BUILDING ACCORDING TO CODE
TEXT: Matthew 7:21-27
INTRODUCTION: It is significant that Jesus ended the Sermon on the Mount with the parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders. Throughout the long day Jesus had been preaching to the vast multitude. They listened to him with amazement and awe. But Jesus warned them that that was not enough. It is never enough simply to listen to the words of Jesus, even though we may listen with reverent approval. If His words are to have any genuine effect in our lives we must not only hear them but also act upon them. We must incorporate them in the events of our day-to-day living.
To drive the point home Jesus told the compelling story of two builders who each built a home. Standing inside these homes, going from room to room, there was little to no difference between. Even from the outside one might say they were virtually indistinguishable from one another. But, said Jesus, the foundations, one built upon the rock and the other upon sand. When Jesus spoke about houses and foundations he knew what he was talking about. He was a stonemason by trade and his family was most likely in the construction business.
The people there, listening to Jesus’ teaching, understood well the significance of building upon rock verses sand. But very few people in ancient Palestine wanted to live in the rocks. It meant grading the side of a slope and hauling up materials. Living in the hills made for more difficult travel. Water had to be toted and winter winds were colder. Most people followed the path of least resistance and built along the riverbeds. The scenery more pleasant, the water more conveniently located, and the house was sheltered from the cold winds of winter. And though flooding was a danger, most of the year the streams trickled pleasantly down the hillsides into the river nearby.
But on rare occasions, perhaps only once a generation, the 100-year flood would come. There would be a combination of an unusually heavy snow, a quick spring thaw, a torrential downpour. The result was a vicious flashflood which swept away everything in its path. Entire hamlets washed away. House after house gone and great would be the fall.
That’s the image drawn here in Matthew 7. It comes from the life of these people gathered around Jesus on that day he delivered this sermon. Jesus was not simply telling here what I call a preacher story. A preacher story is an illustration that may very well fit the point that is being made, but one that doesn’t sound very believable. On the contrary, Jesus was talking about a situation that was very real in the life of the people.
I. we are all involved in building
A. The house that we build is built according to a code.
1. What code are you going to use to build your home?
a) There are all kinds of codes. You ask someone in the construction or architectural business and they will tell you that building codes are a complex and confusing body of regulations.
b) Building code regulations are written, rewritten and interpreted by thousands of builders, manufacturers, architects, engineers, fire marshalls and inspectors.
c) To complicate matters there is no common language, no uniform building code in the United States that acts as a common guide. Some communities develop a unique code while others don't have a building code at all.
2. In our community that we call the church we have a common language, a uniform building code and this is it (hold up the Bible).
a) I would suggest that if you are going to build a home that you start in the fifth chapter of the book of Matthew and read to the end of the 7th.
b) If you are going to build a home, Jesus said, you must build upon something solid.
c) There are no words more solid on which to base your life than these words from the Sermon on the Mount.
d) The Sermon has been called the Christian Magna Charta, the Christian Manifesto, the Design for Life, and the Rules for Christian Living. It contains the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Golden Rule. It deals with murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, revenge, and worry. It gives instructions on prayer, giving to the poor, fasting, judging others, and saving money.
e) Just listen to this list of phrases from the Sermon on the Mount that have echoed through the ages:
Blessed are the poor in Spirit
You Are the Salt of the earth
You are the light of the world
Let your “Yes” be “Yes” and your “No” be “No”
If someone strikes you on the right cheek turn to him the other also
Love your enemies
When you give, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing
Our Father, which art in heaven…
Where your treasure is there your heart will be also
You cannot serve God and mammon
Seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be given to you
Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself
Do not judge, or you too will be judged
Do not throw your pearls before swines
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find…
Do to others what you would have them do to you
Enter the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction
Wolves in sheep’s clothing
By their fruit you will recognize them
B. Is it any wonder that when Jesus finished saying these things that Matthew says, “the crowds were amazed at his teaching.”
1. It is no coincidence when Jesus ends his teaching by saying there were those who were wise and they built their house upon the rocks and there were those who were foolish for they built their house upon the sands.
2. I would suggest to you that Jesus is saying that we ourselves determine what kind of persons we become. You and I both are building our homes.
3. We may try to place the responsibility for the kinds of lives we build upon external causes, but in the final analysis we ourselves determine what kind of person we become.
4. Everyday of our life, either consciously or unconsciously, we are involved in building.
5. The crucial question is will we build according to the timeless teachings of Jesus or will we build on the sands of civilization.
