In 1174 the Italian architect Bonnano Pisano began work on what would become his most famous project: A separately standing bell tower for the Cathedral of the city of Pisa. The tower was to be eight-stories and 185-foot-tall structure. There was just one "little" problem: builders quickly discovered that the soil was much softer than they had anticipated, and the foundation was far too shallow to adequately hold the structure! And sure enough, before long the whole structure had begun to tilt... and it continued to tilt... until finally the architect and the builders realized that nothing could be done to make the Leaning Tower of Pisa straight again. It took 176 years to build the Tower of Pisa and during that time many things were done to try and compensate for the "tilt." Foundation was shored up; the upper levels were even built at an angle to try to make the top of the tower look straight. Nothing worked. The tower has stood for over 800 years, but it leans 18 feet away from where it should be.
In a real sense, the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy is going to fall. Scientists travel yearly to measure the building’s slow descent. They report that the 179-foot tower moves about one-twentieth of an inch a year, and is now 17 feet out of plumb. They further estimate that by the year 2007 the 810-year old tower will have leaned too far and will collapse onto the nearby ristorante, where scientists now gather to discuss their findings. Quite significantly, the word "pisa" means "marshy land," which gives some clue as to why the tower began to lean even before it was completed. Also--its foundation is only 10 feet deep! Thousands of tourists travel to see this great edifice that will inevitably fall. All because it was not built on the right foundation. Foundations make the difference and become a matter of extreme relevance and importance.
The great architect Frank Lloyd Wright was given the challenge of building the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, one of the most earthquake-prone cities in the world. Wright’s investigation showed that a solid foundation could be "floated" on a sixty-foot layer of soft mud underlying the hotel, which would provide a shock-absorbing but solid support for the immense building. Shortly after the hotel was completed it withstood the worst earthquake in fifty-two years, while lesser buildings fell in ruins around it.
Buildings in Manhattan stand tall and secure because they are founded upon the rock under Manhattan Island. To be sure, a boat without an anchor will drift with the tide; it cannot be kept in place unless it is securely anchored. Brothers and sisters, this principle is no less true in the spiritual realm whereby we peer into the purposes and the promises of our God. If a man does not have an anchor for the soul, or a foundation for life, he cannot stand. He will be swept with the tide and drift aimlessly.
Jesus told a story about the importance foundations in Matthew 7. Christ gives here a severe warning. He had been speaking to the multitudes assembled, who sought an answer to the question as to what kind of righteousness a man needed to be accepted into the Kingdom Christ had come to institute on planet earth. In other words, they were asking “How can a man be acceptable to God?” the people for generations had been schooled in the teachings of the Pharisees. They said that if men observed the laws of the Pharisees, performed all the rituals, attended the feasts and offered the sacrifices, observed the 250 positive and 365 negative commandments and ordinances, they would certainly be acceptable to God. But our Lord, against the concerted teachings and efforts of the Pharisees, delivered a startling new word and covenant. He taught the multitudes it is not by what a man does he becomes acceptable to God, but rather it is by receiving righteousness from God by faith that makes men acceptable to God. (Titus 3:5; Ep. 2:8-9)
Here are two contrary systems of thought, and those who heard Him were forced to make a choice. They could not choose both Pharisaism and the word of Christ. It was an either-or decision, and Christ warned that it would be easy for them to follow the Pharisees.
I. WE NEED TO BE SURE
(Mt. 7: 15-20, Lk 6:48)
How can we be sure that, as disciples, we are building on a solid foundation?
A. We Must Have The Word Of God
Jesus said that the foundation was the Word of God. He said, “Whoever hears the saying of mine and does them is like a man who built his house upon a rock.” (v. 24)
In Mt. 7: 15, Jesus said, “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
When Jesus warns us of something we better pay attention and take heed to his words. Jesus is speaking of false religion.
There are two ways that the Satan wars against the Church. The first way is persecution. The second way is penetration. Penetration is more dangerous than persecution.
Persecution is opposition from without, Penetration in opposition from within.
(i.e. – Mike Tyson….you can’t be at peace with others when you are at war with yourself) ….. have you ever seen those people who the only time they feel good is when you feel bad? They say they love but there is pretense, something moving with false motives underneath the skin.
Jesus is speaking of those who pretend to be prophets of God but they wear sheep’s clothing.
It is possible to build upon the shifting sand of philosophy, the mud of false religion, or the some quakmire of new ageism. Jesus warns us of false prophets.
• Note: false prophets are not confined to the pulpit, it is extended to those in the pews. ~~~~~
When you are looking for false prophets never fail to look in the pulpit. Look beneath the flease. There are devils disguised in sheep’s clothing (2 Cor. 11:13). They appear to be dvinely anointed and appointed.
In the world we have all kinds of religions. We have Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, and so many more. In Christianity we have Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Church of God, Church of Christ, Episcopalian, and many more. Yet, in the final analysis there are only two kinds of religion: True and false.
How can you know if you have the Word of God?
In Mt. 7: 16-20, Jesus said:
“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.”
