Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: BOT
Program Code: BOT000010
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00:30 One of the most memorable parables that Jesus told was the
00:33 famous parable of the man who built his house upon the rock, 00:37 and the man who built his house upon the sand. 00:41 And that is the parable that we are going to study today, 00:45 as we conclude this series on The Bible Or Tradition. 00:50 However, before we do we want to ask for the Lord to be 00:54 present to guide our thoughts. 00:56 And so I invite you to bow your heads with me as we pray. 00:59 Father in heaven, we come before Your throne this evening to 01:02 thank You, first of all, for having been with us 01:04 so far in this series. 01:07 And now as we conclude this series we ask for the presence 01:11 of Your Holy Spirit, for we know that only the Spirit 01:15 who inspired Scripture, is able to come and explain it to us. 01:19 Help us to understand the meaning of this parable, 01:22 and how it applies to our own personal walk with Jesus. 01:26 We thank You for the promise of Your presence, 01:29 and thank You for hearing our prayer, 01:31 for we ask it in Jesus' name, Amen. 01:35 Well do I remember when I was a child in the Primary division 01:40 of Sabbath School, singing that little chorus about 01:43 the man who built his house upon the rock. 01:46 And when the winds blew, and the rain came, the house stood firm, 01:51 because it was built on the rock. 01:53 But my favorite part of the song was when I had to sing 01:57 about the foolish man; the foolish man who built 01:59 his house upon the sand. 02:01 And my favorite part was where you got to the end of the chorus 02:04 and you said that the house on the sand fell flat. 02:08 And I really enjoyed clapping my hands together that that 02:11 house had fallen because it was built on the sand. 02:14 But, you know, as I think back I can't remember any of my 02:20 teachers explaining what the parable meant. 02:23 Yes, it was a lot of fun singing it, but what does it mean for 02:28 the wise man to build his house upon the rock, 02:31 and the foolish man to build his house upon the sand? 02:34 Well, in our study today we are going to interpret the meaning 02:38 of this parable as it's related to the series that we have 02:42 been studying here the last several sessions. 02:44 So first of all lets read the parable as it is found in 02:50 Matthew 7:24-27, Matthew 7: 24-27. 02:57 Here Jesus is speaking and He says: 03:27 Now comes the other side of the coin. 03:50 Now this parable contains many symbols. 03:54 And when we interpret each individual symbol 03:57 and put them together, we will know what Christ wanted 04:01 to teach through this parable. 04:02 Now what are some of the symbols that we find here? 04:05 First of all we have a wise man. 04:07 That's a symbol. 04:08 We have a foolish man. 04:10 That is also a symbol. 04:11 We have the symbol of a house. 04:14 The rock is a symbol. 04:16 The sand is a symbol. 04:19 The act of building is a symbolic act. 04:22 The winds and the floods are symbolic. 04:25 And the great fall of the house that was built on the sand 04:29 also represents something very important. 04:33 Now the parable of the men who build their houses on the rock, 04:38 and on the sand is actually the conclusion of the 04:41 sermon on the mount. 04:42 In other words, this parable concludes the famous 04:46 sermon on the mount that Jesus told. 04:48 In the book Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, page 147, 04:53 we find this statement: 05:09 So basically, the purpose of this parable is that Jesus is 05:13 teaching that everything that He's said in the sermon on the 05:17 mount should be put into practice. 05:19 The purpose of the parable is to teach people to put into 05:22 practice what Jesus said in the sermon on the mount. 05:26 Now Adam Clarke, the great commentator, had something very 05:30 interesting to say about this parable. 05:33 This is what he says: 05:39 By the way, he was not a Seventh-day Adventist. 05:54 But now notice: 06:12 After all, is it a very easy thing to turn the other cheek? 06:17 Is it a very easy thing to carry something two miles when 06:23 somebody asked you to carry it only one? 06:25 Is it real easy to give up our coat when somebody 06:29 asks for our shirt? 