Matthew 7:24-28  “A Solid Foundation”
Rev. Jerry Hoek
 
Introduction:
When I was about 7 years old, I received a large tinker toy set for Christmas. The largest thing you could build with that set was a T.V. tower that was maybe 6 feet tall. It was a mammoth structure, at least to a 7 year old.  It used almost every tinker toy piece in the box!  Every time I tried putting it together, however, I had a problem.  The connection between the first and the second levels had a major weakness.  The whole weight of the tower rested on 4 short sticks.
Now maybe it would have worked without any problem with the tinker toys brand new when every connection was tight, but by the time I got around to building the tower, the ends of the sticks were pressed together and the holes were a bit worn. The result was that I would get to a certain point and the tower would begin to sag.  Those 4 sticks weren’t enough to hold the rest of it up.  I had to figure something else out to make the foundation stronger.
Jesus wants us to learn something about building our lives as He draws the Sermon on the Mount to a close.  In this sermon, He explained what the life of discipleship is all about.  Now finally, He closes with a final picture of what the disciples must do in order to follow Him.  They must build their lives on Him; they must build on the rock and not the sand.  What is important for us to see is that the response we make to Jesus is literally a matter of our own survival.  Let’s read Matthew 7:24-29.
 
I. We Are All Building
II. How Are We Building
III. The Building Inspection
 
I. First, Jesus makes it clear that We Are All Building.
Jesus says that we build our lives in the way we respond to the words of Jesus.  These words of Jesus are all He has been saying in this sermon.  These words form the basic principles for life in the Kingdom of God.  The words of Jesus represent all who Jesus is and what He does.
Secondly, when Jesus uses the word “hear,” He means to comprehend, to grasp the Gospel message.  This is not just the kind of hearing that we experience when we hear a baby crying or rain falling on the roof or our steeple creaking in the wind.  It means to understand that Jesus came down to earth to bring salvation to man by dying on the cross and rising again.  But even more than that, it means hearing a call to respond to what Jesus is saying.
The whole of Jesus’ teaching has been a revelation of what people need to build good and secure lives.  The materials are there in the life of discipleship.  The question is:  “What will they do with them?”
Most of us hear the words of Jesus regularly.  Most of us hear God telling us something about our lives or about how we are to live our lives every Sunday and perhaps every day of the week.
The question for us is what do we do with these things?  Do we build our lives using the teaching from our Lord?  Or do we build our lives using other materials?  The point is that we cannot just ignore what Jesus is saying or pass it by.
It has been almost 45 years ago that John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas.  Those of you who remember that event likely remember where you were and what you were doing at the time.   Novelist David Lodge tells where he was:  in a theater watching the performance of a satirical revue he had helped write.  In one sketch, a character demonstrated his nonchalance in an interview by holding a transistor radio to his ear.  The actor playing the part always tuned in to a real broadcast.  Suddenly the announcement came that President Kennedy had been shot.  The actor quickly switched it off, but it was too late.  Reality had interrupted stage comedy.
At that point, the words came through and people had to respond by believing it or not.  Every person who hears the gospel and what it means to be a disciple of Christ must face the decision of how to respond.  The picture Jesus uses shows just how important this decision is.
 