John 15
The root produces the fruit. If you have tree that is bearing the wrong kind of fruit, what can you do with it? You could prune it. Yet, this will not change the fruit. This will only strengthen the root. You could transplant it. Yet, the fruit will remain the same. You could cultivate it. But the fruit will be the same. You could get a bramble and tie figs to it. You could decorate it. However, you cannot change the fruit without changing the root.
Not only does the root produce the fruit but the fruit reveals the root. Sometimes it is hard to tell the kind of tree by simply looking at it. However, there is one sure way to know. Just wait until it bears fruit. If it bears peaches it is peach tree. If you want to know what a man’s ministry is just look at the fruit of his ministry.
What is the fruit? The fruit is to be the simple result of people becoming more like Jesus Christ. If people are not becoming more like Christ something is wrong with the root. The fruits of the Spirit are to be evident in our lives when the Word of God takes root in our lives. That’s discipleship: people becoming more like Jesus Christ.
Romans 8:29 “God predestinated us to be conformed to the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.”
Romans 13:14 “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ…and make not provision for the flesh”
2 Cor. 3:18 “ But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Col. 1:14-15 “In whom…..we have the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature, Jesus Christ.
The seed produces both the root and the fruit. The seed is the Word of God. When I am preaching the gospel, I am simply sowing seed. Someone may say, I am looking for a church that suits me. Well you better look for a church that suits God.
B. We must hear the Word of God (Mt. 7: 24; Lk 6: 48)
Jesus said, that we must hear the Word of God. You may have a copy of the Word of God on your lap or a copy in your home, but have you really heard the Word of God?
In order to hear the Word of God, you must dig deep into the truths of God.
In Luke 6: 48, Jesus said: “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood rose, the torrent burst against the house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.”
What is Jesus saying? He is saying that in order to lay the foundation correctly we must dig deep. Many Christians are simply content to come on Sunday morning a get a little of the Word of God. But they are not digging deep and getting ready for the storm.
Why did the man built the house upon the sand? It is easier. It is cheaper. If you are looking for an easy way, a lazy way to serve God, I pity you. The man who built his house upon the rock dug deep.
Jesus is saying that we must make up our mind to hear what Jesus is saying. He is not simply saying let the sound waves of the Word to enter your ears. Have you ever said to your child, Did you hear me? You know that your child heard you, but did he/she really hear you?
Rom. 10:17 – “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the WORD of GOD.
C. We must heed the Word of God (Mt. 7: 24)
Jesus said that we must hear and act upon the Word of God. When we act on what we have heard we are laying the proper foundation. If we hear the Word of God and do not heed it, then we deceive ourselves (Js. 1:22). If you do not heed the Word then you are self-deceived.
What good is a body of truth without the life of the Spirit? Every so often, we should perform an autopsy on our faith and see if it is real faith.
Illustration: The Story of Lawyer and a Doctor
Recently, in the Massachusetts Bar Association Lawyer’s Journal there were various list of questions that lawyers have been known to ask in court. Here is such series of questions:
Question: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
Answer: No.
Question: Did you check for blood pressure?
Answer: No.
Question: Did you check for breathing?
Answer: No
Question: Then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
Answer: No
Question: How can you be sure doctor?
Answer: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
Question: But couldn’t the patient been alive nevertheless?
Answer: It is possible that the patient could still have been alive and practicing law somewhere.
Just as the body without the brain is dead, faith without is works is dead.
II. WE MUST BE STABILE (Mt. 7: 25, 27)
Notice how Jesus describes the storm.
A. Pressure From Above (“The rains descended”)
B. Pressure From Below (“The floods came”)
C. Pressure From All Around (“The winds blew”)
Our faith will be tested. A faith that cannot be tested is a faith cannot be trusted. Our faith is not tested in the sunshine but in the storm.
If you get your theology from circumstances, you will conclude sooner or later that God does not love you.
For example, in John 11:5, the Bible says Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Then in John 11: 14, the Bible says that Lazarus was dead. Mary and Martha pleaded that Jesus heal Lazarus. Yet, the Bible states that Jesus was glad that Lazarus was dead. If we get our theology from our circumstance we will be misguided.
Do you know what faith is? Faith is not getting necessarily from God what you want, but it is receiving from God what he gives?
III. WE MUST BE SECURE (Mt. 7:25, 27)
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock
Why do people cave in? The collapse because they have nothing to stand on. They are all house and no foundation. They have profession and not possession.
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven; but 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 cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
These individuals had no foundation.
So many people quit when the storms come to their lives. The baby died. The job ended. The marriage fell apart. Sickness came. They leave the church and the family of God. The storms were too much for them.
Illustration: A Comparison of Peter and Judas
Judas was the treasurer. He was one who could be trusted. Peter was always saying and doing things that he were like fumbling the football in the last two minutes of the game.
Outwardly these two men looked the same. They were in the same ministry. These two men went through the same storm. The storm came to Judas. It was filled with fear, greed, self-gradizment. It was the storm of his betrayal, remorse and guilt, and finally a suicide’s grave. The bottom fell out.
