A look at the final contemporary issue that Jesus deals with in his Sermon on the Mount bringing our series on this great message to a close.

The Wise and Foolish Builders

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 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. 26 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. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV-WS)

This is the end of our series on the sermon on the mount. And we end with what can only be described as one of the more famous short stories of Jesus; “The wise and foolish builders”.

The Church should have a voice with regard to some of the issues that face the wider society around us, such as Abortion, Euthanasia, world hunger etc.

Point 1:

In our text for today Jesus was talking about those who have been listening to Him.

He was directly challenging those who were standing around Him. So today, the message is for us, not the wider society around us.

It is a message for those of us who have heard Jesus, for the Church.

Point 2:

But Jesus goes on to separate those who have heard into two categories, the wise and the foolish builders.

They have much in common. Both are builders, and both are apparently building exactly the same type of building. This makes sense, taken the rest of the sermon on the mount, the builders are those who have heard the words of Jesus. The sermon on the mount can be seen as a blueprint for a life well lived, and in that context, what they are building, is their lives.

The one obeys the teaching of Jesus and the other disobeys, or perhaps ignores the teaching of Jesus.

Point 3:

Both the wise and the foolish go through exactly the same circumstances, with the only difference being how much or little they had on their lives. Jesus makes no promise that our lives will in some way be better if we follow him, that we will have no troubles. He promises that we with Him will be far better able to cope with whatever happens as our lives unfold.

The Answer:

Jesus only offers us one choice. The choice to follow Him. If we do He promises He will always be with us and never leave us. The more we surrender our lives to Him, the richer and fuller I lives will become.