06:30 That goes far beyond the obligations of 06:34 the ten commandments. 06:35 And so what Adam Clarke is saying is that the old is not 06:39 abolished, but it is intensified in the sermon on the mount. 06:44 Now what is the geographical setting of this parable? 06:48 I found this statement in Thoughts From 06:52 the Mount of Blessing, pages 147 and 148, 06:55 that will help us understand the geographical 06:57 setting of this parable. 06:59 This is the way it reads: 08:32 So now you can visualize that as Jesus was telling this parable, 08:37 the people were sitting there and they knew that what Jesus 08:41 was talking about was true, because they had seen it 08:44 with their own eyes. 08:46 Now, first of all, we want to determine what is represented 08:50 by the rock that the wise man built his house upon. 08:54 Well, the Bible tells us clearly what the rock represents. 08:58 Lets notice Deuteronomy 32:4. 09:02 In this series we're talking about the Bible or tradition, 09:05 right? So lets notice what the rock represents here. 09:09 It says in Deuteronomy 32:4, this is the testimony of Moses 09:13 who is writing Deuteronomy, of course, 09:16 inspired by God's Holy Spirit. 09:17 Here Moses, speaking about the Lord says: 09:37 So the rock is a person, right? 09:39 Did you notice the number of times that the personal pronoun 09:43 is used? His, his, God, he, in other words the rock 09:50 represents a person. 09:52 Notice also 2 Samuel 22:2, 3, 2 Samuel 22:2, 3. 10:00 This is David, the psalmist, who is saying this. 10:22 So the psalmist also says that the Lord is his rock. 10:27 In other words, the rock represents a person. 10:30 Now the question is, which person does it represent? 10:34 Well, the fact is here it says that it represents God. 10:37 But we know that there is God the Father, and God the Son. 10:41 So the question is, which of the two individuals 10:44 is being spoken of here? 10:46 We don't have to guess. 10:47 Go with me to 1 Corinthians 10: 1-4, 1 Corinthians 10:1-4. 10:54 Here the Apostle Paul is reminiscing about some events 10:57 in the history of Israel. 10:58 And this is what he says: 11:26 So what does the rock represent? 11:29 It is a person; it is God. 11:31 But specifically, what person? Jesus Christ! 11:35 The rock represents none other than Jesus Christ. 11:38 1 Corinthians 3:11 tells us that the foundation of 11:43 the rock is Jesus, and there is no other foundation. 11:46 This is how it reads: 11:48 The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:11: 12:01 How many true foundations are there? only one: Jesus Christ. 12:06 Now the question is, what is represented by the house? 12:11 We know what the rock represents. 12:13 Building on the rock means, represents, building on Christ. 12:17 But the question is, what is meant by the house? 12:20 There are four answers to this question. 12:23 1. The house can represent an individual, 12:28 a member of the church. 12:30 Notice Matthew 12:43, 44. 12:34 It has an individual application. 12:36 Matthew 12:43, 44. It says: 12:43 Notice, out of a man, an individual. 12:53 So the man is called a what? a house. So it says: 13:03 And that is from the man from which I came. 13:09 So the first application of the house is that it 13:12 represents a person. 13:14 It represents an individual. 13:16 Now there's a second meaning to the word house, 13:19 and that is the family unit. 13:21 The family, not an individual, but the family. 13:24 Notice Psalm 127:1 and we will also read verse 3, Psalm 127:1, 13:32 and then we'll jump to verse 3. It says: 13:41 Now what was the psalmist talking about here when he says, 13:48 Well, verse 3 explains that it's talking about the family. 13:52 It says there: 13:59 So, secondly, the house represents the family. 14:03 So it can represent an individual, 14:05 it can represent the family. 14:07 3. On a broader scale, the house can represent the entire 14:13 nation of Israel; the entirety of God's people. 14:18 Notice Jeremiah 18:6, Jeremiah 18:6. 14:25 Here Jeremiah says: 14:42 So the house can represent the entirety of God's people 14:46 in the Old Testament. 14:48 It can represent God's Israel. 14:51 4. The house can also represent the Christian church. 14:56 You say, Really? Absolutely! 14:59 In fact the Old Testament tells us very clearly that the temple 15:05 is the house of God. 15:07 And you find this in many texts in the Old Testament. 