WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.580 I'm very sentimental in bringing you this heart 00:00:04.580 --> 00:00:09.460 -to -heart talk today. And I have chosen something 00:00:09.460 --> 00:00:14.779 that's very precious to my own heart. And it's 00:00:14.779 --> 00:00:20.160 the climax to the greatest sermon that was ever 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:23.660 preached. Preached by the very son of the living 00:00:23.660 --> 00:00:28.719 God. You dare not take issue with the doctor. 00:00:28.910 --> 00:00:32.450 in this sermon because it came from the highest 00:00:32.450 --> 00:00:36.929 authority in heaven and earth. And I'm going 00:00:36.929 --> 00:00:45.909 to read the climax of this sermon as preached 00:00:45.909 --> 00:00:57.259 by the Son of God. Hear it. Therefore, Whosoever 00:00:57.259 --> 00:01:01.020 heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, 00:01:01.179 --> 00:01:06.379 I will liken him unto a wise man which built 00:01:06.379 --> 00:01:10.299 his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, 00:01:10.620 --> 00:01:16.459 and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat 00:01:16.459 --> 00:01:22.040 upon that house. And it fell not, for it was 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:27.219 founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth 00:01:27.219 --> 00:01:32.420 these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:36.319 be likened unto a foolish man, which built his 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:40.560 house upon the sand. And the rain descended, 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:44.060 and the floods came, and the winds blew, and 00:01:44.060 --> 00:01:50.280 beat upon that house, and it fell. And great 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:55.269 was the fall of it. And it came to pass, when 00:01:55.269 --> 00:01:58.489 Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were 00:01:58.489 --> 00:02:03.109 astounded at his doctrine. For he taught them 00:02:03.109 --> 00:02:09.969 as one having authority and not as the scribes. 00:02:10.689 --> 00:02:17.689 That, beloved, was the climax, the final words 00:02:17.689 --> 00:02:27.080 of the greatest sermon ever preached. I am using 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:33.960 these final words as my first words to you in 00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:36.699 this, my first heart -to -heart talk of a new 00:02:36.699 --> 00:02:41.439 year. Oh, these words are tremendous, believe 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:48.500 me. Jesus is saying here, every man builds. And 00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:53.819 this is a common quantity in this illustration. 00:02:54.409 --> 00:02:58.770 The fact of building. But notice the difference. 00:02:59.569 --> 00:03:04.530 It's not in the men who build or in the materials 00:03:04.530 --> 00:03:08.110 with which they build, but in the foundation 00:03:08.110 --> 00:03:11.430 on which they build. It's the foundation that 00:03:11.430 --> 00:03:14.990 makes all the difference in the world. The one 00:03:14.990 --> 00:03:19.509 thing that you and I have in common, the one 00:03:19.509 --> 00:03:24.289 thing that all of us have, in common is the fact 00:03:24.289 --> 00:03:30.530 that we are building. And we begin building at 00:03:30.530 --> 00:03:38.169 the age of accountability. And we continue to 00:03:38.169 --> 00:03:42.310 build until that moment when the old heart takes 00:03:42.310 --> 00:03:45.789 its last beat and the soul leaves the body. I 00:03:45.789 --> 00:03:50.090 don't care who you are. You may be down in the 00:03:50.090 --> 00:03:54.750 very depths of despair. You may be so low down 00:03:54.750 --> 00:03:58.210 you have to reach up to touch bottom today. You 00:03:58.210 --> 00:04:03.949 may be so high up that you are on the very pinnacle 00:04:03.949 --> 00:04:12.590 of all things. Yet, both men are building. That's 00:04:12.590 --> 00:04:16.930 the one thing that we have in common. May I go 00:04:16.930 --> 00:04:20.069 a little bit further to say to you that the most 00:04:20.069 --> 00:04:27.040 priceless day In the sight of God is man, the 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:30.540 individual. You know, we have gotten our sense 00:04:30.540 --> 00:04:33.819 of values all wrong. We've gotten to the place 00:04:33.819 --> 00:04:40.699 where everything is measured in the light of 00:04:40.699 --> 00:04:45.240 dollars and cents. This is a very materialistic 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:50.899 world. Where a man dies, we say, how much did 00:04:50.899 --> 00:04:56.839 he leave? While he is living, we say, what is 00:04:56.839 --> 00:05:02.639 his income? How much is he making? The uppermost 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:08.319 thought in the mind