Build to be Filled
Notes
Transcript
We are at the end of our series on the Sermon on the Mount. We have called it the constitution of the Kingdom, but today, we will see that it is also the blueprint. These final verses wrap up all that we have studied over the last few months. And they wrap it up the way the Jesus intended. He doesn’t do anything or say anything haphazardly, quite the opposite, He is always very precise with his words and thoughts. So He says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
We read this passage, and many of us have heard these words many times before, in fact my children ask to sing the song quite often at home. It seems so simplistic. First off, lets simply look at how Jesus begins his conclusion. He knows that there are two types of hearing. The hearing that goes in one ear and out the other. And the kind that goes in and actually sticks. Over and over in scripture Jesus says, Whoever has ears, let them hear! He is appealing to his followers that they take his words, hear them, and let the words change the way they live. We have done an in depth study of the words He spoke and I pray that over the course of the last few months you have not only heard these powerful words, you’ve let them marinate in your mind and in your heart. That you have become more passionate about the constitution of the Kingdom. That you have allowed these words to stick and ultimately change you from the inside out, making you an authentic citizen of the Kingdom. So this morning, lets be people who truly hear what Jesus is still speaking to us, His followers.
Jesus uses an allegory that every person would be able to relate to. He tells us that if we put his words into practice, we will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. His audience would’ve been familiar with this concept. First off, anybody who lives in a home of any sort knows that there has to be a plan before the home is constructed. The more detailed the plan, the more precise the outcome. We also understand that our foundation must be rock solid in order for the house to stand. And we know that in Wyoming, it better be wind resistant if we want to sleep peacefully at night.
So we see Jesus comparing the ideas of building a house and building our lives. And
1. What we build on matters.
The foundation of a house that is built on solid ground will withstand the storms of life. Jesus specifically uses the word “rock” here because the word rock is used over and over in scripture to describe God.
1 Samuel 2:2 says, “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.
Psalm 18:2-The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 27:5- For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.
We all nod our heads and agree that God is the Rock and our lives need to be firmly built upon Him. It’s a great idea. Something we can all desire. It sounds all so simple, but still so many miss it. Jesus gave a very specific blue print on how to build our lives on the rock in the Sermon on the Mount. He tells us: Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the peacemakers, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, and the persecuted. He tells us to love our enemies and pray for them. He challenges us to be those who love and not hate. To purge our lives of thoughts and impulses that lead to murder and adultery. He lives His life as the perfect example of one who turns the other cheek, one who prays and fasts, and one who doesn’t worry. And He calls us to follow suit. He lays before us a narrow road that leads to life and tells us to walk down it, not being tempted by the things the world has to offer. Jesus gives a precise blue print, and this isn’t something new.
2. God has always been about precision.
God has always given precise instructions on how to build things. Starting with the Ark and moving to the tabernacle and temple, God has always given His people exact instructions on how to build things.
God beckoned Moses to come up Mount Sinai a couple of times. Once when he received the 10 commandments and again to receive specific instructions on how to build the tabernacle. The tabernacle, also known as the tent of meeting, was designed to be a place where God’s presence could reside with his people. Exodus 24:15-18 says, “When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it, 16 and the glory of the LORD settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day the LORD called to Moses from within the cloud. 17 To the Israelites the glory of the LORD looked like a consuming fire on top of the mountain. 18 Then Moses entered the cloud as he went on up the mountain. And he stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”
It took 40 days and 40 nights to give Moses the instructions for the tabernacle. That alone tells us that God is into details.
I don’t know about you, but when I begin to read through the Bible I do really well until the end of Exodus when God begins to give His directions on how to build the tabernacle. All of the colored yarn, and curtains, and acacia wood, and gold and bronze. All of the cubits long and cubits wide make my eyes glaze over. I inevitably look online for pictures that help me understand the set up so I can envision what the Israelites were tasked to do. Even though it may be daunting to read through these instructions, I think it’s important for us to see that God always has a specific plan and He wants to reveal it to us!
The Israelites constructed the Tabernacle just as the Lord told them to. They gave everything that was needed for it’s construction, including their time, talents, and treasures. The directions included making the curtains, the table, the bread of the presence, lampstands and lamps, an altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering, the basin and anointing oil. And the piece de resistance was the Ark of the Covenant. Once everything was made and in place, God filled it with His presence. Exodus 40:34-35 says, “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” God could finally dwell with His people, which was His ultimate goal!
God always builds to fill.