15:09 You know, there were so many of them that I decided not even 15:12 to put one in the material. 15:13 Because you can look up the expression in a Concordance, 15:16 house of God, and you'll find that the temple is referred to 15:19 that time and again in the Old Testament. 15:22 But now I want to ask the question, What is God's house 15:27 in the New Testament? 15:28 In the Old Testament it was the temple, 15:30 but what is God's temple today? 15:32 God's temple today is us individually, 15:35 but it also represents the church. 15:38 Notice 1 Timothy 3:14, 15, 1 Timothy 3:14, 15. 15:48 Here the Apostle Paul says: 16:13 So you'll notice here that the Christian church is also called 16:18 the what? It is also called the house. 16:21 So the house represents four things: 16:23 1. The individual. 16:25 2. The family unit. 16:28 3. God's Old Testament people. 16:31 And in the 4th place: God's New Testament people, 16:34 the Christian church. 16:36 Let me ask you, must we be built upon the rock individually? Yes. 16:41 Must the family be built upon Jesus Christ, the Rock? Yes. 16:45 Was Old Testament Israel built upon the rock? Absolutely! 16:50 They were built upon the Lord. 16:52 What about the church? 16:53 Is it supposed to also be built upon the Rock, Jesus Christ? 16:57 Absolutely! Now do you know what the sad thing is? 17:00 The Roman Catholic Church says, No, the rock is not Jesus; 17:05 the rock is Peter. 17:07 And they use Matthew 16:18 where it says, 17:13 where Jesus is speaking: 17:19 The word Peter means a pebble. 17:21 You are a pebble, a moveable stone, a small stone. 17:25 You are petros, Peter, a pebble. 17:36 Which we already know is the house of God. 17:41 That is the grave. 17:45 And the Roman Catholic Church basically interprets this as 17:48 saying, Jesus is saying to Peter, You are Peter, and upon 17:52 this rock I will build my church. 17:54 But really what Jesus is saying is, You are Peter, and upon this 18:00 Rock I will build My church. 18:02 Do you know that there is not a single text in the Bible 18:06 that says that the rock is a human being, a man, 18:09 a mere man? There is not one in all of the Bible! 18:13 In all of the Bible the rock is always the Lord, 18:17 without exception. 18:18 So you say, Why did Jesus say, you are Peter and upon this rock 18:23 I will build My church? 18:24 Well, that was a way of Jesus speaking. 18:26 Notice John 2:19 where you have a similar way of speaking 18:30 on the part of Jesus. 18:32 You know, Jesus made this statement that 18:34 really riled the Jews. 18:36 It says there in John 2:19: 18:50 To what was Jesus referring when He says, 18:52 Destroy this temple? 18:54 He was referring to Himself. 18:56 So when Jesus uses the expression, upon this Rock 19:00 I will build My church, it's the same as Jesus saying, 19:03 this, destroy this temple, and in three days 19:08 I will raise it up. 19:09 Jesus was making a contrast. 19:10 He was saying, Peter, you're a little pebble. 19:13 You're petros, a movable, unstable pebble. 19:18 But upon this Petra, upon this Rock, I will build My church. 19:23 It is inconceivable, folks, that the church would be able to 19:27 withstand the gates of the grave if it was built upon 19:30 a mere human being. 19:32 It would be impossible for the church to be able to stand. 19:36 Now the question is, How do we build upon the rock? 19:39 Yeah, we know that the rock represents Christ, 19:42 and that we're supposed to build upon Christ. 19:44 But what does it mean to build upon Christ? 19:47 How can you build upon a person? 19:49 The answer is found in the parable. 19:52 Do you remember that the parable said, 19:54 Therefore whoever... Listen carefully. 19:58 Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, 20:04 I will liken him to a wise man who built his 20:07 house upon the rock. 20:08 So how do you build upon the rock? 20:11 By hearing what? 20:14 By hearing the sayings of Jesus, and doing them. 20:18 Where do we find the sayings of Jesus? 20:21 We find the sayings of Jesus in His Holy Word. 20:26 Now do you know what's interesting? 20:27 The word, sayings, that is used there in the parable, 20:31 is the identical word that is used in John 1 where it says, 20:35 In the beginning was the Word. 20:37 It's the Greek word logos. 20:41 And in John 1, logos applies to whom? to Jesus! 