of most people is, what do 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:13.959 I get out of it? How much will I be paid? Bless 00:05:13.959 --> 00:05:22.120 your heart. I want you to know that God doesn't. 00:05:22.730 --> 00:05:30.129 Put values on the material things. Why the streets 00:05:30.129 --> 00:05:35.649 of heaven are paved with gold. Money doesn't 00:05:35.649 --> 00:05:40.889 mean a thing to God. Precious stones don't mean 00:05:40.889 --> 00:05:47.990 a thing to God. The most priceless thing to God 00:05:47.990 --> 00:05:55.959 is man. If only you and I could see it. Not only 00:05:55.959 --> 00:06:02.120 man as humanity, but as individuals. You are 00:06:02.120 --> 00:06:04.500 as important to God as though you were the only 00:06:04.500 --> 00:06:11.180 person created in His image and after His likeness. 00:06:11.319 --> 00:06:15.939 I can prove that to you. Of the millions of people 00:06:15.939 --> 00:06:20.160 who have lived in the past, of those who will 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:24.680 continue to be born in the future, and the millions 00:06:24.680 --> 00:06:31.100 who are living this very hour, you are so important, 00:06:31.279 --> 00:06:35.920 so individual to Almighty God, that no one else 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:44.720 has the same fingerprints that you have. Pause 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:49.360 whatever you're doing. Look at that thumb. That 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:57.379 small area of a thumb. I am telling you the truth. 00:06:58.319 --> 00:07:04.740 The God's truth. No one who has ever lived or 00:07:04.740 --> 00:07:08.699 will live or is living this hour has the same 00:07:08.699 --> 00:07:17.399 songprint that you have. You're marked. In the 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:23.139 mind of God, you're marked. You're precious. 00:07:23.360 --> 00:07:27.819 You're important. You are individual to him. 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:34.279 You will be you forever and ever and ever. And 00:07:34.279 --> 00:07:41.240 as an individual, you are building. Every man 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:46.689 builds. That's one thing we... all had in common. 00:07:48.089 --> 00:07:53.850 I repeat, it's not in the men who build or in 00:07:53.850 --> 00:07:57.410 the materials with which they build, but in the 00:07:57.410 --> 00:08:01.670 foundation on which they build. The foundation 00:08:01.670 --> 00:08:06.129 is everything. We may build with the same materials, 00:08:06.269 --> 00:08:12.350 with the same structural correctness, upon sand 00:08:12.350 --> 00:08:18.069 as upon rock. And all through the summer days, 00:08:18.410 --> 00:08:24.250 the buildings both appear to be right. You may 00:08:24.250 --> 00:08:28.009 not be able to tell one from the other. But remember 00:08:28.009 --> 00:08:33.110 something. Summer days do not exhaust the days. 00:08:33.289 --> 00:08:39.090 All days are not summer days. It would be very 00:08:39.090 --> 00:08:42.429 foolish of me to try to convince you today that... 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:49.539 All days will be summer days. As surely as there's 00:08:49.539 --> 00:08:53.200 a summer, there'll be winter. And as surely as 00:08:53.200 --> 00:08:56.620 there's winter, there'll be summer. Just as surely 00:08:56.620 --> 00:09:03.419 as night follows day, and day follows night. 00:09:04.840 --> 00:09:10.580 As surely as there's a summer, there will be 00:09:10.580 --> 00:09:16.960 a winter. And all days will not be summer days. 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:24.600 There are days of pelting rain, of sweeping winds 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:28.740 of hurricanes, tornadoes. The winds will blow. 00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:35.940 The sleet will come. The snow will fall. And 00:09:35.940 --> 00:09:39.759 those are the days that will test our buildings. 00:09:40.139 --> 00:09:50.450 Do that. There will come a time of testing. So 00:09:50.450 --> 00:09:54.169 far as our building is concerned. Therefore, 00:09:54.309 --> 00:09:59.029 it is not so much a matter of the man building, 00:09:59.190 --> 00:10:03.629 not so much a matter of the material, but of 00:10:03.629 --> 00:10:08.450 the foundation. It's the foundation that makes 00:10:08.450 --> 00:10:14.179 all the difference in the world. Here then is 00:10:14.179 --> 00:10:20.259 what Jesus is saying. Take these sayings of mine. 00:10:21.460 --> 00:10:28.799 Take my teaching. Take my word. Live according 00:10:28.799 --> 00:10:36.659 to my laws. Build on them. And no storm can destroy 00:10:36.659 --> 00:10:42.580 your building. The tornadoes can come. The winds 00:10:42.580 --> 00:10:48.019 can blow. Sorrow, heartbreak, disappointment. 