Faith BUILDING ON THE ROCK
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 3:11.
Jesus told the story of a wise man who built his house upon a rock. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock" (Matt. 7:25). But there was also a foolish man in the parable, who built his house upon the sand. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew"--a great crisis, obviously--"and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (verse 27). Notice that the house did not change foundations. It fell.
Today there are crises of wind and flood and rain--crisie of tragedy and grief and sorrow, which come into our lives. It is when these crises come that we are revealed for what we really are, instead of what we might appear to be. There is a sort of spiritual schizophrenia possible in the realm of the Christian religion, where a person can look good on the outside but be bad on the inside. We see it among the disciples of Jesus--there was one who looked good, who appeared to be as loyal as the rest, but when the crisis came, the separation was quite clear. Judas was able to cast out devils and heal the sick. He was one of Jesus' closest companions. But when the crisis came, it was discovered that inside he was quite different.
You see a tree out in the woods. It looks good on the outside, but it's rotten on the inside. Nobody knows--until the storm breaks, and it goes crashing to the ground. The storm doesn't change the tree from being rotten. Nor is it the storm that causes the tree to be rotten. The storm merely reveals the tree's true condition.
So it is when the storms come. A house does not change foundations. The house goes down. If it is not based on solid rock before the flood comes, it goes down when the flood comes--every time. It's just that simple. A crisis doesn't change anybody. If we are going to have a faith that will withstand the storms of life, this faith must be developed by becoming personally acquainted with Christ before the crisis hits. It is only the house that is founded upon the Rock before the storms come that stands.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 3:11.
Jesus told the story of a wise man who built his house upon a rock. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock" (Matt. 7:25). But there was also a foolish man in the parable, who built his house upon the sand. "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew"--a great crisis, obviously--"and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (verse 27). Notice that the house did not change foundations. It fell.
Today there are crises of wind and flood and rain--crisie of tragedy and grief and sorrow, which come into our lives. It is when these crises come that we are revealed for what we really are, instead of what we might appear to be. There is a sort of spiritual schizophrenia possible in the realm of the Christian religion, where a person can look good on the outside but be bad on the inside. We see it among the disciples of Jesus--there was one who looked good, who appeared to be as loyal as the rest, but when the crisis came, the separation was quite clear. Judas was able to cast out devils and heal the sick. He was one of Jesus' closest companions. But when the crisis came, it was discovered that inside he was quite different.
You see a tree out in the woods. It looks good on the outside, but it's rotten on the inside. Nobody knows--until the storm breaks, and it goes crashing to the ground. The storm doesn't change the tree from being rotten. Nor is it the storm that causes the tree to be rotten. The storm merely reveals the tree's true condition.
So it is when the storms come. A house does not change foundations. The house goes down. If it is not based on solid rock before the flood comes, it goes down when the flood comes--every time. It's just that simple. A crisis doesn't change anybody. If we are going to have a faith that will withstand the storms of life, this faith must be developed by becoming personally acquainted with Christ before the crisis hits. It is only the house that is founded upon the Rock before the storms come that stands.
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