Dr. Tony Evans is the founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, founder and president of The Urban Alternative and author of over 100 books, booklets and Bible studies. The first African American to earn a doctorate of theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, he has been named one of the 12 Most Effective Preachers in the English-Speaking World by Baylor University. Dr. Evans holds the honor of writing and publishing the first full-Bible commentary and study Bible by an African American. His radio broadcast, The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, can be heard on over 1,400 radio outlets daily and in more than 130 countries. Dr. Evans’ sermons are also streamed and downloaded over 20,000,000 times annually.

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i want to invite

all men on a journey

a journey that has to do with why you

matter

i know we’re living in a day when the

importance

of men has been downgraded has been

reduced and in some places totally

removed

appropriate masculinity has gone

unappreciated

and undervalued but god is calling men

to rise to a whole new level

remember god asked adam a fundamental

question

adam where are you i’d like to say adam

where you at

because this whole future of

civilization

will be keyed in to fulfilling your

god-designed

god-created and god-given

role so then it’s time to rise up

over the next number of months we’re

going to be challenging men to a

new level of manhood personal family

church and cultural impact and when

god’s men rise up things are going to

change

when we fail to rise up as the bible

makes clear

things will disintegrate so join me

let’s go on a journey together and see

what happens

when kingdom men rise

the reason that god created adam first

was that adam was supposed to be the

foundation

for the family which was to be the

foundation for the culture

that it was adam’s responsibility to set

the stage

for where everything else was to be

built on

he was to be the foundation which is why

god raised the question adam where are

you

because the foundation had moved

and now everything else was in chaos

and so we want to talk today about

foundations

focusing on the men but not limiting it

to the men

because jesus says when he starts the

story

in matthew 7 verse 24 that this applies

to everyone

but even though it applies to everyone

he focuses on

two men so the question i want to ask

all the males by time we’re finished is

which man

are you but then

we can ask everybody which person are

you

these two men had some commonalities

things that they held in common

these two men had a contrast which made

them

very different and this

leads to a conclusion about these two

men

that is riveting in its

effect but transforming

in its ability to change our lives

so let’s start off with what made these

two men

alike what compared them what

what what made them on the same page

well the first thing that was comparable

to both of these men

is they both shared the same

dream they both wanted to build a house

in the bible a house can refer to one of

four different things

number one a house can refer to your

life as it is referred to here

both men wanted to build a house that is

to build a life

of substance significance value

that mattered they wanted to accomplish

something

with their lives

every man should want to be something

accomplish something

to build a life that matters a life of

impact a life of value a life of

substance a life

of significance every man wants to build

a house

you don’t just want to be here and

when you die you don’t see anything you

built

you know you want to you want a life

that matters

or building a house and the bible can

refer to building a family

families throughout the bible are called

the house of somebody

the house of david that means it was

david’s family

so building a house in the bible refers

to building a family

no serious man walks down the aisle

planning to get divorced

no serious man should be planning to

abandon his children

no you want to build a house you want to

build a

home you want to build a a future for

the family you want your kids to be

impacted so that they grow up to be

mature

responsible adults you want to build a

house

or to build a house in the bible can

refer to building a ministry

the temple in the old testament was

called the house of god

the church of the new testament is

called the household

of faith the bible talks about building

the church

you want to see the spiritual growth and

spiritual development

of the family of god why because you

want to build a house of ministry

or to build a house can refer the bible

to building a society

after all israel was called the house of

israel

we call it the white house

or the house of congress what do we mean

by the house we meant

we mean that representative entity that

represents

the society so to build a house is to

build a community

or a society that’s whole and that’s

unified

and where the culture is benefiting the

citizenry

all that is to build a house

and both men wanted to build a house

they wanted a life of

significance they want a family that was

strong

they want a ministry that was effective

and they wanted to live in a culture

that was ordered a well-ordered society

that’s to build a house every man in

here should want to build all four of

those houses

a life that matters a family that’s

strong

to be part of a ministry that’s vibrant

and to make a contribution to a society

that’s well

ordered every man here

every person here every christian here

should want to build a house

so the first thing that these two men

had in common

was that they wanted to fulfill a dream

of building a house

the second thing that made these two men

alike

was they both went to the same church

now we know they both went to the same

church because it says

both men heard these words of mine

now if jesus is the preacher

it’s a perfect sermon

