“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” -Matthew 7:24-29

Jesus. one who had authority. not as thier scribes.

We are living in a time, full of educators and influencers sharing what they know with the world. Being an influencer is even looked at as a real career. Some people are able to make a complete, and considerably well off living off of it, if they take the time and effort to promote themselves and what they know enough to gain that following.

According to google here is what it means to be an influencer.

An influencer is a person who is regarded as an expert within their particular field that also has a steady following. People trust their opinions, and thus their endorsements carry a considerable amount of weight. There is a growing interest in experts who have a large social influence and presence via social media.

Most of us might think we have formed our own opinions about life and what is right wrong and the other, but if we were to really take a look at what we are taking in from the world around us, most of our opinions and thougths are most likely from a collection of your primary “influencers”

Now lets takes social media out of it, say you have that under control and really are not “influenced” by your daily feed of social media. We are also influenced by our family members, friends, co-workers, teachers, and TV shows, this list can go on and on but I think you probably get the point here.

Now im going to back track a little bit because I started with the verse above as Jesus is finishing up His sermon on the mount He concludes with this parable of the home, and how we chose to build it, we have 2 choices the rock, or sand.

Now say your going to have a house built and your builder sits down with you and your future house plan, the home of your dreams that you have been working so hard on designing you have put in hours and hours researching the most stylish designs for the interior and exterior, you have got the perfect plan designed, stunning architecture, big windows, ready to be built in the perfect location, with a beautiful view.

As you start discussing the plan, you get a break down of costs, and big decisions must be made, the first one being foundation choices rock, or sand, there is a pretty significant price difference in the cost between the rock and sand, sand being quick and easy costs much less but the rock takes time and effort, so it is much more expensive but the foundation is much more secure. You are now in a dilemma because choosing the rock you might need to sacrifice some of the high end interior and exterior choices that you really wanted, but with sand you can have the luxurious home you always wanted.

Which would you choose, a beautiful, luxurious home that runs the risk of crumbling to the ground in the event of a storm?

Or a strong and secure, humble, but totally grounded and ready to withstand the risks of the storms, home?

The answer seems like it should be obvious, security is huge right, much more important than all of the other stuff, that would mean nothing if the house were to collapse and my family or my life were on the line.

A parable is a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. As Jesus taught, spiritually we have a very similar choice to make , that is which foundation are we going to put under our house?

Jesus said those who hear the words of His and does them is like the wise man who built his house on the rock. And again it seems so obvious that the right decision even spiritually would be to do just that! But often I think we find our selves in the position of choosing to hear and follow the advise and ideas of others instead and ignoring the words of Jesus because in reality the foundation of the rock does take more consideration and effort, and often is the more humble abode that is looked down upon by the world.

The world and its luxuries have a way of catching our wandering eyes, and our influencers in our lives are helping us build up the foundations to our homes.

So I ask…

Does your influencer stir up unnecessary anger in you?

”Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭9‬ ‭

Does your influencer cause you to lust?

”but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭28‬

Does your influencer make empty promises?

”But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭37‬ ‭

Does your influencer encourage, love or hate?

”You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭43‬-‭44‬ ‭

Does your influencer boast over themselves and their deeds?

”Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬ ‭

Do you covet your influencers wealth?

”No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭24‬ ‭

Does your influencer stir up worry in you?

”For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭25‬-‭26‬ ‭

How well do you know your influencers?

”Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.“
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭7‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭

So I ask WHO is your influencer? Which foundation will you build your house upon? As always I encourage you to read your Bible, and I ask you to read for yourself Matthew 5-7 and truly consider the foundation of your spiritual home, your life and those you influence depends upon that.

”Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”; before the sun and the light, the moon and the stars are darkened, and clouds return after the rain; in the day that the watchmen of the house tremble, and mighty men stoop, the grinding ones stand idle because they are few, and those who look through windows grow dim;

In addition to being a wise man, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge; and he pondered, searched out and arranged many proverbs. The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly. The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd. But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.“
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭3‬, ‭9‬-‭14‬ ‭