My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

The words of the hymn by Edward Mote began playing in my mind this morning. As I thought about the words, the words of Jesus came to mind. Matthew 7:24-27 TLV ““Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house; and yet it did not fall, for its foundation had been built on the rock. ²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

There is plenty of sinking sand in our world today and that is why our hope must be built upon Jesus, the Son of God. The revelation that God gave to Peter was that Jesus is the Son of God. That is the rock that the church is built upon. Plenty of people believe Jesus is a historical figure, some even believe He is a great moral teacher, that He sets an example we should follow. But none of that matters, what matters is, do you believe He is the Son of God?

Do you believe the Word of God? It is the testimony of Christ, the solid rock. John 20:30-31 NKJV “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

The Word of God is sure and true. Jesus is that Word in flesh. The grass withers and the flower fades but the Word of God remains forever. Is your hope built on Christ the solid rock? James talks about being tossed around by every wave, is your anchor holding within the veil like the hymn writer wrote? As I look at not only the world but the church today, I wonder how we’ve strayed so far from the rock. We’ve begun building on world philosophy and pop psychology. We call into question the very Word of God. It’s trendy now, it’s a sign of real faith to doubt your faith. To Hell with that garbage, that’s where it came from and that’s where it needs to go back to.

Look at these words from the Apostle Paul in the Amplified Classic Bible. 1 Corinthians 2:2 “For I resolved to know nothing (to be acquainted with nothing, to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, and to be conscious of nothing) among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and Him crucified.”

What about his words to the Galatians? Galatians 3:1-9 TLV “O foolish Galatians, who cast a spell on you? Before your eyes Yeshua the Messiah was clearly portrayed as crucified. ² I want to find out just one thing from you: did you receive the Ruach by deeds based on Torah, or by hearing based on trust? ³ Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Ruach, will you now reach the goal in the flesh? ⁴ Did you endure so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? ⁵ So then, the One who gives you the Ruach and works miracles among you—does He do it because of your deeds based on Torah or your hearing based on trust and faithfulness? ⁶ Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” ⁷ know then that those who have faith are children of Abraham. ⁸ The Scriptures, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the Good News to Abraham in advance, saying, “All the nations shall be blessed through you.” ⁹ So then, the faithful are blessed along with Abraham, the faithful one.”

As I look at the church today I ask this question, I asked myself this question, who has bewitched us? When did we go from preaching the text to preaching life lessons based loosely from the text? When did “the Holy Spirit said” replace the line-by-line teaching of Scripture? We have drifted, we’ve become focused on us and not God. Our methods have become more important than the message. We use programs to draw people instead of the power of the gospel. Jesus said, “if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me.”

Church, let’s return to the rock of our salvation. Let’s return to the chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ, and the Apostles and Prophets that our foundation is built upon. That is the Old and New Testament. Let’s give people the Bible. Let’s give students the Bible and teach them how to study it. Ted talks and topical self-help messages are all the rage in churches today. Friend, you won’t find a better self-help book than the Bible. The reason many aren’t prospering, number one, is because we’ve been taught a worldly definition but number two, you’re living in sin. God’s not going to bless sin. Be ye holy, for I am holy. Come out from among them and be ye separate sanity the Lord, touch not the unclean thing and I will receive you.

It’s time to return to the rock. Drop the gimmicks and pick up the gospel. We don’t need self-help, we need sanctification. This is the will of God, your sanctification. If we truly want to help people and see them grow, we will call them out of sin and to repentance. We will see sinners converted and saints grow in sanctification. Yes, the Bible calls us saints and sons of God! That’s good stuff. Let’s return to the rock, let’s walk on the narrow path, and let’s see our neighborhoods, communities, and states turned toward Jesus. And by supporting missionaries, we can see people all around the world come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.