Good afternoon. The Bible reading today is from Matthew chapter 7, starting at verse 24 to 27. 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 the 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 crush. This is the word of the Lord. There was a nice short Bible reading for you and I promise a fairly short sermon, even by my infamously short standards.
It's a joy to be with you today. Welcome. I'm so glad you've been able to join us. I'd like to add my welcome specifically to Howard and Jackie.
I can't see them over there. It's a massive joy for me as the minister who looks after the Garrison Church to be able to welcome Howard and Jackie today, a key part of the recent story of the history of this church. And while I was going through things for this week, I did find this photo of Howard and my current boss. I really just put that up because I wanted to put that photo of Justin.
But it is a really wonderful moment to have you here with us as we open our next chapter. It is so important for us as a church that we are part of the Miller's Point community. A community that has long invested in this wonderful building. Our bell is an example of that.
The refreshing of this church is part of a longer story of resilience and growth in the community as a whole. This building has been here for far longer than any of us. But the rock that it was built on has been around even longer. And this afternoon, I want to talk about that very rock.
Please start with me. Father, we thank you for your word and we pray now as we consider it that you would challenge us as we look at the rock and the sand. Father, we pray that we would be people who build our lives on the rock that is Jesus in his name. I pray.
Amen. Today, our passage while it was short, it comes from a section of the Gospel of Matthew known as the Sermon on the Mount. This is Jesus at his most memorable. I'm sure most of a lot of people in this room will already know half of it.
Do unto others. Love your enemies. Peels before swine. Judge not lest you be judged.
It's amazing stuff. It is Jesus on the kingdom of God. It was shared with people who were caught in the midst of Roman oppression at the time. There were people who were looking for hope and direction.
And this is it. Jesus taught about God's way and living that way. Mercy. Loving neighbors and trusting in God.
At the end, he gives this vivid parable to drive it all home about building a house on rock or on sand. And so the key question for us today is what foundation are we building on in our homes, in our relationships, in our neighborhoods and in our church? I'm from the southern Shire, which sometimes we'll get a cheer, sometimes we'll get a boo. But one of the things that defined a lot of my friends when I was growing up was there was a desire kind of in their families to live closer and closer to the beach.
In the Shire, the closer you get to Crinnell, the better. It's basically the way things go. I had a lot of mates who would move often. Their parents would kind of make a jump a little bit closer.
Maybe they'd go from Sutherland to Gaimir. Just one step, suburb in. And then after a little while they kind of do up the house and they sell it, they kind of move slightly closer. And people were doing this all the time trying to get closer to the beach.
The thing is about living closer to the beach, and we discovered with Crinnell, particularly allure, was that some of my friends, one family in particular, it's done a lot of time getting closer and closer to the beach, it's the thing they pursued their whole life. It's like all these data were talked about. There's a couple of pretty bad storms, about five years ago, and then before that, about 10 years ago, there were some pretty bad storms. And it didn't leave much of the beach there.
Lots of those houses kind of lost a lot of what was going to be good about them and what they hoped for, and suddenly there were a number of costs involved. And I think if you go out to Green Hills now, you'll see they've continued the process. They've ignored what happens with erosion, and they are building on top of those dunes as best that they can. This thing that we desire, the storm, it seems to so quickly be able to take it away.
In this parable, Jesus describes two people building a house. The first digs deep. He takes time to remove the sand, and he lays his foundations on solid rock. The second builds his house more quickly, just on the sand.
Soon a storm comes, and the outcomes are very different for each house. Wind and rain beat against the first house, water tries to get under, but the house stands firm due to its solid foundation. When the storm hits the second house, built on sand without digging down, the house collapses and washes away. Jesus tells this parable to explain, really, what it means to listen.
For Jesus, listening is not just hearing what he has to say and thinking, oh, that's nice, or that's a good teacher. To Jesus, listening is hearing and acting. Hearing and not acting, not as Jesus says, putting it into practice, is like building a house on sand. In that case, you're not using Jesus' words to lay a foundation for your life.
You may have a nice life. Your house may look really good. It may look as if it was built on rock, but you are building on some other word, some other foundation, some other reason for living. My fear is that for many of us, when the next census comes around, we might take Christian or the like.
But is your life really built on the words of Jesus? I want you to imagine for a second, what if you weren't the one who filled out the census for you? What if the government sent someone out and they kind of watched your life for a week and then they filled out the census for you? Would they tick the same box that you tick?
For the house built on rock, Jesus says this is a life built on hearing and putting it into practice his words, his teaching. And what is his teaching? That the kingdom of God has come through him. That the balance of power in the world has shifted and that the humble will be lifted up, that the meek will inherit the earth.