20:46 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 20:49 and the Word was God, referring to Jesus. 20:53 So Jesus here says, in the plural, Whoever hears these 20:57 logo of Mine, these words of Mine. 20:59 Because the Word is speaking the words, and does them. 21:02 He says, that's what it means to build upon the rock. 21:07 In other words, as we assimilate God's message 21:11 from His Holy Word, we are building upon Jesus Christ. 21:16 As we study His Word, as it goes through our eyes, 21:20 and through our ears, it becomes part and parcel 21:24 of our very being. 21:26 That's what Jesus meant when He said that we need to eat 21:31 His flesh, and we need to drink His blood. 21:33 You know, the Roman Catholic Church says, See, you know, 21:36 in the Mass, you know, the priest is really drinking 21:38 the real blood of Jesus. 21:39 And people in the host are eating the real flesh of Jesus. 21:42 They totally have missed the point. 21:45 Jesus becomes part and parcel of you, not literally by 21:50 drinking His blood, and eating His flesh. 21:52 Because Jesus explained what it means for Jesus to become 21:56 part and parcel of us. 21:57 In John 6:63 the Lord Jesus says: 22:08 In other words, eating my flesh would profit nothing. 22:11 And then He says: 22:21 So how do we build upon Jesus Christ, the person, the Rock? 22:25 We build upon Jesus by hearing His words and doing them; 22:30 by partaking of Jesus spiritually, by allowing Him 22:34 to come, through Scripture, into our eyes, and into our ears. 22:38 He becomes part and parcel of us, and we are building 22:42 upon Him, the Rock. 22:44 In Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, pages 148, 149, 22:48 Ellen White makes this profound statement. 23:07 What is that a reference to? whoever builds on what? 23:10 on them. What does them mean? 23:12 On His what? on His Words. 23:31 Does this leave any room for building upon 23:34 the traditions of men? Absolutely not! 23:37 It is building upon the Word of God that will help 23:41 God's people stand firm. 23:43 Notice Ephesians 2:19, 20, where we find an additional 23:49 explanation of what it means to build upon the rock. 23:53 Ephesians 2:19. The Apostle Paul says: 24:05 What? Ah, there you have the idea of the house again. 24:10 That's the church, right? 24:12 We already read 1 Timothy that this is the church. 24:14 And so it says: 24:21 And then notice what the foundations are. 24:23 We're talking about spiritual foundations. 24:29 How can we build on the apostles and prophets? 24:32 Only by reading what they wrote, right? 24:35 Because the apostles and prophets are dead. 24:37 We can't build upon them as people, but we can build 24:41 upon what they taught. 24:42 And notice who is the chief cornerstone of this structure? 24:45 Ah, it says: 24:52 Is any human being, mere human being the cornerstone? 24:56 Absolutely not! Building upon the rock means building upon 25:02 the chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ, 25:05 through assimilating His Holy Word. 25:08 We find in Mount of Blessings, page 150, this remarkable 25:13 statement. And I want to emphasize one 25:15 particular point here. Notice: 25:22 You know that the Apostle Peter says that Jesus 25:25 is the living stone. 25:26 He's not just a dead stone. 25:28 He is a living stone. 25:30 And now notice what she continues saying: 25:34 Of course, through His Word. 25:40 So because He is a living stone, when we build upon Jesus, 25:45 His life comes into us, because we are building upon the stone. 25:49 Notice: 25:56 And then she quotes: 26:09 Now this is a remarkable statement: 26:26 In other words when we build upon God's holy word, 26:29 His written word, the life of the word comes into us, 26:33 and we become living stones, built upon the stone 26:37 of God's holy word. 26:39 How can we be sure that we're building upon Christ? 26:43 Luke 6:47, 48 answers that question. It says there: 26:49 Notice the individual. 27:07 What? Oh, did Jesus say we're supposed to 27:10 dig deep into the word? 27:12 Oh, to find the treasure you have to dig deep. 27:14 And so it says: 27:22 In Mount of Blessing, page 146, we find this statement: 27:38 And on page 149 the writer continues saying: 27:57 Folks, holiness is not going to church and rolling in the isles, 28:02 and laughing in the spirit, and speaking in tongues, 28:05 and having miraculous healings. 28:08 That is not holiness. 