Well, as I indicated this morning, we do turn once again to that last portion of our Lord's Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7, verses 24-27. I would also ask that you turn with me to Isaiah 43, the first seven verses, a portion of Scripture, undoubtedly, which was the inspiration behind at least a number of the stanzas of the song that we just sang together. Isaiah chapter 43, the first few verses. Let's bow together in prayer, asking for God's blessing upon His Word tonight. Dear Heavenly Father, we do ask humbly for Your blessing upon Your Word. We thank You for it. Again, we thank You for the truth, the comfort, the assurance of Your Word. Even when Your Word admonishes us or calls us back to the narrow path that You have called Your people to walk when we have drifted away, we praise You, Father, for giving us Your truth. We pray tonight once again that You would bless us, that You would bless our hearts, our minds, that we would be open vessels into which You flow by Your Spirit with Your Word. We pray that You would hear our prayer and grant us that which we need in this evening hour. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Isaiah 43, beginning at verse 1. Hear now God's holy Word. But now this is what the Lord says, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel, fear not, For I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned. The flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give men in exchange for you and people in exchange for your life. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, give them up, and to the south, do not hold them back. Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. Matthew 7, once again, verses 24-27. Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. May God bless the reading and consideration of His Word tonight. Well, beloved, in Christ the Lord, as many of you recall, we began to consider this morning from this text. That Jesus establishes Himself. He points to Himself as one's only sure foundation for building a life house. He is making a distinction, as we said, between believers and unbelievers, of course, generally speaking, but specifically between believers and unbelievers in the visible church among those who claim Christianity. To the eye, just like those two houses built by those two men which didn't look any different from the outside. Outwardly, many look and act identical. Yet Jesus teaches here that there is a major difference between standing and falling, between life and death, between heaven and hell. The wise man's house was built upon a foundation. True believers are built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, the blood of Jesus Christ alone, which saves us from our sin. That foundation of new life in Him and in response, the believer is building a life devoted to and pointed to Jesus Christ who is the only sure foundation in the second place now for withstanding destruction. Notice again verses 25 and 27 with regard to the wise man's house. Verse 25, The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew, and beat against that house, yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock. And with regard to the foolish man's house, verse 27, the rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. Now I trust that we all understand that a wrong interpretation of this would be, for example, to say that if we build our lives on Jesus, then when the storms of this life come, we will be safe and secure. Of course, that part is true. but that we will be safe and secure that everything will go well that we will not be negatively affected or even more so that the storms of life might not come but if we don't build our lives on Jesus then everything will always go wrong for us beloved if that is our Lord's message here then many would be discouraged will be discouraged and will turn away and many others will scoff at the gospel of Jesus Christ because as we all know as many, if not all of us, have experienced, Christians do suffer. Christians are attacked. We do get hurt. We do get beat up in a manner of speaking. And not just suffering persecution because of our faith. In fact, sometimes that seldom happens. But we suffer because of the effects of sin in this world. But at the same time, many unbelievers seem to have everything go right and go well for them in this life. The truth is, destructive forces do come, and they will come. And while God does not always deliver Christians from the storms of life, He always delivers His people through the storms of life. As we read in Isaiah chapter 43, the Lord says, When you go through the fire, and when you go through the water, and to paraphrase, you will not be consumed. Jesus Christ is the sure foundation for withstanding destruction in the face of certain storms. The storms are certain. One commentator says, Our Lord says that everything we build upon in this world, everything that we are relying upon, every preparation that we make, our whole view of life is going to be subjected to tests. And therefore, beloved, we ought to be asking ourselves the question, well, in the hour of my greatest need, will my life house be of help to me? Will it be of value to me? Or will it turn out to be only a fool's paradise? The storms of life are certain. And those storms are certain, we might say, then, on that day. You see, many people are building their lives not taking into account the reality of a just God who hates sin. Not taking into account the reality of the difficulties of this life because of sin in the world. And not taking into account