A Concluding Call to Kingdom Obedience

[0:00] Everybody's building. Every person on the face of the earth is building. We're all builders. We're all building. A person builds a life.

[0:14] And a person builds a life one decision at a time. And each decision that someone makes is based upon what they believe to be true.

[0:30] In Matthew 5, 6, and 7, Jesus lays out the Sermon on the Mount. This is what is true, he says. And this morning, we come to the close of the Sermon on the Mount.

[0:45] We're following Jesus' lead here, and we're bringing our study of the Sermon on the Mount to an end. And what Jesus does in the Sermon on the Mount, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, is he brings his listeners to a point of decision.

[1:06] The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus making clear what God truly means in the Old Testament law and the prophets.

[1:16] And one of the effects is when he walks us through again and again, you've heard this say, but I say, again and again and again, it brings us to an end to ourselves.

[1:30] We come to a point and say, I cannot do this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In Matthew 5, 48, if you just look in your Bibles there, Jesus says, be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.

[1:45] It's a call to perfection. Anybody there? Jesus very skillfully brings us to a point where we've got to hold up our hands, and we've got to say something like, there is no way I can do this.

[2:02] There's no way that, hey, I might not murder somebody, but to not be sinfully angry with somebody, I can't do that 24-7. I can't avoid lust all the time.

[2:17] I can't love my enemy all the time. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus raises the standard beyond what any of us can do. He fulfills the true meaning of the law.

[2:32] And so what the Sermon on the Mount does is it actually exposes our spiritual bankruptcy. It shows that we're poor in spirit. It shows that the only one who fulfilled the perfect requirements of the law and the prophets that Jesus lays out is the one who's preaching the sermon.

[2:56] He's the only one who lived the Sermon on the Mount perfectly. And so what Jesus is doing through this Sermon on the Mount is bringing us to a point where we come to an end of ourselves.

[3:08] I can't do this. But he's also bringing us to a point of decision. What are you going to do? And so Jesus wants us to see that we don't have it in and of ourselves to live out the Sermon on the Mount but where we say, I can't, he always says, I can't.

[3:34] The Sermon on the Mount brings us to Jesus. Jesus is the one who will live his life out through us. And so this morning, we're at the end of this sermon, probably the best sermon ever preached.

[3:53] And in Matthew chapter 7, verses 13 through 29, in this extended section, Jesus is going to call you to make a decision.

[4:04] It's going to come out like this. Choose this day whom you will obey. You will need to choose today whom you're going to obey. Jesus doesn't leave anything.

[4:17] He makes it very clear. You've got two options. And what he is obviously going to tell us is choose him.

[4:29] Obey him. And so he calls for a decision. So these 17 verses, Jesus lays out four options for you to choose between. You've got to choose between two paths.

[4:42] You've got to choose between two prophets. You've got to choose between two professions. And you've got to choose between two foundations. And so Jesus, over these four times, gives us options to choose between.

[4:56] Choose this day whom you will obey. And what he's getting at is this. Whose authority are you going to come under? Whose words are you going to build your life on?

[5:07] Who's going to be in charge of your life? Choose this day. Choose this day who you will obey. And the one speaking is the one whom you must obey.

[5:20] So four choices given to us by the incarnate God himself. Choose this day whom you will obey.

[5:31] Let's look at this. Verses 13 and 14, these two paths. Jesus commands, enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction.

[5:44] And those who enter it, enter by it, are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

[5:54] And so, in this first option, Jesus gives us two paths. And they stand in stark contrast to each other. Both paths have a gate, a starting point.

[6:08] You can see in verse 15, excuse me, 13, enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide. One of the gates is a wide gate. And if you go through a wide gate, what that means is it's, hey, anybody can come through this gate.

[6:22] It's really broad. It's really wide. It's designed to let a lot of people go through at one time. But there's another gate.

[6:34] It's a narrow gate. And a narrow gate is restrictive. Do you know what a turnstile is? Have you ever been walking into, like, a ball game or a concert and the big mob of people that wants to get in, they, it funnels down to this one turnstile?

[6:53] Click, clink, click, clink, click, clink, click, clink, only one at a time. It's a narrow gate. Jesus says, enter by the narrow gate.

[7:05] In John 10, 9, Jesus says that he is the door. He is the gate. If anyone enters through him, he will be saved. And so from the get-go in these two paths, you've got to realize there's two gates.

[7:19] There's a wide gate that lets a lot of people through and then there's a narrow gate. Jesus is that gate. But both paths have distinct ways.

[7:31] Did you notice that? There's the broad gate that opens to a wide way. Think of a five-lane highway. Remember driving through Atlanta years ago.