28:09 I know it's called the holiness movement, 28:12 but holiness is not that. 28:15 What is holiness then? 29:11 So what does it mean to build upon the rock? 29:13 It means to hear the words of Jesus. 29:16 It means to read the words of Jesus as they're 29:18 found in His Holy Word. 29:20 And it means not only to hear them and say, 29:22 Oh, this is beautiful, but to do them. 29:25 That's what it means to build upon the rock. 29:28 Studying the written word of God, and making it part 29:32 and parcel of our lives. 29:33 The Bible warns against the idea of hearing and not doing. 29:37 Notice Romans 2:13, Romans 2:13. 29:43 The Apostle Paul says: 29:54 And some people say, Okay, so you're saved because 29:57 you do right things. 29:58 No, you're not saved because you do right things, 30:01 you're saved, and as a result you do right things. 30:04 You're not saved by your works, your works reveal if you have 30:08 true faith. In other words, you know, there's so many Christians 30:13 that say, Oh, I'm saved! 30:14 You know, Jesus is my Savior, and they live the same 30:17 as they lived before they came to Christ. 30:19 Their works deny that they truly are followers of Jesus. 30:24 They are hearers of the word, but they are not 30:27 doers of the word. 30:28 In 1 John 3:18 we find the Apostle John, 30:35 the beloved disciple saying: 30:45 Now the question is, what is truth? 30:47 If we're supposed to, according to John, we're supposed to love 30:51 not in word, but we're to love in deed and in truth, 30:54 we need to find out what truth is. 30:56 Well, in John 17:17 we find this statement, 31:02 this short statement that Jesus made: 31:10 So what does it mean to build upon Jesus? 31:13 It means to build upon His word. 31:16 It means studying His word, reading His word, 31:19 letting the word come in through our eyes and through our ears, 31:22 into our heart, and transforming and changing our lives; 31:26 doing the word. And that way we are building upon the rock. 31:31 What happens when we simply follow the sayings of a church, 31:34 or the sayings of a man? 31:36 There is no power, because we're not building upon the rock, 31:40 upon the stone. By the way, do you know that acceptance, 31:44 or rejection of the truth at the end of time is going 31:47 to be the big test? 31:48 You know, in our last study we read 2 Thessalonians 2:9-14. 31:54 Lets read that again, and notice how important the truth is; 31:57 building upon the truth, which is God's Holy Word. 32:01 It's speaking about the coming of the antichrist, and it says: 32:17 Why do they perish? 32:23 And what is the truth? 32:24 God's word is truth. 32:30 Do you have to receive the love of the truth 32:32 in order to be saved? Absolutely! 32:34 Notice what it continues saying in verse 11: 32:40 Some people say, You mean God is going to delude people? No! 32:43 You see, in the Bible what God allows is attributed to God. 32:49 But these people simply said, I don't want the truth. 32:52 And so God says, You don't want the truth. 32:54 You would rather have the traditions of men. 32:56 I step back. I give you freedom of choice. 32:58 Not a problem! And then the strong delusion comes upon them. 33:02 Because the protection of God is no longer with them. 33:05 And so it continues saying here in verse 11: 33:13 And we notice that the lie means the counterfeit 33:16 second coming of Christ. 33:17 The devil's going to counterfeit the second coming of Christ. 33:26 And His word is truth, by the way folks. 33:31 And then the Apostle Paul becomes positive. He says: 33:48 Is truth the testing issue at the end of time? 33:53 It most certainly is. 33:54 And God's word is truth. 33:57 The big test is going to be the traditions of men versus 34:01 the simple, clear word of God. 34:04 Matthew 7:21, 22. Notice that this comes immediately before 34:14 the parable that we're studying. 34:15 So we have to look at these verses, because they come 34:19 immediately before the parable. 34:20 Now notice what Matthew 7:21, 22 has to say: 34:38 Does that have any relationship to the parable? Yeah! 34:41 Whoever hears these words of mine and does them, 34:44 is the one who builds upon the rock. 34:46 Are there going to be some individuals who hear 34:48 but don't do? Absolutely! Notice, it says: 34:59 Now the question is, what is the will of the Father in heaven? 