00:10:49.000 --> 00:10:53.559 Little do I know, little do you know what this 00:10:53.559 --> 00:11:00.299 new year will hold for us. Oh, today it's wonderful. 00:11:01.000 --> 00:11:07.340 We feel as though the whole year will be a year 00:11:07.340 --> 00:11:12.559 of sunshine. Oh, sure. the neighbor next door. 00:11:14.279 --> 00:11:19.600 We'll know his days of rain. The tornado may 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:25.019 strike in another part of the country. But not 00:11:25.019 --> 00:11:30.259 for me. Somehow we're sort of like that. We feel 00:11:30.259 --> 00:11:35.799 as though we are the exception. Remember something. 00:11:36.019 --> 00:11:42.289 As surely as you are a part of humanity, As surely 00:11:42.289 --> 00:11:47.750 as you live and breathe, this new year will hold 00:11:47.750 --> 00:11:52.649 the rain for you. There will be the storm. There 00:11:52.649 --> 00:11:58.110 will be the dark clouds. Jesus is saying, be 00:11:58.110 --> 00:12:02.669 sure of the foundation on which you are building. 00:12:03.929 --> 00:12:09.850 No storm can destroy your building. No tornado. 00:12:10.620 --> 00:12:15.620 No disappointment, no sorrow can destroy your 00:12:15.620 --> 00:12:19.960 building. You will not, you cannot be defeated 00:12:19.960 --> 00:12:24.700 on a single score if you have built your life, 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:32.440 if you are building now. If you have as your 00:12:32.440 --> 00:12:40.360 foundation in life my words, my truths. If you 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:46.240 are living according to my law, hear these things 00:12:46.240 --> 00:12:53.019 of mine. Disobey them. You're going to meet with 00:12:53.019 --> 00:12:58.360 defeat. When the rains come, you have no foundation 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:03.019 that will hold the rest of the building up. Remember 00:13:03.019 --> 00:13:05.500 something. This has nothing to do with the man 00:13:05.500 --> 00:13:10.399 who has never heard them. He's not... hear in 00:13:10.399 --> 00:13:14.500 view at all. This word is not to the heathen. 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:19.039 It's to the man who hears and disobeys. To you. 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:24.159 You know. You know the way. You know the truth. 00:13:25.820 --> 00:13:30.919 You've heard. And yet, lo, these many years you 00:13:30.919 --> 00:13:35.419 have disobeyed. The man who has seen a vision, 00:13:35.519 --> 00:13:39.139 dreamed a dream. The man who has heard heard 00:13:39.139 --> 00:13:45.240 the glorious infinite music, and will set his 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:50.139 instruments to catch the tune. You can go on 00:13:50.139 --> 00:13:53.539 building. We may look at the structure and say, 00:13:53.700 --> 00:14:03.139 what's the use of Christianity? What, after all, 00:14:03.259 --> 00:14:10.149 is the use of Christianity? Why is it so important? 00:14:12.190 --> 00:14:16.909 That house is as beautiful as this. This man's 00:14:16.909 --> 00:14:22.029 character is as beautiful as the others. But 00:14:22.029 --> 00:14:28.149 wait a minute. Wait. Presently, there will come 00:14:28.149 --> 00:14:33.370 the storms of sorrow, of bereavement, of temptation. 00:14:35.340 --> 00:14:40.899 And then you'll see the difference between the 00:14:40.899 --> 00:14:45.759 man who has had Christianity as his foundation 00:14:45.759 --> 00:14:54.440 and the man who has been building on sand. That's 00:14:54.440 --> 00:14:57.340 what makes the difference. That's the difference. 00:15:05.340 --> 00:15:08.580 Conscience walks out in front of you and points 00:15:08.580 --> 00:15:13.960 its accusing finger at you. What are you going 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:19.000 to do when misfortune and the ways of adversity 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:29.279 overwhelm you? What are you going to do when 00:15:33.070 --> 00:15:39.669 The physician tells you that you are one of four 00:15:39.669 --> 00:15:51.590 who has cancer. What are you going to do when 00:15:51.590 --> 00:15:56.690 the undertaker comes and takes the measure for 00:15:56.690 --> 00:16:07.080 the little shroud? What? are you going to do 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:12.419 in the night of despair when the stars are dead? 00:16:15.299 --> 00:16:27.460 What are you going to do when the bottom has 00:16:27.460 --> 00:16:34.529 dropped out of everything? The night is dark. 00:16:34.929 --> 00:16:51.409 Oh, so dark. My hope is built on nothing less 00:16:51.409 --> 00:16:58.289 than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not 00:16:58.289 --> 00:17:03.740 trust the sweetest frame, but... Holy lean on 00:17:03.740 --> 00:17:13.880 Jesus name. On Christ the solid rock I stand. 00:17:14.839 --> 00:17:24.039 For one thing I know. All other ground is sinking 00:17:24.039 --> 00:17:25.160 sand.