Thank you for listening to Servants for Christ. In all that we do, in all that we say, we want to give glory and honor to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you for tuning us in as we get into the wonderful Word of God. For the next few minutes, let's take the beautiful Word of God and share it with each and every one of you as we have a sense of anticipation to take the Word of God and to listen to its truth for each and every one. Amen, thank you for tuning in to Sandhop, Darrell Bailey. Service for Christ, for we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves, your servants, for Jesus' sake. Amen, as we look at our message today, building on the rock, a foundation in Christ. Take your Bibles over to Matthew chapter seven, verses 24 and 25. Matthew chapter seven, verses 24 and 25. The Word of God says, Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house. And it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. I'm glad that he tells us on into verse 25, he says, and the rain descended, and the flood came, then the wind blew and beat upon the house, and it fell not, for it was what? Founded upon a rock. Oh man, if that ain't good. Let's open up with a word of prayer. Father, we come before you today asking for your forgiveness of our daily sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Lord, help us to walk in your ways as we face the challenges of life. And may we daily put on the whole armor of God, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the sword of the spirit, and the shoes of the gospel of peace, so that we may stand firm against the enemy Bless this time in your word. Transform our hearts to align with your will. In Jesus's marvelous mighty name, amen. I'm glad that there's nothing like building on the rock, amen. And I'm glad that Jesus Christ was a carpenter by trade and profession. He knew houses. He knew the building trade. And I'm glad that about building a house, that it's very critical that a person heed the instructions in order to know how to build that house. A person must hear and follow or obey the instructions to be able to build upon what he hears, ever learning the very best materials and method for construction. Builders must always be laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come. Amen? I'm glad Paul said, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold on eternal life. And so we select the foundation. That's very critical. We select the site. We select the material. We determine the future of that house. Amen? And so a person must build upon a solid foundation. And there's only one foundation upon which to build the rock. I'm glad Paul said, for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. And so a person must make sure of his call and choice to build. Oh, I'm glad Peter said something like, he said, wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things, you shall never fall. And so a person must know that building upon a rock takes time and it takes skill. We count the cost. This is very too critical because it is brought out by Christ in other passages. And I'm glad that we begin and not finishing the house brings mockery. It brings shame. And so every person has a house, a life to build, but how he or she builds their life determines their destiny. Not just for this life, But for all eternity, how he or she builds their life makes all the difference in the world about the success and failure, life and death, reward and loss, acceptance and rejection, standing and falling. And there's only one foundation for every life. Do you hear me? Jesus Christ. I love what Paul said. He said, for there's, for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. He's the rock upon which both individuals and churches are to build. Everyone either builds their life upon this world or upon Jesus Christ, heaven itself. But Jesus teaches that there are two kinds of builders. There's a wise builder. They hear the instructions, they obey them. That's what I read to you in Matthew chapter seven. And then. There's the other kind of builder, a foolish builder. It hears the instructions and does not obey them. Because if you was to read on down a little further, that's what it tells us in Matthew chapter seven, verses 26 and 27. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. And so, when we look and realize today that the wise builder is a man who hears the instructions and obeys them. The wise builder, as he builds the house, a life that is built. Once in the world, we cannot escape the fact that we're building our lives. How we build our lives determines our eternal destiny. God's own son instructs a man how to build. A man and a woman hears and follows and obeys the instructions or hears and rejects and disobeys the instruction and builds their own way. And as Christ says, his saying, instructions and words are the materials which determine the structure and the fate of our lives and our lives and our destinies depend upon how we respond to the sayings of Christ. Every man is to put into one of two classes by Christ. There's the class of men called wise and there's the class of men called foolish. How we build our lives determines in which class that we're placed. And so, both builders hear and receive the instructions. Christ is talking about people who are in the church that have Christian parents, that have Christian friends. And so, They have a source of some Christian influence. The wise builder builds upon a rock. Christ is the only rock, the only foundation, which we can build and structure our lives. Amen. Paul said, for the other foundation can no man lay than it is laid, which is Jesus Christ. And so he said also that that and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. And so the Lord is not a lifeless rock, but a living stone. When we come to him as a living stone, we are built up a spiritual house. We are to thirst after His Word. We are to desire the sincere milk of the Word. We grow and are built up through His Word. We taste that the Lord is gracious through His Word. We come to the Lord as to a living stone through His Word. And we're built up as a spiritual house by Him through His Word. Our lives and our destinies are determined by what we do with the word, the sayings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. I'm glad all of us are as newborn babes that the desire of the milk of the word that we may grow thereby that if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious to whom coming as unto a living stone disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God and precious. Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. And so, Building upon the rock takes time and commitment and energy and we have to deny ourselves and give up slumber and apply ourselves ever so diligently. The man who builds upon the rock is wise and sensible and prudent and knows several things where he has come from by the instructions that they follow and why he is here to build an excellent house and where he's going, the kind of house or life that we should build. We see the finished product by faith and by hope, amen. And so the wise builder faces a storm and there have always been storms in life and there always will be. The wise man is not exempt from the storms because he or she builds an excellent house. But in fact, the major reason for building a solid house is to assure that he or she will be able to weather all the storms. It rains on the just and the unjust alike. according to Matthew 5.45. And so, when there comes sickness, oh my, all kinds of rain come, storms come, the storms of sickness, the storms of accident, the storms of handicaps and complaints, the storms of misunderstanding and doubt and gossip, the storms of hospitalization, the storms of loneliness and sin and suffering, the storms of nervous stress and sorrow and sickness, all of those storms of failure and death and rejection and pain and poverty and disease and disappointment. The wise builder builds wisely. And the difference is, listen to me, the foundation. One thing alone determines if a man is truly wise, the kind of foundation that they lay. And if a person builds their life upon Christ, He or she never falls, no matter the severity of the storm. The reason is very clearly seen in the promises of God, amen? Because God accepts us in Christ, the beloved, and he adopts us as his children. God promises to provide the necessities of life as well. And God promises to work out all things, all storms, together for the good of those who build wisely. And God blesses those who hear the word of God and keep it. And I'm glad that Christ promises joy to those who hear and receive the things that he said. You know, I'm glad when we look at building on the rock a foundation in Christ, I'm glad that each and every one of us, I remember a story of a family who built their dream home on the coast. It had very modern amenities and a beautiful view of the ocean. They spared no expense. They cut no corners on the, but they did cut corners on the foundation. And when a hurricane hit the home, despite all of its beauty and glandor, it collapsed. And the family's investment was washed away because the foundation couldn't withstand the storm. This serves as a very, very powerful reminder that no matter how beautiful or how successful something looks on the surface, without a solid foundation, it cannot stand the test of time and trials. And so, one of the first things that we see from the Word of God In Matthew chapter 7, verses 24 and 25, building on the rock of foundation of Christ, we see the only foundation, number one, and that is Jesus Christ. Because Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3, verses 10 and 11, according to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another buildeth thereon, but let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon. For other foundation can no man lay that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. And so, when we look at the only foundation, Jesus Christ, it's the eternal foundation. Isaiah said, Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation, and he that believeth shall not make haste. You see, Jesus is the immovable cornerstone. Not only is it an eternal salvation according to Isaiah, but it is a house built on rock according to what I read in Matthew chapter 7 that we said, therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. Building on Christ guarantees stability in the storms of life. So the eternal foundation of Isaiah, a house built on the rock of Matthew 7, and we see the danger of building on sand that I read in Matthew chapter 7, verses 26 and 27. Because the danger of building on the sand, everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which build his house upon the sand. Shallow faith leads to collapse. And so we see the only foundation, which is Jesus Christ, in 1 Corinthians 3. But secondly, we need to be careful how you build, because in 1 Corinthians 3, verses 12-15, The Bible says, now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, and precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest. For the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. And so, when we look and we realize that all that the Lord is doing, amen, I'm glad in 1 Corinthians Chapter 3. Amen. We look and we see what he's talking about. Amen. Because Paul has declared all the local believers in car rent that ye are God's building. And the church in Corinth was in several traits. There were some troublemakers, and there were some opinionated cliques in the church who were about to destroy the church because of this. They were endangering their eternal destiny, and they desperately needed to realize this. One of the answers to a divided church is for every believer to be a wise builder and laborer within the church. Amen? And so, I'm glad there is the master builder and the laborers. The master builder, which is the architikon. It means the superintendent, the architect of a building project. Paul says that he was the one who planned the church at Corinth. He was the one who laid the foundation, who began, who superintended the founding of the church. And I'm glad that Paul was a master builder because of the grace of God, not because of any personal ability or merit. The word grace means far more than just being called to found a church. It means to be enabled, empowered, equipped to do the job. It was God's power, God's gift, God's ability that was given to Paul to do the job. Paul was only the instrument through which God built the church. And I'm glad, the crucial factor, Paul was not just talking about a building, he was talking about people. And the church was not a building, the church was a body of people who truly believed in Jesus Christ. God gave Paul the grace, the strength, the power, the ability to reach people for Jesus Christ, to assemble them together into a body to worship God and to honor his son Jesus Christ. And where he, listen, where they met did not matter. They could meet in a home. They could meet in a hut. They could meet in a cave. They could meet in a field. They could meet in a backyard public building or a church building. But what mattered was that there was one in their trust in Jesus the Lord. There was a belief in the worship of God. There was a purpose and a mission to reach their neighbors and the world with a message of God's great love. And I'm