because jesus said they heard the words

of mine so there’s no flaw

in the exegesis in the exposition

in the application of the scripture

because they’re both seated

and they’re both listening to these

words of mine they’re in the same place

at the same time hearing the same

preacher preach the same sermon

they both hear these words of mine that

tells us something about these two men

they were orthodox in their orientation

because they’re not going listening to a

cult preacher

they’re listening to these words of mine

they’re listening to the living word

preach the written word and there is no

better word

than that word so they’re going to an

evangelical church an orthodox

congregation because they’re seated in

their seats

they’ve got their bibles open they’re

listening to jesus christ preach

so they were at least oriented to the

word of god

because they’re both listening to these

words of mine

so the first thing is that they both had

a dream the second thing is that they

both were

orthodox in their orientation because

they were willing to hear the word of

god

there is a third commonality between

these two men

they lived in the same neighborhood

now the reason we know they lived in the

same neighborhood as they were affected

by the same storm

it says the storm came and hit both of

their homes

so that meant they were in the same

vicinity of the storm

a storm in the bible is an adverse set

of circumstances

when the bible talks about a storm it’s

talking about negative

events entering into your life a storm

is trouble

tribulation and trials a storm is

something that comes

on you that wants to knock you over

mentally emotionally

physically and spiritually that’s a

storm in the bible

the differences between these two men

are spelled out

because verse 24 says one man was a wise

man

and verse 26 says the other man was a

fool

one man was a wise man the other man was

a fool

so that tells me a lot right there that

means that

a wise man can have a dream and a fool

can have a dream

a wise man can sit and listen to jesus

and a fool can sit and listen to jesus

a wise man can be in a storm and a fool

can be in a storm because while they

were a lot alike there was

one fundamental difference one was a

wise man

and the other was a fool

what made the difference

their foundation it says in verse 24

the wise man built his house on a rock

it says the foolish man built his house

on sand

it’s talking about what they built their

house on

that has to do with your foundation your

foundation is what you put your

structure

on and it’s always where you start

because you pour the foundation first

you know put up the doors first the

glass first

the the windows first you don’t you

don’t drywall first you don’t put up the

roof first

you pour that foundation first why

because everything else is

banking on its stability the ability of

everything else to hold steady is tied

to solidifying a strong foundation

one person the wise man built his house

on

a rock the fool built his house on

sand

let’s talk about those two different

foundations for a moment

if you build on sand that’s going to be

quick

don’t take a lot of time to put put sand

and put a sand castle together on a

beach

if you build on rock it’s going to take

you some time

if you build on sand it’s going to be

easy

if you’re going to build on rock it’s

going to be a little harder you got to

drill through that

if you build on sand it’s going to be

cheap

don’t cost much to put together sand

oh but it’s going to cost you something

if you build on a rock

you see one man was willing to put in

what it would take for his foundation to

be strong

the other man was not willing to take

what was necessary

for his foundation to be strong but he

still wanted the house

this issue of the foundation is critical

so one man built on sand and the other

man built on

a rock

so what was

what was the difference between these

two men

what do you mean by rock versus sand

here it is both men heard these words of

mine but here is the difference

it says the wise man verse 24 heard

these words of mine

and acted on them

it says the fool heard these words of

mine

and did not act on them

if you want to build a life a home

a ministry or a society

a house it must be resting on the right

foundation

and the foundation is not merely

information the difference

between the wise man and the foolish man

was not how much edumacation they had

the difference between the wise man and

the fool

was their willingness or unwillingness

to act on what

jesus had taught or put in another way

only when the word is applied does the

word work

if it is not applied it’s still god’s

word

it’s still alive but you won’t

experience what it can do

until you act on it they were listening

to god’s word

both of them but only one did something

with what he heard

and therefore only one experienced what

was needed to be experienced

based on what is taught

so one man is called a wise man and the

other is called

a fool so let me define the two

wisdom in the bible is the

ability and responsibility

of applying god’s truth

to life’s realities now what a lot of

christians try to do

is mix rock and sand

what they want is they they know they

need god rock

but they also have their own way of

doing things sand

so what they want is sandy rock

they want to mix it to okay

and one the fundamental difference

between rock and sand

sand is human wisdom rock is

god’s point of view acted on

well what a lot of christians though

they they know they want rock and need

rock

but they used to sand so they try to mix

them together

so let me help you with the sandy rock

mixture

matthew 15 verse 6 says you do

nullify the word of god

with your traditions so once you bring

man’s point of view and attach it to god

when it contradicts god’s point of view

matthew 15 6 says you cancel out god

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when you want sandy rock what you are