The Israelites used the tabernacle for a very long time, and since it was mobile they could take it with them wherever they went. They traveled through the desert and into the promised land with it. And finally when they became a nation and God planted them in one location, He began to put it in the hearts of His people to build a permanent dwelling place for Him. King David began the dream, but it was his son Solomon who carried it out. The Temple in Jerusalem took seven years to construct, and again we can read in 1 Kings about all of the preparations and instructions for the Temple. Again, you can get lost in all of the specifics of the Temple, but I think it’s worth reading since God saw fit that the descriptions were part of the Bible. And in the midst of the building process God says to Solomon, “The word of the LORD came to Solomon: 12 “As for this temple you are building, if you follow my decrees, observe my laws and keep all my commands and obey them, I will fulfill through you the promise I gave to David your father. 13 And I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel. 1Kings 6:11-13.
Once the temple was finished, God filled it with His glory. 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 “When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. 3 When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.”
God’s presence again dwelled with His people. What he desired all along! God always builds to fill.
Then, because of the Israelite’s constant disobedience, God removed His presence from the Temple. It departed, and almost all of them missed it. They didn’t recognize that God had left the building.
Then Jesus came. And He was filled with the presence/the Spirit of God and He walked among His creation again. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14
And we meet Him here in the sacred pages of scripture, standing on a mountain, telling us to again build a house, a dwelling for the Lord! He gave the specific instructions for us to use and He promises that if we build on the Rock, our house will endure.
He promises that: When the storms of life come and try to blow us around, we won’t be shaken. When an earthquake diagnosis tries to take us down, we won’t be shaken. When we feel hard pressed on every side and hurricane force winds try to demolish everything we’ve worked so hard to build, we won’t be shaken. When the fear of losing a job, a child, a marriage threatens to flatten us, we won’t be shaken. We won’t be shaken because we have built our house on the rock and the very presence of God resides in us.
3. God always builds us to fill us.
The very first person who was filled with the Spirit, according to scripture, was a man named Bezalel, “Then the LORD said to Moses, 2 “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 3 and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills” Exodus 31:1-3
Solomon was anointed as the King of Israel, and when He asked God for divine wisdom, God poured it out upon him, “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore.” 1 Kings 4:29
Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit at His baptism, thereby giving him the power he needed to accomplish the will of His Father.
And when we build our house on the Rock, we are promised that He will fill us with the same Spirit that Jesus was filled with, the same spirit who gave Solomon his wisdom and the same spirit that enabled Bezalel to build the first dwelling place of God!
The Holy Spirit is the gift that Jesus left us when he ascended to His heavenly throne. It’s a gift that we as believers must receive and continually ask to be filled with if we have any hope of living out the Sermon on the Mount.
4. Our lives are now the dwelling place of the living God. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Peter, one of the 12, the one who was first called by Jesus, followed him for 3 years, saw the transfiguration, experienced the miracles, and the took part in Jesus’ earthly ministry. He was the one who recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and of whom Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, e and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:17-19
This same Peter was also the one who denied Christ three times the night he was taken to be crucified. He had yet to be filled with the Spirit. But on the day of Pentecost, while all the disciples were in the upper room, the Spirit came and filled every square inch of each of those present, men and women, and their lives were forever changed. Peter, the one who denied Christ, was empowered to build the early church on the Rock. And that church endures to this day, making true Jesus’ words that the gates of Hell will never overcome it. Peter went on to give his entire life, even unto death, for the Lord Jesus Christ because He built his house on the Rock and was continually filled with the Spirit.
I don’t know about you, but I need Jesus with every breath I take. I want my life to be built on a solid foundation, using the blueprint that Jesus gave me, so that I won’t be destroyed in this life or the next. Every day I have made it my habit to pray this prayer and I want to pray it over us today:
Dear Jesus,
Empty me. Empty my mind of the thoughts that are not from you. Empty my hands of the things that are not of You. Empty my heart of the desires that do not align with your desires. Empty my plans of the things You’re not calling me to. Empty me of my pride, anger, and impatience. Then FILL me! Fill me with Your Holy Spirit so I am empowered to do all that you’ve called me to do. Fill me with Your truth so it is the first thing I think about. Fill me with humility, patience, joy, love, gentleness, wisdom, peace, and self-control. I can’t do anything that will bear fruit or have eternal significance without being filled by You. Flow out of me as I teach, lead, preach, and love those you have entrusted to me. For Your Glory alone, Amen!
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