Turn with me, if you would, to
Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7. Very familiar passage of scripture. In verse 24, Matthew chapter
7, our Lord here says, Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings
of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which
built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the
floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and
it fell not, for or because it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these
sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish
man, which built his house upon the sand, and the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." Obviously,
from these verses, when the gospel is preached, there are two types
of hearers. First, there are those who hear
the sayings of Christ, gospel preaching, that's what it is,
the sayings of Christ, and do them, and secondly, there are
those who hear the things that Christ said, taught, and did,
and don't do them. Again, we see that the word of
God is very plain and straightforward. I don't think there's anything
that we just read there that's hard to understand. There's one
that hears and does, and there's one that hears and does not.
Pretty plain, straightforward. The one that hears and does,
Christ likens them to be wise. And the one that hears and does
not, Christ claims them to be foolish. Now this is not talking
about one man that hears the word of God and another man who
doesn't hear the word of God. This is talking about two men
that hear the word, hear the sayings of Christ, hear the gospel
of the Lord Jesus. And I would venture to say, I
don't know, God does. But I would venture to say that
there are both type hearers here today. When the gospel is preached
to more than a few, in most cases, you'll find both kinds of hearers. That being those that hear the
words of the Savior and do them, and those who hear Christ's words
and do them not. Now, the important question for
us to ask ourselves is this, which hearer am I? That's a good
question for you to ask yourself. This is not talking at all about
working to be saved. This is not talking about the
do's and the don'ts of the law that men and women endeavor to
keep in hope of being saved. Matter of fact, it's impossible
to be saved that way. That's something that the law
could not do. Paul wrote, the law could not
say in that it was weak through the flesh. And that's talking
about our flesh as we have mentioned so many times. Now there's no
doubt that the reference here to Christ's sayings are referring
to the things that our Lord had just preached in the Sermon on
the Mount. That sermon begins in Matthew
chapter five and goes right on through Matthew chapter seven
here. And it's actually a part of our text today. Our Lord said
a lot of things in the Sermon on the Mount. Now, hold your
place here and turn over to Luke chapter 6 with me. Luke chapter
6. We'll come back to Matthew 7.
Here we have Luke's account of our text. Luke 6, 46. In verse 46 of Luke chapter six,
the Lord said, and why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the
things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth
my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like.
He's like a man which built a house and dig deep and laid the foundation
on a rock. This is talking about a man or
a woman that God gives the ability and the will to come to Christ.
How do I know that? Our Lord said, whosoever cometh
unto me and hear my saying, and doeth them, I'll show you who
he or she is like. And the truth of the scripture
is this, all that are given to Christ by the Father's will come
to Christ. Every single one of them. If
the Lord chose you before the foundation of the world, you're
going to come to Christ. There's none for whom Christ
died that will be lost. They're all going to come to
Him to be saved. Either sooner or later, but they're going to
come. And God knew them, chose them
before the world began, and He called them in the time of His
love. And they are those that God has
made to labor and to be heavy laden over their sin. That's
another thing that's characteristic of every child of God. They're
gonna be sorry for their sin. Heavy laden, burdened over it.
Men and women don't work up repentance. Repentance, like grace, well,
it's a gift of God. Matter of fact, repentance is
a gift of God's grace. not something that we create
within or work up within ourselves. God's people will come to Christ
as poor, perishing sinners. They have a need, a great need,
and they are made to fill their need. And God has made them fill
their need by His grace. He's caused them to taste the
sweetness of the Savior, to desire and love Christ over everything
else. And all this is owing to God's
effectual sovereign grace in and by and through Christ, our
substitute. Now we see from our text that
when the word of God is preached, when the gospel goes forth, people
are affected and react in different ways. Our Lord said, some hear
my sayings and they do them. They come to me. Trusting me,
they depend solely upon me for all their righteousness before
God. And some don't. The question
is, what think ye of Christ? The question is, have we come
to Him? Are we trusting in Him? That's
the most important thing in this life. Now we have some men here
this morning that are professional builders. Jeff and Clayton build
houses. Eddie builds furniture and also
has the skills to build a house. I have none of those skills.
I'll be the first to tell you. Did you know that all hearers,
all hearers of the gospel are builders? They're builders of
a different kind of house. were builders of an earthly house. So first let's look and consider
for a few minutes this morning, these two builders, these two
different hearers. Let's consider them and their
houses and see if we can find the differences between them.