[7:42] It's a huge highway. Multiple lanes. But the broad way, think about it this way today. There are five lanes in that highway. There's the lane of pluralism. That's where people say, hey, there are many ways to heaven or nirvana or salvation, whatever you want to call it.

[7:59] We're all going the same direction. Pluralism. That's one of the lanes on this broad way. Scientism. You know what scientism is?

[8:09] It's the belief that the final say, the final authority on all things is science. Many people are on that path, that lane.

[8:21] There's another lane on this broad way. It's called materialism. It's thinking that, hey, my value, my joy, my happiness is determined by my net worth or the abundance of my possessions.

[8:34] That's just another lane on this broad way. And then there's this thing called hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure. I will do whatever I want to do with whoever I want to do whenever I want to do it.

[8:52] It's a broad way with many lanes. Standing in stark contrast to that broad way is a narrow way. When one enters the narrow gate of Jesus, he steps onto the narrow way of discipleship.

[9:10] And it's a narrow way. It's walking according to the words of Jesus. It's living according to what he says.

[9:22] In one sense, it is restrictive. In verse 14, when Jesus says that this way is hard, do you see that? For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life.

[9:35] That word hard means to press. Like if someone pressed your nose hard and started to bleed, it's part of a word group in the New Testament that gets at the word tribulation.

[9:50] And so we see it showing up in Acts 14, 22. Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. This narrow way of discipleship is a way that's marked by hardship, by suffering.

[10:08] That's what Jesus has promised. He says, just flip back to the Beatitudes. And if you turn to where Jesus ends all these blessings, he says in verse 10, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake.

[10:23] Verse 11, blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. When you get on the narrow way through the gate of Jesus, it's going to go hard for you.

[10:35] It's not a cakewalk. And Jesus doesn't put it in small print. He's like right up front. It's not going to be easy. And so the narrow way of discipleship, it's not, it's completely different than the broad way.

[10:50] There's not pluralism. For us who follow Jesus, it's exclusively about Jesus. It's only through Christ that you can be saved. There's only one name given among men under heaven by which man can be saved.

[11:04] That's the name of Jesus. Jesus. Scientism isn't our final authority. The words of Jesus are our final authority. The Bible is our final.

[11:15] God speaking to us. Greed isn't a lane we travel on. We don't store up treasures on earth, but treasures in heaven. We don't live for the dot, we live for the line.

[11:30] And we're not living as hedonists. I'll want whatever I want with whoever I want whenever. It's not what I want, it's what He wants.

[11:44] You see, the narrow path is, it's a way of submission to Jesus. It's living under His authority. It's obedience to His words.

[11:57] And it stands in stark contrast to the broad way. So we've seen two gates, we've seen two ways, but there are also two destinations. Did you notice that?

[12:10] Enter by the narrow gate for the gate is wide and the way is easy. That leads to destruction. The broad way, this multi-lane highway is on its way to destruction.

[12:24] And Jesus is talking about eschatological destruction. It's a fancy way for saying end times, final destruction.

[12:36] He's talking about hell, eternal torment, outer darkness, the place where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth. He compares it to a burning trash dump.

[12:48] Jesus talks about hell more than He talks about heaven. And what He's saying here is this multi-lane highway, pluralism, scientism, materialism, hedonism, it's all going somewhere.

[13:04] Apart from Christ, that is moving towards destruction. But the narrow gate, the hard way, the Jesus way, that doesn't lead to destruction.

[13:21] That leads to life. It leads to eternal life. That leads to seeing Jesus face to face, being in His company for eternity. Not in outer darkness, but in His presence.

[13:34] Not weeping and gnashing of teeth, but wide-mouthed joy. Both paths have travelers on them.

[13:45] There are many on the broad way. Many on the way to eternal torment. Many on the path to destruction. But Jesus' way that leads to life, there are relatively few.

[14:04] As followers of Jesus, what you need to understand is that we're in the minority. We're a minority people group. It is not popular to go on the narrow path. The popular way is the broad way.

[14:16] The hard way is the Jesus way. And so here are two paths between, and you need to choose one.

[14:28] You need to pick which path you're going to live on. You're going to pick which gate you're going to go through. Now there are warnings here.

[14:40] Now imagine that you have been walking on the broad way. You've been living a life of a hedonist.

[14:53] You've been living under that thinking that, hey, there are many ways to God. What's the big deal? And as you're walking on that broad way, you've got to realize, Jesus is like on the side of the broad way and He is waving to you.

[15:11] He's saying, come off the broad way. Turn from the broad way. Do you not know where the broad way is going? Come to me. Come to my path.

[15:24] Come to life. life. He's beckoning you if you're on the broad way and you know it to turn off the broad way and to come to Him.