doing

is being double-minded and james chapter

1

verse 5 says let the double-minded man

know he will receive nothing from the

lord

so if you try to bring human wisdom and

attach it to divine revelation

what you need to know is god says don’t

think you will get

anything once you marry the two with a

double mind

god cancels the whole thing so a lot of

us

are canceling out our prayers we’re

praying for

one thing bringing human wisdom into it

which cancels the whole prayer

he says you cannot have both it did not

become apparent

who the fool was and who the wise man

was

until the storm came see as long as it

was sunny outside both houses looked

good

both men looked great both families

looked intact

both ministries appeared to be solid

the nation seemed to be on track that is

until the storm came

it was the storm that revealed

what the real deal was

let’s look at the storm says the rain

came the flood came the wind blew

so whenever you have rain coming down

flood coming up and a wind so strong

it can knock over a house that’s called

a hurricane

that’s a hurricane it’s not a rain

shower it’s a hurricane

and in your life you’re going to run

into hurricane season

hurricane season is not some minor

trials when all hell breaks through

breaks loose in your life it’s when your

world shuts down on you

it’s when when everything that could go

wrong does go wrong

it’s that bad prognosis from the doctor

it’s that

just something that devastates you that

overwhelms you

it’s hurricane season

and if you’re alive you’re going to run

into that season

or that season is going to find you

he says and when the rain came the flood

came and the

wind blew the wise man’s house

stood and the fool’s house

fell because they didn’t

start at the same place the houses may

have looked wonderful on the outside

but the storm always reveals what you’re

resting on

you can fix a foundation or pour a

foundation before a storm

you can repair a foundation after a

storm what you can’t do is fix it in a

storm

see a lot of folk want god

in a storm oh they didn’t pour a

foundation before the storm

so they’re wondering why they why they

falling apart because the idea is you

pour the foundation first

in other words you you set this thing in

motion first

many couples want to get a divorce when

they never pour the foundation

so no wonder when the storm comes it

blows the marriage over

because you didn’t pour a biblical

foundation or a single a biblical

foundation or

or any carry financially a biblical

foundation whatever the issue is you

never poured god’s foundation

and you wonder why you’re being blown

over by the circumstances that take

place

in our lives i love the

story in in uh

in mark chapter four where jesus is

teaching he’s teaching on the seashore

of the sea of galilee

and then he tells his disciples let’s

get in the boat and go to the other side

to see a galilee

sea of galilee is about eight miles

across and the sea of galilee is

surrounded by

hills or little mountains or large hills

that surround it and sometimes the wind

will enter into a funnel

down into the sea of galilee and that’s

called a

lilac a wind storm and it and it

disrupts the water uh tumultuously

so while the disciples are crossing the

sea of galilee in mark 4

the bible says they encountered a lilac

a windstorm that like a mini tornado

that was whipping up the water and these

are professional fishermen

so so they’re used to to rough seas but

this one scared them to death they

became afraid for their lives

while they’re bailing out water trying

to survive

they look and see jesus asleep in the

stern

on a pillow

because the bible says he will sleep on

a cushion

tell the truth and shame the devil have

you ever felt like god is going to sleep

on you

your whole world is falling apart and

you’re calling on heaven and the line is

busy

jesus is not doing anything he’s nowhere

to be found

that was theirs that was their sentiment

and the bible says they had to arouse

him which means he was sound asleep

they had to shake him to get him up he

was so asleep in a storm

so he sleep in the storm they wake him

up

and then they ask the question that we

all ask when god disappoints us

do you not care that we perish don’t you

care what i’m going through don’t you

care how i’m hurting

don’t you see my tears don’t you see how

afraid i am don’t you

care about me because sometimes when you

in a storm

it looks like god is nowhere to be found

he’s snoring on you

sleep on you the line is busy and your

world is falling apart

do you not care jesus christ when they

wake him up

he gets up and his first words are why

are you so timid oh ye of little faith

what had happened was

the storm caused them to forget the word

because if they were to remember the

word and saw jesus on his pillar they

would have gotten out their pillar

and everybody went on their pillar and

everybody wouldn’t been sleeping

in the midst of a storm because they

would have remembered

his word god will allow a storm to see

whether you knew what you were saying

when you said amen

to the sermon

the point is simply this your foundation

determines your future

and your foundation is the word of god

applied not just the word of god studied

heard or known

until application hits you will not see

the intervention

of god so while you are waiting on god

i am waiting on god he is waiting on us

he is waiting on the men to take their

rightful place

to begin to dream dreams and to have

visions that begin to apply

and to say like joshua as for me and my

house we will serve the lord

he’s waiting for men to pour the

foundation on which everything else can

stand

but then he’s waiting on all believers

to apply god’s truth to their lives

whether they be male or female to see

god

intervene so don’t get me wrong

i am not suggesting to follow god means

to avoid storms

and sometimes until you really follow

him you haven’t seen it rain yet

i am saying when the word of god is

applied

without being mixed with human wisdom

that contradicts his authoritative word

you have now engaged the programming of

his word

to work and you will watch him

even in the missile storm the wise man

still had a hurricane

he didn’t avoid a hurricane he just

withstood it

he didn’t succumb to it because

he was resting on the right foundation

then we were created to be builders

we’re told to build a house now the

house

in the bible can refer to a number of

things it can refer to building a life

it can be referring to building a family

it can refer to building a

church or ministry and it can even be

used

of building a society so you’re in the

home

house building business but if we do not

lay the right foundation

the structure is in trouble it is

incumbent and critical that men

understand that the reason god

created us first before

he created a woman was we would be

responsible for laying the foundation of

all the other buildings

that would be erected on it

when the foundation gets shaky the doors

are in trouble the windows are in

trouble

the walls are in trouble the roof is in

trouble because

the foundation is not living up

to its manufacturer’s specifications

now foundations aren’t necessarily

pretty but they are strong

because they’re designed to hold up

everything else man

let’s rise to the level of being solid

foundations

so that the buildings that we are

responsible for seeing

erected in our lives and in our culture

stand strong because the foundations

upon which they rest are strong enough

to hold them up

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you