lay person: Janice Edson
MESSAGE: Two Houses.
My Grandpa Mennenga passed away in 1993 and several years later two of my nieces and I went to Shell Rock and drove down that familiar lane into Grandpa’s yard. The house was setting empty. I went up to the vine covered screen door, opened it and went into the porch and then opened the door I had opened so many times to go into the kitchen. We walked among some of Grandpa and Grandmas old furniture; stood at the kitchen sink and observed some of Grandma’s things still on the wall, the familiar old wall paper was still on the walls in the familiar old rooms. I peaked into the bed room we slept in when we stayed at Grandma’s to notice the floor was falling in. Out in the yard we stopped at the peony bush to just smell the flower. We didn’t take anything but the memories and a few pictures.
There was a country ballad recorded by Miranda Lambert in 2010 called “The House That Built Me”. The song's female narrator describes returning, as an adult, to the house that she grew up in, and asking the person who now lives in the house if she could step inside and take a look around. She says “she won’t take nothin’ but a memory”. Her reason for returning is:
I thought if I could touch this place or feel it
This brokenness inside me might start healing.
Out here, it's like I'm someone else
I thought that maybe I could find myself
In our Scripture readings this morning we heard two questions.
From Psalm 11 A Voice of Flight asks: When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? And In the Gospel of Luke Jesus asks “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I think the two questions are connected. Jesus knows what the righteous can do when foundations are crumbling; when there’s brokenness in our hearts that needs healing.
Jesus told a story in our Gospel about two houses. Let’s take a walk among the houses that Jesus describes. Both houses had been hit by the torrent. My Study Bible says that that literally meant the river had hit the houses. In Jesus’s story it was not “IF” the torrents come, but “WHEN” the torrents come. Let’s observe the effects on each house. The first house has a deep foundation down to the rock. The house is unshaken. Let’s walk over to the second house; it’s no longer standing and as we walk among the ruins, we find no foundation. This house was only built on the ground. The ruin of this house is great! The difference we observe is in the FOUNDATION! From Jesus’ story we discover that that Foundation is based on coming to Jesus, (He is Lord, Lord) hearing His words and putting them into practice.
In John 6: 28 & 29 Jesus is asked a question by the crowd: “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God? I hear them asking “what would make a good foundation for our lives?” Jesus’ answer pointed them to what they must do. “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” Dig THATfoundation deep. Jesus is telling them to Believe in Him, Come to Him by faith. He is the One God sent, the Messiah, the Son of God. He is the Rock for your foundation! Your house won’t be shaken!
There were two voices in our reading from Psalm 11 this morning. One Voice was the voice of Faith. Faith says “In the LORD I take refuge. The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne.” The LORD is observing the sons of men; His eyes are examining them; the righteous and the wicked. David, the author of this Psalm had made up his mind to trust only in the LORD; the Foundation that will never crumble.
The second voice was the Voice of Flight. This voice is confused and in view of the crumbling of the society, he asks what can one righteous person do? Timothy Keller wrote in his book “The Songs of Jesus” “When life crumbles, the desire to run away and hide in despair is strong. There’s no foundation there.
Do you hear Jesus saying “If you call me Lord, Lord, obey me, trust in me. Live your life according to my Word and Your house will not collapse even when other foundations are crumbling.
Jeff and I went to Knoxville in March to hear Lori King and her Blue Grass Band. They opened for the Malpass Brothers. I don’t particularly like Blue Grass music, but I had to eat my words. The musicians were fantastic; Lori King played a mean string bass, her husband played excellent guitar and there was a great banjo player and mandeline player! The songs they sang were not what I call traditional Blue Grass songs; they told stories and I loved them. The Malpass Brothers perform old Country Music songs, the Country Songs I grew up with. Again, excellent musicians! They are professionals and have put in hours and hours of practice.
AND
Like many other fans we watched Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeye girls play and I am awed by the 100%, focused, disciplined training these athletes have put in. Jeff heard that Caitlin Clark in her work out shoots 300 shots a day! The hours and hours of practice and drills have built their athletic abilities. What an inspiration!
Again I hear Jesus say “You call Me “Lord, Lord” and we do!!! He is! I hear Him urging us to obey His Word & put it into practice in our lives. It takes obedience, dedication Commitment and devotion. In our Call to Worship, from Psalm 119, the Psalmist uses the personal pronoun “I” 8 times stating his intentions as he builds his life on the foundation of God’s Word.
I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands
I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn your righteous laws
I will obey your decrees’
I seek you will all my heart
I have hdden your Word in my heart
that I might not sin against you.
I opened my message by referring to the song “The House That Built Me” and in that song the singer says “Her reason for returning is: I thought if I could touch this place or feel it This brokenness inside me might start healing”. I won’t take nothin’ but a memory”.
I think this is the reason Jesus asked the crowd the question “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do the things I say”. He knew brokenness would be the result of not building our lives on His Word. “Take My Word” He says.
During Lent I read the Book of Psalms and when I came to Psalm 119, the longest chapter in the Bible, with 176 verses, divided into 22 sections of 8 verses, all “exalting God’s Word”, I found that each section of 8 verses contained “How To” instructions for Life.
In our Call to Worship we read the first 12 verses of Psalm 119 and in those verses I found the instruction on “How to avoid shame” in verses 5 & 6. The Psalmist lamented “Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands.” A few of the other “How To’s” I wrote down are:
How to stay on the path of Purity for the young person
How to avoid selfish gain
How can I answer anyone who taunts me
How to preserve Your life
How to be wiser than your enemies
How to make God your refuge and shield
The answers are all found in hearing and obeying God’s Word.
Let’s go back and walk through those two houses in Jesus’ story one more time. One still stands, the other in complete ruins—It is for our benefit that we build our lives on the Rock of Jesus Christ and His Word. Our hearts need the Wisdom, Hope, Faith and Love that we find in the Truth of Jesus’ words. We need to practice His Word, act on it, Trust in His Word, Confess and repent when we fail and Trust in His Mercy and Grace.
I love my MacArthur Study Bible. It answers questions and reveals “the rest of the story” as Paul Harvey used to say, making The Word come alive. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than a double edged sword”. In Ephesians 6:17 we find the Word is “The Sword of the Spirit” against all the lies of the ruler of this world. I agree with the Apostle Paul’s inspired words in Romans 11:33 “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His Ways! A house built on the Foundation of His Word will stand!