glad that Paul said he was a wise master builder. And the word wise means skillful. He did not approach the task and the project unthoughtfully. He thought long and hard. He kept his mind upon the task. He did not allow the pleasures of the world to distract him, nor did he allow the desires of his own flesh, which sometimes ached for less demanding work, to interfere. Paul knew what God called him to do, to plan, to establish churches all over the world, and so he did it as a wise architect and building superintendent. Others built upon Paul's work in Corinth, and when Paul left Corinth, God raised up others to labor and to continue building the church. The ministers, the leaders, the teachers, the member who served and carried on the ministry of the church in order to build it, and all the including the members of the body of Christ that through their witness and service for the Lord Every member is either building or destroying the testimony and the strength of a church. Think about an amazing thing. Every church has had a person who was a master builder, the architect, and the founder of the church, and someone surrendered themselves to God and went forth for God, and someone gave himself or herself up to God to become a master builder, an architect, a pioneer, and a builder of churches for God. But the important question is, where are the men and women today who will surrender their lives to God and be the master builders who go forth and build churches for God? People desperately need to be reached and assembled together under the love and the mission of Jesus Christ. And so, the question today, how many church members are building up the church? How many are building wisely and skillfully upon the foundation that has already been laid? Because the clear warning is let every believer take heed how they build upon the foundation of the church. And so, the only foundation is Jesus Christ. But also, be careful how you build your church. Because in verse three of 1 Corinthians chapter 12, down to verse 15, Now, if any man build upon this foundation, as I read, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. You see, building with precious materials, The wisdom of Proverbs 24 says, through wisdom is a house built, and by understanding it is established, and by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. And so when you build with wisdom and truth, it creates eternal value. not only building with precious materials, but also we're tested by fire. Because in 1 Peter 1, verse 7, that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perished though it be tried with fire might be found under praise and honoring glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Our faith and works will be tested for the true value that they are. And so we see that we're building with precious materials, tested by fire, and then we're rewarded. We have rewards or loss because in 1 Corinthians 3, verses 14 and 15, if any man's work abide which he hath built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. You see, our eternal rewards are based on the quality of our lives, not merely our professions of faith. And so, we see that the only foundation is Jesus Christ in 1 Corinthians 3, verses 10 and 11. We see, to be careful, how you build in 1 Corinthians 3, verses 12 through 15. But I'm glad, thirdly, we see a call to genuine discipleship. In Luke 14, verses 27 down to verse 33, It tells us, basically it says, and whosoever doeth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. There's a cost of following Christ. According to Matthew chapter 16, verses 24 and 25, then said Jesus unto disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. True discipleship. demands self-denial and full surrender. The cost of following Christ but also there's the narrow path of Matthew chapter 7 verses 13 and 14. Enter ye in at the straight gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in there at. Few will choose the harder path, but it leads to eternal life. And so, the cost of following Christ, that's the call to genuine discipleship. The narrow path, but oh so, forsaken all for Christ. Paul said in Philippians 3.8, yea, doubtless, and I will count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Paul, like all true believers, counted everything as a loss compared to knowing Christ. And so, Our lives are built on something. And Christ calls us to ensure that our foundation is Him and Him alone. Like the family that I was reading about earlier that begin to build on the coast, whose house fell because of a weak foundation, our faith will collapse if it's not anchored in Christ. Let us examine our hearts and see if we're building wisely with materials that will last We've got to commit ourselves to genuine discipleship, counting the cost and following Christ wherever He leads. You know what? What's your life built on? Is it reflected on whether Christ is truly your foundation? Or if you build on other things like your career, like your reputation, or your wealth, if your foundation is not Jesus, Now is the time to reestablish it. How are you building your faith daily? How are you building it? Consider whether you're building with value materials, which is truth, love, and sacrifice, or worthless ones, selfishness, and worldly success. Because daily Bible study and prayer are the key to building with precious materials, amen. And so, I'm glad, listen, hey, are you willing to count the cost of following Christ True discipleship means surrendering everything to Christ. Consider what you might be holding back and ask God for the strength to fully commit to Him. Building on the rock of foundation in Christ. Oh, Amy Carmichael said, you can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving. Amen. Keith Green said once, he said, Jesus rose from the dead and you can't even get out of bed." I like what Michael Brown wrote. He said, the church always fails at the point of self-confidence. And when we rely on ourselves, we lose the presence of God. I'm telling you, building on the rock, a foundation in Christ. Because each and every one of us, when we look back and we begin to realize that the only foundation is Jesus Christ, amen. And we've got to be careful how you build. And I'm glad that there is a call to genuine discipleship. Father, thank you for speaking to us through your word. and we ask you to save those who are lost and bring them into the family of Christ. For those of us who already know you, forgive us when we fail. Give us the strength to repent and follow you with all of our hearts. Help us to live as true disciples, building on the foundation of Jesus Christ alone in Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen. you