Audio - Sermon On The Mount 18 of 18

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The Twenty-Third Sunday After Trinity
Sermon on the Mount, 18th Sermon
November 3, 2002
 
NKJ Matthew 7:24 " Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 "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. 26 "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: 27 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." 28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
 
Jesus has finished His most perfect sermon on the mount—now He offers a conclusion—what does all this mean?--how do we apply it to our lives?--how are we to understand these things?
 
TEXT:  24 " Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 "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.
 
Jesus ends His sermon by referring to the preceding teachings—if you hear them and follow them—you will be as the wise man who built his house upon the rock
 
The multitudes of Jews—the scribes and the Pharisees—must have wondered—what is He saying?
 
Think about what they knew—this is early in Jesus’ ministry—John the Baptist had been preaching his message for some time—and now Jesus was preparing His disciples to go out and preach
 
Jesus isn’t trying to trick anyone or hide anything—He wants His message to be understood
 
Let’s begin with a look at John the Baptist’s message
 
NKJ Matthew 3:1 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"
 
Now compare that with Jesus’ message at the beginning of His ministry
 
NKJ Mark 1:14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel."
 
With that background established—and with our knowledge of Jesus’ preaching the Sermon on the Mount—let’s look at the parable Jesus speaks in His conclusion
 
In this parable of the two builders—we look first to the man who built his house upon the rock
 
Here are the spiritual meanings of the parts of the parable
 
·        House—understood to be the man’s life
·        Rock—the foundation of the Word of Christ
·        There are many Scriptural examples to support the Word—being associated with the rock—the foundation—the cornerstone
 
NKJ Deuteronomy 32:18 Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, And have forgotten the God who fathered you.
 
NKJ Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
 
NKJ Isaiah 17:10 Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation, And have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, Therefore you will plant pleasant plants And set out foreign seedlings;
 
NKJ Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "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.
 
NKJ 1 Peter 2:6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."
 
·        Rain or Storm and the collapse and destruction of the House—understood to be death—the end of life
 
So the lesson of the parable is this—when a man builds his life upon the Word—upon Christ—his life on earth will not end in death
 
TEXT: 26 "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: 27 "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 second half of the parable is quite the opposite—as we might expect—this man builds his house upon the sand—which can blow ever-which-way—it is unstable
 
Why build on sand—perhaps it is easier to build on the sand on a valley floor than to carry the building materials up onto the rock
 
We can compare it with Jesus’ teaching on the wide and narrow paths—most people take the wide easy way—and only the few take the narrow difficult way
 
Continuing with the parable—the rain came and washed away the sand—and the foolish man’s house fell
 
Remembering that in the Bible—references to the wise are references to believers—and references to the fool are references to those who do not believe
 
Therefore—this parable declares that a life built upon the things Jesus taught on that mountain—is a life built upon the rock of the Gospel—and a life that will not end in death—but it will end in eternal life
 
The life built upon the shifting sand of false doctrine—stories—and human doctrine—is destined to fail—and end in eternal condemnation
 
Either house will stand firm while the sun shines—but in stormy times there is a big difference
 
When life is good—and we have our health—either house will serve us
 
But when our health begins to fail or we have trouble in our lives—only the house upon the rock of the Gospel will stand firm
 
As long as the sun is shining—all is well—but during the storm—to whom will the man whose house is built upon the shifting sands of human doctrine call for help
 
Luther shares the deathbed confession of a Catholic Monk in France around the year 1100—St. Bernard—who lived his life according to the direction of his church leaders
 
Bernard understood the Bible—he understood justification by faith—but he outwardly taught in accordance with the instructions of his church
 
As he lay dying—he asked God to forgive him—he explained to those gathered around him that he wasted his life—that he did the work of the devil—because he built his house upon the sand
 
Luther injected this deathbed confession into several of his writings and sermons—St. Bernard’s confession made quite an impression upon Luther—and he wanted everyone to gain from St. Bernard’s experience
 
TEXT:  28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
 
Try and picture in your mind what this scene must have looked like—Jesus preached His sermon—gave His conclusion—and now stands silent
 
What must have gone through the minds of those listening—until now the Pharisees and the scribes gave a very legalistic view of God’s Word to the people—now comes Jesus—speaking softly and with all the authority of God
 
The word translated into English as astonished is more like dumbfounded—they had never seen anyone speak such things of God—no one had ever contradicted the Pharisees and the scribes like Jesus had in this sermon
 
Remember—the Jews of Jesus day—and all through history—would not even speak God’s name for fear of speaking it in vain
 
Now Jesus stands before them speaking with all the confidence of being God’s own Son
 
Jesus gave everyone listening to His sermon—and us today—the very application of God’s Word
 
he gave it with authority—He gave it in terms simple enough for any one to understand
 
The words and teachings of Jesus didn’t focus on the petty legalisms taught by the scribes—and that is what was amazing to all who listened
 
The application for us is simple—we’ve listened and read the teachings of God’s Son—Jesus Christ—now we must heed those teachings—and walk the narrow path through this life into eternal life
 
Understand as did St. Bernard—that our salvation is a gift from God—there is nothing we have to do to gain salvation—and there is nothing we can do to inherit eternal life—it is a gift by God’s grace
 
Build your life upon the solid rock of God’s Word and doctrine—avoid the shifting sands of human doctrine
 
Demand solid sermons of God’s Word—and refuse to accept story sermons that do not feed your soul—don’t accept them from me—nor any shepherd feeding the flock you’re in