EPISODE 219 GOSPEL OF MATTHEW CHAPTER 7 PART 4 "The Moral Of The Story"

Welcome to Share the Word, a Great Commission project bringing you the big ideas of the New Testament chapter by chapter. You know, there are times where we deviate at the last moment because it's just the right thing to do. And this episode is one of those times, and I'm so glad Pastor Paul did. It's an important lesson and a foundational one at that. Matthew chapter 7, part 4, The Moral of the Story. Let me say off the bat, I apologize, sort of, because I was going to skip the parable at the end of chapter 7.

I assumed that somewhere in the 200-some New Testament lessons we've completed, we had to have covered it already. But before I moved on from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, I went back through our archive, which, by the way, you can find at www.sharetheword.org, and I checked through, and I couldn't find evidence we had, and it's one of Jesus' most memorable stories. I was at La Tunnel Teca last night, a Mexican restaurant near me, with my daughter and grandson Theo, who's in the first grade now. During dinner, mid-fajitas, he says, Hey Grandpa, do you know what a moral is? My daughter inserts, His class is learning about stories with morals. Well, that's right up my alley, and so my natural teacher instinct kicked in, and I started explaining my best at first grade level all about that genre.

He feigned interest for a couple of minutes and then said, A moral is a life lesson, Grandpa. Oh, okay, I guess you know. Turns out he was testing me, not really looking for an answer. I always loved telling his mom, when she was his age, and my other kids too, great Old Testament Bible stories as well as the classic fairy tales. I did it because so many of them do have great morals built in, life lessons, as Theo informed me. One of the best children's stories ever is The Three Little Pigs.

I could really get into all the huffing and puffing and gobbling up of the little pigs. Sadly, in the newer editions of that classic story out these days, the wolf doesn't really eat any pigs at all. He blows the first two pigs' flimsy houses down all right, but they amazingly outrun him to their wiser older brother's house, who had constructed it of bricks. But in the original story, after the wolf can't blow down the brick house, he climbs up on the roof and slides down through the chimney to get at the last little pig. But that clever pig had a big kettle of boiling water going in his fireplace, and the wolf lands right in it. Splash!

Ah! And he scalded to death. But of course, no such violence happens in the updated version. In the new editions, approved by PETA, I think, the wolf gets so tuckered out trying to blow down the brick house, he actually falls fast asleep in their yard. And as he sleeps, the three little pigs quickly build a jailhouse around him with leftover bricks. When the big bad wolf awakes, he finds himself incarcerated, where he has to stay, I guess, until he learns to become a kinder and gentler part of the animal kingdom, probably a vegetarian to boot.

In my opinion, the worst part of this adulterated updated version is that by messing with the original fairy tale, they completely destroyed the intended moral. Think about it. The life lesson in that story was in how the three little pigs chose to build their houses. The two who took the easy route, building of sticks and straw, ended up the wolf's dinner. The one who did the harder, costlier things was safe. In life there are some important things you only get one chance at.

Take the necessary time, put in the necessary effort, make sure you get it right, or you will likely suffer serious consequences down the road. Good preachers always try and have a strong conclusion to their sermon, one that brings their hearers to a decision. The conclusion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is the parable recorded at chapter 7, verses 24 through 26. Here it is in the New International Version. Everyone who hears these words of mine, referring back to his whole sermon, and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on 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. After all Jesus had taught that day, can you imagine the impact as he left his audience with that final crash? And in their mind's eye they see a man's house suddenly collapsing in a violent storm. Like most of Jesus' stories, this one came right out of his listeners' world. They'd all heard such a thing happening.

At the time, houses commonly were built of locally available mud, clay, and bricks and just laid right on the ground. And in Israel, there's a definite dry and rainy season. During the rainy season, wadis, stream beds that are dry for most of the year, can quickly become filled with raging water during a storm. Because the soil cannot absorb water fast enough, it runs off into a wadi. And if it keeps raining long enough and hard enough, the wadi can overflow their banks and a flash flood occurs. Jesus had them imagining a foolish man building his house in a vulnerable area like that when the flood came and the rushing water reached his house.

Since it had no real foundation, the sandy soil starts washing away beneath it, and the help of the high winds, after a while, it's tilting, and then the whole structure collapses, crash, thatch and tiles and pieces of furniture, chunks of remaining bricks, maybe even the people inside, all swept away in the torrent. Can you picture that? I can because just last summer, the cabins at a kids' summer camp were swept away like that during a nighttime flash flood along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas. Their sleeping cabins collapsed, and campers were swept away with floodwaters as they rose more than 25 feet in less than an hour. What a catastrophe. But Jesus also told about a different builder, a wiser man who built his house on a rock foundation.

The same freak storm could level houses built on sand would never destroy a house built on rock like his. It could withstand the worst nature could throw against it because its foundation was secure. Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like that wise man who built his house on rock, Jesus said. Let me point out a few things here. First, don't miss what a staggering claim Jesus is making in this parable. What does the rock foundation represent?