II. How Are We Building
Jesus uses the picture of a house built in a river valley.  Houses then were very vulnerable to the natural elements.  They were made of dried mud or clay bricks.  Now obviously, with such a house, when you build in the dry season, you don’t have to worry about storms and flooding.  But a person must realize that there are going to be times when the weather isn’t dry and that there will be storms and flooding.
A wise man anticipates this and builds on a foundation that will not erode.  The wise man scrapes down through the layers of dirt, sand, or gravel until his house is anchored securely to the bed rock.  This rock won’t wash away in the floods or crumble in the rain.
A foolish man will take a look at the sight and decide that it is a nice location and immediately begin to build.  He doesn’t anchor the house on anything other than the sand.  But the sand can easily wash away and the house is vulnerable.  Jesus’ point is this:  We need to make sure that we are wise and build our lives on a good foundation just as we would build a house on the rock.
What does the wise man do with the building blocks of Jesus words?  He hears the words of Jesus and hears the call to respond in obedience.
But even more the wise man puts these things into practice.  He actually follows through and implements what Jesus is saying so that it becomes part and parcel of his life; he uses what Jesus says.  If we are going to do what Jesus is saying, even those parts that are very difficult and challenging, then we are building on Jesus.
It is not enough just to hear the words and respond intellectually.  Jesus says that a disciple is one who hears and obeys.  We are to live a disciplined life even when many others around us are taking the easy way, the path of least resistance.
The other option is build on the sand, by ignoring the words of Jesus.  This person too hears and understands what Jesus is saying, but this person doesn’t do anything with Jesus’ teaching.  This person may simply pass off the Christian faith as a bunch of nonsense that only weak people need to have; a religious crutch.
Or these people may go to church because it is the thing to do.  It is a good place to make social or business contacts.  But they are living their lives on their own resources.
Or they may have nothing more than the head knowledge of the Bible.  They are virtual scholars but all that they know about the Bible and Jesus doesn’t really make any difference in their lives.  They think that they have a fine Christian house, but it is built on the sand.  Both people want nice houses that are secure, but both are building on a different foundation.
And the time will come when the type of foundation will show its worth.  James Boice tells of the time he once traveled by ship from England to New York.  It was a very hard and long voyage filled with many storms which made the ship feel like a cork in a bathtub.
He writes:  “Our first calm was the calm we felt as we entered the harbor in the middle of the night. Because I did not want to miss seeing the harbor, I spent most of the night on the deck, watching the ship slowly maneuver into place in the channel, drop anchor, and stop.  Then I saw the gray spires of lower Manhattan emerge like mountains in the brightening light of dawn.  I thought how firm they appeared and what a contrast they were to the way I had been spending the last nine days.”
Later on he and his family visited Venice and made an interesting observation.   “We arrived about 12:30 at night.  Cruising along peacefully under the warm Italian night sky, we took a motor launch down the Grand Canal to the Piazza San Marco, where our hotel was located.”  “Venice is like New York in some respects.  They are both great ports.  They are financial centers.  But I knew, even as I gazed at the great Venetian buildings, that Venice was slowly sinking into the waters of the Adriatic Sea.  The difference between New York and Venice is that Venice has no foundations such as New York has.”
The point is that the kind of foundation is vitally important for it will determine how we do in the future.
 
