Matthew 7:24-27 "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which 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. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."
It is good to set aside some time every day to read and study the sayings of Jesus. The goal, however, is not to simply read His word. We can memorize the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation and still not be wise. Wisdom comes from the application of what we have read.
We are easily discouraged from looking deeply into the sayings of Jesus. The words may seem mysterious to us. Examples used in the scripture may seem hard to unravel because they use types with which we are not personally familiar. There are many tools available to help us sort some of these things out in our minds such as Bible dictionaries and writings on the history and customs of the people in the Bible. While these things are good, we must remember that praying and relying on God to reveal His truth to us through the Holy Spirit is the only true path to understanding.
Our verses today are simple and straightforward. Anyone with even a hint of knowledge about construction knows that a solid foundation is necessary to the strength of the building. Most of us have seen the effects of a poor foundation which settles and causes cracks to form in the brick or the roof to have a noticeable sag in it. A poor foundation also affects the inside of the house and causes cracks in the wall and uneven places in the floor. If not corrected, the house can become uninhabitable.
If we are wise, then we will realize that “hearing” the sayings of Jesus goes deeper than just reading the words. Hearing His sayings with understanding and desire changes the way we live our lives; this is the “doing” part. When trouble comes (and it will), instead of crumbling beneath the onslaught, we are able to stand against the storm. Instead of falling, we will stand upon the Rock of our salvation.
Dear ones, let us labor to not just be hearers of His word. Let us apply ourselves to the doing of those things that He has commanded us. Chief among His commands is that we love one another as He has loved us. As the old hymn declares, “on Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.”