Please turn with me in your copies of the Word of God to the book of Matthew. Text this morning is Matthew 7, verses 24 through 27. Once again, that's Matthew 7, verses 24 through 27. 24 through 27. Our text this morning takes place towards the end of the Lord's Sermon on the Mountain, in which he teaches many things, including what we will be reading today. Hear the word of the Lord this morning. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house. But it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them It will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. It was a cool morning on January 28, 1986. Millions of Americans were watching their televisions as they waited for the Challenger space rocket, space shuttle to launch. Six astronauts and one high school teacher were waiting in the shuttle, excited for liftoff. There had been many delays, but finally the time for launch had come. These delays were partly due to two engineers who had been working on this project and had been raising many concerns about the launch. If the weather was too cold, rubber O-rings on the rocket would not seal correctly. They would not melt and keep in gases, which otherwise would be spilling out of the rocket. These engineers had talked to all the right people about their concerns, but their warnings were not listened to. NASA would not delay this launch any further. There was too much riding on its success. That cold winter morning, six astronauts and one high school teacher took off in the Challenger shuttle. Seconds later, 48,000 feet above the Earth's surface, it erupted into a great ball of fire and smoke. The loss of the Challenger shuttle mission and its crew is tragic enough, but knowing what made this catastrophe so sickening is the fact that there were warnings in advance which were left unheeded. These people did not need to die. NASA was warned but decided to ignore these warnings of these two engineers and they listened instead to many other yes men who were working on the project. Well, today, people of God, God's Word brings you a warning message of even greater calamity and the only safe way through the coming storm. It is very important, therefore, that we carefully listen to this message, this message from God's Word today. As we carefully study this text this morning, we will be answering two main questions. What are the words of Christ? and how do we act on what we hear? That is, what are these words of Christ and how do we act on what we hear? For our Lord opens this text by saying that we are not just to hear these words, but we are to act upon them as the wise man who built his house on the rock. So first and foremost, we must ask, what are these words of Jesus Christ? Well, our text is part of a larger sermon Jesus gave on the mountainside. We do not have enough time this morning to go through all of what these previous chapters have been teaching, but this text is not just a wrap-up section about all that stuff that came before, but even now, Jesus is teaching important lessons through this parable. There's an important lesson we must learn from the wise and foolish builders. These words are of Christ, are what we must listen to and act upon today. These two builders, the foolish man and the wise man represent two types of people who were listening to Jesus Christ that day, who heard and ignored his message and those who heard and acted upon it. In the parable, it can be therefore assumed, when we take the context of who these men are meant to represent, we can understand more about this parable. It can be assumed, therefore, that these two builders heard of the coming storm and heard of the rock that they must make their house's foundation if they were to survive this storm. Sometimes when we hear Matthew's account of this parable, we often imagine the rock as being this great tower of rock, obvious to see, visible above the ground. Yet Luke's gospel reveals that this parable was under a layer of soil and needed to be dug down to. It was concealed, needed to be revealed. Also, this word we translate in our Bible as rock, it's important that we remember that this is not just any rock. This is an unshakable, solid bedrock, not gravel, not a boulder. This means that the rock was concealed, that the rock was strong. but needed to be revealed to the wise builder. So the difference between the man who built upon this rock and the man who built upon the sand is not that one heard that the storm was coming, not that one heard that the rock was there and needed to be built upon and that the other did not. They were not called the knowledgeable builder and the ignorant builder or the lucky builder and the unlucky builder, but the wise builder and the foolish builder. By God's grace, this means that it is not a question of intelligence whether we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. For Jesus himself said, when rejoicing in the Spirit, that the Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, has hidden these things from the wise and the learned, but has revealed them even to little children, for this is his will. Saving faith, people of God, therefore does not rely on special or secret knowledge. The foolish builder was not just simply lazy or ignorant, but he failed to act upon what he heard, just as those people who he represents failed to act upon the words of Jesus Christ. The wise builder was wise. because he heard the message of the storm and what he needed to make his foundation and he believed and he acted in faith. Such wisdom to respond to the gospel in faith comes from God alone and can be given to anyone, even to a child. But what is this storm and what is this rock meant to signify in our text? We'll start with the storm. The storm represents the day of God's final judgment. The Bible speaks to storms in our lives which test and strengthen us in our faith. But that is not what the wind and the waves and the rain in our text are pointing to this morning. This is not something that we learn from, that we live through, that we walk away from. This is not something we can rebuild from. This is final, this is complete destruction or salvation. The man who built his house on the sand was crushed by his house. He wasn't just missing some shingles or the whole roof, but his destruction of his home was complete, was final. This storm is in fact the last, the ultimate, the greatest storm of final judgment. On that final day, all will be judged by the Lord and those found guilty will be swept up and destroyed by the just wrath of an almighty God. Their destruction will be swift, shocking, great, and dreadful. This is not like the storms of life, which are used to test and strengthen us in our