[15:38] Come follow Him. Come under His saving reign. Will you obey Him? Will you say, Jesus, Jesus?

[15:52] There's one more piece I want to clarify here because I think that there's some confusion on this. If you think that you can live life with one foot in the broad way and one foot in the narrow way, you are deceiving yourself.

[16:12] Jesus does not give you that option. If you're not fully in the narrow way, you're in the broad way. There's one more lane.

[16:23] It's the lane of compromise. On the broad way. It's the lane that Judas walked. It's the lane that Demas, who, in love for the world, abandoned Paul. It's a broad path and compromise is on it.

[16:39] You can't walk both paths simultaneously. You're either in one or you're in the other. And Jesus says, today, choose the path of life.

[16:54] Choose the narrow gate. Choose the narrow way. Choose life. Choose Jesus. Jesus. whom this day will you obey.

[17:08] Two paths. Now let's look at two prophets. Verses 15 through 20. Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

[17:19] You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? So every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.

[17:29] A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, you will recognize them by their fruit.

[17:43] Today, you need to choose whom you're going to listen to. Whose words you're going to believe. Because what you believe matters.

[17:54] You will build your life on someone's words. Jesus says, beware. Take heed.

[18:05] Watch out for false prophets. Literally, pseudo-prophets. And what Jesus is doing in this section is making a distinction between false prophets and true prophets.

[18:19] He's saying, choose who you're going to listen to. Choose who you're going to follow. Choose the one who's going to direct you down which path. Now, a prophet is someone who speaks on behalf of God.

[18:32] He speaks God's word. And what God calls a prophet to do is God says, speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

[18:45] You don't take away from what God is saying. You don't add to what God is saying. and for sure you don't make something up and say, it's God speaking. A false prophet is someone who's claiming to speak for God but is leaving words out.

[19:02] They're adding to his words. They're making stuff up and slapping God on it. In verse 15, Jesus tells us why we must be aware.

[19:14] Look at verse 15. Beware of false prophets who come to you, to you, in sheep's clothing, in our inwardly ravenous woes.

[19:27] False prophets have an agenda. They come into a church and they're dressed up like a nice Christian but they got an agenda. They're wanting to mislead God's people.

[19:41] They want to feed them with falsehood and bring destruction and harm to God's people. Who are they looking, who are these ravenous wolves looking to shred apart God's sheep, the flock of God, God's people?

[19:58] Well, you can believe that Jesus has an issue with these false prophets. False prophets are false shepherds who mislead God's people by their false words.

[20:10] They claim an authority from God but their message and their life and their fruit show that they're imposters. sinners. Now, if you're wondering now, like, how do I recognize a false prophet?

[20:26] Jesus is a step ahead of you. Jesus moves from talking about shepherding wolves and sheep to horticulture. He starts talking about trees and fruit.

[20:40] And we see that in verse 16, you will recognize them by their fruits. And then down in verse 20, thus you will recognize them by their fruits. We are going to recognize false prophets by their fruit.

[20:52] It might take a little time but we will recognize them. Now, before I point you to three tests, three kind of steps to take for fruit inspection, I want to let you know this.

[21:07] The New Testament is very clear. There will be false prophets who seek to come among us. Jesus warns it in Matthew 24, 11.

[21:22] Paul brings together the elders of Ephesus and Miletus and says, be aware. And he says to them, from among you elders there will be false prophets.

[21:32] Wolves, he calls them. It's very sobering. 2 Timothy 4, 3, 2 Peter 2, 1 through 3, 1 John 4, 1. The New Testament is very clear.

[21:43] There's going to be false teachers who are going to want to come in and influence God's church. Okay.

[21:56] I've got some serious questions about Joel Olsteen. I've got some serious questions about Joyce Myers, Kerflo Dollar. I've got some serious questions about them. They're concerning to me.

[22:10] They're on dangerous ground. So how do you recognize a false prophet? Three tests. You start with a thump test. Like a cantaloupe.

[22:22] You thump a cantaloupe. You're thumping for truth. Are they speaking truth? Are they saying what God says?

[22:33] Are they leaving something out? Are they adding something to it? Are they making this up on their own? You know, one of the clearest tests is right from the text. It's this. Are they teaching the narrow way?

[22:46] Are they saying that it's only through Jesus you can be saved? That is a very effective test for a false prophet. Do you say that Jesus is the only way? Or do you think that there are many ways to Jesus?

[23:02] It's only through Jesus. And do they say that the way of discipleship is easy? Or do they say that the way of discipleship is hard? There's a distortion of the gospel being propagated out there.