Both hearers in our text built houses, but as we've already
read, there is a great difference in the builders and in their
houses. Remember, Christ called the first
one wise, and he called the second one foolish. The wise man heard
and did, and the foolish man heard and didn't do. Now, according
to the verses that we just read in Luke chapter six, the wise
hearer and builder dug deep. Remember that? You see that?
And he found a rock, and he laid the foundation of his house on
that rock. But the foolish hearer and builder
didn't dig at all. Doesn't say anything about him
digging. He didn't care about the foundation, or better said,
the lack of one. And when the storm came, you
know, this life brings many storms, doesn't it? We've experienced
many lately. But when the storm came, the
rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew. And
Luke said, vehemently beat upon those two houses. Yet we see
that there were two different effects. One didn't fall and
the other one did. One had a great house and the
other house had a great fall. Now, both of these men felt the
need of a house. They both desired a refuge, a
place of safety. They both wanted a hiding place,
as we sing, a shelter in the time of storm. And both of these
men resolved to build. They both wanted a place of protection. They both wanted a place to rest
and lay their head. Both of these men were determined
to build, and both of them actually built their house. Both of them
persevered. Both of them finished their home.
They finished what they started. Both of these men were alike
in many ways. Both of them heard, both of them
felt a need of a house, both of them built a house, both of
them finished their house, and both of them moved in their house.
Yet, these men, these builders were different in many ways. And so were their houses. One
heard and did, one heard and didn't do. One built on a rock,
the other built on sand. One house stood and one house
fell. Now, I don't know much, as I
said, about building a house, but I've paid enough attention
in the 64 years that I've been here to know that a house is
only as firm as its foundation. I do know that. I've had a house
that's had foundation problems. You don't want that. When you
build a house, you want a solid, firm foundation, secure foundation. I know that much. And I'm certain
that the house built on sand was built a lot quicker than
the one built on the rock. I bet that house was built in
no time compared to the other because that man didn't spend
any time digging. He built his foundation right
on the sand. Man, it just went up quick. Don't
you know, lay down some boards and start building. Up go the
walls and then the rest of the house. We see a lot of false
professions and decisions made just that way. Quick, easy, fast
professions without any real repentance at all toward God.
And that's mostly what men preach. You know it. You've heard me
say it. You know it some by experience. Make a decision, raise your hand,
repeat a prayer, walk to the front, join the church, get in
the water. Okay, you're saved. Quick, easy,
fast. They build their house. But that's
a house that's built on a foundation of sand. Now, I'm not saying
that there are no sudden conversions. Saul of Tarsus was suddenly converted. The Philippian jailer was converted
suddenly. The thief on the cross was certainly
converted very quickly, wasn't he? But there was real repentance
in each of those accounts. Today, we have this easy-believe-ism. Easy-believe-ism often proves
to be without any Holy Spirit conviction at all. It's just
a religious formula, a checklist, so to speak. It ignores the searching
of the heart and accounting of the cost. It often ignores faith
in Christ with no breaking of the heart and with no repentance
in the soul. I remember growing up often,
about every Sunday, I was pressured to make a profession of faith.
And then when I did, I was made to feel as though I constantly
fell short. And I did, according to the preacher's
terms, fell way short. So felt the need to rededicate
my life. Those of you raised in Southern
Baptist know what I'm talking about. But when you're building
a spiritual house, you can't cut cost without any consequence. You see, the house that is built
quickly, it falls quicker. The builder of that house didn't
feel a need to dig. He didn't seek to find a rock
to build on. Many professing Christians build
their foundation on sand. They build on the sandy foundation
of self-righteousness and personal decision-making, the exercising
of their so-called free will. But the wise man, the wise woman,
digs into the ground. They're hunting and seeking that
rock, that rock which is Christ, as the foundation of their house.
