Build Your House on the Rock Kathryn Kuhlman Matthew 7:24-27

I'm very sentimental in bringing you this heart -to -heart talk today. And I have chosen something that's very precious to my own heart. And it's the climax to the greatest sermon that was ever preached. Preached by the very son of the living God. You dare not take issue with the doctor. in this sermon because it came from the highest authority in heaven and earth. And I'm going to read the climax of this sermon as preached by the Son of God. Hear it. 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. And 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. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And 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. And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astounded at his doctrine. For he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. That, beloved, was the climax, the final words of the greatest sermon ever preached. I am using these final words as my first words to you in this, my first heart -to -heart talk of a new year. Oh, these words are tremendous, believe me. Jesus is saying here, every man builds. And this is a common quantity in this illustration. The fact of building. But notice the difference. It's not in the men who build or in the materials with which they build, but in the foundation on which they build. It's the foundation that makes all the difference in the world. The one thing that you and I have in common, the one thing that all of us have, in common is the fact that we are building. And we begin building at the age of accountability. And we continue to build until that moment when the old heart takes its last beat and the soul leaves the body. I don't care who you are. You may be down in the very depths of despair. You may be so low down you have to reach up to touch bottom today. You may be so high up that you are on the very pinnacle of all things. Yet, both men are building. That's the one thing that we have in common. May I go a little bit further to say to you that the most priceless day In the sight of God is man, the individual. You know, we have gotten our sense of values all wrong. We've gotten to the place where everything is measured in the light of dollars and cents. This is a very materialistic world. Where a man dies, we say, how much did he leave? While he is living, we say, what is his income? How much is he making? The uppermost thought in the mind of most people is, what do I get out of it? How much will I be paid? Bless your heart. I want you to know that God doesn't. Put values on the material things. Why the streets of heaven are paved with gold. Money doesn't mean a thing to God. Precious stones don't mean a thing to God. The most priceless thing to God is man. If only you and I could see it. Not only man as humanity, but as individuals. You are as important to God as though you were the only person created in His image and after His likeness. I can prove that to you. Of the millions of people who have lived in the past, of those who will continue to be born in the future, and the millions who are living this very hour, you are so important, so individual to Almighty God, that no one else has the same fingerprints that you have. Pause whatever you're doing. Look at that thumb. That small area of a thumb. I am telling you the truth. The God's truth. No one who has ever lived or will live or is living this hour has the same songprint that you have. You're marked. In the mind of God, you're marked. You're precious. You're important. You are individual to him. You will be you forever and ever and ever. And as an individual, you are building. Every man builds. That's one thing we... all had in common. I repeat, it's not in the men who build or in the materials with which they build, but in the foundation on which they build. The foundation is everything. We may build with the same materials, with the same structural correctness, upon sand as upon rock. And all through the summer days, the buildings both appear to be right. You may not be able to tell one from the other. But remember something. Summer days do not exhaust the days. All days are not summer days. It would be very foolish of me to try to convince you today that... All days will be summer days. As surely as there's a summer, there'll be winter. And as surely as there's winter, there'll be summer. Just as surely as night follows day, and day follows night. As surely as there's a summer, there will be a winter. And all days will not be summer days. There are days of pelting rain, of sweeping winds of hurricanes, tornadoes. The winds will blow. The sleet will come. The snow will fall. And those are the days that will test our buildings. Do that. There will come a time of testing. So far as our building is concerned. Therefore, it is not so much a matter of the man building, not so much a matter of the material, but of the foundation. It's the foundation that makes all the difference in the world. Here then is what Jesus is saying. Take these sayings of mine. Take my teaching. Take my word. Live according to my laws. Build on them. And no storm can destroy your building. The tornadoes can come. The winds can blow. Sorrow, heartbreak, disappointment. Little do I know, little do you know what this new year will hold for us. Oh, today it's wonderful. We feel as though the whole year will be a year of sunshine. Oh, sure. the neighbor next door. We'll know his days of rain. The tornado may strike in another part of the country. But not for me. Somehow we're sort of like that. We feel as though we are the exception. Remember something. As surely as you are a part of humanity, As surely as you live and breathe, this new year will hold the rain for you. There will be the storm. There will be the dark clouds. Jesus is saying, be sure of the foundation on which you are building. No storm can destroy your building. No tornado. No disappointment, no sorrow can destroy your building. You will not, you cannot be defeated on a single score if you have built your life, if you are building now. If you have as your foundation in life my words, my truths. If you are living according to my law, hear these things of mine. Disobey them. You're going to meet with defeat. When the rains come, you have no foundation that will hold the rest of the building up. Remember something. This has nothing to do with the man who has never heard them. He's not... hear in view at all. This word is not to the heathen. It's to the man who hears and disobeys. To you. You know. You know the way. You know the truth. You've heard. And yet, lo, these many years you have disobeyed. The man who has seen a vision, dreamed a dream. The man who has heard heard the glorious infinite music, and will set his instruments to catch the tune. You can go on building. We may look at the structure and say, what's the use of Christianity? What, after all, is the use of Christianity? Why is it so important? That house is as beautiful as this. This man's character is as beautiful as the others. But wait a minute. Wait. Presently, there will come the storms of sorrow, of bereavement, of temptation. And then you'll see the difference between the man who has had Christianity as his foundation and the man who has been building on sand. That's what makes the difference. That's the difference. Conscience walks out in front of you and points its accusing finger at you. What are you going to do when misfortune and the ways of adversity overwhelm you? What are you going to do when The physician tells you that you are one of four who has cancer. What are you going to do when the undertaker comes and takes the measure for the little shroud? What? are you going to do in the night of despair when the stars are dead? What are you going to do when the bottom has dropped out of everything? The night is dark. Oh, so dark. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but... Holy lean on Jesus name. On Christ the solid rock I stand. For one thing I know. All other ground is sinking sand.