It represents, obviously, the things he had just been teaching, his words. What he is claiming is that the only sure foundation for life, the only safe thing to build our future on, is him and his word, the truths that he'd came to share. Of course, other religions offer alternative views. Various philosophies offer social and moral theories about how people should best live their lives. But Jesus said, Build your life upon me and the truths I am teaching, or when the big storms of life come, it could come crashing down. There really is no other way to understand him, is there?

When Jesus said these kinds of things, and he often did, how would you have reacted to him if you were in the audience? Matthew says his listeners that day were amazed, astonished. What could they think about him? Well, some concluded that Jesus was an intentional deceiver, making claims he knew were not true. Others that maybe he was making grandiose claims he believed were true, but only because he was crazy, he was delusional. Or some decided, in time, he was exactly who he claimed to be, that is, God come into our world in human form to reveal truths to us that we could build our lives and futures on, truths we could never find out on our own.

If that's who he really was, then the things he was saying were coming directly from heaven, from the God who created us. So as someone has put it, liar, deceiver, lunatic, kook, or Lord of heaven, proclaiming absolute truth. Which was he? He left his listeners, including us, listening through the witness of the New Testament writers like Matthew, with no other alternatives: liar, lunatic, or Lord of glory. Getting back to Jesus' story, why would the people whose house came down build how they did and where they did? Well, maybe at the time they decided to build, their highest consideration was a great view.

Makes me think of some million-dollar beach homes I watch on the news collapse into the sea when a big storm comes up the Atlantic coast. This happened recently. Someone else may build out in the boondocks by a creek because the real estate is cheap, just too good a deal to pass up. They aren't concerned about things like checking on the soil or asking around about what happens during flood season. Or others simply build the cheapest, easiest kind of house they can get into, just to get into one quickly. You know, all that digging and shoveling and building a good foundation seems like too much work.

Foolish builders. What happens when the big storms come? Jesus was not giving home building advice. It's a parable. The aspects of the story are all representational. The two houses represent different kinds of people's lives.

The foundations they are built on represent the basis upon which they made their life decisions. Bible commentator named William Barclay writes on this particular parable, All through life, we are confronted with choices between what seem to be two goods: that which is good for the moment, and that which for the moment may be more difficult and demanding, but which is good in the long run. In the last analysis, there's only one test for a right course of action, not, How does this seem to be working out right now? but, How will this decision look in the long run? How will it play in the long run? Then he adds, It is the height of folly to barter the values of eternity for the values of the passing moment.

The foolish person often acts on what seems good to them right now, or what is easiest, or what everyone else is doing, with little to no consideration for the long view. Certainly not for the eternal view. They are not thinking about which alternatives are more consistent with God's will and Word, that's for sure. Other, more immediate considerations are always the deciding factors. In Jesus' story, that's like the man who foolishly built his house on sand. A wise person, though, Jesus was teaching, when facing decisions thinks, What did Jesus teach or model about this?

What does God's Word say about these options that I'm facing here? Which will probably work out better in the long run? They are building on the solid foundation of God's truths and His promises. We're all building every day. Every significant choice we make is deciding how our life is being built and is shaping our future. The principal thing the parable of the wise and foolish builders is about is making choices consistent with what is God's Word.

There are some who will hear this podcast, maybe you've been listening for a while now, who still need to act on the gospel claims of Jesus. He claimed to be the unique Son of God who came down here to tell us the truth. He claimed God loves the people of the world so much He came to make an atonement for our sins. He claimed His suffering on the cross, His death, His powerful resurrection are what qualify Him to be our Savior. And it's by accepting Him, trusting in Him, turning our lives toward following Him that we gain the forgiveness we need and reconciliation with God and eternal life. If you've been listening, something inside has been prompting you, yes, that message is the truth.

You need to respond to Jesus' claims. If you've been sensing that urging, that's the Holy Spirit of God. Listen to His voice. Respond in faith to Christ today. Jesus is the solid rock. Commit your life and heart to Him.

I won't mislead you, though. It is more difficult and demanding, usually, to follow Christ and build a life on the foundation He taught than to just flow along with what everyone else is doing. Jesus pulled no punches about that in His sermon. To be His follower would require, He said, sacrifices, effort, humility, faith. To build a life that stands the test of time, that will leave a legacy and prepare you well for eternity, is more difficult and demanding. Any Christian's life that has actually made a difference is someone who has been willing to do the digging and the shoveling and the sacrificing.

If you're looking only to do what is convenient and easy, if that's the version of Christianity you're interested in, then you are unfortunately more like the guy in Jesus' parable who threw up his house right on the sand than the builder who dug down to lay his foundation on rock. What do I mean exactly? Well, as I just explained, to be like the wise builder in Jesus' parable starts by accepting Him as your personal Savior and Lord. The Savior part means you put all your faith in Him to reconcile you to God and His atonement on the cross to forgive your sin. Once you've made that important decision in earnest, you are starting to build on the solid rock with decisions, big and small. And that's the Lord part, making those decisions best you can the way you believe Christ would have you.