6. Who is the wise person?
a) He is the one who anchors his life upon the word of God
II. everyone must occupy the house they build
A. Some property can be rented or leased, but not our souls.
1. In the end there is absolutely one person that we must live with: ourselves.
Edwin Markham has written an appropriate little story called the Builder, that most of us have probably heard at one time of another. A certain rich man wanted to help someone. He saw the squalor in which a certain poor carpenter lived with his large family. The rich man sent for the carpenter and placed in his hands the blueprint for a nice home. He ordered that the house be made beautifully and sturdy, and that the best materials be used, regardless of the price. He further explained that he was going on an extended trip and wanted the house completed when he returned.
Seeing the chance to make a huge profit, the carpenter skimped on materials, hired inexperienced workers at low wages, and covered mistakes with paint. When the rich man returned the carpenter handed him the keys to the house and told him that his instructions had been carried out to the letter. Good, replied the rich man as he returned the keys to him. For the house that you have been building is yours. You and your family are to live in it. In the years that followed, concluded Markham, the builder often regretted that he had cheated himself.
B. You and I are building houses with either good or shoddy material. We are building according to code or we are cutting corners.
1. Jesus warned us to build our houses wisely, because the keys are going to be handed to us and we are going to have to live with what we have created.
2. The apostle Paul admonished the Christians in Corinth: Let every man heed how he builds.
III. the real test in life comes when the storms are upon us
A. Why is a code important?
1. Because one day the storms will come and our lives will be tested
2. The renowned English historian Allister McCook once evaluated Henry VIII by saying: He was at his best when things were going well. Well, couldn’t that be said of all of us? Who isn’t at his best when things are going well? The test is how we hold up during the storms of life.
3. Interestingly, Jesus made it clear that the storms came to both houses. Neither was sparred.
4. Here is a truth that cannot be repeated too often, because there are so many who still cling to the ancient fallacy that religion represents a kind of divine insurance policy against trouble. Yet, the storm in Jesus’ parable, you will note, was no discriminator.
5. But, of course, I don’t have to convince most of you of the reality of Jesus’ words at this point, because you have been there. You know what it is like to have one of life’s storms smash against you and leave you breathless.
6. Whether it is sickness, or the loss of a loved one, or a family problem, or a marital relationship, or troubles at work, or financial problems--most of you have been there. You know how frightening and shattering the storms can be.
7. If you have never had any storms come in your life, my deepest congratulations. But Jesus warned not to build your house for fair weather only. You will not be spared, for no one in life, good or bad, is spared. The storm came and it beat against both houses.
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew destroyed thousands of homes in South Florida. Yet in an area where the wreckage looked like a war zone, one house remained standing, still firmly anchored to its foundation.
When a reporter asked the homeowner why his house had not been blown away, he replied, "I built this house myself. I also built it according to the Florida state building code. When the code called for 2" x 6" roof trusses, I used 2" x 6" roof trusses. I was told that a house built according to code could withstand a hurricane-- and it did."
B. How has your house weathered the storms?
1. Every house is tested. The difference is not in the weather; it is in the foundation upon which the house is anchored.
2. Oh how many persons have I seen who are in the midst of crisis run back to the church and attempt to get religion, but my friends it is not that easy.
3. It is a foolish person who thinks they can begin constructing a proper foundation when they are in the midst of the storm and the floodwaters. When life is rushing upon us; it is then too late.
4. The time to build is in the time of calm, during ordinary day-to-day living.
C. S. Lewis, one of the preeminent theologians and writers of our lifetime discovered the truth of that. He tells of the great storm that came in his life when his wife died in his book A GRIEF OBSERVED. He experienced loneliness the likes of which he had never known. He tried to reason to himself that he had been happy before he had been married and that he could once again reclaim that. But then a memory would flash through his mind and the pain would resurge once again.
It was in his hour of grief that C. S. Lewis turned to God and used those inner resources that God had been equipping him with for so many years. He wrote: “You never know how much you believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life or death to you. I realized that if my house collapsed with this one mighty blow, it was indeed a house of cards.” C. S. Lewis’ house endured the storm because he had built his house upon the rock of God’s word.
CONCLUSION: Jesus ended his story with a solemn warning. There was another house, one built upon the sand, and it could not withstand the pressure. “And great was the fall of it,” said Jesus. This stands as a solemn warning for those persons who laughingly think that they can live their life any old way and there will never be a time of accountability.
It is my hope this morning that all of you—in the process of constructing your eternal house—would build according to the code found in the Sermon on the Mount, and that you would build on the only one true foundation--Jesus Christ our Lord.
