So my name's Dave. I'm one of the pastors here.
A warm welcome to you if you're visiting.
So during the winter holidays last year, my wife, Emma, and I, we were in Mogo.
I don't know if you know where Mogo is, but it's near Batemans Bay on the south coast.
And we really love strolling the street, basically is one street, of Mogo.
And it's just rustic and quirky shops.
It's really leisurely.
There was art galleries.
We bought these little Aboriginal painted boomerangs that you stick to your fridge.
They were cool.
We just strolled the streets.
There was bookshops, other art galleries, and there was fudge.
Fudge, that's right.
It was delicious.
Maple and walnut, Will.
Maple and walnut fudge.
That was one of our highlights.
So in a safe and beautiful part of our country, Mogo was life-giving.
But as you know, the bushfires have now devastated that area, that town, leaving many houses and businesses in ruins.
Just south of Mogo, I read an article about a man who built his house 40 years ago.
Now, he was prepared.
He had a large area of the bushland surrounding his house backburned.
Backburned.
So confident was he that he was prepared that two years ago, he decided to stop paying for his house insurance.
And now everything is destroyed.
Except for this lower level of stones.
Now, your heart goes out to him, doesn't it?
None of us want to experience that.
And I think he had an amazing attitude.
He's recorded saying, we're all upset, obviously.
But it's not the end of the world.
We're alive.
But he must be kicking himself, right?
He must be kicking himself that he didn't keep his insurance.
Whatever his house was worth, he just lost it in an instant.
It's really easy to say that in hindsight, isn't it?
If we saw him a year ago with the thousands of dollars that he'd saved, I wonder what we would think of him then.
It only looks foolish now because the bushfires have come through.
So what about you?
Are you a wise or a foolish person?
It's almost impossible to tell in good times, isn't it?
I think we Aussies love to live in the moment.
We love the present moment we're in.
We don't want to think about the future.
But God forewarns each one of us that a dreadful storm is coming.
Jesus warns us.
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
And as the children's talk does help us feel the impact of this.
The rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house.
But it did not fall.
Because it had been founded on the rock.
And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell.
And great was the fall of it.
Now what's this story about?
It's about our entire life.
Whether or not we are building our life on solid foundations.
Whether like the man from Mogo, we're prepared for the times of crisis that this life throws at us.
But also are we prepared for the final crisis?
This final crisis is that we all must meet God face to face after we die.
We all must.
And we have to give him an answer for the life we've lived.
It's going to be like meeting a hurricane.
The rain fell.
The floods came and the wind beat against every life that has been built.
One person will stand, the other will fall.
What's the difference?
We're told nothing.
Nothing about the houses themselves.
Except one thing.
The basis they're built on.
The foundation.
The story challenges each one of us to pause and examine our own lives.
What are you building your life on?
What is central to your life?
What must you have for your well-being?
What are you striving to keep and to have more of?
Do you look to romance?
If you have that person's attention and affection, then whatever else happens, you'll be okay.
Do you look to money?
Do you look to your accomplishments?
Do you look to your work or your family?
Do you look to your possessions?
Are these things solid enough to be the basis of your life?
The problem with all these things is that they're fragile.
Loved ones can let us down.
We can fail.
and suddenly our accomplishments don't look so good anymore.
Our health can be taken from us in a moment.
But when the sun is shining, our life may look solid
and really good from the outside.
But it will be left exposed when God's storm hits.
But like a bushfire, once it is over, the land is revitalised.
It has new and abundant growth.
In a similar way, God says that once the final storm is over,
he is going to remake everything to be permanent and good,
only good as it was always meant to be.
Jesus calls this the kingdom of heaven.
It's coming.
At this point, you might be thinking that I'm implying
that the religious person is safe and can have confidence
to enter the kingdom of heaven and endure that storm.
But religious actions are just as shaky ground as anything else.
I think it's worse.
It's worse because the person is fooling themselves
into thinking that they're pleasing God.
Listen to what Jesus says from verse 21.
You can see it on the back of your handout.
Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord,
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
On that day, when we face God, on that day, Jesus says,
many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name
and cast out demons in your name and do mighty works in your name?
And then will I declare to them,
I never knew you.
Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.
These are the people who put their confidence
in the public religious things they do.
Lord, I knew all the right words and the doctrines to say in the church.
Lord, I preached about you.
Lord, I went to church regularly.
Lord, I gave so much money to the church.
Lord, I volunteered so much time for you.
I never knew you.
Depart from me.
They are dreadful words.
I do not want to hear them.
When God's storm comes,
the person basing their life on religious acts will fall.
Never to rise again.
So if the religious person doesn't have any hope,
who does?
Let's go back to the story of the two house builders.
There are only two types of people.
There's no middle ground.
What's the difference between the wise and foolish person?
Now,
I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Sometimes I feel really foolish.
Foolish.
Like when I was at a family gathering the other day
and the topic turned to politics.
I had nothing to say.
I felt like a fool.
Or when renovating our kitchen
and Brendan gives me instructions,
I feel like a fool.
There's moments that just really highlight
what I don't know.
But knowledge and experience
isn't Jesus' measure
of a wise or foolish person.