To find that rock requires a searching. It requires a digging in the
word of God. The hardest part of building
a house is digging the foundation, digging a footer as the professionals
say. Now I think about that spiritually
speaking. The word of God says, study to
show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to
be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. You can pressure
and push people into a quick decision, but the wise man is
one who has considered the cost, and he doesn't try to build rapidly
with little or no effort. You see, without a sure foundation,
a man's house is going to have some things happen to it. It's
out of square. It's unbalanced. Because the
foundation shifts. The windows won't open and close
well. The doors won't shut right. The
house is out of balance. It's the same with our earthly
houses. These tabernacles and these tents
of flesh is what I'm talking about. And if the foundation
of our house is not built on Christ, everything's crooked. Everything's unbalanced. Everything's
out of whack. But a sinner that has built their
house on Christ, the solid rock, oh, it's a balanced house. It's
square. It's plum. The house built on
sand, it's gonna crack. Guaranteed to crack. Just a little
movement in the foundation exposes cracks, doesn't it? In my study,
I've got a little crack right up by the door, and no matter,
you can sand it and putty it, and it'll crack again, and the
door there doesn't shut right. It don't shut all the way. There's
a foundation issue to some degree. The house is built on sand, it's
going to crack and it's going to keep developing cracks. Cracks
inside and cracks outside. Anytime the foundation is not
right, the house is going to crack. A cracked house never
brings any peace and it never brings any rest. You're always
worrying about it. Only uncertainty is what it brings.
But a house with a sure, solid, firm foundation will yield rest
and peace and refuge and security, especially in times of storm.
A house built on sand is gonna always need some repair. It's
the same with a profession of faith in Christ that's built
on sand. It's always shifting, it's always
sinking, and you have to keep repairing it. You have to keep
reviving it. You've got to keep, as I said
a moment ago, rededicating, keep rebuilding. It constantly needs
attention. False religion is the same way.
When the soul winning falls off, you need winning promoters to
come in and fix it. You appeal to people's emotions. You get them all fired up so
that they are excited. When the finances begin to fail,
then they begin to preach and promote tithing and giving, promising
a good yield on your Jesus stock or your Jesus investments. 30 some, 60 some, 100 fold return. Well, who wouldn't like that
kind of investment return? I'm telling you, it's just adding
more sand to the foundation. But what really needs to happen
is this, the gospel and truth needs to be preached. And that's
what tears down the old house. Just bulldoze it down and start
over with Christ as the foundation. But very few do. You see, most
people aren't too concerned about it because everyone around them
has built their houses on the sand too. Everyone around them
is crying the same thing. They're crying, peace, peace,
where there is no peace. You see the real differences
in the two houses are found underground, found where our eyes can't see,
but God sees it. And His eye can see the difference.
For the Lord seeth not as a man seeth, for man looketh on the
outward appearance, but the Lord looks where? On the heart. You
take a drive and you pass by two houses, two nice houses.
And there's one over here that's built on the sand, but you don't
know it. And then there's one over here built on a rock. But
an eye like mine can't tell the difference. But you call Clayton,
Jeff, or Eddie and have them take a closer inspection and
they'll immediately tell you, oh, there's a foundation problem.
But our Lord's an expert on these matters. Our Lord knows the difference. The real difference is underneath. The real difference is out of
sight. The real problem is in the heart. A work of grace in
the heart, men can't see, but God sees it. The scripture is
very clear, for God is nigh unto them of a broken heart. And it's
with the heart that man believes under righteousness, is it not?
The Lord tells us that a broken hearted sinner, He says, give
me thine heart. And the foundational heart work
begins with first a real knowledge of sin. The foundational heart
work begins with knowing who and what you are. And this heart
work by God is an understanding of your inability and your unwillingness
I might add. our inability and our unwillingness
to please God, to satisfy His law, to honor His justice and
desire to be holy as God Himself is holy. That's what God requires. He said, be ye holy as I am holy.
How are we gonna do that? Not by building our house on
sand. We need Christ a solid rock. And by nature, we don't
even know it. Men and women have heard the
words, the sayings, they've heard the sermons, they've heard the
words, but they haven't heard the message. Big difference,
big difference. Yes, they've heard the sermon,
they've heard the sayings, but they haven't heard the savior.
They haven't heard the substitute. And those that are well in their
own mind and heart need not a physician. Isn't that what the Lord said?
Where in the Bible does it say to raise your hand or say a prayer
or walking out to be saved? Seriously, I'd like to know.
This book says, he that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting
life. That's where our faith must be,
on Christ, solid rock, the firm foundation. And that's not all
that the Bible says. It also says in the very same
sentence, in the very same verse, and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. There we have the difference
between a foundation built on sand and on the solid rock and
foundation that Christ is. Isaiah 28, six says, therefore,
thus sayeth the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation,
a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. And he that believeth shall not
make haste. Make haste to what? To build
a house on sand. To build a house with Christ
is the tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation
assures you that the house won't fall. He said, I lay in Zion
a rock. God said that. And that rock
is there because God put it there. That rock is available because
God made it available. That rock is yours because God
gave it to you. That rock is there because God
Almighty in and by His sovereign grace, sovereign will, sovereign
mercy, put that rock there for you to build upon. And that rock
is Christ. I can just picture that foolish
man going around to all his neighbors and saying, have you seen my
house? You know, I put that house up in no time. He just bragging
about how quickly he built and finished his house. And you know,
when a man finds religion, he'll go around and tell everyone that
something's happened to him, but not the wise man. You know
why? He's still working on his house.
