Choosing the right foundation

I would like to invite you today to a parable that is well known to all of us, and this parable is found in the book of Matthew chapter 7, verses 24 to 27. Book of Matthew chapter 7 verses 24 to 27, are we ready? do you have it there? Thus says the Word of the Lord: "Anyone who hears these words and does them, I will compare him to a prudent man who built his house on the rock, and the rain descended, the rivers descended, the winds blew, and beat against the house and did not it fell, because it was founded on rock. But whoever hears these words from me and does not do them, I will compare him to a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain descended, and the floods came, the winds blew, and gave against that house, and it fell, and its ruin was great." We know this Word well, right? We have seen it before, and without a doubt this parable emphasizes the importance of being able to wisely build the foundation of each one of our lives, that is what it is emphasizing, we will be able to do it, give it time to build on the right foundation, so that our lives can be successful lives, so that our lives can truly achieve those things that the Lord has for us.

The success of this process will depend, it depends on two things, on the one hand, how we pay attention to the words of the Lord, and number two, how we act in light of those words. Do you follow me? Very interesting my brothers because almost always when we read this parable, we tend to incline or obviously identify with the prudent man, the one who built well, how many say yes, that they believe themselves to be the prudent man? No one is going to identify with the foolish man, it's like, that's a fool, I don't identify with him. But you know what I started to think, I can't rule out either of these two characters, I can't rule them out, because the mere fact that Jesus identified them even though he was making a distinction between one and the other, but whatever There is something that identifies these two men, and it is the fact that they both worked to build the house they built. Do you agree with me? They both went through work to build the house they did, the fact is that one built on something safer than the other, obviously therein lies the distinction, but anyway they both sweated, both got bruised hands, developed calluses building their house Who knows if they both bled building their house, who knows if they both had to review their plans, their designs on several occasions, who knows if they both had to invest a certain amount of money to build their house.

Now, but the issue is that one decided to build on a foundation that was more secure than the other. I went to talk to the architect with Glenn Noss, and I wanted to ask him, Glenn, when you read this parable, what can you tell me? And he tells me, well Omar, obviously I'm going to tell you, it's safer to build on a solid foundation than on a soft one like sand, I was like tell me, tell me, how is the process to do this? For example, a person who builds in the sand, how does that process have to be? And he tells me look, in order for you to make a solid foundation in the sand you have to dig well until you can find a firmer ground than the sand that is on the surface.

He used an example that is to make a deck in the house, how many have made a deck in the house? You know that by code for you to make a deck you have to have a certain number of columns that can hold that deck according to the space of the deck. size of the deck, and those columns have to be dug to a depth of at least 4 feet, that's what the footings tell you, one has to dig 4 feet deep to make those cement pylons and that can give security to those decks that you want to make.

Ok the issue is that, when you are building on land that is more like earth, sand, you have to go very deep to be able to fill those spaces with columns and thus be able to build. Unlike stone, when someone builds on stone, the architect was telling me that when an architect or an engineer comes to a place where they see stone sticking out of the ground, they say that it is good but at the same time it is hard. It is difficult, because then it means that the designs of the structure that are going to be built have to conform to the shape of those stones, and be able to build on top of those stones. If you don't do that then you have to go through a blasting process, of blasting the stones to be able to smooth them out and level them to a point so that the stones are level with the surface and you can build on top of that. But even so, what interested me the most was that even being in the stone one has to drill, pierce, drill, because there it requires a different process to make a different hole in the stone and be able to secure whatever it is that you go to build on that stone.

You can put it, the architect tells me, you can put it on top of the stone, on the surface, but that stone suffers all the vibrations that occur around it, so if it is vibrating on top of the stone it will slide for one or another. other hand, therefore one has to drill into the stone the foundations of that house so that the house can be truly firm and that house does not move from the surface of that stone. The light that this brought to my mind was the following, my brothers, and it is the fact that in both areas one has to enter into an active relationship with that area, I mean the fact that one has to know the place that one is getting into. to know what is there.

A person who builds on the ground, let's say near a valley, will think that this river will never overflow, and then I can see that river that runs from my deck, wow, how beautiful, anyone is inspired by a panorama like this. But that is not the scenario of every day, you can be sure that if you buy a house in a place like this, in the purchase clause they will tell you that you have to have flood insurance, but as It will be if the river is 400 meters from my house, that river will never reach here, you never know.

It was for something that Jesus said and when the rain descended and the rivers came and the winds blew, and beat against that house, there what happened happened. See, the issue is that many times we start to build confident that we know what we are getting into. And many times we choose a foundation that we think will last long enough, but when we analyze it carefully and life's difficulties arrive, if that foundation is not well laid, my brothers, if the house does not fall down, it will crack for some reason. side, and if it cracks on one side the floor is going to be uneven, have you been to a house where the floor is uneven? I remember, my wife and I when we bought our first apartment, the first thing we wanted to do was change the kitchen cabinets, because they were very old cabinets, and then when we ripped them all out I was with a friend of mine, Mario Mejía, the son of my sister Anabella, when we removed one from a corner we saw a crack that was two inches wide, and we saw that and said wow, what happened here?, and we realized that it is the very foundation of the building, that that side was gone, and when I asked the downstairs neighbor the downstairs neighbor had the same crack, the downstairs neighbor also had the same crack, and I said wow this is interesting.

