Jesus gave us an insightful parable about a man who built his house on a rock, comparing him to another man who built his house on the sand.
“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. 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. 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. 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” (Matt. 7: 24-27, NASB).
Yeshua explains here that the man who built his house on the sand faces big trouble—life is going to change. And when life changes, whether it’s a result of us getting older, losing our job, experiencing an economic crisis, dealing with a pandemic, having a health issue or any other inevitable trial—what we have laid as our foundation will determine our outcome.
Sand is no foundation. Yeshua, of course, is warning that unless we build our lives on Him, when life changes and crises come, we are going to get swept away, just as sand gets washed away by the waves when a storm comes.
Thus, Jesus said we should build our house on Him, taking refuge in the Lord and training our hearts on His Word. We establish our lives’ trajectory by putting one foot in front of the other as we walk toward HaShem, overcoming life’s obstacles by obeying Him every day. Our hearts should continually pant after Him, just as the deer pants after the water brooks (Ps. 42:1). Yeshua tells us what we can expect, “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” (Matt. 7:25, NASB 1995).
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Beloved, I want us to know, when we make HaShem our refuge and when we make Him our first love, we are going to go from grace to grace, from glory to glory and from joy to joy. We have an upward calling in Christ Jesus. But for those who sow to the flesh and build their lives on the sand and the world—it will be a downward spiral that ends in disaster.
If we think for a second that we can be successful in life without Father; if we think we can be successful without being led by the Spirit, we are going to find out that we will be sorely disappointed. That which is built on the Spirit brings life and increase. That which is built on the Word has an upward momentum. But the flesh decays, defiles and ends in death.
I that we are taking this to heart; sometimes, it is easy to think that we are—because we heard it. But beloved, sometimes there is a disconnect between hearing the truth and putting the truth into practice. I want to encourage you to make God the priority in your life. Spend time alone with Him every day. Dedicate time to Him first thing in the morning each day. Do not allow into your life those things that will defile you. Do not watch television programs or surf the internet for things that are unacceptable to Father. Avoid allowing the world and outside noise into your life. We need to be like the Shulamite bride in the Song of Songs, whom Yeshua described as:
“A locked garden is my sister, my bride, A locked spring, a sealed fountain” (Song of Songs 4:12, NASB).
She was keeping out of her life anything that defiled her. She was on guard.
Let us truly live for the Lord. Beloved, He wants to live in you and in me so we will walk with fidelity before Him.
“The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, what has happened that You are going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him” (John 14: 21-23).
It is by grace, it is all by grace, but we have our part to play. Beloved, it goes both ways. God has His responsibility, but we have our responsibility too.
“Come close to God and He will come close to you” (James 4:8a).
Yeshua said, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you” (Matt. 6:33).
Let us build our lives on the solid rock of Jesus, for He is the true refuge and our place of safety. When we make Him the center of our lives, we will experience the reality of Psalm 91.
“One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust’”(Ps. 91:1-2).
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Rabbi Kirt Schneider hosts the impactful television program “Discovering The Jewish Jesus,” which is available in more than 100 million homes in the United States and nearly 200 nations worldwide. In 2021 he began broadcasting on radio and now airs across America. Rabbi Schneider imparts revelation of Jesus’ Jewish heritage and His fulfillment of Messianic prophecy. Questions of how the Old and New Testaments tie together and how Yeshua completes the unfolding plan of The Almighty Yahweh are answered with exceptional clarity. www.discoveringthejewishjesus.com/about-2/rabbi-schneider/. His new book “Decoding the Torah” is available at this link.