III. The Building Inspection will eventually come for each and every person’s house.
The inspection is life’s storms which come throughout our lives.  Please realize that Jesus is saying storms will come in our lives.  We want life to have as few problems and trials as possible.  Well, listen to how Jesus describes life:  rain will come down, streams will rise, the winds will come and beat on the house.
There will be problems.  We may have problems with our health or with health problems of our loved ones.  Some will have problems with marriage relationships or with relationships  with our children.  Others will have struggles with their jobs and careers.  There are storms in virtually every aspect of our lives.  And not only that, these storms will come on both kinds of houses:  the wise and the foolish homes.  It isn’t that just the wicked will suffer for their foolishness.  The wise too live in that river valley where floods come, a world that is filled with sin and its effects.
When Hurricane Katrina roared onshore a few years ago, swelling the lakes and rivers and causing the levees to break, it wasn’t just the unchurched people who suffered.  Both believers and unbelievers suffered from the rising water.  Storms and problems will come to all people.
However, Jesus’ point is that the way one builds will determine how successfully each house will survive.  Madeleine L’Engle writes, “It’s a good thing to have all the props pulled out from under us occasionally. It gives us some sense of what is rock under our feet, and what is sand.”
If we are founded on the rock of Jesus, we will be able to withstand the tests of the storm; we have nothing to fear.  The storms and problems may be howling around us.  The flood waters may rise to threaten and frighten us.  But if we are standing securely in Christ, we will stand.  That is helpful to remember when we face various storms in our lives.  If we are on Christ, the solid rock, we have the assurance that no matter what may happen, He will hold us securely.
If, however, a person has chosen to build their lives on the sand, that is without Christ, they simply will not survive.  They may be able to stand for a while.  They may try to make it through the storm based on their own will-power, money, power or wisdom.  But it is only a matter of time before their world collapses.  Slowly, but surely, such a person’s foundation is eroding, washing away.
Several years ago, huge sink-holes appeared in Florida.  People built their houses on what appeared to be solid ground.  There was no indication of a problem at all.  But slowly underneath, the ground was eroding and giving way.  Suddenly one day, a huge hole swallowed up everything.
That is a picture of people who try to live their lives by ignoring Jesus or merely giving Jesus lip-service.  They may think that they are Christian, they are doing and saying Christian things, but there is nothing underneath.  Eventually the whole thing collapses underneath.
In fact, Jesus says that the collapse of such houses will be great!  Like the houses in those sink-holes, the end will be complete.  When their lives fall down, it will be with a resounding crash.
This is an important lesson for us to consider.  It is important because at times it seems that many who have taken the easy way have gotten the better deal.  They haven’t built on the rock and things seem just fine.  They aren’t involved in all kinds of church activities.  They have got their Sundays free to do what they want.  They can make decisions based on whatever they want to do and feel that they have to answer to no one else.
One recent study showed the following.  Ninety-three percent of Americans say they alone decide moral issues, basing their decisions on their own experience or whims.  Eighty-four percent say they would break the rules of their own religion.  And 81 percent have a violated a law they felt to be inappropriate.  Only 30 percent say they would be willing to die for their religious beliefs or for God.   We need to remember Jesus’ words here that lives built on anything other than the rock of Jesus will eventually collapse.
And we need to hear Jesus’ words for us today to encourage us to build our lives on the rock of Jesus.  It is very easy for us, who come from a proud and strong work ethic, to build on ourselves, our abilities, resources and self.  That house too will eventually collapse.
And for those who are struggling with high water and strong winds, there is the assurance that if you have built your lives on the Lord Jesus, nothing will move you.
Earl Palmer wrote that he once got a ticket for speeding and had to go to traffic school. In the defensive driving part, they created a scenario: “You’re stopped at a stop sign. You look in your rearview mirror and see a car careening toward you that you realize is going to rear-end you. What should you do?”
Almost everybody in the class said you should keep your feet off the brake, so that when that car hits you, you would go forward, absorbing some of the shock.  That was the wrong answer!
They were told: Put your brake on as tight as you can and brace yourself for that collision. If your car is rigid and braced  — if it’s on its foundation, in other words  –then when that horizontal pressure hits, there will be less damage to your car and to the occupants. If your car is not braked, you get the whiplash effect.
Earl Palmer said,  “What our Lord has said is that when our lives are anchored into the rock — when we have found His faithfulness and His love, and we have made that the foundation of our life — then we’re better able to handle the horizontal pressures of life.”
If you are anchored securely in Christ and are seeking to be faithful to him in the hard things of life, he will not let you go.

John 14:15-17  “The Promised Counselor”

Rev. Jerry Hoek

Introduction:
There are times when we would like to have a special person to talk to.  In the year or so after my father died, when we visited family in Michigan I would go to his grave and imagine a conversation with him.  I wanted to be able to talk with him, to have his words guide me and advise me.  But he was gone and I could only imagine what he might say.  I’ve found myself wanting to ask my mother other things, but now that she is gone as well it is too late for that.  I suspect many of us have someone like that.  We have someone we really liked to talk with and learn from, but they have died or are gone away and we can’t talk with them.  We long to have his or her input and help.
There are also times when we wish we could have Jesus here to talk with and listen to.  Can you imagine what that would be like?  Simply talk to Jesus in person and ask him what do I do with my job, my marriage, my children.  If only Jesus were here, life and its difficulties would be so much easier.
This morning is Pentecost Sunday, the day on which the Holy Spirit was poured out on the first believers.  They too were missing Jesus and wishing they could talk with Him.  Then suddenly they received the Holy Spirit.  Now this was something they should have expected because Jesus had promised that He would send another Counselor who would be with them.  In fact, because of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is indeed with us.  Let’s read what Jesus said about the coming of the Holy Spirit in John 14:1-21.

