FAITH’S FOUNDATION
By Verla Miller
6/1/2008
Matthew 7:24-27
24. "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
25. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.
26. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
27. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell--and great was its fall!"
One thing I love to do is watch the DIY Network or programs that involve building. You all know that Daddy, in his younger days, had been a Jack-of-all trades who could build a house from bottom to top. Of course this was before unions when you could do everything from plumbing to finishing. What he did and knew rubbed off on most of us 6 kids. We all have enough knowledge to speak intelligently about building. Personally, power tools don’t scare me.
One show I watch is Holmes on Homes. The premise of this show is people hire someone to come in to their homes to do some kind of work. Apparently these contractors or workmen either don’t complete the jobs or they botch them totally. And they usually rook the people out of their hard earned savings. Mike Holmes will then come in and fix whatever was done wrong, even a total rebuild. He is real adamant and outspoken about those who messed up. A recent show concerned the foundation of a home that had been made with substandard product that actually crumbled when rubbed with a screwdriver. This mistake contributed to things going wrong around the rest of the house. Holmes then had to totally rebuild that foundation.
When we talk about foundations, we picture something strong and solid. Something that would be able to hold up a whole house. What do you think of when you hear the word foundation?
Notice what Jesus ways in this scripture. Let us reread verse 24. Jesus tells us that the person who HEARS his word AND ACTS upon them can be compared to a wise builder. How many times have we heard people talk about what they are going to do and then never do it? We look at what people’s intentions are. We think that if our intent is to do something, it is as good as doing it! Jesus wants people who not only hear the word but he wants people who will do what the Word says. In James 1:22-25 he speaks on the subject of being a “doer” of the word verses being a “hearer” of the word. Look at what it says.
22. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
23. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;
24. for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like.
25. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act--they will be blessed in their doing.
James repeats the same idea in James 2:14-20.
14. What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you?
15. If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food,
16. and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?
17. So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
18. But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.
19. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe--and shudder.
20. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith apart from works is barren?
Romans 2:13 says, “for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”
Listen and do! That’s the foundation. Knowledge only becomes relevant when it is translated into action. Barclay’s commentary on Matthew said, “There is little point in going to a doctor, unless we are prepared to do the things we hear him say to us. There is little point in going to an expert, unless we are prepared to act upon his advice. And yet there are thousands of people who listen to the teaching of Jesus every Sunday, and who have a very good knowledge of what Jesus taught, and who yet make little or no deliberate attempt to put it into practice. If we are to be in any sense followers of Jesus we must hear and do.”
Jesus says that the wise builder is the one who builds his house upon the rock. The word for “rock” does not mean a stone or even a boulder, but a great outcropping of rock, a large expanse of bedrock. It is solid, stable, and unmovable. Sand, in contrast, is loose, unstable, and extremely movable. Building on the rock is equivalent to obeying God’s Word.
What is the rock that we are to build upon if we are going to be a wise builder? It is the Word of God. If we are building our lives upon the Word of God, then we are also building our lives on the rock of Jesus.
In so many of today’s churches the new ABC’s of Christianity are Attendance, Building’s and Contribution.
When Paul sent Timothy to check up on the new Thessalonian church you think he would have asked first about the church’s growth.
Did they have a building of their own yet?
How many people were attending on Sundays?
Were the offerings enough to cover the bills?
And what about the individual people: Had they stopped swearing, drinking, carousing? Going to see bad entertainment? Sleeping around?
Not at all! Instead, in 1 Thessalonians 3, the apostle Paul reveals that his primary concern is for the faith level of his precious converts. He wants to take a temperature reading of their spiritual health, and faith is what he is looking for. He doesn’t just assume that because they are Christians, they are automatically walking in robust faith. Listen to his words and see how unfamiliar his approach is to our modern ears:
. "We sent Timothy. . . to strengthen and encourage you in your faith" (v. 2).
. "When I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith " (v. 5).
. "But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love" (v. 6).
. "Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith " (v. 7).
. "Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith " (v. 10).
Throughout this chapter, Paul is churned up about one simple word. In fact, this is more than a checkup. He has sent Timothy to "strengthen and encourage" the people in their faith. Notice that nothing is said about the Thessalonian building, nothing about the sound system or the lights or the carpet. Instead, a lot of attention to their faith. But even that isn’t enough for Paul. In verse 10 he says he wants to make another trip there himself to "see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith."
So now we have brought up two premises. Foundation and Faith. Do you think the people of Thessolonica were even aware that they had become a foundation of faith to those they were reaching out to in their community?
Why did Paul make this emphasis?
What Paul knew, but what we seem to have forgotten, is that when people break down in their behavior, backslide into sinful living or thinking, or grow cold in the Lord, it is because their faith has broken down first. When someone’s temper keeps flaring out of control that is not the real problem; down underneath is a weakness of faith. So it is with all our departures from right living.
Our ministry goal should not be to fill the building but to teach the Word of God in such a way that people’s faith in Christ is built up. What God is really after is a people who show a strong, personal faith in him.
Another avenue to study faith is through Abraham.
Have you ever read in Scripture about "Father David"?
Or "Father Moses"?
What about "Father Daniel"?
These were all mighty men of God, to be sure. They rank among the greatest warriors, kings, prophets, and leaders of history. But none of them achieved the special honor bestowed upon "the father of all who believe, . . . the father of [those] who also walk in the footsteps of faith, . . . our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, . . . the father of many nations" His name is Abraham.
Abraham was obviously the great example when it comes to faith. How did he ever develop such towering trust in God? What can we do to develop the same type of Faith.
HE LIVED BY PROMISES, NOT COMMANDS
On the day when God first spoke to Abram, God said, Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. Now listen to the promises found in Genesis 12:1-3.
I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing .
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you
God directed Abram to do only one thing-"Leave"-and in return; God would do eight wonderful things for him. But it did require Abram to leave his country, his people, and his relatives-in other words, his comfort zone. He had to give up the land he knew best, the culture he had grown up in, the familiar sights and sounds. People who walk by faith often hear God’s voice telling them, "You need to leave now. It’s time to move on to something new."
Sometimes that word has to do with geography, as in Abram’s case.
At other times, God directs his people to leave certain work situations, sever pleasant relationships, or make other difficult changes. When you walk by faith, God never lets you settle into some area of stability. Just when you reach a certain place spiritually and decide to pitch your tent and relax for the rest of your life, God says, "Leave.” This was the story of Abram. In fact, he was never allowed to settle down permanently as long as he lived.
So, Abram’s family caravan left town in a mode of living off the promises of God. That was their source, and it must be ours as well. We cannot live off the commands of God, but rather the promises. The commands of God reveal his holy character to us, but they hold no accompanying power. Instead, the grace of God flows through the channel of his promises. God must first do for us what he promised, and only then will we be able to walk in obedience to his commands. Remember, he is our Source-everything must start from him.
So we have the foundation of God through Jesus and the promise of so many things to come IF we have the faith in God. Think about your own life, how much smoother would it have been had you submitted your life to Jesus and built your life on the foundation of God’s Word? It may seem like I am preaching to the choir. But even for those who seem the strongest in their faith, it is not too late to become stronger. Our faith in God depends on our willingness to have a sense of hunger, hunger for the word of God. If there is no hunger, how can we build our house on a foundation in which we do not read the blueprints? Do we really long to build our lives upon the solid rock of Jesus or do we just want to know a lot about God? Do we want to really have Jesus as the Lord of our lives or do we just want to come to church so we can feel that we fulfilled our duty? Will our house stand or fall in the Day of Judgment? Will our house stand or fall when the really tough times of life come?
