In reading the text in Matthew 7:24-29 we find the important understanding of building on a solid foundation.
Read the passage as a back drop:
24 "Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash." 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 for he taught with real authority--quite unlike their teachers of religious law.
A viscous contest of the game, rock, paper, scissors challenges are fun ways to settle disputes. Rock beats scissors... Scissors beats paper... Paper beats rock. (A Child's Game - how to win?)
It seemed that the game is simple yet you are not guaranteed a win! It is a game of pure chance. The outcome is not predictable.
In a most unusual settlements of an American case we find legal precedence. In 2006, American federal judge Gregory Presnell from the Middle District of Florida ordered opposing sides in a lengthy court case to settle a trivial (but lengthily debated) point over the appropriate place for a deposition using the game of rock-paper-scissors.
The ruling in Avista Management v. Wausau Underwriters stated: Upon consideration of the Motion – the latest in a series of Gordian knots that the parties have been unable to untangle without enlisting the assistance of the federal courts – it is ORDERED that said Motion is DENIED. Instead, the Court will fashion a new form of alternative dispute resolution, to wit: at 4:00 P.M. on Friday, June 30, 2006, counsel shall convene at a neutral site agreeable to both parties.
If counsel cannot agree on a neutral site, they shall meet on the front steps of the Sam M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse, 801 North Florida Ave., Tampa, Florida 33602. Each lawyer shall be entitled to be accompanied by one paralegal who shall act as an attendant and witness.
At that time and location, counsel shall engage in one game of "rock, paper, scissors." The winner of this engagement shall be entitled to select the location for the 30(b)(6) deposition to be held somewhere in Hillsborough County during the period July 11–12, 2006.[26] (Wikipedia)
Guinness Book of World Records On the 9th of July, 2010, over 6500 attendees of the LIFE 2010 Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, participated in the largest tournament of Rock-Paper-Scissors ever.
The game of Rock, Paper, Scissors is a game of chance. You may win and you may lose because it is an uncertain game. However, winning at the game of life isn't simply chance, there is a pattern that is provided in Scripture that helps us make the right choices. Aren't you glad that Jesus provides a simple solution to the game of life? It is rather easy to determine how to win at the game of life.
If you are to win at the game of life, you must; Make wise choices & resist foolish actions.
1. Make Wise Choices!
In an article, A New Foundation, author Gary Thomas give commentary on our passage of scripture. Thomas says, "It's only when we put His words into practice that our foundation becomes sure."
Reading Matthew 24 & 25: "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. The rains came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet is did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock."
The lesson lies in the comparison; Rock versus Sand.
"The rock foundation represented the Lord Himself and the truths He had been presenting, especially the truth concerning inner transformation. The sand spoke of Pharisaic righteousness which the people knew and on which many were basing their hopes. In storms the first would give stability; the second would result in destruction. Thus hearing and heeding Jesus' words is wise; one who does not is foolish." Bible Knowledge Commentary
In every situation, you have to make a choice. It is at the moment of choices that we risk the greatest. It is where we are the most vulnerable. Choice means that we make a decision to go one way or another. Choice means that we have to abandon one way for the other. Choice is often made without our exploring the ramifications or consequences. Even if we don't choose, we are making a choice...indecision is a choice.
The Bible talks about comparisons in choice and action. Many stories and parables that Jesus told is about making "rock solid" decisions.
We are living in an age of uncertainty and complexity that causes, what I call, “Spiritual Dysphoria”. Read more HERE.
Examples: Only two courses of action are possible.
See a few examples. There are two kinds of roads and gates (Matt. 7:13-14 ), two kinds of trees and fruit (vv. 15-20 ), two kinds of foundations and builders (vv. 24-27 ).
1. The Two Houses - Matthew 7:24-27 (Luke 6:47-49 )
2. The New Cloth and New Wineskins - Matthew 9:16-17
3. The Sower - Matthew 13:5-8 (Mark 4:3-8 ; Luke 8:5-8 )
4. The Weeds - Matthew 13:24-30
5. The Mustard Seed - Matthew 13:31-32 (Mark 4:30-32 ; Luke 13:18-19 )
6. The Yeast - Matthew 13:33 (Luke 13:20-21 )
7. The Hidden Treasure - Matthew 13:44
8. The Pearl of Great Price - Matthew 13:45-46
9. The Fishing Net - Matthew 13:47-50
10. The Unforgiving Servant - Matthew 18:23-35
11. The Workers in the Vineyard - Matthew 20:1-16
12. The Two Sons - Matthew 21:28-32
13. The Wicked Vine-growers - Matthew 21:33-46 (Mark 12:1-12 ; Luke 20:9-19 )
14. The Wedding Banquet - Matthew 22:1-14
15. The Two Servants - Matthew 24:45-51 (Luke 12:42-48 )
16. The 10 Virgins - Matthew 25:1-13
17. The Talents - Matthew 25:14-30
18. The Seed Growing Secretly - Mark 4:26-29
19. The Doorkeeper - Mark 13:34-37
20. The Rude Children - Luke 7:31-35
21. The Two Debters - Luke 7:41-43
22. The Good Samaritan - Luke 10:25-37
23. The Friend at Midnight - Luke 11:5-8
24. The Rich Fool - Luke 12:16-21
25. The Barren Fig Tree - Luke 13:6-9
26. The Great Banquet - Luke 14:15-24
27. The Unfinished Tower and the King's Rash War - Luke 14:28-33
28. The Lost Sheep - Matthew 18:12-14 (Luke 15:4-7 )
29. The Lost Coin - Luke 15:8-10
30. The Prodigal Son - Luke 15:11-32
31. The Shrewd Manager - Luke 16:1-9
32. The Servant's Reward - Luke 17:7-10
33. The Unjust Judge - Luke 18:1-8
34. The Pharisee and the Tax Collector - Luke 18:9-14
35. The Pounds - Luke 19:11-27 --Recently reading the story of the empty structure (Gary Thomas, A New Foundation, Decision Magazine, Sept., 2012)
A man set out to repaint his house. When he started to scrape away the paint, he noticed some troubling signs and brought in a specialist to confirm his worst fears: termites. He didn't need to just repaint his house; in a very real way, he needed to rebuild it. On the outside, the house looked great! Even compared to the other houses in the neighborhood (to the left and right of his home), you could not tell there was a problem. But the weather (beatings of the wind and rain) wore away the paint only to reveal the rot within.