faith. Many of those who are under God's judgment hardly face such trials of life. They do not face these storms like many Christians do. Many of them live nice and comfortable lives without much suffering. So it does not fit that this storm that destroys all who are not built upon the rock is simply a storm of life. And if the man who built his house on the rock is meant to represent those who are right with God, who will not be destroyed by the storm, then it cannot be the storms of life which seem to do in so many of us. cancer, unemployment, injury, many things will crush us seemingly in this life, and yet this is not what is seen in our text. And so this rock, people of God, is not supposed to be seen as an assurance that you will not face suffering in this life. This rock is a salvation for an even greater storm. Unlike these storms of our lives, this storm, this final storm is purposeful. It has one purpose and it is complete. All houses not built on the rock that day will be completely destroyed without missed spots. When tornadoes go through our area, it is strange how you can go down the same street and see houses that seem perfectly fine next to houses that are pieces of timber. It will not be so with this storm. No house built on the sand will stand after this storm comes through. In this life, things may not always seem to go the way they should. The wicked may seem to prosper. The righteous may suffer. But it will not be so on that final day of God's judgment. I want to ask you something this morning before we move on. What are you afraid of? What makes you anxious this morning? What fears do you find yourself thinking of the most? Because I'm willing to guess that for most of us gathered here today, what scares us the most is not judgment day. And if you are a Christian, then brother or sister, you should not be afraid. But whether you are a Christian this morning or not, are you not afraid of this final day of judgment for the right reasons? Because something does scare us. There are things that we are afraid of. Maybe today you're afraid that what will happen if a particular bill is passed into law. Maybe you're afraid of the wrong people getting political power. Maybe you're afraid of what could happen if inflation does not stop or fret over culture wars you see going on in the world, losing your job or even losing a dear relationship. Let me tell you that if you are not in Christ this morning, you are worrying about the wrong things. You have a much bigger problem, a greater threat that you need to address this morning. And it is the storm of judgment which is coming for you. You need a rock. But for you who are Christian this morning, let me put it to you like this. There are troubling things in this world which should grieve you as a Christian, which should drive you to prayer, but consider the far darker storm which you do not need to fear. If your foundation is strong enough to keep you from falling and will not fail you through the greatest storm this world will ever see, that of the full wrath of God for sin, then what do we truly have to fear? We should not fear judgment day as Christians, but not because we never think about it. Our confidence needs to be in our foundation, Jesus Christ, the rock of our soul. And that same confidence can assure us that even though we face storms of this life, We will make it to the end, that our Lord will help us to persevere, that he will preserve his saints. He will not cast anyone out, but he will raise up all that are his own on that final day. But the message of the gospel people of God does not end here, thankfully. It does not end with this ultimate storm that is coming, the storm of God's judgment for sin. It tells us of the only way of salvation, which is this rock that we must make our foundation today. This rock, as many of you already know, is Jesus Christ himself, the rock of our salvation. Jesus Christ is the only foundation which will not be shaken, which will not fail on that day of the storm of God's judgment for sin. Jesus is sufficient for all who believe in him. He lived the life of perfect spotless obedience for you. He suffered the wrath of God and died in your place as your perfect substitutionary sacrifice. With him, we died on the cross and with him, we have been raised to new and everlasting life. He is the tested and the precious cornerstone that God has laid, the sure foundation of our salvation. The person who relies on this rock will never have reason to panic. No one can lay a foundation other than that which has already been laid, which is Jesus Christ. Everything else is sand, nothing else endures. Kings, preachers, political figures, leaders of movements all die and their plans perish with them. Philosophies, ways of life and causes come and go. Wealth, work, talent, intelligence can be taken away and walls will wear down, guns jam and machinery breaks down. Nothing else endures like Christ, but all wears away and washes away like sand. These things are not worth building your life entirely upon. And even more importantly, there is nothing apart from Christ alone which can save you from this coming storm. All those who are anchored in Jesus Christ will not be shaken. What you have in Jesus Christ can never be taken away. For the scriptures say that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor anything, any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate you from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord. These are the words of Jesus Christ that we must act upon this morning. But people of God, we must also ask, how? How do I act on what I have heard? How must I respond to Jesus Christ? When the wise man built his house upon the rock, it was not a frivolous thing. A house is significant. It is where we live. It is the place where we spend most of our time. It is where we sleep at night. It must be safe. It must be secure. Notice how this man did not build his storage shed on the rock, entrusting all the things of his life to the rock as its foundation, but he entrusted his life itself to this rock. And notice as well that he did not build his storm shelter on this rock, someplace to flee to at the end, at the time of that coming storm. but to live apart from until that day. He built his whole life on the base of that rock. He centered his life on that which could save it. He centered his life on that which could save it. It was his hope in life and in death, in the storm, in the days until that day. Building his house on this rock took a lot of trust and commitment. A house takes time, it takes resources to build, so it is an important decision where you build it. So when he built his house on the rock, especially because