Will you be safe in the storm?

At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells a famous story.

Two men build two houses. One builds on rock. The other builds on sand. When the storm comes, one house stands and the other falls.

What’s it about?

Your life has a foundation

If you asked someone, "What are you building your life on?" they might reply, "Nothing. I'm just living my life."

But Jesus says that's not true.

Just as every house has foundations, every life rests on something. Everyone has beliefs that shape the way they live, whether they realise it or not.

For some people, it's, "You only live once, so enjoy yourself." For others, "What goes around comes around." Or, "If I work hard enough, I can achieve anything."

Often, the real foundation of our lives is shown but what we spend our time doing or thinking about.

• "If I pass this exam, I'll be somebody."

• "If I can look like that, I'll be happy."

• "If I can escape into entertainment, I won't have to face reality."

Whatever it is, we're all building.

Jesus asks us, what are we building our lives on?

Why It Matters

In Jesus' story, the storm eventually comes.

What is this storm? 

Ultimately, Jesus is talking about the day we stand before God.

Throughout this section of Matthew's Gospel, he warns about judgement, destruction, and the danger of being separated from God forever.

Many people find the idea of judgement uncomfortable. Yet most of us long for justice when we've been wronged. Deep down, we know that evil should not simply be ignored.

Most of us long for justice when we've been wronged.

The Bible teaches that God will one day judge the world perfectly.

The question Jesus asks is: Will your foundation hold on that day?

But there are also ‘storms’ in this life, illness, grief, failure, disappointment, loss, which according to the Bible act as a kind of ‘early warning system’ of the great judgement of the future.

These experiences remind us that something is wrong with our world. They test the foundations we are building on.

Can success sustain you when everything falls apart? Can money? Can popularity? Can self-belief?

Jesus offers something stronger.

How Do We Build on Jesus?

Jesus says:

"Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."

Hear his words.

And do them.

But what does that mean?

A few verses earlier, Jesus speaks about people who did impressive religious things in his name, yet he says to them, "I never knew you."

Jesus speaks about people who did impressive religious things in his name, yet he says to them, "I never knew you."

Their problem wasn't a lack of activity. It was a lack of relationship.

Building on Jesus begins with knowing him and being known by him.

It starts with recognising our need of him, admitting our sin, and trusting him.

Only then can we truly begin to live out his teaching.

You'll never learn to forgive unless you've experienced God's forgiveness. You'll never learn generosity unless you've understood God's generosity towards you.

The roots come before the fruit.

Can Jesus Be Trusted?

The crowds who heard Jesus were amazed because he taught with authority.

And he did.

He didn't simply explain God's truth. He spoke as though people's eternal destiny depended on their response to him.

"Build your life on my words," he says.

It's a remarkable claim. Can we entrust our lives who says this kind of thing?

Christians believe we can because Jesus didn't simply teach about judgement—he faced it himself.

On the cross, Jesus stepped into the storm that sinners deserve. He took God's judgement upon himself so that those who trust him can be forgiven and welcomed by God.

That is why he is a foundation worth building on.

Every life rests on something.

The question is: what are you building yours on? Will you build on Jesus’ words?