Get grounded!

Eleven miles off the coast of Scotland stands the Bell Rock Lighthouse. It is the world's oldest surviving sea washed lighthouse. It was built on an acre of solid rock in the middle of the North Sea. Waves and storms have been crashing into this lighthouse for 200 years. But it still stands strong as a beacon of light because of its solid foundation and it is a perfect picture of what Jesus was saying in Matthew chapter 7.
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. 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.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. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
Proverbs 10:25 says that "when the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever!"
These verses lead us to the question, what is your foundation built on? What is it that drives you, where is it that you go when it seems like everything is falling down on you? I would hope that the answer is Jesus, and the personal relationship that you posess in Him.
Jesus had just completed the sermon on the mount. And to close the sermon out He did what every preacher wants to do, He made sure it was going to stick with them and get applied throughout the week. It's the hope of every preacher that the congregation grows spiritually throughout the week applying all that God had revealed to them and Jesus in this respect was no different.
He closed with an illustration of a foundation, knowing that without a foundation a house would wash away. By today's building codes there is more to it than just dirt. Then they would build on solid ground, but they didn't really build a foundation like we do today. Today, builders lay out rebar, dig footers around the outside and layout the base(or foundation) of the house. Before they even get the chance to pour concrete or start building walls. ANd, long before they even put the rebar down and layout the foundation they have trucks bring in dirt, anywhere from 4-8 dumptrucks full of dirt are brought in then that dirt is spread where the house will be built and then compacted so that they are pouring on top of a piece of ground that is completely solid up to several feet below ground. You see, in biblical times they just built on already existing solid ground, today we can build solid structures on mushy ground after it is filled in and compacted. SO the illustration carried a lot more weight back then.
THis all goes with the old saying, "you've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything." Jesus wanted His listeners to know and understand that if they don't take His words and apply them to their lives building a solid foundation upon their faith, then they would crumble and wash away at the slightest of storms in their lives.
Look around you, non-believers are crumbling all around you from minor tests and storms in their lives. Believers that are not that grounded are doing the same, but you find yourself a good, strong, grounded individual who is seeking God and growing, that's when you will find someone who can stand up to any and all of life's storms no matter the risk.
Have a great day and thanks for reading!