You'll make decisions about friends, about the people you spend your time with. Very important decisions, because the Bible says, the one who walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. So carefully choose your closest friends who will help you build your life on a good foundation. At some point, you'll probably choose a life partner. Be sure it's someone equally committed to Christ's leadership in your life as you are. Of course, you'll want to spend your life with someone you're attracted to, but someone with good character and values who wants to please God, that's the kind of person you can share a solid future with.

As the Word says, don't be unequally yoked to an unbeliever, and asks, can two people walk together unless they are agreed? You're going to choose a career at some point, probably face the decision a few different times in your life. Where to work, what to work at. It's a big part of your life. Choose it wisely. The primary concern shouldn't just be what's easiest or even what pays the most money, but what you're good at, how God has made you and gifted you, and is the work honorable in His eyes, and can you find fulfillment doing it?

Another very big decision is what church family you should join onto. Finding a church that understands God's objectives, where people are passionate about learning His Word and fulfilling the Great Commission, that's a big part of the life-building process of a follower of Christ. Get involved with a group of Christians who are serious about living out their faith and building the kingdom of God. They will be a part of your foundation and contribute to how meaningfully your life will play out. But realize, following Christ is not just about going to church a lot. Hearing and learning and talking about God's Word without obeying it, as Jesus points out, actually leads to a hardened heart.

One of the biggest decisions we need to make concerns our attitude toward God's Word. It is the Believer's Handbook. Have you heard B-I-B-L-E? Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. So, go to a Bible teaching church, yes, but listen and learn while you're there. Listen to solid Bible teaching programs like this one, Share the Word.

Listen to godly advice from mature Christians you respect. And listen to the Holy Spirit whenever you read God's Word yourself. It's full of life-building principles, valuable warnings. The foolish builder, no doubt, had people warning him about the dangers of what and where he was building. He heard them, maybe even momentarily considered what they had to say. But he failed to act on their counsel.

In a few days, the concerns passed. Does that pattern sound familiar? The epistle of James says, Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself. Do what it says. You want to qualify as a wise builder? Saturate your mind with God's Word.

Keep your conscience clear, and the Holy Spirit will bring scripture you've learned to your mind whenever you face decisions and choices. Principles and instructions that will guide you about how to speak, what to watch, who to hang out with, what to listen to, how to treat other people, how to use your money, how to spend your free time, pretty much everything. Remember, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on rock. The wise man is not the person who knows the most; he is the one who puts God's Word into practice. Whenever God speaks to his heart, he decides then and there to do what God is impressing him to do or say. So, is there something God has been impressing on you that you know you have not acted on, or something God has been convicting you about that you know needs to change in your life?

Whatever it is, don't put that off. Don't feel it but fail to act on it. Make the godly decisions you know you need to make. That's being a wise person and building your life on the solid rock. The final piece of the parable to consider is the storm. What does the storm represent in Jesus' story?

The rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew. I believe he was talking about the overpowering things that come upon us in life, things that are bigger than we are, things we cannot escape or control. As long as we are in this world, we're susceptible to such storms: trouble, sickness, accidents, financial crises, major letdowns, natural disasters, whatever. Jesus never said we could live a storm-free life. Hardly. The parable assumes the storms are coming.

Instead, he promised that those who listen to him and act on his words, who build their lives on that firm foundation, we will weather the storms and that he will never forsake us in the midst of them. Do you know who Admiral Robert Perry was? That name sounds familiar, I bet. I think he's best known for leading the first expedition to the North Pole. I remember reading about him in history. I saw a show on TV once about unique American homes which featured Admiral Perry's house.

He built his home on 16-acre Eagle Island off the east coast of Maine. On that small island, there's an outcropping of rock that juts right out into the sea, and it was on that rock that Perry built his house. It kind of resembles a ship at high tide when surrounded by water on all three sides. Of course, because of its unusual location, Perry's house is wide open to storms. It faces right into the sea with no shelter whatsoever. It was built in the year 1904, and it's been standing for more than 120 years now.

You know why? Perry was an engineer. Inside the house, at the very center of it, is a huge rock that he left jutting up through the floor. And everything in that house is anchored to that rock as its center. Hurricanes, nor'easters, whatever have beaten against the foundation of Perry's old house time and again over the decades, but it stands firm. It's anchored to that rock.

That's what Jesus wanted his audience to see, to believe. Our lives and everything about them need to be built on something solid, and the only thing sure for time and eternity is Christ and his unchanging Word. He's the rock. That's the foundation. Anchored there, we can weather any storm until we arrive safely at our Father's house. And that, friends, is the moral of the story.

Thanks for listening. This has been Paul for Share the Word. Thanks, Paul. This episode is filled with so much wisdom and so many life lessons that I suggest you follow my lead and listen to it a few times, because the end result for me was further examination and the realization that the foundation of our lives should be Jesus Christ, the cornerstone. I can't get the picture of that enormous stone in Admiral Perry's home out of my head, and how Jesus is that foundational rock. I challenge you to first go back and make a list of all the important points in this episode, and then take a deeper look at your life through the lens that Pastor Paul laid out in that list.

We'll always have storms in our lives, but how we go through them and who we put our faith and trust is critical. Take time to go back now. It will be time well spent in a Bible study that will change your life.