 – 22:39)

And when we do mourn, we’ll notice that as we mourn, his prophetic words are true, that as we mourn our sins, we are blessed as God comforts and strengthens us. Accepting then our foundational need of him, we can then build again on Christ as rock. You see, we be stormproof by doing what we’ve heard from our promised prophet.

(22:41 – 23:06)

Because he has your best in mind, God’s eternal prophet says to you this morning, hear and do. And now finally, be stormproof by remaining amazed at his teaching. I wonder if you’ve ever turned up at rubbish events, you’ve been disappointed, you’ve been looking forward to it.

(23:09 – 23:23)

Maybe you’ve even been kind of disgusted by it. A rubbish concert, yeah? A poor sporting event. You maybe sat your child down and went, oh, is that the opening ceremony? Not sure we should be watching this.

(23:24 – 23:41)

Shocking, wasn’t it? What a letdown, shock, disappointment when you’ve been looking forward to something. Yeah, happened. But that’s not this crowd’s experience, is it? Because Jesus is the real deal.

(23:42 – 23:52)

They’ve recognized it. For he was teaching them, we read at verse 28, as one who had authority. Not like one of their scribes.

(23:53 – 24:08)

His words are rock solid. You see, building on Jesus’ words is not like following the teachers of their day or our day. It’s utterly unique and radical.

(24:09 – 24:42)

And so, to help you try to remain amazed at Jesus’ teaching in our last section, what we’re going to do is we’re going to think of some of the unstable, flimsy teachings of our day and then compare them back to Jesus’ words. You ready? So many of us have grown up hearing teachers like me or being taught things like, work hard at school, get a good job, get a good wage. This will increase your chance of being happy and secure.

(24:43 – 24:52)

Survival of the fittest, basically. Work hard, play hard, things like that. And then bang, a storm hits.

(24:54 – 25:30)

And what use are the words survival of the fittest to the suicidal? When a young adult is given a life-limiting health diagnosis, work hard, get a good job, get a good wage, feels like a lie and a betrayal. Yeah, working hard is good, but the foundational reason to do so is not future wealth or security. Around 2014, we were encouraged by Pharrell Williams to clap along if you think that happiness is the truth.

(25:31 – 26:16)

It’s a good enough tune, isn’t it? With terrible teaching. And there’s a fairly new phrase out, isn’t there? Live your best life. Whatever is that supposed to mean? Well, if happiness is the truth, what do I tell my child who’s self-harming? Do I just tell him to cheer up? To live his best life? Do I tell him to be authentic and true to his depression? Much worldly thinking, have you noticed, actually ends up leading to anxiety because maybe we ain’t that fit.

(26:17 – 26:49)

We can’t make ourselves happy and we can’t afford to live our best lives. And in the Sermon on the Mount, here comes Jesus countering all these ideals, saying we’ve to discover that all our provision, including our purpose, fulfillment and truth, all our provision is from God. Chasing after wealth and happiness, it’s just anxiety causing.

(26:49 – 27:13)

Rather than storm proof, it leads to storms. It will have you believe that onus is on you to provide when all, says Jesus, is from God. I hope I’m not treading on anyone’s toes here, but one of the English footballers scored a last minute goal at the Euros.

(27:14 – 27:37)

And here’s what he said. He said he was a big believer in manifestation, which is a growing belief, and we might laugh, but it’s a growing belief that we can bring things into existence if we just believe enough. If it doesn’t happen, then we didn’t believe enough in our own ability.

(27:38 – 28:16)

Man, is that pressure to place on yourself, is it not? I mean, it was all very well for his mental state to believe he manifested victory in the semifinal, but what about the final, when he, well, didn’t manifest it? I mean, by that logic, should he not have resigned and not the manager? To all this, Jesus said, God knows our need. He gives good gifts to his children who ask. He daily feeds the birds and magnificently clothes the flowers.

(28:16 – 28:30)

How much more will he provide for you? Jesus is saying, I am creator. You are creature. I manifested you.

(28:30 – 28:38)

I manifested things you need. Trust me, I’m God. You’re not.

(28:39 – 28:57)

His words are stable. Other modern mantras are not. For example, you only live once, which really means live for now, live for today.

(28:58 – 29:29)

And not only is that not stormproof, it denies the future God warns us of, but Jesus teaches otherwise, doesn’t he? He says, do not lay up treasures for yourselves on heaven, but lay up for yourselves, sorry, for on earth, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Live for the kingdom, the eternal tomorrow. When all around you is mess, and that may be your experience.

(29:30 – 29:56)

When earthly treasures are broken, knowing your treasure is in heaven is stormproof, where thieves do not break in. They do not steal, stormproof. The more you grow up as a dad and you see your children just looking at media, the more scared you are for them.

(29:56 – 30:26)

For the combined forces of all our media tell our children to worship or aim to be like Taylor Swift, Cristiano Ronaldo, or Elon Musk, don’t they? These guys look like the happy ones, the blessed ones, the favoured ones. Our children are told, and the Olympians tell them, that if I can do it, so can you. Follow your dreams.