This is a matter of INTERNAL consequence! Yes, INTERNAL. You see, in a perfect sunny day, anyone can be envious of a beach front property! People pay great money to have an ocean side view.... Yet, when the storms of life come, your dream home will collapse.
There are many examples to illustrate this point. I point you to a story I experienced of a man who build his house on a rock. See Roadside Ramblings (Part 2). Part two story.
The point of this is to realize that every decision has a result... Rock or Sand. We have all that we need to build on eternal values. Ephesians is a favorite book of the Bible for me. Paul admonished is to walk in the light of God’s redemptive message of hope. Ephesians 1:18 reads: "I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those called -- His holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance."
If you are going to win at the game of life, you must make solid choices!
2. Resist Foolish Actions!
Actions follow choices. Choices and actions have consequences! There is more to this! It isn't enough to simply hear the Word of the Lord, you must make application - in essence, internalizing its Truth. In other words, just being able to hear the Word does not change the mind or create a better action or set the right attitude within. A continuation of the story I shared earlier provides the backdrop in Roadside Ramblings, Part 1.
"Two storms. One house stands, one falls." writes Thomas. "They both heard the words of Christ, they both studies Jesus' words, but only one kept practicing what Jesus said."
An age old spiritual battle exist. It is a battle of the head, hands, and heart. I observed over the years that the heart can beat the head... head can beat the hands... hands can beats heart.... the heart, mind, body must be surrendered to God’s Will and plan!
There are very moral church people that don't have a personal relationship with Christ. There are people who really care for those in need who do not have a personal relationship with Christ. There are those that have memorized scripture yet they miss the truth in application. The important quality must be in whether we obey the precepts of God, making them internal to our actions, knowledge that produces wisdom, and motives that reflect an eternal objective.
Thomas says, "Daily, faithful obedience to God's Word shapes our heart, transforms our will, molds our character as surely as a daily jog strengthens our heart and a thrice weekly bout in the gym brings forth muscles." He tells us that just one session isn't enough but "faithfulness, over time, produces amazing results..."
In making truth real in our lives we must not only seek to understand (knowledge) or to simple act (do something) upon what is said, but most important, we must internalize it at the heart (integrate truth into who we become). In fact, it is the three working together - head, hands, and heart - that beats sin!
Once truth converts the heart, you defeat sin.... In essence you build on the firm foundation. Like building a house upon the rock!
We make application to our lives today and take action! The Word of God relates to us in our everyday experience. The Word of God is fresh and living. It requires that we make an application to our lives and situation.
Inge Harding was one of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s students in Germany in the 1930’s, and she said that Bonhoeffer told her class:
“When you read the Bible, you must think that here and now God is speaking with me. … from the very beginning he taught us that we had to read the Bible as it was directed at us, as the word of God directly to us. Not something general, not something generally applicable, but rather with a personal relationship to us. He repeated this to us very early on, that the whole thing comes from that.” (Inge Karding, quoted in METAXAS, p. 129)
I can read the same passage over and over, and discover applications to my current situation. While some doctrinal principles are universal, most principles are the result of applying the Word to my situation. We know that God's Word never returns void, yet, as we apply the Word, we discover incredible lessons that build our testimony!
The Pharisees taught that you needed to only worry about what was external. Rules (numbering 600-plus) were defined to make sure that you were a good church person. Jesus went deeper and repaired the heart from the inside - out!
Matthew 7:28-29 reads: (28) "When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, (29) for he taught with real authority--quite unlike their teachers of religious law."
Jesus taught with real authority means that, different from the law makers (Pharisees), His applied message transformed the heart...not just the head.
One of the biggest problems that the Pharisees had was that they loved to create rules that did not relate to the current needs of the day. For example: Jesus healing on the Sabbath. Jesus helping a brother get a ox out of a ditch. (ie: my helping my neighbor rake up his leaves on a Sunday afternoon... Showing him Jesus while breaking the rules.) - Referenced: The foundation is Jesus Christ. New International Version reads: "For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."
To ways to win at the game of life: 1. Make Wise Choices. 2. Resist Foolish Actions.
Let me wrap this up. This article is intended to be a message to each of us individually.
Yet, I want to say a few word related to you as a congregation.
YOU HAVE A HEALTHY FOUNDATION as you keep Christ at the center of what you are doing.
Gary Thomas writes: "We must choose to obey. We must practice putting the words of Jesus Christ into action."
24 "Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash." 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 for he taught with real authority--quite unlike their teachers of religious law.