In order for us to be able to level those cabinets, we had to put an additional board at the end of one wall so that it could be seen straight, to the eye that it was not seen that it was crooked, but if you looked at the wall behind you realized that it was the other way. But it is interesting how a small crack can uneven something, and everything is due to the foundation where one throws oneself to build. Now the one who builds on a stone my brothers, the story is totally different. The mere fact that you have to go to the extra effort to dig and dig where the stone is, then ok, on top of this stone I am going to build and interact with that stone, this is where the fact that I cannot determine the type of foundation that the stone is going to be, the stone is what will determine the type of foundation that I am going to use on that stone, are you following me or did I lose you?

I cannot tell the stone I want you to be this type of foundation, no, the stone is there, and it will tell me, well, you want that, but this is what I can give you. You want the front of your house looking towards the sunrise, but like me, the stone, the position in which I am here, I can let you that the entrance of your house is looking better towards the sunset, not the sunrise of the sun, and you have to adjust to what the stone says. Obviously Jesus is identifying himself as the rock in this story, but not only that, Jesus is identifying his teaching as the foundation to be able to build, why do I say this? Look at the text, let's go to the text again.

As verse 24 says, it says: "Well, anyone who hears these words from me", what words? Let me take you back a little, I promise you that I will not finish this today, I will leave it to be continued, you know What words is Jesus referring to? This parable is the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. I don't know if he had noticed that detail. The sermon on the mount begins in chapter 5, so we have 3 chapters in which the sermon on the mount develops, therefore Jesus is saying in other words, whoever hears me all this sermon on the mount and puts it into practice I I am going to compare him to a prudent man who built his house on the rock. Do you want me to read the sermon on the mount? I'm going to start talking about a couple of things from the Sermon on the Mount.

You know that the Sermon on the Mount is very interesting, because we all visualize Jesus sitting on top of this hill sitting on a rock, under the shade of a tree, and all the people crowding around Him, the sea in the background too, there was Jesus in a beautiful landscape, all the people came, sat down, made themselves comfortable as a family, among friends, alone, some lay on the floor, around Him, and everyone listened to the things that Jesus was sharing with them, and I can tell you that I would dare to say that 90% of the Sermon on the Mount was not addressed to all those people who were there, but rather to the disciples who were listening there.

Do you know why? Because in the Sermon on the Mount, what is contained is more than anything, the qualities that define a true disciple, a true son or daughter of the Kingdom of God, that is what the Sermon on the Mount contains. He is not necessarily giving advice to know how to deal with your son, your daughter, and deal with your husband, your wife, or with the neighbor, the neighbor, but Jesus is saying that these qualities that I am saying here are the qualities that each of you who have decided to follow me, who have decided to be my disciples must have and reflect in your lives, if you manage to live like this you can be sure that your life will be well built, that is what Jesus is saying . I'm going to talk more about the sermon on the mount later, but let me hone in on what Jesus is saying.

Because I found when I was preparing myself by reading this parable of the two foundations, that when talking about the rain, the winds that blew, the river, obviously when we read that theologically it can be interpreted as life situations, economic problems, illnesses that we have to face, losses that we have to suffer, lawsuits that we have with x, y, z person, are adverse situations that when they come close to us will test the type of character we have, if we fall it is because we are not well grounded in What we said we believed, if we remain, is because we truly decided to believe and decide in light of what Jesus taught us. Now, but a second interpretation that is given to this allegory of what the rain is, the rivers, the winds that blew also has to do with the day of the last Judgment.

Somehow every time Jesus spoke, every time he made an allegory, in some way I was trapped that what I am talking about also has to do with that day of the Last Judgment, when the Lord comes to judge the living and the dead. . Before this, verse 13 that is speaking, enter through the narrow gate, because wide is the gate and the road that leads to destruction and many are those who enter through it, because narrow is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and few find it, he is making a distinction between two things, the narrow door, everyone sees it, everyone identifies it, and everyone enters through it, the wide excuse me, the narrow door, it is interesting because it says which is so small, so narrow that not many can see it.

