BUILD ON THE WORD

“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock” – Matthew 7:24

God’s Word is both a solid base to stand on, and a firm foundation to build on. We must on this Resurrection Sunday, begin to BUILD on the WORD (Mt.7:24). Everyone will have to build on a foundation in this life whether they realise it or not. If you’re going to base your entire life on something, you want to know that it is solid. If you’re going to stake your eternity on that same thing, you want to be sure that it is the truth. It would be utterly tragic to spend your life on a path that you thought led to heaven, only to find out too late that you were wrong! There is no better or firmer foundation to build your life on than God’s Word. As Christians, we must build our lives and stake our eternity on the Integrity of God’s Word. To build a strong froundation, you must follow the specfifcations in the blueprints.

Everyone is a builder! The wise man chose a proper foundation – doing the will of God – and built an enduring house - the only profitable life. The foolish man laboured to build a house upon sand – disobedient to God's word – and his house and labour were lost. A house is as strong as its foundation. The nature of the foundation determines the structure that it will support. You cannot erect a gigantic house on a feeble foundation. That would be a designed disaster. The same is true for our lives. You cannot become what God wants you to be on a faulty foundation. Any foundation that does not align with God’s Word is false and faulty and would lead to collapse. Here are four kinds of faulty foundation to avoid:

Tradition: some people build their lives on what has always been done or how their parents did things. Tradition becomes tradition because it works; but no tradition lasts forever. It eventually wears out, becomes obsolete, and invalid. The Lord Jesus told the Pharisees never to put tradition before truth: “For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men…all too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition” (Mk.7:8-9).

Fashion, Fads or Popular Culture: other people think they’ll simply do what every other person is doing. If it’s fashionable or popular, that’s what they do, too. Yet what’s fashionable today won’t be fashionable tomorrow: “And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever” (1Jh.2:17, NLT). Basing your life on popular culture is like building a house on a constantly moving foundation. It doesn’t work!

Reason: God gave us the legitimate ability to reason; and we need to use it. But our reason is fallible: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Pro.16:25).  The smartest among men will falter at times. Only God can be trusted all the time.

Emotions: some build their lives on feelings and emotions. If it feels right, they do it. But feelings lie virtually all the time! If you live by your feelings, you’ll spend your life manipulated by your moods.

Traditions grow stale, fashions fade, popular culture changes, reason can be faulty, and emotions lie. Yet God’s Word never changes. You may not always understand His Word. The world may not always like the Word. It won’t always be politically correct; but it’s the only entity that’s stable enough to build our lives upon. On what foundation are you building the structures of your life? How is it holding up? What distractions in your life keep you from fully building your life on the foundation on God’s Word? As Christians, our lives are best built upon the truth that God reveals in His Word: “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the WORD of His grace, which is able to BUILD YOU UP and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).