That all that you think is strong and safe and powerful in the world will pass away, and all that is left is the kingdom of Jesus and those who had listened to him. That he is the king and to be part of his kingdom is to follow him. That is the Christian message that has been preached from here, although sometimes from there, since 1814. 1840, sorry.
Just as always, quick to correct me these days. Good, good, good. Miller's Point is a place that we can clearly see the way that the city has changed over time. It is now a sought after, beautiful suburb nestled in the city.
It has a unique beauty and culture about it that I greatly love, but it is also a place where it is too easy to trust in the sand. I don't mean your house or your renovations, I can walk around the suburb, you've done a very good job of those. I mean your spiritual house. To care for our families and our homes, we may be tempted to chase financial security, self-reliance.
It is a Sydney-side attract to chase after these things, isn't it? Especially in uncertain financial times. It is the fear that the news and the culture instill in us. We fear what tomorrow will bring, economic challenges, war overseas, or how much it costs to fill up the car with petrol.
I did that three days ago. It hurt, right? We reach for the sands because in many ways it seems to be working. It may have worked for you so far.
Why not continue to build on the sand? But Miller's Point also captures parts of the rock, humble, faithful living that endures in a changing city, a place that maintains its historic beauty, a place that people have been brought together. I saw this last year when I attended the Dawn Service. It is a place that people feel a sense of belonging and identity, a place that has managed to maintain its unique identity in a city where another huge building seems to go up each day.
But the foundations, I think they could still be stronger. This building here at the Garrison, it's about strong, solid foundations. I mean that literally in this case. Built with care to ensure it survives the elements.
But these foundations, they are representative of an approach to longevity in our lives and in our community. A community that cares for one another. We want to be a place here where people meet, where children play, where care and protection are provided to those who are in need, and where people hear the words of Jesus and actively seek to live his way. You see, Jesus doesn't just teach the rock.
He is the rock. He is the unmovable and unchanging savior of the world who will never pass away. And in Ephesians 220, it says that he is the cornerstone by which his church should be built. And the storms, they're both the challenges of life that beat against every house.
But ultimately, the storm is also the judgment to come. And we gather here at 4pm every week because we know that lives' promises are more fleeting than we think. They often appear strong and secure, but they are not there for us when things go wrong. When all else falls apart, it is like sand that crumbles beneath us.
The human foundations, they will pass away. Miller's point for all its beauty today will look at a very different place in 100 years. Yet here at the Garrison Church, the message of Jesus will be the same as it is now, and was 100 years ago. The truth of who Jesus is will never change.
That's one of the beauties of the Christian message, that it does not obey the whims of the day. Human beings are unable to be the source of eternal foundations no matter how hard we try. And in trying and in becoming focused on what we can build ourselves, we have ignored the God who created us. We're so focused on the now that we miss God's message.
But Jesus taught us to turn our eyes back to the Kingdom of God and ultimately its King. And let's be clear, he is a King who does not rule by military might, but by grace and mercy. We do not need to create our own foundation. Jesus responded to our rejection of God by dying and rising again on our behalf so that we would not need to try and create our own foundations by our own efforts, but find them through faith in his mercy.
While all the other things that we often value, I want to say are good things often, they are not the path to true and eternal life. That path is Jesus alone, and he invites you to listen to him and to come along that path. I'm sure that each of us here could reflect on moments when the storm has come and we have felt the ground crumble beneath us. When we struggle with money, when we face the sickness, when we lost someone.
We each experience a lot of pain in life, I think. And when we trust in the sands to help us, it only patches the leak, doesn't it? It doesn't fix it. Do you need to take a step from hearing Jesus to listening to Jesus?
Do you need to consider his place in your life? Because ultimately it is faith in Jesus. It is listening to him and in making him law that we find a true foundation in this world that will last, and that will face the storm and stay strong beneath our feet. This is the rock that we will be seeking to build on here at the Garrison Church as we welcome the community of Miller's Point whenever they will join us.
Here you can find a home that is built to last, and as we dedicate this renewed building, let it be for the purpose of seeing the community brought together to stand on this foundation. And so we want to invite you to explore more, to come and hear more of the words of Jesus and see how they can be the solid rock that you're looking for. Alpha is a phenomenal way to do this. We would love for you to join us for Alpha.
Our Easter services are in other or simply just come along on a Sunday at 4pm and be part of this community that is so excited to welcome you in. No pressure, just open arms. What foundation are you building on? Let us pray.
Father, we thank you so much for who you are. We thank you for who Jesus is. And we pray, Lord, for each of us here that we would resist the temptation to trust in the sand that the world could offer us and that society tells us we need. And to turn to you and see you as the rock, the foundation that we can stand on and never be shaken by.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.