the reality of the final judgment. Jesus, we know, has been talking about the final judgment. He has been talking about that day, even as He compared, as it were, the narrow way that leads to life, whether the wide road or the wide way that leads to destruction. Even as He talked about those branches that bear bad fruit will be cut off and thrown into the fire. And He also said that some will come to Him on that day and say, Lord, Lord, we did all these things in Your name and He will say to them, away from Me, I never knew You. He has been talking about that day. Now our version, the NIV, says the streams rose. Other versions say the flood came. The flood is an image of judgment. We think about Noah and the ark and that flood that came upon the entire world. That flood of judgment. And here we have the picture of the rain and the flood or the streams rising and the wind all together. And together, it's a picture of a comprehensive storm that all will face. A comprehensive storm searching to the depths of one's soul. A comprehensive, like the rain coming on the roof. At the same time, the wind against the walls and that flood or the streams rising against the foundation. And on that day, many will also find, as the Bible teaches, that there will be no second chances. There will be no further opportunities. That is the ultimate. That is the final storm. Then... Yet that life house is also tested now. It's tested today, in this life. As Jesus points out in chapter 5, verses 10 and 11, He speaks of those who are persecuted or will be persecuted for righteousness' sake. In chapter 5, verse 43, He says, Love your enemies, pointing to the fact that we have enemies. But again, these storms of life for God's people are not just being persecuted for the faith. As in chapter 6, verse 25, he begins to discourse there about worry and anxiety and the normal daily things of life that we often worry about. In Psalm 73, other parts of Scripture, for example, we are pointed to the fact that we face doubt and temptation. The storms of life are certain. There are some who suggest that we might think of the rain as being that which comes upon us in more of a personal fashion like illness or loss or disappointments of some sort. For example, being let down in some way or a change in circumstances for the worse. We've all experienced those most likely. Grief or all kinds of suffering that all of us seem to face at some point in time. And of course, we know the reality of that. The reality is seen every Sunday when we open our bulletin and we see those in the ongoing needs list, or we see specific announcements about individuals who are grieving. Tonight again, being notified of Garrett's brother who died today. Or the prayer postings that come across your computer notifying you of those who have concerns and difficulties and struggles, those who are facing the storms of life. It's a reality. These same also suggest that we might think of the flood being, For example, the influence of the unbelieving world. The wicked world promoting wickedness such as the lust of the flesh or the lust of the eyes or the pride of life. And on the one hand, these things can come forcefully like a huge wave. There are many ungodly agendas that are forced in our face. On the other hand, it can be subtle like floodwaters, those streams rising slowly and unexpectedly doing damage when you don't even realize it. Some of you have had water troubles in your house and didn't realize it until it was too late. The television, the Internet, or we participate in activities alongside of the world that before we know it, we find ourselves embraced in friendly compromise of some sort, or our sensibilities are watered down in some way. Someone said today in another country, the laws are so liberal and so bad that after a while, the people just accept them. It's just the way it is. We can also then, it is said, think of the wind as being the direct attacks from Satan, hurling doubts. We think of Paul in Ephesians 6. He talks about the flaming arrows of the evil one. And there in that passage, we are to understand that Satan is shooting them one after another with no break in between, relentlessly, quickly, hurling doubts, bombarding with foul and evil and blasphemous thoughts. And along with these, we must include finally the last enemy, death to this life. Now we know that when it comes to the storms of this life, individuals experience these at different times, A different number of them? A different severity of them? But unless Jesus Christ comes first, all will meet death to this life for sure. And many will find in the hour of death that there is only one thing that they can take from this life, and that's Jesus Christ. But they will be leaving alone because they didn't have Him. They hadn't built upon Him. The storms, beloved, that attack and threaten man's self righteousness and confidence and assurance and peace. These storms are certain. This is a part of Jesus' point here. These storms came upon both houses. The houses looked the same. There was no difference. And the storms came upon both. And the question then is how do we or how will we stand up to this? From where will our help come? And of course, as the psalmist in Psalm 121 says, there is only one place. Our help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Only from the sure foundation Jesus Christ. He is the believer's guarantee for withstanding destruction from devastating collapse in the face of those certain storms. He alone is the one who keeps God's people from collapsing. Apart from Jesus Christ as keeps coming to my mind, all other ground is sinking sand you see confidence in oneself confidence in one's profession of faith or in one's church membership or in one's good deeds or in one's earthly success confidence in one's anything or confidence in any false religion even though these things may seem to have a temporary benefit for a time yet these things are useless they are of absolutely no value I think about Islam, and we hear about the 72 virgins that are promised to those who sacrifice their lives in suicide bombings, for example. It's hard to imagine. It's hard to imagine even embracing a lie like that. And yet, they're going to find out, many have, how useless, absolutely no value. Apart from Jesus Christ, anything apart from Jesus Christ leads only to destruction because it fails to stand the real test, which will be true then, on that day of judgment. On that day, there will be only one thing that will pass the test. There will be only one thing that will help you and me in that hour of greatest need, and that is Jesus Christ, His blood alone that saves us from all of our sins, and His righteousness alone that makes us right in the sight of God. The door of heaven will not open for absolutely any other reason than Jesus Christ. Today, in this life, we know throughout history and still today, there are many, we might call them, deceptive real estate agents who are trying to sell attractive sand at sites. saying, for example, there are many ways to be saved. Just pick one. Just be devoted to something. Do more good than bad. Just be a member of a church. It doesn't matter which one. Give generously. You'll be okay. There's all kinds of false assurance being given out there. For those founded on Jesus Christ by the grace of God, that day of judgment will be a day of triumph. But for those who have rejected Him and failed to trust only in Jesus, That day will be a day of devastating collapse as they will be cast away forever. Yet on that day, those who were foolish in the eyes of the world because of their true faith in Jesus Christ, because of their lives devoted to Him, they will be revealed on that day as wise, but those who were wise in their own sight will be revealed as those who were foolish. And those in Christ Jesus today by faith, who today have that blessed assurance and that confidence that they will stand firm in Christ on that day of judgment, they do not need to fear today. They do not need to fear this life. Because He is the only sure foundation for withstanding destruction, not only then, but also now. God doesn't give His people the assurance only for that day. But even today, in this life, as we face those difficulties, we sang, the soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose, I will not, I will not, desert to his foes. That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake. What comfort for eternity, but also for today. That phrase in that song, though all hell should endeavor to shake, is to make us think of something specific in this text. In our Bibles, in our English versions, it speaks of the rain and the wind and the streams rising, or the floods beating against both houses. It says the same thing for the foolish man's house and the wise man's house. Yet in the original, two different words are used and translated for the word that we use, the word beat here. Two different words in the original. With regard to the wise man's house, the word that is translated to beat means to fall upon, to strike, to beat with a great force, quickly and relentlessly. I think of the football games where all the guys are going after the one with the ball and they all just smash him. And they fall upon him hard. Some even hit him late. But they fall hard upon him. And that word with regard to the foolish man's house, the word that is used there in translated beat is much softer. It has the idea to stumble, to cause the stumble. More of the idea of kind of like tripping on a crack in the sidewalk. And the point is fascinating that built on the rock foundation, the worst possible storm that could ever come upon one will not even cause that house to shake. That's the believer's comfort. the worst possible crisis that you and I could ever experience the worst possible disaster that Satan could bring upon us for those who are built on Jesus Christ God's Word is sure it will not cause us to collapse to shake but the house with no foundation will fall over like a house of cards with the slightest touch with the slightest puff of air. Beloved, apart from faith in Jesus Christ and therefore without the assurance of the forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God now and in the future and without confidence in the God of providence working all things according to His will and for the believer's good when the trial of financial struggles or the difficulty of a deadly diagnosis or the horror of the news of a sudden death or even many more less severe disasters come upon one. The unbeliever is ruined. The unbeliever cannot breathe. The unbeliever is overwhelmed with fear and hopelessness and anger and often sees no reason to live. But for those who are firmly founded on Jesus Christ with the assurance of forgiveness and reconciliation with God and with the confidence of the God of providence working all things according to His will and for the believer's good, even though as God's people we may initially be struck with fear and anxiety and worry because we do experience those emotions, sadness and grief and even anger. And even though we do face sadness and