The subject for this month is something that affects all of us. It is concerning what we really put our trust in or who we depend on to guide us. A recent trip to the Oregon Coast with my wife, daughter and grandchildren ended up being the inspiration for this insight. We started off for the coast hoping and expecting to have a great day at the beach. We ended up at Heceta Beach Lighthouse State Park. Because of the heat in the valley we thought this would be a good beach to visit. It is more of a small cove like setting and has more protection from the wind. Once we arrived there we found the beach very inviting although the wind was blowing, coming straight in from the ocean. Once we had our lunch and left many crumbs for the seagulls and crows we headed for the beach itself. My daughter settled in close to a stream that came from the mountains behind us and flowed directly into the sea. The kids meant the beach wholeheartedly and never stopped for several hours. They spent some of their time just running and playing, exploring the rocks and looking for treasures. The majority of the time though they spent close to the water digging in the sand trying to build a mountain of sand to stand on while the waves slowly came in. This is what this message is about, building sand castles on sandy soil. Come with me to the beach for a few minutes and see just what building your mountains of sand on sandy soil with waves rolling in around you has to do with your life.
As I watched my grandchildren and their friend start to build their mountain of sand I began to think about what Christ said about building your house on sandy soil. These kids worked and worked to create this mountain of sand, they dug, carried sand in buckets and kept mounding up the sand. At the time the tide was still out a ways and did not affect their hard work, except for an occasional small wave coming in around them and washing a small amount of the base of the sand mountain away. They continued building and rebuilding this small mountain. When the waves would come in they would stand on it to escape the water that would surround them.
Time after time these kids would work tirelessly to keep their mountain of sand built up and strong. I had to inform them that they were fighting a losing battle, but that did not seem to faze them, they just kept building on that sand mountain. At one point they gathered a couple of small logs to reinforce their project. This seemed to have help some. Seeing that these logs kept some the destructive force of the wave from washing away their work, they got more sand and built the mound a little higher. They were feeling quite confident at this point and the excitement was growing even more. What they failed to realize was that the tide was slowly coming in and would be a force to reckon with. They failed to see the incoming tide and did not realize the destructive force of those waves.
Children sometimes can work themselves tirelessly trying to create something and not always realize the opposing forces working against them. They see something in their minds and want to make it happen. It is an innocent kind of play or work, but a good learning time for the young. Even though these kids knew that the waves would overtake their mountain of sand, they had it in their minds to build this up so they could stand on their mountain to escape the coming waves. They had a lot of fun doing this and wore themselves out for sure. This did not discourage them, but made them more determined to complete their work. Eventually they had to succumb to the force of the waves and pack up their buckets and head for higher ground.
This brings me to the point of this message. Christ taught us about faith and strong foundations so we would not be overcome by the incoming tides of life or storms that would come and destroy everything we placed our efforts into so we could have a better life. Many times Jesus Christ taught His disciples about faith, to always trust what He was teaching them. He taught His disciples a lot about the Kingdom of God, to seek God's kingdom above all else. So the question comes up, what do you put your trust in, and what are you building your future on? Is the foundation of your life built on solid rock or sinking sand?
Let's take a look at what God has been trying to tell us for a long time, the truth about building on sand or solid rock. What is your foundation built on? In Matthew 7:24-27 we find the story Christ told of the wise and foolish builders; "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Here we have a very interesting lesson from Jesus Christ. Jesus used a comparison here to describe our lives. He uses a basic illustration of good and wise builders and those who are unwise and poor builders. The solid rock illustration refers to His word, and putting His word into practice is the wisdom of the person who places their trust into the Master builder and follows His instructions. Those who hear His Word and do not follow the Master's builders instructions is a poor builder who goes ahead and builds on a sandy foundation which is unstable and shifts with the tide. You need to ask yourself what kind of a builder are you? Are you one who hears God's Word and puts His Word into practice, or are you one who gladly hears God's Word but does not really practice what it says? Take a look at what Matthew Henry's commentary has to say about these two type of people.
James 1:22 makes it very plain as to how we are to treat Gods Word. In Romans 2:13 Paul says that we must obey the law not just hear it. Then in Matthew 7:21 we find these words; "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." And in John 13:17 John says; "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."
