The Storms will Come

Jesus ends His Sermon on the Mount with weight. Not a soft landing, but a final word that divides. He’s given us beatitudes, commands, prayers, and promises—and now, He gives us a warning.

He speaks of false prophets who wear truth like a borrowed coat, of disciples who say “Lord, Lord” while living lawless lives. And then He tells a story. A simple one. Two men. Two houses. One storm.

It’s a parable about what we all have in common—and what will make all the difference in the end.

"And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house..." Matt 7:24-27

Three Things They Share

1. Both Hear the Word

These builders aren’t ignorant. They’ve both heard Jesus. At the beginning of the sermon in Matthew 5, Jesus sits down to teach, and the disciples draw near. The crowd gathers. The words of the kingdom are spoken, and many hear.

Judas heard. The Pharisees heard. Maybe even some who later shouted “Crucify Him!” heard this very message years before. They all heard. Just as you now have heard. The congregation hasn’t stopped growing.

Even those who haven’t read the Bible or sat under preaching have still heard God’s voice. Psalm 19 says the heavens declare His glory. Romans 1 tells us that God’s eternal power and divine nature are seen in what has been made—so much so that no one is without excuse.

It’s as if creation itself has been ringing with one message:

“A storm is coming. Take shelter.”

And those who don’t? It’s not for lack of warning. It’s refusal.

2. Both Build

This parable isn’t about one man building and the other doing nothing. No—both are builders.

And the “house” they build isn’t just where they sleep. In the biblical imagination, a house is a life. A household. A legacy. It’s what you leave behind. What your name is attached to.

We still talk that way. The House of Windsor. Casa de Foster. We understand the idea of building something more than four walls and a roof.

Jesus had been preaching the “gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 4:23), and this sermon is the charter of that kingdom. It tells us what kind of people live there. How they pray. How they give. How they forgive. Where they store their treasures. What they do with their fears.

Everyone’s building a kingdom. Judas built. The Pharisees built. The people in that crowd were all building something.

The question isn’t if you’re building. It’s whose kingdom are you building?

3. Both Face the Storm

The rain falls. The floods rise. The wind beats. On both houses.

No one escapes the storm.

Scripture often uses storms to describe trials—suffering, hardship, calamity. Proverbs 1 describes Wisdom calling out in the street. She offers correction, but the fools refuse. And so, she says, “when terror strikes you like a storm... they will call on me, but I will not answer.”

Storms come for all of us.

Cancer.

Divorce.

Financial collapse.

Death that comes out of nowhere.

A blue sky morning that turns into your worst day.

I remember the day we found out our daughter had died. The sky was bright and still. Beautiful. Then the storm rolled in—not from the clouds, but from the phone call.

That’s life in a fallen world.

But the storm is also a picture of something greater: God’s judgment.

Jeremiah says the storm of the Lord will burst upon the heads of the wicked. Zephaniah describes the day of the Lord as a day of distress, ruin, and thick darkness.

Revelation says Jesus is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him.

And then comes the final storm. Revelation 20 shows the great white throne. The books opened. The dead judged. All of them. All of us.

So yes—everyone hears, everyone builds, and everyone will face the storm.

Now, the Differences

1. Only One Obeys

They both hear. But only one puts it into practice.

The fool might read, listen, and talk theology. But he never does what Jesus says. He’s full of knowledge but empty of obedience. All head, no hands.

J.C. Ryle said it well:

“The wise builder does not content himself with listening to exhortations to repent and believe—he actually repents, actually believes, actually ceases to do evil and learns to do well. He is a doer as well as a hearer.”

Christianity that never touches your habits, your relationships, your wallet, your time—that’s not Christianity. That’s just theory.

In Ephesians 2:8-10, Paul says we are saved by grace, not works. But we’re also created in Christ Jesus for good works—that we should walk in them.

The wise builder builds out of gratitude. He hears and obeys.

2. One Builds on Rock, the Other on Sand

The wise man builds on the rock. The fool builds on sand.

To build on the rock is to hear Jesus and submit to His word. To build on sand is to follow your own wisdom—or someone else’s.

And sometimes the sand-builders look like they’re winning. Their houses may be larger, flashier, more admired. The wicked do prosper—for a time.

Jeremiah asked, “Why do all the treacherous thrive?” Part of the answer is that God allows them to build their houses high so that when they fall, the crash is unmistakable.

Think of the levees around New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. They looked solid. Until the storm hit. Then the weakness was exposed. And the city was swallowed.

You can build a good-looking life on bad foundations. But it will not last. It cannot.

The wise builder doesn’t just admire the blueprint—he follows it.

3. One House Stands. One Falls.

This is the final difference—and the one that matters most.

When the storm comes, the wise builder’s house stands. It may be small. It may be battered. But it stands. Because the foundation holds.

The fool’s house collapses. And Jesus doesn’t say it just “falls.” He says, “great was the fall of it.”

It’s a tragedy. A life wasted. A religion that crumbles in the hour of need. As Ryle put it:

“It fails him completely, like a summer-dried fountain… a wreck on a sandbank… a scandal to the church, a misery to himself.”

A faith that costs you nothing will be worth nothing when the storm comes.

He Taught With Authority

Matthew tells us the crowds were astonished—Jesus taught as one who had authority. Not like the scribes.

He wasn’t just saying something true. He is the truth. He doesn’t just describe the rock—He is the rock. And He is building His church on that rock.

And when the final storm comes, that church will stand. Not because of her strength, but because of His.

So let me ask you:

What are you building?

And what are you building it on?

The storm is coming.

Take shelter.