he knew this storm was coming, he was staking his life and his everything upon it. It wasn't the building materials. It wasn't the craftsmanship that made the difference for this house standing firm. It was the rock alone on which he trusted as his foundation. You and I. People of God, we must trust in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation, to the same extent that this builder, this wise man, staked his life on this rock, on this bedrock foundation. True faith does not trust in anything else apart from Jesus Christ for salvation. who does not trust in saints, does not trust in rituals, in our own works, in our family heritage, or anything apart from Jesus Christ. For to trust in anything other than Jesus is to deny Him as Savior. And to trust in anything in combination, in addition to Jesus, is to say that His sacrifice just was not enough. Such true trust in Jesus Christ for salvation is often concealed from the sight, as the rock foundation was in the parable. In Matthew 7, verse 21 through 23, just before our passage, it is revealed that there are many who call Jesus Lord and even do spectacular things in His name. Yet they do not have this true saving faith in their hearts. Like the house that was built with no foundation on the sand and the house that dug deep to the bedrock as its foundation. Did not really appear any different above the ground. There are many who appear not much different from those who are truly saved. Mormons, Jews, Muslims, Roman Catholics, and many more people throughout this world who believe different things may seem to be very similar to us as Christians, but they still have no foundational faith in Jesus Christ alone as Savior. And there are even those who call themselves Christians, people of God, who call the Lord Jesus their Lord, Yet they do not have saving faith in Him as the rock of their salvation. None of these houses built without a foundation in Jesus Christ, no matter how much they seem to be true houses built upon Him, if they are not in truth, then they will not endure this trial of the storm of God's judgment. If there are so many who outwardly look no different from those who have true faith, how do we then recognize or try to even begin to recognize true faith in ourselves? True faith, people of God, of course, will endure to the end, first and foremost. True faith is given to those who God has chosen to save by His Holy Spirit. And this work that He starts in His people continues to the very end. Those who He saves, He will raise up on that last day. But if we're to look at the fruit of this salvation, of this saving faith in our hearts, as we look to our own hearts this morning, let us look for two things. which true saving faith must have as markers. Total reliance and wholehearted commitment. Some feel committed to Jesus in their works, striving very hard to do what they think God would have them do, yet they fail to rest and rely on him alone for their salvation, apart from their works. And there are many who say they are relying on Jesus Christ for salvation, yet their heart shows there is no commitment one bit to living for him as their Lord. And therefore they do not show the fruit of salvation. But this wise man, this builder in our text, who built upon the rock as his foundation, showed that he totally relied on that rock. and showed his wholehearted commitment to this rock by building his house, the center of his life upon it. People of God, if we have true faith, we must rest and rely upon Jesus Christ alone as the foundation of our salvation. And therefore, be committed in our whole selves, in every aspect of our life to him as Lord. This does not mean that wholehearted commitment will lead to perfect obedience. It is this intention, not the result, that we are to look for in our hearts, this love of God our Savior. Are you struggling this morning in your faith? Perhaps you are pursuing obedience to God's word, but you feel in your heart terror, terror at the thought that you will fail to keep his law perfectly. terror that you will mess something up in a royal way. But friend, if you are in Christ, then I assure you, you have no condemnation to fear. The rock is strong enough for you. It does not need any reinforcement. Live for Jesus as your Lord of your life, not out of fear, but out of love, for he has saved you already. but perhaps you are here today and you are proud because you feel that you are doing a good job, a really good job of obeying God and might not even need Christ's forgiveness for your sins anymore. Do not forget that any good that you do, which is being done in your heart, is being done by the work of God's Holy Spirit in you. You will never outgrow and never lose your need for the rock of your salvation. Maybe you call Jesus your Lord this morning, but it means very little to you. Maybe you call him Lord because your grandmother did. Yet you live your life apart from him. If that is you this morning, be warned. God desires your whole heart to bow before Him. He won't be content with just empty lip service. If you are a Christian in name, but your life doesn't show any sign of devotion to God, hear this warning today. Every good tree bears good fruit. The root is known by its fruit. And every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. We must, people of God, have total reliance on Jesus Christ, our rock, the rock of our salvation, and we must wholeheartedly commit our whole lives to him out of love for him who first loved us. In conclusion, many have and many will hear these words of Jesus Christ. Yet they will ignore the message of the storm of judgment and the rock of salvation to their own peril. But today, if you hear his voice calling to you to turn from your own sinful ways and to believe in him, do not harden your heart. All who put their trust and hope in this rock in Jesus Christ will not be shaken when the final storm comes. There is nothing else you can put your hope in, for all other ground is sinking sand. Stake your life and live upon this rock of Jesus Christ alone. Amen. Oh God, from the end of the earth, we will cry unto you. when our hearts are overwhelmed by the thought of the storm of your just judgment for sin. Lead us, Lord, to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been a shelter for us and a strong tower from the enemy. We confess that Jesus Christ is the rock of our salvation, our refuge against the storm, our steadfast foundation on which we build our lives. Shelter us, Lord, not only from the judgment we deserve for our sin, but carry us, too, through the storms of life which we face each day, that we may grow in our trust and faith in Jesus Christ all the more. In Jesus' name we pray.