(30:26 – 30:38)

You know, don’t believe in all that you’ve been told. The sky’s the limit, you can reach your goal. No one knows just what the future holds.

(30:40 – 31:03)

Nobody wanted to sing along, no. How helpful is S Club 7 in a storm when your dreams have shattered because of other people’s failings, because of your own? And in contrast, be amazed at Jesus’ words when he says it’s not about our dreams or plans. It’s not that at all.

(31:03 – 31:15)

It’s getting your thinking, your hearts, set on the wonderful and eternal plans of God. And that’s why he tells us to pray like this. Your kingdom come.

(31:16 – 31:29)

Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Not may our kingdom come, my dreams come true. No, seek ye first the kingdom.

(31:30 – 31:39)

Another rising mantra is look after number one. You can see it in politics. Britain first, me first, America first.

(31:40 – 31:58)

Jesus says kingdom first, doesn’t he? Seek ye first the kingdom. Christian, be focused on God and others and build heavenly treasure. Thinking about your kids and screens.

(31:58 – 32:14)

Basically because of screen technology, and I think we live in the most visual age probably in history, we’re taught this. Lust is good. Was that not the opening ceremony? Lust is good.

(32:14 – 32:27)

You can have sex with whoever you like as long as it’s consensual. Marriage is optional. It can just be cancelled because if happiness is the truth, just move on when it’s hard.

(32:28 – 32:41)

Do you see the instability for family life there? When Jesus said, lust is adultery. Keep your word. Don’t break your marriage.

(32:42 – 33:00)

Do you see the stability for family life? Folks, we need to keep being amazed at the authority of the teaching of this prophet. The world also tells you there’s lots of prophets to follow. Pick your favourite, whatever suits you.

(33:01 – 33:09)

Live your truth. What does Jesus say about modern prophets? You’ll know them by their fruit. Watch out.

(33:10 – 33:23)

Watch out for wolves pretending to be sheep. The Sermon on the Mount is so full of teaching that counters what we believe and say in society. Revenge is sweet.

(33:24 – 33:36)

Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. And amazingly, it’s not to Taylor Swift or Elon Musk that Jesus says, you’re the salt of the earth.

(33:37 – 33:53)

You’re the light of the world. He says this to a group of marginalised, poor, downtrodden people who’ve had their land seized by foreign invaders. To those who have much to mourn, he says they are blessed because they will inherit the earth.

(33:53 – 34:03)

In their storms and in your storm, this is radically astonishing news. Our prophet, he’s amazing. He’s not like our modern scribes.

(34:04 – 34:22)

And so, folks, remain amazed at his teaching which protects you from shiny, plastic, appealing nonsense that will ruin your life, that won’t stand up. It’s only his teaching that provides stability. It is only that that is stormproof.

(34:23 – 34:38)

And so, as we draw right to a close now and bring all this together, let’s look at these words. Take them in. All of these things you have heard, and everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice will be like a foolish man.

(34:38 – 34:44)

You don’t want to be him who built his house on the sand. The rain fell. The flood came.

(34:44 – 34:54)

The winds blew and beat against that house. It fell, and great was the fall of it, like a big crack in the wall. The warning is there.

(34:55 – 35:19)

And so, if you failed the building inspection this morning and you think your house is doomed, while you live, it is never too late to move house. New foundations, new start with Jesus. And see, if you’re young, what an opportunity you have just now to build on the foundations given by Jesus and flourish.

(35:21 – 35:40)

Or today, you’ve realised, maybe like me a few years ago, some of my foundations are a bit sandier than I thought. The false prophets have seeped into my thinking I never even noticed. Ask the Spirit to blow through the foundations of the house and to fill the sandy areas with rock.

(35:40 – 35:57)

The Holy Spirit’s role is to point you to the Son and to sanctify you. And to those who are in storms, maybe it’s been chucking it down. Maybe the winds have howled and the water’s risen.

(35:58 – 36:10)

And so, I want you to spot the prophet’s eternal promise of God to you in the storm. This is it, you have stability. You stand firm.

(36:12 – 36:34)

Do you see it? On his foundations, you are stormproof. The promise is when the rain and the wind cease, you are still standing because you hear and you do his words. And so, folks, you cannot read or hear these words of Jesus too many times.

(36:34 – 36:44)

Be wise, hear and do. Let’s finish with verse 24. This is Jesus’ promise to you.

(36:46 – 37:00)

Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell. The floods came.

(37:01 – 37:19)

The winds blew and beat on that house. But it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. Father, we want to give you thanks and praise for your eternal son who you sent, Lord, to take our place.

(37:20 – 37:36)

Father, we thank you for the cross. We thank you for the words that came from the mouth of Jesus that we have with us today. How blessed we are to have the words of the eternal prophet speaking to us now.

(37:39 – 37:48)

Let us not be like the Israelites who heard and didn’t do. May we be yours. May we be obedient.

(37:50 – 38:09)

Help us to hear and do so that we flourish and not flourish as we think for ourselves, for our dreams. But may we flourish for your kingdom, for your glory. And we ask all this in the eternal son’s name.

(38:10 – 38:11)

Amen.

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