35:02 Well, lets go to 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8. 35:06 We want to know what the will of God is, because clearly Jesus 35:10 had said here that he who does the will of the Father 35:14 is going to enter the kingdom of heaven. 35:17 So we want to know what the will of the Father is. 35:19 Notice 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8. 35:38 Does that have to do with behavior? 35:40 Whenever the Bible uses the word walk it means behavior. 35:46 It means conduct. So it says: 35:59 Now notice what the will of God is. 36:06 That means that you become holy. 36:51 Does the will of God have anything to do with living 36:56 a sanctified and holy life, with walking, and with pleasing God? 37:02 Absolutely! So we notice that there are some people 37:05 that are going to say Lord, Lord, but they're not going 37:08 to do the will of the Father who is in heaven. 37:10 And the will of God is that we be holy, and sanctified. 37:14 That we abandon the uncleanness that we had before we 37:17 came to Jesus Christ. 37:18 Wait just a minute! 37:21 Those individuals who say Lord, Lord, are going to have 37:24 miracles in their midst, so they must be of God, right? 37:28 Notice Matthew 7:22. 37:43 Are these individuals who claim to be Christians? Absolutely! 37:47 But they say, Lord, Lord, but they don't do 37:50 the will of the Father. 37:51 And the will of the Father is our sanctification. 37:53 And sanctification is based upon God's holy word. 37:57 Now some people say, Well, Pastor Bohr, but, you know, 38:01 these people when they did the miracles, and these people when 38:04 they cast out demons, and when they prophesied, you know, 38:07 they were in a good relationship with Christ, 38:09 and then later they went astray. 38:11 No, they were never on the side of Jesus. 38:15 And you say, How do we know that? 38:17 Notice Matthew 7:23. 38:32 Now we'll come back to that in a moment. 38:35 There's a statement I want to read just before this, 38:37 in Mount of Blessing, page 146. 38:40 Because today the Christian world is captivated by the 38:43 spectacular, the supernatural, and signs and wonders. 38:47 That is the in thing these days; that which appeals to the 38:50 feelings and the emotions. 38:52 Notice this remarkable statement from 38:54 Mount of Blessings, page 146: 39:28 In other words, to build upon signs, and wonders, 39:33 and feelings, and emotions, and music, and having a good time, 39:37 and rolling in the isles, and laughing in the Spirit. 39:39 And if you're not obeying the word of God you're saying, 39:42 Lord, Lord, but you're not building upon the rock 39:46 of God's Holy Word. 39:48 Now is building a difficult work? 39:51 Remember that we read this statement from Mount of Blessing 39:54 about how difficult it was to build this house among the 39:57 rocks? Well, let me read you from Mount of Blessings, 40:00 page 147. Ellen White speaks about these houses that were 40:04 built upon the rock in his time. It says: 40:25 Building was a difficult work. 40:27 Let me ask you, is building upon God's word, building a character 40:32 upon God's word, building a church upon God's word, 40:35 many times a very difficult work? Yes it is. 40:39 In the book, Child Guidance, page 164, we find this 40:44 statement about the difficulty of building a character, 40:47 because the house represents our individual character, 40:50 and it represents the church. 40:52 This is what the writer says: 41:02 Because we all take steps in the wrong direction, right? 41:05 And if we took a wrong step, we say, Oh no, I blew it! 41:09 No! Well, we did blow it. 41:11 But that's not what determines character. 41:14 What is it that determines character? Notice: 41:48 It takes work, hard work to build upon the rock, 41:52 because you have to open the Scriptures. 41:54 You have to study the Scriptures. 41:55 You have to search the Scriptures. 41:57 And then you have to pray and say, Lord, help me to live in 42:00 harmony with this. 42:01 And we have to go against the natural tendencies of our 42:04 evil, sinful characters. 42:06 Now lets talk about what it means to build upon the sand. 42:10 Now if building upon the rock means hearing the words of 42:16 Jesus, and obeying what is written in the word, 42:20 then what must it mean to build upon the sand? 42:24 Well, Jesus explains it. 42:25 He says everyone who hears these sayings of mine 42:29 and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built 42:34 his house upon what? who built his house upon the sand. 42:39 Lets take one specific instance that we've been dealing with 42:44 during this series. 