There are many scriptures that show us that we must be more than just hearers of God's Word, we must also be doer's of His Word. When we become doer's of His Word we are building on solid rock, and when we do this, there is no storm or flood that can destroy us. Sandy soil shifts with the tide and is very unstable, it will blow away in the wind, and fail to hold anything solidly. A rock is solid and will withstand anything that comes against it. Which of these are you building your house on? My grandchildren found that sand does not withstand even the slightest of turmoil caused by the waves. They found no matter how much effort they put into building their dream mountain of sand so they could stand on it to avoid the incoming waves, their efforts were not built on anything solid and their mountain would not stand firm. They trusted in their own efforts and in the appearance of a solid structure.
Take some time and ask God where you stand with Him, check out God's Word and see if you are placing all your trust in Him by obeying and doing what His Word says. Don't take this lightly, your house depends on the type of foundation you have built on.
May God bless you richly as you not only hear His Word, but are actively doing His Word.
Here we have a very interesting lesson from Jesus Christ. Jesus used a comparison here to describe our lives. He uses a basic illustration of good and wise builders and those who are unwise and poor builders. The solid rock illustration refers to His word, and putting His word into practice is the wisdom of the person who places their trust into the Master builder and follows His instructions. Those who hear His Word and do not follow the Master's builders instructions is a poor builder who goes ahead and builds on a sandy foundation which is unstable and shifts with the tide. You need to ask yourself what kind of a builder are you? Are you one who hears God's Word and puts His Word into practice, or are you one who gladly hears God's Word but does not really practice what it says? Take a look at what Matthew Henry's commentary has to say about these two type of people.
This parable teaches us to hear and do the sayings of the Lord Jesus: some may seem hard to flesh and blood, but they must be done. Christ is laid for a foundation, and every thing besides Christ is sand. Some build their hopes upon worldly prosperity; others upon an outward profession of religion. Upon these they venture; but they are all sand, too weak to bear such a fabric as our hopes of heaven. There is a storm coming that will try every man's work. When God takes away the soul, where is the hope of the hypocrite? The house fell in the storm, when the builder had most need of it, and expected it would be a shelter to him. It fell when it was too late to build another.What this comes down to is this, the words Christ gave us to live by are not for the ears only, it is for the whole body and we must practice the Word of God. There is one thing for certain, in this parable, Christ used two different examples, one of a house being built on solid rock and one being built on sand, each one of these were going to face a storm, a violent storm. The storm is a certainty, it will come and those who put their trust in the solid rock or build their house upon that rock will withstand the storm, and those who do not heed the warnings and build their house on the sand will fall with a mighty crash. God's Word is what we must build upon and nothing else. We can prepare for the floods and the storms by placing our trust in worldly things, or we can place our trust in the Word of God. Whichever one you choose will determine how your life will handle the storms of life that you will face. If your foundation is built on the solid rock of God's Word by practicing what it says, you will come through the storm's intact. If you choose to trust in other things that have no foundation or has sand as the base, then heed this warning, you will either be severely damaged by the storm wondering what just happened or you will be destroyed by the storm.
James 1:22 makes it very plain as to how we are to treat Gods Word. In Romans 2:13 Paul says that we must obey the law not just hear it. Then in Matthew 7:21 we find these words; "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." And in John 13:17 John says; "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."
There are many scriptures that show us that we must be more than just hearers of God's Word, we must also be doer's of His Word. When we become doer's of His Word we are building on solid rock, and when we do this, there is no storm or flood that can destroy us. Sandy soil shifts with the tide and is very unstable, it will blow away in the wind, and fail to hold anything solidly. A rock is solid and will withstand anything that comes against it. Which of these are you building your house on? My grandchildren found that sand does not withstand even the slightest of turmoil caused by the waves. They found no matter how much effort they put into building their dream mountain of sand so they could stand on it to avoid the incoming waves, their efforts were not built on anything solid and their mountain would not stand firm. They trusted in their own efforts and in the appearance of a solid structure.
Take some time and ask God where you stand with Him, check out God's Word and see if you are placing all your trust in Him by obeying and doing what His Word says. Don't take this lightly, your house depends on the type of foundation you have built on.
May God bless you richly as you not only hear His Word, but are actively doing His Word.