And I'm thankful for that.
What's the difference?
Compare verse 24 and 26 with me.
Everyone then who hears these words of mine
and does them.
And the other group,
everyone who hears these words of mine
and does not do them.
Notice that both of them hear Jesus' words.
Again,
coming to church,
hearing Jesus' words is not enough.
Religious activity is not the difference.
The wise person treats Jesus as their Lord
over their entire lives
and wants to do what he says.
The foolish person,
whether religious or atheist,
they build their lives ignoring him
while chasing other things.
Now that sounds a bit arrogant of Jesus,
doesn't it?
That our future depends
on whether we obey him or not.
If I said that your life depends
on obeying all that I say,
what would you think of me?
I'm guessing not very good things.
So who does Jesus think he is?
He spoke as if he was God.
Let me just give you a taste
of some of the commands
he had just given
before telling this story.
You have heard
that it was said
to those of old,
you shall not murder
and whoever murders
will be liable to judgment.
God gave the command
in the Old Testament,
do not murder.
If you do,
you deserve punishment.
Back then,
the punishment was the death penalty
and whatever followed after death.
Would you agree with me
that that is a really good law?
It brings safety
and stability
to our society.
It allows us to thrive.
But hear what Jesus does
to God's law.
You have heard
that it was said,
you shall not murder.
But I say to you
that everyone
who is angry
with his brother
will be liable to judgment.
You have heard
that it was said,
you shall not commit adultery.
Again,
I think we would all agree
that this is a good commandment.
It brings security,
stability
to our families.
But I say to you
that everyone
who looks at a woman
with lustful intent
has already
committed adultery
in his heart.
You have heard
that it was said,
you shall love your neighbour
and hate
your enemy.
But I say to you,
love your enemies
and pray for those
who persecute you.
There's much more
that Jesus teaches,
but I'll sum it up
with this one line.
He says,
you therefore
must be perfect
as your heavenly father
is perfect.
Jesus wants my heart
and my mind
to be perfect,
let alone my words
and what I do.
I imagine like me,
when you hear
Jesus' words,
you're thinking,
who can possibly
do that?
You could hear
Jesus calling us
to be perfect
and think,
it's impossible.
No one can do it.
So that's unfair.
Or you can look
at your life
and think,
yeah,
I'm not perfect.
But I'm still
responsible for that.
Jesus' words
hit me hard.
But,
if I was to do them,
they are the right
and good way to live.
if a perfect standard
is right
and good,
then of the wise
and foolish builders,
I am the fool.
I deserve to fall.
If you're feeling
like you've got
no solid ground
to stand on
before God,
if you fear
that God's day
of testing
is going to reveal
how far you are
from perfect,
that nothing you've done
makes you confident
of entering
the kingdom of heaven,
then you are ready
to build
your life
on the rock.
Until you admit
that you are
a fool,
you cannot be wise.
Until you fear
that you deserve
to fall,
you can't be safe.
all the ways
we've tried
to make ourselves
feel safe
and secure
with our money
and accomplishments
and relationships,
when we realise
that these things
won't hold us,
they won't work,
only then
can we turn
to the one person
who can really
give us life
and security.
This is Jesus'
promise to you
and me.
Here's the good news.
Blessed
are the poor
in spirit
for theirs
is the kingdom
of heaven.
It's not the good person
who enters
the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed
is the poor
in spirit.
who knows
they've got
nothing
to offer.
Theirs
is the kingdom
of heaven.
Immediately
after saying
these things,
Jesus came
across a man
who had a skin
disease
all over him.
the diseased
and unclean
man
knelt
before Jesus
and said,
Lord,
if you are
willing,
you can make
me clean.
Jesus
reached out
his hand
and touched
the man.
I am willing.
Be clean.
man
and
immediately
the man
was clean.
This man
is like
us.
All the ways
we've fallen
short of what is
good and right
has made our
conscience
dirty before God.
But Jesus
not only shows us
how far
we are from
perfect,
but he is also
the one with
the power
to reach
out his hand
to see
your conscience
and say,
I am willing.
Be clean.
You can be
100%
sure
that you're
clean
because God's
own son
took the fall
that we
should have
taken
when he died
on the cross.
And he rose
to life again
to give you
the most
solid
and unshakable
ground to stand
on before God
because he alone
was perfect
like his
heavenly father.
And he gives
to us
his perfection,
his perfect
standing
before God.
Jesus
is the
solid rock.
When we
acknowledge
that we
fail to live
the way we
should,
when we
recognize
that all
our
attempts
of trying
to get
safety
in money
and
relationships
or
achievements
or
religious
acts
are going
to fail
us,
when we
turn and
listen to
Jesus,
looking to
him for
forgiveness,
wanting to
do what he
says because
his ways
give us
life,
this is the
wise person
who builds
their life
on Jesus.
Jesus.
And when
the storm
hits,
you won't
fall.
Not because
of the
house,
but because
of the
rock you're
on.
You've
built your
life on the
one who
can save
you.
Instead of
hearing the
words,
depart from
me,
you'll hear
the words,
welcome
home.
Welcome
home.
God's
severe storm
is coming.
Will
you keep
building on
sand?
Amen.