All the signs point to the width, the narrow one has a marker that says narrow door, go that way, and you have to wear yourself out, put on your helmet with your light bulb to enter through there, two realities, you will know them by their fruits There are also the people who come to Jesus and say Lord, in Your name we preach, we cast out demons, we carry the message, we prophesy to others and Jesus says pf, I have never met them, because they say they have done something else, however they do not They were doing. Jesus is making a very clear, very specific distinction here, and suddenly he comes out with that word, there are two realities, the one who listens to me and does what I say will have his life well built and when that final day arrives where God arrives to judge us, parentheses, it is not that Jesus is saying that our salvation depends on facts because very clearly we have that our salvation is by faith and by grace, it is not that Jesus is saying that but rather that he is saying, if you have decided to be a member of the Kingdom of God your life has to reflect what it is to live according to that Kingdom, your life has to bear the fruits that are of the Kingdom of God, Jesus says by its fruits you will know them.

Look how interesting that all these things that Jesus is telling you in order, one after the other, that he reaches that final point, when that day comes, what will the Lord find, will he find that we have built our lives on a good foundation, or will you find that it entered us through one ear and left us through the other, that we did not pay attention to what the Lord says? That is where the difference is, my brothers, whether you want to receive this Word thinking about a situation that is happening now, or whether you are thinking that when that final day comes that the Lord will come for each one of us and if we are truly going to Be of the sheep, or of the goats, or of those that enter, or of those that leave, I want to make sure that I am building my life on the promises, the teachings of Jesus, this is a long process and that is why I want to make sure that I am building, I have not finished building my life, you have not finished building your life, you are still in that process.

You, if you think that you are not on the right foundation, look, I am going to tell you something, I recently saw a television program, I do not know how many of you have seen it, it is called Giant Movers, which are companies that they move entire houses, they lift them on this crane, they put them on a truck, and they take that house from one state to another and they put it in another place, that to me is a tremendous illustration, so you think that if you you are building your house or if you built your house on a sandy ground, and you want to change your house to a more stony ground, that has a good rock, you know that you can hire a company called La Iglesia, which has a a really big crane and it's going to help you lift your house and transport it, and then put it on another foundation that's going to be safer for you. God wants us to build our lives well, and again, as I said at the beginning, the success of this process, my brothers, will depend on how we truly apply those words that the Lord gives us and make the effort to live according to them. Those words. This is where the Sermon on the Mount comes in, to be continued.

Let's stand up my brothers and let's pray, at least I wanted to lay the foundation for them my brothers, lay the foundation for them, where is your house? Ok my brothers, I am not talking about the house where you are going now, I am talking about your life, your heart, look at all of you my brothers, every time I have the opportunity to preach a word like this, I I don't want to sound too decorated, I want to preach a Word that makes sense to you, that I believe that this Word has the validity, the efficacy to really get there, if Jesus said it for something it was. Jesus was speaking to perhaps thousands of people on that hill, and although his emphasis was being more on his disciples, I am sure that the rest of the people in some way or another fell for their share.

To each one of you who is here, this Word reaches you according to the moment, the stage of life in which you find yourself. And I want to tell you this, it is never too late to build on the correct foundation, it is never too late to build on the correct foundation. The architect told me that after one builds and realizes that there is something wrong with the foundation, it is very difficult to fix it. Technically, structurally speaking, it is very difficult, it is also difficult for us, because if there are things in our foundation that they are not right, fuf, there are many things to remove to be able to get to that foundation and correct it. It's difficult but not impossible, because if the foundation that we're trying to get to is Jesus, Jesus is going to make sure that we get there, Jesus is going to make sure to lead you to get to that foundation that He wants you to have. . Jesus is going to make sure that the designs of the house that you are doing are adjusted to Him as a foundation and not necessarily to your own wishes and desires. He knows what he wants for you, He knows what he has for you.

So Lord, based on these words, I pray that each one of our hearts may open more and more each day, to that impartation that comes from you, that day after day we can pay attention to Your words and that at the same time we can apply them to our hearts to live in the light of each one of them. Lord and I say this in everything that we are as a person, our way of thinking, our way of speaking, our way of acting, in all aspects Lord You want them to reflect Your character, so Father tonight I beg you that now that we have started a talk about these qualities, that in the days to come Lord our hearts open even more, to be sensitive to you, sensitive to your Voice and see how we can continue to adjust our lives in light of Your desires from your heart to ours.

Bless each one of my brothers and sisters Lord tonight, I ask that as they leave here and prepare to go to their homes, that they can leave here encouraged, confident, Lord, that they are building their lives on you that you are the firm rock, that if any of them is going through a stage where the rivers are getting high and the winds are blowing very strong, if they are afraid that that house may fall, that they can remember that You will never let them go, neither high nor low, in the calm or in the storm You are always there, to support them, to strengthen them, that they can come out with their heads held high above any situation, I declare very well as Your Word says , the waters will not drown us, the fire will not burn us Lord, because You are there. Bless us when we leave here, take us to our homes with goodness, with Your protection and that this Word can continue echoing in our hearts even during the night's rest, and tomorrow if You allow it, we can get up with new strength, new energy to lay hands on what tomorrow may bring, we thank you Jesus, in Your name, amen and amen.