01.12. Upon the Rock, Christ Jesus

Upo­n The Rock, Christ Jesus Matthew 7:24-27 ; Luke 6:46-49

It is said that men in the past would level a house by drinking half of a bottle of liquor and then using the other half as a level. By that time anything looked level and it didn’t matter. The houses needless to say were not exactly solid and level. There is a church that was out the street from a church I pastored in Johnson City that made plans to build. They dug the footers, poured them and lay the blocks. The floor was to be concrete so they put in the plumbing and filled in the dirt to level up so the floor could be poured. Prior to the blocks being laid, in only a few days, there were major cracks in foundation walls. They discovered by core drilling that the foundation was built upon an area that was filled with caves underground. The foundation looked good but its support was flawed. When you go to the beach the next time look at the houses built on post. The biggest story of them is that the posts are sitting on a solid foundation and not the sand. They dig to solid ground and the pour concrete to give the foundation to the houses. The foundation is there but unseen.

I- False Professions

There are many today that have what we might call false professions. They talk the language of a believer. Jesus said here, "… why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" Luke 6:46

Many times we are like the church who put in the foundation but did not check to see if their rock that they were building on was solid. We have many man made ideas of the way things might be but we need to trust God’s word to tell us how it is.

1 Corinthians 3:11-14 says, "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; ¹³ Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. ¹⁴ If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward." The apostle Paul went on to state in the Corinthian letter concerning the ways men would devise, "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness." 1 Corinthians 3:19

It is not just important that you believe something, it is important that you believe the right thing. You must have a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus.

II- Two Houses in a Hurricane

I call these two houses in a hurricane. This parable tells of two houses built, one on solid rock and the other on sand. The word of God says concerning the house on the 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." Matthew 7:25 The other house was on the sand and the word of God says, "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." Matthew 7:27

How sure is your foundation when the storms of life rock your world. I have told you before about my wife turning to me about a minute after here daddy die at 2:00 in the morning at the hospital and say, "What we believe is true." I say to you today, the anchor holds in spite of the storms. The anchor holds in the midst of the storm.

III- Upon Christ the Rock

We know that the rock of our salvation and our faith is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. In the wilderness journey the people were supplied water from a rock. The first time Moses was told to strike the rock and water came out. The second time he was to only speak to the rock. The reason was the rock represented Christ who was only crucified one time. Moses instead struck the rock and that was the reason he did not enter the promised land. Notice what Paul the Apostle said about this rock, "…they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. " 1 Corinthians 10:4 a- Rock of the church

Matthew 16:18 "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. Christ tells him that upon this rock, the rock of faith in Him, He would build his church. The church is going to stand until the end my friend because of it sure foundation.

There are many who are offended by the idea of Christ dying for their sins. Notice the word of God. 1 Peter 2:6-8 "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. ⁷ Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, ⁸ And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient…"

We see from the word of God that the Rock, Christ Jesus will also be a rock of judgment. He will be the rock that destroys the world of sin and judge it as a rock that crushes. Notice Daniel 2:1-49 where Daniel is telling the king the dream he had in which God revealed the history of the kingdom that would rule the world. Daniel 2:34-35 "Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth." The four kingdoms that would come were all crushed by the rock cut out without hand, the Lord Jesus, crushed them. My friends our Lord Jesus, who is the rock of our salvation, is the rock that will judge and crush the sins of men. Will you not come to the rock for safety?