The Sermon on the Mount: Upon what are you building?

In the twenty second and last of his series on the Sermon on the Mount, we examine what Jesus says about false prophets, and the fruit people produce via the life they live. Click here for the recording of this 8/10/25 Service, and you can fast-forward to 20:24 to get to the start of the sermon.

Our text comes from Matthew Chapter 7.24-28

24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

27 And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and its collapse was great.” 28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Introduction

• This is the last in a series of 22 messages on the sermon on the mount, Jesus’ fundamental philosophy of the Christian life

• These are all curated on our website and YouTube

• 1, foundational question- On what set of life principles have you/are you building your life?

V24

• In this verse, Jesus focuses on 2 things

1. Hearing (akouō- harken, listen to) his words

2. Acting (poieō- to do) on his words

• In the NT, hearing and doing are two sides of the same coin- you only believe what you do (McGraw)

• He calls the person who does this “wise,” (fronimos- thoughtful, prudent) who builds his house on the rock- something stable

V25

1. Rains fell

2. Floods came

3. Winds blew

• The 3 above are part of life- they WILL come

• They slammed against the house, but it did not fall

• Its foundation was an unmovable rock

• Upon what are you building your life? Again, life is a series of choices…

V26-27

1. Those who hear

2. And do not act

• Are like the foolish (moros) man who builds on sand, which shifts constantly, always moving

• Rain, floods, and winds came, slammed the house, leading to great collapse

V28-29

• When his sermon came to an end, the crowd was struck (ekplēssō) by his teaching (didachē- instruction)

• He taught with authority (exousia- power), and not as the scribes (grammateus- experts in the law)

• He gave them biblical principle tied to practical application- ”this is how you apply this to your life…”

Practical application

1. Hearing + action = wisdom

2. The storms of life will come

3. Hearing + inaction = foolishness

4. What you build your life on has consequences

5. The decisions you make often impact multiple generations- the ripple affect

6. Good teaching ALWAYS involves practical application