"Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken to a wise man who built his house on a rock" (Matt.7:24).

The whole of life turns on whether we do the words of Christ or not. In the story Jesus tells of the two men who built houses, both heard His words, but only one of them obeyed as well by building on the true and immovable foundation. Both men built houses which looked very much like each other, at least as far as the superstructures were concerned. But there were two kinds of ground.

There was a valley, which was dry and pleasant in the summer days, when the men were looking for building sites. Then there were high, rocky bluffs. One man decided to build in the valley. It would cost less. It would be easy digging. It was more convenient, for the bluffs were inaccessible. The other man built on the high ground. It would cost more, but it would be safer.

The two homes went up simultaneously, only the one in the valley was finished long before the other was. The families moved into their new residences, and were quite happy for a time. But one night there was a storm. The house in the valley was carried away with its dwellers; the house on the bluff was unharmed.

These pictures explain themselves on many different levels of light. They are a beautiful illustration given by the Master. Let us take the first level. He who built in the valley is the man who has only knowledge and profession, but who has really never built on Christ as a folundation. The other man, who built on a rock, is the man who has true faith in Christ, confirmed by loving obedience. The storms that burst are life's trials which test every life, and then the tempests of death and judgment. The mere professor of religion -- the nominal Christian -- is swept away in these storms, for he has only the sand of his own uncertainties under him; he who is truly in Christ is secure, for no storm can reach Christ's bosom.

Blessed is the man or woman who is built on Christ. But is that all? Are we to merely sit back and have faith in Christ? No, we are given commissions -- tasks to do. We all have our life's missions. We have all received our calls. What if, having accepted Christ, and received a call, we then turn away from our call? Are we then built on the rock of Christ? To such persons the Saviour said: "Away, you evil-doers! I do not know you!"

There are many Christians who, having accepted the person of Christ, then reject His call. They do many good works in His Name, but are they being obedient? Think back on King Saul. He too thought he would do good works in God's Name, offering sacrifices he was not entitled to do, and making sacrificial offerings of that he was told to destroy. What happened to him? Were his good intentions good enough? No. Our good intentions -- our works of righteousness, are counted as evil when we do not what we have been commanded to do.

Let us now look at this parable of our Lord at another level. There are many who, having received Christ, rush off to the first church they stumble upon, or upon one which they fancy meets their personal needs. They are not very discriminating in their choice. That church may shipwreck their souls if it is built upon a wrong foundation. It may seem very nice in the summer of our membership but when the storms of difficulty come, it is washed away.

Some churches simply "organise". They split off from others. Few are established upon a rock foundation of prophetic theology. This Church -- the New Covenant -- has been built high up on the rocky bluffs, far away from the river. It has been hard work building it. Many, prefering the easier labour afforded by the house built on sand, have chosen the latter, and have been swept away. Sadly, one or two, who have been washed away once, have returned to the same valley and started building there again, apparently not learning the lesson of their earlier folly. "Once bitten, twice shy." But "Twice bitten...", what then? Surely a fool.

We, in the New Covenant, are building high above the valley. I admit, it's inconvenient. It's punishing labour sometimes. The building of Massada must have been a tremendous project. In case you have never heard of Masada, this is a great fortress built high on a rocky cliff-face in Judea. It is surrounded by desert and the Dead Sea. It was virtually impregnable. After Jewish resistance to the Roman occupying legions had crumbled elsewhere, Masada continued to hold out. Other castles have been built on such inaccessible terrain.

I think sometimes of the tiny country called Monte Negro (Crna Gora) built high in the Balkan mountains. For centuries its neighbours were invaded and occupied by foreign armies, but little Monte Negro held out. Only when it surrendered its sovereignty to the newly formed Yugoslavia was it occupied by invaders.

Little Monte Negro should be a lesson to us who are aspiring to build the Theocratic Kingdom of God on the earth. It won't come easily, but it will be safe. Did you know that we have a revelation that tells us that every church except this one will be swallowed whole during the Great Tribulation? Most of them are built in the valleys. Some are built in the rocky bluffs but not high enough. Only one is built in the dizzy heights.

There are some who are waiting for the New Covenant to grow in size until they come seeking again. They will never come. For they themselves must first grow inwardly before they can come, and they won't receive the call to assemble in Zion intil they have done all they could to be a part of it. Zion is built from within, not from without. No, those who refuse to come, for whatever excuse, will not be found faithful at the last day. They will be washed away when the tribulations come. They will cry out but it will be too late.

Some would like us to join with another church but the New Covenant would then suffer the same fate as little Monte Negro which did the same. We won't do it. They must either come to the higher ground or stay where they are.

It will be a terrible thing to cherish a false hope of salvation through life, and only find out in eternity, too late to build again, that we have no foundation under our hopes. Therefore I invite all who are acquainted with this work, or who have left it because of a lack of faith, to make haste into the City of Refuge -- come home before the storm is upon you. Amen.

This page was created on 16 October 1997 Last updated on 20 February 1998

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