Luke 6:47—I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
No doubt you have heard the parable of the wise and foolish builders. I remember as a child singing the song “The wise man built his house upon the rock . . .” Most messages I have heard on this parable focus on the comparison between the two builders and the obvious need to build our foundation on Jesus the Rock. But what is often missed in the passage above is the first sentence. To build a successful foundation one must apply three critical steps.
First, we must come to Jesus. Watchman Nee in his book, Spiritual Authority, wrote:
The acts of God issue from His throne, and His throne is established on His authority . . . Authority is a tremendous thing in the universe—nothing overshadows it. It is therefore imperative for us who desire to serve God to know the authority of God.
We disobey God’s authority if we don’t come to His Son. Left to our own devices our sinful nature takes over and we immediately head to trouble. Some of you are trying to live life on your terms, by your own strength. It won’t work—the moment you leave or ignore Jesus you replace rock with sand and you should not be surprised when every wind of adversity and rain of testing blows you down and dampens your joy. Jesus showed us what we should do by His own example. In John 12:50, He said, “I know that His command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say.” Jesus came to the Father; we are to come to Him.
Second, we must hear His words. Jesus’ expectation is our disposition to value what He says. Any good builder will tell us that if we want to put together a sound structure we must follow a blueprint. God’s Word is our blueprint for building our lives in Him. We know that He has the perfect plan the question is do we take it for granted and haphazardly pay attention or do we take it for granite and build a holy monument?
Finally, we put God’s word into practice. “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (James 1:22) Hearing is not the same thing as doing. Scripture finds meaning when we hear, read, study, memorize and reflect so as to apply its wisdom and nourishment. “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28) “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (John 13:17) When the floods come and torrents strike, you should be gratefully unshakeable . . . something to think about . . . in
Inspiration
When God inspects us with His searching and refining fire, will He detect that we have built enterprises of our own on the foundation of Jesus?—Oswald Chambers in My Utmost For His Highest
What the world calls virtue, without Christ, is a name and a dream. The foundation of all human excellence must be laid deep in the blood of the Redeemer’s cross and in the power of his resurrection.—Frederick William Robertson (1816–1853)
