"UPON THAT ROCK I STAND"
“UPON THAT ROCK I STAND”
Sunday, November 16, 2025
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
Matthew 7:24-27: Whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell. And great was its fall.
The Rock is Jesus Christ. During my marriage and raising my family, I held onto this scripture. The floods and storms of life hit our family (vehemently). I was of the assumption that if I did everything right in God’s eyes, we would be spared the storms. No! the scripture does not say we will be spared the storms. The scripture says we will survive the storms and our house will not fall.
In the midst of some of the vehement storms, Prophet Johnny Barham spoke a word to me, “Satan tried and tried, but he could not do it.” I knew this had to do with my “house” which represented my marriage and family. As a Pastor, I have applied that same tenacity of holding onto the foundation of Jesus Christ to the building of God’s House. I am speaking of a spiritual building though a church building is a “House of God,” and houses the Family of God.
Everyone has a house to build, and that house can be built on “Christ the Solid Rock” or on pretending, compromise, performance, and hypocrisy of an external profession of religion while still chasing the world system with one foot in the Kingdom and the other foot in the World.
That is true of each of us individually but also true of ministry. Only that which is built on Christ will stand whether tried by fire, or tried by the storms of life.
Isa. 28:16-17: …Behold I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily. I will make justice the measuring line, and righteousness the plummet. The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place.
We must ground our hopes for our earthly life, families, and ministries upon the fullness of Christ’s merit, for the pardon of sin, the power of His Holy Spirit, for the sanctification of our nature, and the conveyance of all the good which He has purchased for us, and delights to give to us in abundance.
BUT that brings us back to those “storms, floods, and winds” that beat upon our house.
Psa. 148:8: Fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word.
Every life storm which we walk through will make us spiritually strong to become “over-comers.” The storms are permitted by the Lord. Water (flood), wind and fire denote the presence (Spirit) of the LORD.
Rev. 12: 10-11: I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
Once we “overcome” the temptations, wiles, schemes, tricks, deception, and evil of Satan, as well as our own flesh, by the Word of our testimony, the Word of God, and the power of the Blood of the Lamb, that “house” will stand. Our personal spiritual house, our house of family, and our house of the family of God.
The Word of our Testimony is hearing, obeying and doing the Words of Christ.
“Whoever hears My sayings and does them.”
What words has Jesus been teaching? Chapters 5-7 is the Sermon on the Mount, known to us as the Beatitudes.
Matthew 7:1-6: Judge not, that you be not judged….it will be measured back to you… We are always measured by our own measurement. Do not look at the speck in your brother’s eye. Children of the King do not condemn or criticize others. Those who are given the responsibility of judgment have judged themselves (1 Co. 11:28; 2 Co. 13:5). There will be a people who will come to His measure. Eph. 4:13: Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Matthew 7: 7-12: Ask, and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you… if you being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (The Divine Nature). Whatever you want men to do to you. Do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (This is the Golden Rule. Because God is love, He demonstrates that love by doing the truth.) By the same nature of the Spirit of God within us, we do, practice, and demonstrate the Word of God.
Yes, we can say the ask and you shall receive means spiritual things, but I take it literally. It does not mean God will give me something that will not be good for me or that I am not ready spiritually to receive. But, if I ask him for any good thing, in His appointed time, He delights to give it to us. My problem is in my culture I grew up in, we were taught to not ask for things, just to be grateful for what was provided. I have a grateful heart. I need to learn the grace and humility of asking.
Matthew 7: 13-14: Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction. And there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
The sons of God walk the road of most resistance and pressure. There is only one way and one road (Jn. 14:6). We walk with the few who choose life on God’s terms.
Matthew 7: 15-20: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.
Permanent and consistent fruit, and not the gifts, is God’s criterion for spirituality. The root determines the fruit (nature of the tree). We are either rooted in Life (Jesus) or death; either the Tree of Life or the Tree of knowledge of good and evil. We are filled with and minister either blessing or cursing. False prophets are motivated by the love of money which is the root of their evil fruit. A true prophet has a love for fruit. Every tree will bring forth. All of us are creators of something. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them.
Matthew 7: 21-23: Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord” shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘LORD, LORD, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in You name and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’
These three verses are a sermon unto themselves and I probably need to save it for another day, BUT I will attempt to make one point, “he who does the will of My Father in Heaven.” In order for obedience to exists, it is necessary to have two wills. (His will and my will). When we come to the fullness of His stature and the oneness for which Jesus prayed, there will be only one will. The whole concept of authority-submission is part of the curse (Gen. 3;16; Jn. 17). Jesus Himself condescended into this realm of death and entered such a relationship with the Father of authority-submission, and He is the pattern. There will be parents in the home, pastors in the church and civil authorities until we are completely delivered.
Chapter 7 closes out this great Sermon on the Mount but builds the foundation for the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
1 Co. 3:9: For we are God’s fellow workers, you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God, which was given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. for no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Luke 6:47-49: Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like. “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently, and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church, 10115 West Hidden Lakes Lane, Richmond, TX.
I entered into the labors of Kelly Varner, Sermon on the Mount, Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of Dr. Varner.