 I. The Requirement of Love            

II. The Promised Paraclete                       

III. Life in the Spirit
 
I. The Requirement of Love
According to Jesus in verse 15, there is a requirement in order to receive the continued presence of Jesus through the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is given freely and abundantly, but not randomly.  Jesus says that if we are to receive the Holy Spirit, we must love Him.
Now let’s look more closely at what it means to love Jesus.  This is not the kind of love that we typically hear of today.  Today’s love is a feeling that can shift from being blazing hot to chillingly cold in a short period of time.  To many people today, love is something that is purely temporary and subjective.  And love is something that is given for any number of things from “loving Hawaiian pizza” to our loving our children.
The love which Jesus has in mind is a love that is deeply seated.  It is a love that reflects an unconditional commitment to him.  It is a love in which we know how much he loves us by looking at what he did for us on earth.
Above all, it is a love that is characterized by obedience to Jesus.  Jesus says, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”  We understand what Jesus’ commands are if we look at John 13:34.  “A new command I give you:  Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  The new commandment Jesus taught was “love one another.”  It is this command we are to obey and so show our love for Jesus.
The requirement for Jesus’ continued presence with us is to love.  Jesus make that clear in the summary of the law were He taught that we are to love God above all.  We must make sure that God is first and foremost in every area of our lives.  Our relationship with God is the most important one we have.
But we are also to love our neighbor as ourselves.  This is not a love of feeling and emotion.  It is an action where we love others even when we don’t feel like it.  It is a love for others even when they don’t deserve it.
And it is a love of actions.  We do things for other people when they have things that need to be done.  We say kind and supportive things to others when they need encouragement.  We speak honestly to them when they need correction.
It is a very giving love.  Twenty years ago, Mother Teresa went to Cuba to hear vows from 11 new members of her growing order, the Society of the Missionaries of Charity.  As she concluded hearing their vows, the frail and stooped Mother Teresa said,  “Love, to be real, must cost.  It must hurt. It must empty us of self.”  We must love others in a very concrete and tangible way.
If we are loving others in that way and are so loving God as we ought, then in verse 16 Jesus says He will do something very special for us.
 
II. Jesus will ask the Father to send The Promised Counselor or Paraclete.
Jesus says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.”  Now what or who is this Counselor?  This is one of those terms which are often rather fuzzy.  In the hymn, “Creator Spirit, by Whose Aid,” we sing of the Holy Spirit:  “O source of uncreated light, the Father’s promised paraclete.”  The only thing that this sounds like in English usage is a kind of shoes that baseball or football players wear.
“Paraclete” is a Greek word which can have several different meanings which are reflected in various translations of the Bible.  A “counselor” or “paraclete” can be one who helps others.  He literally comes to your side and helps you do something.  Last week as I was trying to repair our kitchen faucet, I needed an paraclete who could have advised me and walked with me on fixing it instead of making it worse.  A paraclete assists you in doing something or advises you.
Some translations translate “Paraclete” with the word, “comforter.”  That can be somewhat confusing as well.  We imagine the picture of something warm and fuzzy like a quilt or comforter; something that feels nice around us.  But the Holy Spirit as comforter is much stronger than that.
Some translations use the word “advocate.”  This is someone who functions like a defense attorney who defends and helps when one is wronged or attacked.  Several years ago, I went to the courthouse downtown Nashville to be a support to someone there.  I dressed in a sport coat and tie and while I was waiting, there were several who came up to me and asked if I was a lawyer who could help them, which I thought was a bit late.  A real advocate speaks for you and advises you in a legal sense.
The Holy Spirit does, in a real way, what all of these titles reflect.  The Holy Spirit comforts us by giving us the assurance of the presence of God in our lives.   When we wish that we could just talk to Jesus, the Holy Spirit is there to guide us and help us and to assure us of God’s presence.
The Holy Spirit assists us in times of difficulty and struggle.  Romans 8:26 says “the Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”  Elsewhere the Bible says that the Spirit will give us words to say when we are attacked.  Or when we are trying to tell someone about our faith, the Holy Spirit will be there to give us words to say.
The Spirit also teaches us the truth.  A good example of that is seen in John 14:26 where Jesus tells His disciples that the Holy Spirit will come and help them to understand everything He had taught them.  The disciples at this point were very confused.  It would only be after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, and only fully after Pentecost that the disciples would fully understand all that Jesus had taught.
So what is the role of the Holy Spirit?  To do whatever is necessary to help us as we struggle to live out our devoted love for Christ.
The story is told of a missionary who was seeking a word to translate the word “Counselor” in an African tribal language.  He found it very frustrating since they didn’t have a word that meant the same thing.  On day he kept hearing the word, “Nsenga-Mukwashi.”  When he asked about this word, he was told that this referred to the person who helped in whatever way he could, especially helping the poor and oppressed in court proceedings.  He was the helper to all who needed help in life.  The missionary found his word for the Holy Spirit as Comforter.  That is the Holy Spirit.
But notice that Jesus says that He will send another counselor.  Jesus is saying that He, in fact, was the first Paraclete, Counselor.  He too did all these things the Holy Spirit will do, but now Jesus is leaving and there will be no more physical presence.  But now Jesus is saying that the Holy Spirit will be doing these things in the same way.
And the result in a very real way is that Jesus is still with us.  Now, true, we can’t physically see Jesus in bodily form.  But we should be able to recognize Him in each other, because we have Jesus’ Spirit, the Holy Spirit in each of us.  And what is more, Jesus is not now limited by time and place for the Holy Spirit is always with us and in every one of us.
Once a young Scottish pastor was visiting an old lady who knew her Bible well.  I suppose he thought it was his duty to leave a text with her; so he said, before he left the room, “What a lovely promise that is, ‘Lo, I am with you always.’”  She replied, “It’s no promise; it’s just a fact.”  That is the beauty of the promised paraclete.
 