disappointment, ultimately, those who cast their burdens upon the Lord, those who are built upon Jesus Christ, even though it might be in various degrees or measures, they are given contentment and confidence and peace and security even in the face of hardships, even in the midst of tears and sorrow, even in the midst of those storms that seem, that appear overwhelming. That's the testimony of Scripture. David in Psalm 27 verse 1 says, The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? And a verse or two later, he says, even in the midst of war, I will be confident. In Psalm 112, verse 7, the psalmist says, a righteous man will have no fear of sad news. Notice he doesn't say that he's not going to receive, he'll never receive sad news or he'll never be sad, but he will have no fear of sad news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Going back to Psalm 62, verses 1 and 2, the Psalm of David again, My soul finds rest in God alone. My salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress. I will never be shaken. My soul finds rest, peace, contentment. Isaiah 28, verse 16. So this is what the Sovereign Lord says, See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation. The one who trusts will never be shaken. Peter and Paul both pick up on this verse. I think it's Peter who quotes it even. But pointing to the fact that Jesus Christ is that cornerstone. This is the testimony of Scripture, but it's also the believer's experience. Only by the grace of God. We see that already with the early New Testament church. Paul and Silas in prison, shackled, singing praises to God at midnight. We think of those in the early New Testament church who were torn to bits by wild beasts as entertainment for those who didn't believe in Christianity. We think of the martyrs at the time of the Reformation who gave their lives as they were to give their lives being burned at the stake. They ran to the stake. We read about them. They ran to the stake singing praise to God and as the flames were consuming them, they were singing as long as they had breath of life. This is the believer's experience. even those of our loved ones and dear ones whom we come to be with when they receive difficult news. And oftentimes, we go to minister to them and they end up ministering to us because of the confidence that they have in Christ Jesus. Indeed, it's hard to imagine. It's hard to imagine until you or I actually face the storms of light and experience that peace that passes understanding. But God gives the particular grace that you and I need when we need it. And then the words of David in Psalm 37, verse 25 become real and personal. He says, I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. I have never seen the righteous forsaken. And that's the confidence that you and I are able to have on Christ, that solid rock. It is Jesus Christ, that solid rock foundation that keeps His believers from devastating collapse today and forever. It's not our faithfulness. It's not our doing. It's not even the house that we build, you see. It's that foundation. It's the faithfulness of our God. There is no greater promise than this from the mouth of Jesus of what He does for His people. He alone distinguishes between the only two kinds of people. And those who look for hope in themselves or in false religions, one day they will fall with a great crash. The utter devastation and destruction in the eternal torment of hell. But dear people of God, those whose hope is in nothing less than Jesus, blood, and righteousness. They will endure forever upon that rock who has already endured the judgment of God for them. You see, the ultimate storm, the final judgment is not yet here. We don't know when that's going to come. We don't know. Some are signaling the warning cry that it's got to be soon. It could be. And we're not to worry about it. We're called to be ready. We don't know when it's going to come. But that means that today, it's not today yet, not this moment, and therefore today is still the day of God's grace to seek the Lord while He may be found, to call upon Him while He is near, to trust in Jesus Christ alone who keeps His people in safety both now and forever. It's not too late to build on Jesus Christ. It's not too late to be used of God to be helping others to build on Jesus Christ. To be looking to Jesus, to be looking to Him and His strength alone and always. As the writer of Proverbs says in chapter 3, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. There is no other sure foundation than Jesus Christ for building a life house that will withstand destruction. And therefore, with confidence, beloved, let us sing, when He shall come with trumpet sound, O may I then, may we then, in Him be found. Amen. Let's pray together. Indeed, O Lord, we praise Your name. For You are the God of all wonders. We cannot even imagine, Lord, what You would do for a sinful people. But You have clearly shown us in Your Word, You have clearly demonstrated that through Your Son, Jesus Christ, in a saving sacrifice. And when we deserve to be shaken to bits, when we deserve to suffer utter destruction for eternity, You have given to us eternal life and You have promised to keep us safe. in the palm of Your hand. Father, may we sense that safety and security and may we sense it even more when we face the crises of life that are many, that are varied, that come in various degrees. Help us always to stand firm as You have promised and cause us, O Lord, to believe that promise. Hear our prayer, Heavenly Father, for Jesus' sake. And in His name we pray. Amen. Thank you.