42:45 Is the word of God absolutely crystal clear that the day of 42:49 worship that God has established for Christians 42:52 is the holy Sabbath? the seventh day Sabbath? 42:54 Is that very clear? 42:56 So when you go to the word, and you read the clarity of 42:59 the word, you say, Okay Lord, you say that I'm supposed to 43:02 keep the Sabbath. Well, you know, I work on Sabbath. 43:05 I'm going to lose my job. 43:06 But it's more important to build upon the rock; 43:08 to build upon Your word. 43:09 Well, I'm worried about what my relatives might say; 43:12 what my friends might say. 43:13 No, but I've got to build upon the rock. 43:15 Oh, but what is my priest or my minister going to say? 43:18 They teach that Sunday is the day of rest. 43:20 No, but I've got to build upon the rock. 43:22 I've got to practice what I'm reading. 43:25 That's what it means to build upon the rock. 43:28 But what do many Christians do? 43:30 They can read it in Scripture. 43:32 It's very clear that the seventh day is the Sabbath. 43:34 But they say, I hear it, but I don't do it. 43:38 And that happens in many areas of life. 43:42 So what is meant by building upon the sand? 43:45 Well, let me read you a statement that we find, 43:49 once again, in The Mount of Blessings. 44:01 Did you catch that? 44:33 You know, when Jesus finished this parable, He contrasted 44:38 what it means to build on the rock, and what it means 44:41 to build on the sand. 44:42 Notice Matthew 7:28, 29. 44:46 When Jesus finished His parable, and the sermon on the Mount, 44:49 two groups are contrasted here by Matthew. 44:53 Notice Matthew 7:28. 45:04 What? Why do you suppose they were astonished at His teaching? 45:08 We've studied this before. 45:11 Why were they astonished at His teaching? 45:13 Because Jesus based His teaching on what? on the written word. 45:19 He didn't speculate. 45:20 He didn't philosophize. 45:23 He didn't conjecture. 45:24 He didn't quote the Rabbi's. 45:26 He had the authority. 45:28 He always faced every issue with the written word. 45:33 And so it says here: 45:45 What was the foundation upon which the scribes built? 45:49 the sand. That's why Jesus did not teach like the scribes. 45:54 What is being contrasted here is building upon the rock 45:58 with authority, and building upon the sand, which the scribes 46:03 were doing because they depended on the writings of human beings 46:07 instead of depending on the written word of God. 46:10 Now we still need to talk about the winds, and we need to talk 46:15 about the floods, and the storm. 46:17 What is represented by the winds in this parable that 46:22 beat upon the house? 46:23 Revelation 7:1, 2 provides the answer. 46:28 Revelation 7:1, 2. 46:43 What does that mean that they were holding the winds? 46:47 Well, those winds are the winds of strife. 46:49 What's going to happen when the angels release the winds? 46:54 We're going to have the time of trouble such as never was 46:57 in the history of the world, since there was a nation, 47:00 the Bible says. A time of trouble, which is called the 47:04 time of Jacob's trouble. 47:05 A time of severe anguish. 47:07 That is what is represented by the releasing of the winds. 47:12 And the winds are going to beat against every single individual. 47:16 And those who have built upon the solid foundation of God's 47:20 word, the winds will not blow them away, the winds of strife. 47:25 But those who have built upon the sand of human opinions, 47:28 the winds will blow them away. 47:31 The Apostle Paul also spoke about what it means to speak 47:35 of winds. In Ephesians 4:14, 15, the Apostle Paul says: 47:48 So the winds not only represent strife, but they also represent 47:53 different winds of doctrine that are blowing. 47:55 Are people blown away by winds of false doctrine today? 48:00 Absolutely! So he says that: 48:14 What? Here's the contrast. 48:23 Do you see the contrast between the truth and the winds? 48:27 James 1:7 adds a detail about what the winds represent. 48:32 When we pray. 48:37 In other words, we are to trust the word of God. 48:40 We are to have faith in the word of God with no doubt. 