CHILDREN OF THE HEAVENLY FATHER

Lesson Ten

THE PRUDENT MAN BUILT HIS HOUSE UPON THE ROCK

Burden to Impart:

As children of the heavenly Father we should live our lives according to the Lord's solid Word. We must always ask ourselves this question, "What foundation am I building upon?"

Facts to Teach:

1. After telling His disciples how the children of the heavenly Father live and behave themselves, the Lord Jesus gave the two parables. Both parables were about men who had built themselves a house. The difference was not in the house, but in the foundation, what the house is built upon. Even though the houses may have appeared to be exactly the same, the foundation underneath the houses was very different, for one was sand, and the other was rock. Although the foundation cannot be seen, the builders know what they are made of.
2. In the first parable a wise man built his house on a rock. This is a very solid foundation. To do this he firstly had to work very hard to dig away all the dirt, mud, and sand until he found solid rock for his foundation. When the terrible storm later came it tested his building, especially the foundation. The rain poured down from heaven, the wind blasted from the air, and the floods pounded from the earth. (Some tests that come to us are from heaven--from God; some are from the "air"--from Satan; and some tests come from the earth--from men.) Although the stormy test was so terrible, the house was not moved, for it was built upon a solid, unshakeable foundation, a rock. The wise man and everyone in his house were saved. They passed through the stormy test safe and sound.
3. In the second parable a foolish man also built his house. However, he wanted to save some time and energy. He wanted to build it as easily and quickly as possible, so he took the "easy way." He used sand as his foundation (Luke 6:47-49). Later on a terrible storm arose (as they always do in life) and beat upon that house. What a test! He never expected that such a storm would ever come! The rains poured down like an ocean! The winds beat and pounded on the house and the rivers beat upon the house. Although the house of the foolish man looked very beautiful and strong, it could not stand up to such a test, for its foundation was only sand. The whole house crashed down to the ground and all were lost!
4. The Lord used these two parables to show us, His dear children, that we too are all building our own houses. We begin building our house as little children and continue for the rest of our lives. How are we "building" our house? We are building our house by the way we live and behave ourselves every single moment of every day. The solid rock upon which we should make our decisions and live our life is the Word of the Lord Jesus. He once told us that "heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will never pass away" (Matt. 24:35). His words are everlasting, unchanging, solid, and dependable. We should live by His words and behave ourselves according to His words. His words are truth and His words are life. They will enable us to endure and pass through any kind of test. This is why we learn His Word, memorize His Word, and hide it in our heart. We want to be wise children of the heavenly Father.
5. To ignore the Lord's Word, and to live and behave ourselves according to our own thoughts and ideas or the world's concepts and standards, is not wise. That is foolish. Man s ideas and concepts are like sand--something, that changes, shifts, and moves according to the environment. They will only deceive us for a time. When the test comes, the result will destroy us. As children of the heavenly Father, WHAT FOUNDATION ARE YOU BUILDING ON?

Illustrations:

• El Capitain in Yosemite is the largest single solid granite rock in the world. It towers above all else around it and is an example to us of our Rock, the Lord Jesus, and His unchanging Word.
• Also, Gibraltar in the Mediterranean guards the entrance to two continents. It has been there for a very long time. In contrast, some towns that have been built upon sand have been completely swallowed up by the shifting sand, and nothing is left!

Song: (to be sung with hand signs)

1. The wise man built his house upon the rock (3)
   And the house upon the rock stood firm.
2. The rains came down and the floods came up (3)
   And the house upon the rock stood firm.
3. The foolish man built his house upon the sand (3)
   And the house upon the sand went crash!
4. The rains came down and the floods came up (3)
   And the house upon the sand went crash!
5. I'll build my house upon the Word of the Lord (3)
   It will stand through every storm!