Are You Wise or Foolish?

 ²⁴Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

 ²⁵And 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.

 ²⁶And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

 ²⁷And 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 7:24-27 (KJV)

We have been talking a lot recently about walking in the paths that God has revealed to you. I hope it's helped you and been a blessing to you. In today's Scripture, Jesus is finishing up His Sermon on the Mount with a challenge for His listeners, and for us today as well.

Verse 24 says, "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock." His Sermon on the Mount covered all aspects of life, everything we need to live the life Jesus is calling us to live. He is now challenging His listeners to make a choice. He is saying, in verse 24, that those who hear these words, and does them, is a wise person. These are the people who have heard the teaching, and applied them to their lives. Jesus calls them wise because they have acted on the teaching. Why are they wise? Because they are building their lives on Jesus. 

Verse 26 says, "And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which build his house upon the sand." Those that hears the teachings of Jesus, but don't apply them, are called foolish. Why are they foolish? Because they are building their lives on the things of this earth. You see, anyone of us can read the Word of God, but if you just read it, it will not change you. But, if you read it, and apply it's words to your life, allowing God to change you, then you are building your life on Jesus. Let me put it this way. Suppose you cut your finger. Blood is pouring out. You find a bandage and look at the instructions for using it. If you just look at the instructions and do nothing, you will not be  using the product to do what it is intended to do. But if you read the instructions, pull off the wrapping and place the bandage on the cut, you have applied the instructions. 

Finally, notice the importance of building your life upon Jesus. Verses 25 and 27 teach us that the rain and storms of life fell upon both the one who build the house upon the rock, and the one who built the house upon the sand. The one who built the house upon the sand lost it all, but the one who built upon the rock lost nothing. What is your foundation built upon? Is it built upon Jesus, or is it built upon the things of this world? Think About It.