Building Your Life on the Rock: Finding Stability in Life's Storms
In Matthew 7, Jesus concludes His famous Sermon on the Mount with a powerful illustration about two foundations. This teaching isn't just about construction principles - it's about how we build our lives and what happens when inevitable storms come.
Jesus presents several "twos" throughout this chapter: two roads (broad and narrow), two trees (good fruit and bad fruit), and finally, two foundations (rock and sand). These comparisons all point to the same truth: the choices we make about our spiritual foundation determine whether we'll stand or fall when life gets difficult.
What Makes a Firm Foundation?
Jesus tells us that firm foundations are built on two essential elements:
Salvation: It's About Relationship, Not Religious Activity
Before discussing the wise and foolish builders, Jesus makes a sobering statement in Matthew 7:21-23. He warns that many people will claim to know Him, even pointing to their religious activities as proof, but He will respond, "I never knew you."
This reveals a critical truth: salvation is based on relationship, not good works. Many people mistakenly believe that if they do more good than bad, they'll earn their way to heaven. But Jesus clearly teaches that it's not about religious performance. The people Jesus rejects in this passage weren't irreligious - they had prophesied, cast out demons, and performed miracles in His name! Yet Jesus says, "I never knew you." They had the activities without the relationship.
John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, understood this distinction when he said, "I had the faith of a servant, though not that of a son." Before his conversion experience, Wesley was doing many good works, but he lacked the personal relationship with Christ that transforms a person from servant to child of God.
Wisdom: Hearing and Applying God's Word
The second component of a firm foundation is wisdom. In our information-saturated world, we often confuse knowledge with wisdom. We consume massive amounts of information daily—the equivalent of 16 full-length movies or 225 TikTok clips - but this information overload actually reduces our decision-making ability, willpower, focus, and critical thinking.
True wisdom comes from:
- Listening and obeying God's Word (not just hearing it)
- Asking God for wisdom (James 1 promises God will give wisdom to those who ask)
- Looking into God's Word (Proverbs is an excellent source of practical wisdom)
What Happens When Storms Come?
Jesus describes how both houses - the one on rock and the one on sand - face identical storms: "The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house." The difference wasn't in the intensity of the storm but in the foundation. The house built on rock stood firm despite the pounding. The house built on sand "collapsed with a great crash."
This teaches us a crucial truth: we can't avoid storms, but we can choose our foundation.
Why Do Feeble Foundations Fail?
The foolish builder in Jesus' parable heard the same teaching as the wise builder. The difference wasn't in their access to information but in their application of it. Foolishness isn't a lack of listening - it's ignoring what you hear. It's not a lack of hearing truth - it's failing to apply truth. As James writes, we must be "doers of the word, not hearers only."
There's a vast difference between saying "I believe in God" and "I obey God." Even demons believe in God (James 2:19), but they don't submit to Him. True faith leads to obedience.
How to Sail Through Life's Typhoons
When storms hit our lives - whether grief, financial struggles, work problems, or relationship challenges - we need a strategy to navigate them. Here are three key steps:
- Reduce speed - Storms force us to slow down and focus on what truly matters
- Determine your position - Storms make us evaluate where we stand with God
- Adjust your course - Storms either perfect us (if we're walking with God) or correct us (if we're not)
All storms are either perfecting storms (deepening our faith) or correcting storms (bringing us back to God). While we can debate whether God causes or merely allows certain storms, we can be confident that Jesus is with us in the midst of them.
Jesus Speaks with Authority
Matthew concludes this section by noting that "the crowds were astonished at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one who had authority, not like their scribes." Jesus doesn't just give advice; He gives commands. He doesn't present options; He presents essentials. True discipleship means submitting to Christ's authority in every area of our lives.
This submission isn't burdensome - it's protective. Like the beach house that survived Hurricane Michael because its owners built it to withstand 250 mph winds (with 1-foot thick concrete walls, 40-foot pilings, and steel cables in the attic), our lives can withstand life's hurricanes when built on the solid foundation of Christ.
Life Application
The message is clear: we will all face storms in life, but our foundation determines whether we'll stand or fall. Here are some questions to consider this week:
- Is my life built on a relationship with Jesus or just religious activities?
- Am I just hearing God's Word, or am I applying it?
- In what areas of my life am I resisting Christ's authority?
- How can I strengthen my foundation before the next storm hits?
This week, commit to building your life on the rock by deepening your relationship with Jesus and applying His wisdom. When storms come - and they will - you'll be able to stand firm and testify to others about the One who holds you secure.
Remember: We can't avoid storms, but we can choose our foundation. Choose wisely.
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Listen to this message by Pastor Gregg Matte, Reading the Owner's Manual: True Foundations, from Sun, Oct 5, 2025.