48:43 And then he says: 48:52 Now what is represented by the floods? 48:55 The floods, folks, represent persecution. 48:59 Notice Revelation 12:15, Revelation 12:15. It says: 49:15 Which represents the church. 49:23 This is speaking about the final persecution that is going to 49:27 come upon God's people. 49:28 Are there going to be a people that will not be affected by 49:32 the winds of false doctrine, by the winds of doubt, 49:35 by the winds of strife? 49:36 That will not be affected when the floods of persecution come, 49:40 are those who are going to be firm, and going to remain 49:44 solid in the Lord? Yes. 49:46 Those who have built upon the rock of God's written holy word. 49:51 Now what particular time is this speaking about, 49:56 where it speaks about floods, and it speaks about winds? 50:00 We find in Mount of Blessings, page 152, this statement: 50:17 That's talking about the great tribulation. 50:25 Which is God's written word. 50:27 We find in Great Controversy, 593, 594 what our only 50:32 protection will be in this time of severe crisis when the winds 50:36 are blowing, and when the floods of persecution come, 50:40 and when the storm breaks out we are told what will be 50:43 our only protection. 50:44 The Great Controversy, 593, says: 51:17 Do you know what is represented by the fall of the house 51:20 that is built on the sand? 51:21 We noticed that the church is represented by the house, right? 51:26 Have you ever read in Revelation 18, as well as chapter 14, 51:32 where it speaks about Babylon the great has what? has fallen, 51:37 has fallen. Why does Babylon fall at the end of time? 51:41 Babylon falls because it is built upon the foundation 51:45 of human tradition. 51:46 It is built upon the sands; the moveable sands. 51:51 And so Babylon will have a great fall. 51:54 It says that Babylon will have a great fall. 51:57 Just like the parable says that the house when it fell, 52:01 it was a great fall. 52:03 Now at the end of time there's going to be a worldwide system, 52:07 and we're seeing the formation of that worldwide system today. 52:11 Some call it the New World Order. 52:14 It's a system based on human greatness, and human prowess, 52:19 and human wisdom, and human ideas, very similar to what 52:24 happened at the tower of Babel, where God had said, 52:27 disperse over the earth. 52:29 And they all gathered together in rebellion against God. 52:32 We find this statement in The Patriarchs and Prophets, 117, 52:35 118, where Ellen White is talking about what happened at 52:38 the tower of Babel, speaking about the 52:41 plain where they built: 53:37 Now lets notice the application that is given to this 53:40 in Patriarchs and Prophets, 123 and 124. 53:44 This is the application to our time. 53:53 That's people who have no faith. 53:56 There are Christian infidels who are Christians, 54:00 but they don't believe in the Bible story of creation, 54:02 for example. So she says: 54:36 And now she's going to talk about the professedly 54:40 Christian world. It's not only unbelievers. She says: 55:47 So what does it mean to build upon the sand? 55:50 It means to build upon the deductions of science. 55:53 It means to build upon the traditions of men. 55:56 It means to build upon the ideas of the great men of the earth, 56:01 of the theologians, and the scholars, independently of what 56:05 God's holy word says. 56:07 I'm not saying that it's wrong to read the works of scholars, 56:11 but we must compare them with the unerring standard; 56:14 the standard of God's written word. 56:16 We must check out every tradition, every practice and 56:19 make sure that it is based on the eternal word of a holy God. 56:23 And God makes a wonderful promise to those who build 56:28 upon the rock, who build upon the word of God, 56:31 and not upon the traditions of men. 56:33 Psalm 27:5, we have this beautiful promise. 56:38 I love it! It says: 56:55 That is a promise for the time of trouble. 56:58 God's people who dwell upon His word, no matter what the winds, 57:02 no matter what the floods, no matter what the storm, 57:05 no matter what the tempest, no matter what comes. 57:08 Those who build upon Jesus Christ, as He is found upon His 57:12 word, will eventually end up living eternally 57:16 with Jesus in the kingdom. 57:19 So lets be those who build upon the solid foundation 57:24 of Jesus and His word. |
Revised 2014-12-23