III. So then finally, what is life like in and with the Spirit, the Spirit of Truth?
This is reflected in verse 17 which says that Jesus will send “The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”  Jesus tells them that the world’s reception of the Holy Spirit will be cold.
The word for “world” here refers to that which stands opposed to God.  This world cannot see the Holy Spirit and so relegates such talk to the area of fancy and superstition.  Jesus was a nice man, a great teacher perhaps, but that is all over and done with.  “If you want to follow a former person in Jesus Christ, that’s fine; but don’t give us this Spirit-filled stuff.”  You can follow His teachings but that is it.
But the problem is that one can’t accept Jesus and reject the Holy Spirit.  It is a package deal, so to speak.  If you accept Jesus, you must accept the Holy Spirit.  If you reject the Holy Spirit, you reject Jesus.
And if it is true that the world rejects the Holy Spirit, then it is also true that the world will reject us as well.  We certainly know that this is true.  If we profess a belief in Jesus Christ, and also a belief in the Holy Spirit, we are often ridiculed.  We are also coolly received by the world.
But now before we all line us to be recognized as martyrs for the cause of Christ, we perhaps should ask why so many Christians are ridiculed or mocked or skeptically received.  Is it possible that when non-Christians see us as individuals they often don’t see Jesus or the power of the Holy Spirit.  I suspect that the world rejects the Holy Spirit because we are not reflecting Christ as well as we could or should.  The world may not see the gifts and fruits of the Spirit abound freely in our lives.  Instead they see religious people who are trying to be good and failing quite miserably.
Now we must be careful here.  Those who do not believe in Christ are responsible for their own refusal to believe.  But let’s not forget that we are also responsible for pointing the way to Jesus.  And one of the best ways of doing this is by living a Christ-like life in the power of the Holy Spirit.
You see that is the way God planned it.  People see Jesus by looking at us.  And the only way they will be able to see Jesus is if the Holy Spirit is working powerfully in our lives.  If we want the world to see and recognize Jesus and hopefully accept Him, we must realize that God desires us to reflect Jesus.  The world will look at us in order to see Jesus.
And we must realize that the timing is very great right now.  There are a lot of spiritual people out there in the world.  More and more people are becoming “spiritual.”  They are interested in the supernatural, in angels, in a God.  They have only a vague understanding of God and spiritual things, but perhaps we can show them the true way.
There is an opportunity here that we must try to be sensitive to.  We can show them that God is revealed in Jesus Christ.  We can show them that Jesus continues to be with us in the Holy Spirit.  People are increasingly open to listen if we are willing to talk.
Of course, the opposite of how the world receives the Holy Spirit is how we should receive him.  Jesus says that His followers will know Him because He will live in us and be in us.  We will know that we have the Holy Spirit living in us.  Having the Spirit in us doesn’t mean we will be extraordinary.  It will mean that we are a faithful follower.
When William Carey began thinking of going to India as a pioneer missionary, his father pointed out to him that he possessed no academic qualifications that would fit him for such a task  But Carey answered, “I can plod.”  How true it is that God accomplishes mighty things for his kingdom through those who are willing to persevere, who are willing to plod faithfully through one difficulty after another in the power of the Spirit.  But we do so knowing that Jesus is with us in the Holy Spirit.  Jesus today is leading, comforting, counseling and helping us in whatever way we need help.  It is a beautiful gift from our Lord:  His continual presence.
The question for us on this Pentecost Sunday is this: when people see you, whom do they see?  Do they see a nice, religious person?  Or do they see the Lord Jesus clearly shining through you?