Then there was the storm of Peter. Jesus said to Peter, “Satan has desired to seath you like wheat, but I have prayed that your faith will not fail.” Jesus knew that Peter had faith for the storm. Jesus knew everything about Peter but he also knew he had faith.
There came a day that the theological training was coming to a close. The disciples have come to the finals. Jesus asked his disciples one final question in Caesarea Phillipi: “Who do people say that I am? Well, some say that you are Elijah and others say that you are John the Baptist, and others say that you are one of the prophets. Then, Jesus said to Peter, who do you say that I am? Peter said, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus responded by saying, Upon this rock I will build my church.” Peter had a rock to stand on.
The storm came to Peter. Peter saw the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. His world was coming apart. He entered the vortex of a storm. The rains of hell fell. The floods of doubt came. The wind of worry blew. Peter’s house was shaking in the storm. Some of the shingles came off. The window panes were craking. The shutters were flapping in the wind.
Yet, Peter’s house was on the rock. He became the flaming evangelist of Pentecost.
Conclusion:
1. Storms come to everybody. Storms will come to you and me.
2. What will you do when the bottom falls out? Will you and your house be standing? If you are shifting sand, then it is imperative that you move from sand to solid rock.
3. Do you have rock solid faith? We must have the surety, stability, and security of rock solid faith in order to stand in the storms of terrorism.
In 1938 a hurricane threatened the New England coast. People feared that the railroad bridge at White River Junction would be destroyed. The danger was averted when some thoughtful person backed a line of loaded freight cars onto the bridge. The bridge withstood the force of the winds because of the weight that it bore. The weight of your responsibilities may rest heavily upon you, but that weight may be the very thing that keeps you from being swept away by the storm of sin. -- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
Four Ways To Weather The Storms
Two things not to do, two things to do.
1. Don’t Blame God.
There are many possible reasons for the shape you are in but none of them is God’s failure to provide.
Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord , "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Matthew 7:7-11
7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
James 1:16-17
16Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.
Four possible sources of the storm:
- The Devil
- Other People
- Circumstances
- Your Own Harvest
2. Don’t Start Complaining.
Numbers 14:26-30
26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 27 "How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. 28 So tell them, ’As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: 29 In this desert your bodies will fall-every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.
It was a mild October afternoon in 1982 and Badger Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin was packed. Over 60,000 die-hard University of Wisconsin fans were watching their beloved football team take a beating by Michigan State. What seemed odd was that as the score became more and more lopsided bursts of cheers and applause kept being heard in the stands. It was only natural that some people began to wonder who these strange people were who were cheering while their team was being pummeled. As it turns out seventy miles away from Badger stadium the Milwaukee Brewers were beating the St. Louis Cardinals in game three of the World Series. Many of the Badger fans in the stands were listening to portable radios and responding to something else besides what was happening right in front of their eyes.In many ways that is a fairly accurate description of what the Christian life is like. We might be in the midst of horrible circumstances in this world and yet we have something to cheer about. We are see by faith the victory that is ours in Christ.
We need to keep our focus on the big picture but the small picture is always screaming in your face. Get an outside perspective from someone positive.
3. Do Stay Joyful.
Nehemiah 8:10
10 Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."
How?
Look for the humor in the bad situation.
Psalm 23:4-5
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
At a nursing home in Florida, a resident group was discussing ailments: "My arms are so weak I can hardly lift this cup of coffee," said one. "Yes, I know, my cataracts are so bad I can’t even see my coffee," replied another. "I can’t turn my head because of the arthritis in my neck," said a third, at which several others nodded weakly. "My blood pressure pills make me very dizzy," another went on. "I guess that’s the price we pay for getting old," winced an old man. There was general agreement and a short moment of silence ensued. "Well, it’s not that bad," said one woman cheerfully. "Thank God we can all still drive!"
4. Do Look For The Victory.
No storm lasts forever!
Long-range goals are the key to beating frustration with short-term setbacks.
Psalm 44:5-7
5 Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes.
6 I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame.
On Oct. 17, 1989 a massive earthquake struck the San Francisco area and the people there gave a lot of thought to the foundation they were built on. Buildings built on solid ground sustained much less damage than those built on "filled in" areas. The south pier of the Golden Gate Bridge sits directly on top of the San Andreas fault! Yet it was undamaged in that quake because the weight of the bridge rests on the two towers deeply embedded into the rock beneath the sea. Remember that double-decker freeway in Oakland that collapsed? It was built on land that had been filled in. It all looked the same until the time of testing!
Unless we are committed to build our life upon Jesus and His Word, learn and put into practice every precept, we are not anchored to the Solid Rock. Our lives will continue to filled with frustration. We will continue to be dissatisfied with the progress of our life. We will continue to have no sense of real accomplishment. And when the storms of life come, and they will, we WILL fall, not maybe, WILL. And great will the our crash.
We can all agree with Robert Schuller – Tough times don’t last but tough people do.
It is what separates boys from men, wimps from warriors, courage from cowardice. That is what Calvary is about…Calvary removes the sand and gives us who believe a rock upon which to stand!!!!!!!!