He's still working on it. He spent all that time digging
the foundation. When something is done in the
heart, something happens to the mouth. A saved man won't have
to tell folks he's saved. I say it all the time. It's like
being pregnant. You don't have to tell anyone.
In a few months, it'll get out on you. Folks, you see, it's
the same with being saved. I think Brother Mann used to
say, when God saves a man, his dog in the backyard will know
it. Both of these men built houses,
but one of them dug deep and he found a rock and he built
his house on that rock. The other man built in a hurry.
He just threw up a refuge. But then trials started coming.
There came rain. You see, rain pictures trials
from heaven. The rains descended. Then came
floods, trials from the earth, trials from below, trials of
sickness, trials of depression, trials of relationships. Then came the wind. The wind's
a mysterious thing, isn't it? What kind of trials does the
wind represent? Trials that you don't know where
they came from. Trials from within, trials from without, trouble
from without. Now that house built on the sand
is fine when the sun is shining. It's fine when the weather's
good. People say, what a nice house that man has. That's a
nice house. And you know, he built it really
quick. He must be a hard worker. But
when the storms come, it's a different story. The house falls, and great
is the fall of it. But that house built on Christ
the Rock when trials come from above and when those floods come
from below and when the storms of life blow relentlessly with
persecution and slander and mockery and insults. And the owner of
the house is even himself surprised when their house holds up and
stands. Why did it stand when the other
houses didn't fall? We've asked ourselves that question.
Why is the Lord merciful and gracious to me? Because it was
built on Christ the rock. That's why. It was built on Christ, the chief
cornerstone. Now let me ask you in closing,
if a man perishes from hunger when there's bread on his table,
He's starving, but he's got a table full of good food while a five-course
meal has been prepared and set before him to eat. And if that
man perishes sitting right there looking at that food, but he
starves because he won't eat, is he to be pitied or is he to
be blamed? If a man or a woman dies of thirst
and they're sitting beside a deep well of cool, refreshing water,
Are they to be pitied and forgiven, or are they to be blamed and
judged? If a man's dying of an incurable
disease when there's a cure at his fingertips, why he's been
prescribed a cure by a great physician, but yet he doesn't
take the medicine that's prescribed, that medicine that can make him
whole, if he dies of that disease, is he to be felt sorry for? Is
he to be had compassion on or is he to be held responsible,
accountable and liable? If there's a man, a woman, a
sinner that hears the word of God and ignores it, pays it no
mind, are they to be excused or to be judged? God says that they're without
excuse. That's what God says. God says that they'll be judged. Hear these words one more time.
I'll read them to you. Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth
my sayings, and doeth them, I'll show you to whom he's like. He's
like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the
foundation on a rock. And when the flood arose, the
storm beat vehemently upon that house. "'could not shake it,
for it was founded upon a rock. "'But he that heareth and doeth
not is like a man "'that without a foundation built a house upon
the earth, "'upon sinking sand, "'against which the stream did
beat vehemently, "'and immediately it fell. "'And the ruin of that
house was great.'" So, which hearer are you? Which builder are you? Which
hearer am I? It's something to think about.
Oh, may God be pleased to deliver you and me from being a forgetful
hearer. That's what James talked about.
Don't be a forgetful hearer. May God be pleased to make us
a doer of the word and the work. Well, Brother Dale, I didn't
think you believed in salvation by works. I believe in salvation
by His work. Not my works, His work. And by God's grace, I'm going
to build this house upon Him. This is the work of God that
you believe on Him. Isn't that what the scripture
says? Whom God has sent. God sent Him. He is God. And that, my friends, is a work
of grace by God in and by and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
May God enable you to trust in Him, build your house upon the
sure foundation. You know what? I'm convinced
that if that's what you want, that's what you'll get. I really
am. I can't find anywhere in scripture,
I love saying this, it's so true. Can't find anywhere in this book
where somebody came to the Lord desiring mercy, grace, and salvation
that they didn't get. He is faithful at promise.