Snapshots from Kenya – Lodwar (Part Two)
 
 
            After we returned from Lake Turkana we took a tour of the town of Lodwar.  The town reminded me of pictures of North Africa that I had seen before.  It was hot and very windy making the blue sky more of a brown haze with the dust in the air.  After lunch we started out on a walking tour of one part of the town led by the pastor of the local RCEA church there.

            One family was making brooms and Rev. Murupus explained that this was one of the businesses that the people in this region had undertaken.  They took palm leaves, ripped them in narrow strips, let them dry and then tightly bound them together to make brooms which they would then sell at the market.  Another woman was making a living by buying tea in bulk, repackaging it and then selling the smaller amounts of tea in the market.
            As we walked along the pastor explained that they were hoping to get money from churches in the United States to build a guesthouse for the relief workers who would come to this area of Kenya.  They hoped that with the rent that would come from this building, they could support the people of this church.  What struck me was how much these people were living on the edge.  There was virtually no farming and yet people were somehow eking out a living.             We came across a community gathering with everyone dressed in very bright and beautiful clothing.  Pastor Tom Osuru explained that this was a wedding feast and the people had gathered to celebrate.  It was a striking example that the celebrations and things of life continue even where there is so much hardship.  People were celebrating the goodness of God by bringing a man and a woman together in Christ.  In spite of the hardships, life and the celebrations of life continued.             We made our way to the local church where several of the members had gathered to welcome us.  As we had done several times already, both Rev. Murupus and his wife Mary spoke to those gathered, introduced Claire and myself and then we spoke as well.  We brought greetings all the way, as Rev. Murupus would say, “from America, all the way from Tennessee!”  We also assured them of our prayers for them and said that we would do all we could to help our brothers and sisters there.            There were two persons that stood out as I think of that group of people.  The first was a young boy named Etabo, whom we had met already earlier among the group of people who were making brooms.  He was a boy of about 5 years old that simply found his way into my heart.  He sat next to me, was greatly intrigued with my camera and was far more concerned with me giving him attention than the overall proceedings.  I saw his soulful eyes and my heart went out not only to him, but to all the children who live in such conditions.            The other person who stood out was Mary. Mary struck us as a woman of standing and simple elegance.  She held her head proudly and her eyes portrayed a woman of strong character and inner resolve.  Rev. Murupus explained that some of the gifts from Faith Church had helped her son go to school.  At the conclusion of this gathering, Mary walked over and asked that I take her picture with Claire.  It is a picture that captures Mary’s elegance and strength.
            As I reflect back on Lodwar, I think again of what an impact we as a church have made on a place as remote and harsh as Lodwar, Kenya.  Here were several families whose lives had been helped in a significant way from our gifts.  They were very thankful for the help they had received.
            I also think of the pride and the resiliency of the people there.  I think of Mary, who had faced so many hardships and still remained a godly, strong and yet humble Christian woman.  I think of Etabo and think of his childlike innocence.  I also wonder what the future is like for Etabo and all the other children in that area.  There are so many needs there and yet, one by one, we can make a difference even in such a place in Lodwar, Kenya.
 
Pastor Jerry                                                                                                      
May 2008