[23:15] It's called the prosperity gospel. It goes something like this. Oh, your father in heaven wants good for you. And so he wants you to be experiencing the abundant life. And what is the abundant life?

[23:26] The abundant life, it means that you have all health possible and that you are well off. That you're healthy and that you're wealthy. That's what God your father wants for you. So you just need to ask him for that.

[23:38] And then keep on asking. And if you don't have it, it's on you. You just don't have enough faith. Oh, by the way, send us a check just to show because we're trusting that God is going to make us healthy and wealthy. Jesus doesn't teach that.

[23:56] Jesus doesn't say the way of discipleship is easy. He says it's hard and narrow, that you're going to suffer, it's going to be difficult. That's how you get this stuff out.

[24:14] Thump, thump, are you speaking truth? Are you making stuff up to pad your pocket? Second test is the sniff test.

[24:28] Does their lifestyle square with God's word? Do that, are they walking the narrow way? You know, one of the things that 2 Peter raises in its denunciation of false prophets is they do it for greed.

[24:47] they do it for money. They do it for building up wealth. Does their lifestyle square with the call of Jesus to lay up treasures in heaven, not on earth?

[25:03] you know what? There are a group of people who are preaching the prosperity gospel, and do you know what they're doing?

[25:17] They fly in their private jets to nations, third world countries, fill stadiums, collect money, and then fly back home. We're exporting it.

[25:34] What does Jesus think of that? Lord, have mercy. The third fruit is the taste fruit. Taste test.

[25:47] What effect is their ministry having on others? What is the effect? What is it producing? Is it producing people who are walking through the narrow gate, who are saying, I'm going to go the hard way, I'm going to follow Jesus no matter what comes, or is it confusing people?

[26:07] Is it giving people license to compromise? Jeremiah 6 warns against false prophets. They're preaching peace, peace, when there is no peace.

[26:23] it matters to God. Holiness matters to God. The true prophets, the good trees, the healthy trees, not the bad trees, not the diseased trees, the good trees.

[26:46] These prophets seek to speak God's word carefully. They don't want to leave anything out. They don't want to add anything to it, and they're certainly not going to tell you something that they think you should hear in the name of God.

[26:58] They're not going to say, write me a check, thus saith the Lord. They don't do that. True prophets know that God's words, His very words, are life to His sheep.

[27:12] They want to feed the sheep with God's word. They're good trees that produce good fruit. And so this morning, you need to choose who you're going to listen to.

[27:29] What prophets are you going to listen to their podcasts? When they proclaim Jesus as the only way, and they call you to a hard way that leads to life, that their lives reflect their message.

[27:48] It's not about greed. It's not about power. It's not about prestige. But these true prophets are seeking to be humble servants, stewards of the very words of God. Their ministry results in clear-minded followers of Jesus who don't compromise, but are wholeheartedly obedient to their King.

[28:10] did you know? Did you notice verse 19? Every tree, every diseased tree, every false prophet that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

[28:27] Eschatological fire. Judgment. Jesus doesn't mince words about false prophets. He takes it very serious because his people's health are at stake.

[28:39] The way of salvation is under challenge. Very serious. So choose this day whom you will listen to.

[28:53] Are you going to listen to false prophets or are you going to listen to prophets sent to you from Jesus himself? Well, we've moved from two prophets now.

[29:05] Let's look at two professions. Verses 21 through 23. Not everyone who says to me, this is really hard, what you're about to read.

[29:19] Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name and then will I declare to them, I never knew you.

[29:47] Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. Jesus raises a very, very sobering truth for us here. There will be some, he says, many on the day of judgment who will go to the day of judgment and stand before Christ the King and they will say, Lord, Lord.

[30:16] Only to hear that Jesus declares, I never knew you. Depart from me, you worker of lawlessness. There are two claims being made here.

[30:28] There are two professions that Jesus is laying out in front of us. Two professions we need to choose between. The false claim of Lord, Lord, and the true claim of an obedient life.

[30:46] Now, don't get me wrong. Confessing that Jesus is Lord is essential to being saved. Romans 10, 9, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe with your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

[31:07] And so, confessing Jesus is Lord is essential to being saved, but it doesn't necessarily prove you're saved. Just because you publicly declared Jesus to be your Lord doesn't mean he's actually your Lord.

[31:24] What Jesus is saying, there's going to be some people on that day are saying one thing, but they've been doing another. And it doesn't get by the king. In other words, a claim to Jesus' lordship over your life without a life that is changing because you're seeking to obey the will of the Father.

[31:49] Do you know what that is? That's a false profession. It's a false claim. But a claim of Jesus being my Lord that is coupled by a life that's changing because you're hearing the words of your king and you're wanting to obey them and do them and you're trying to walk in the narrow way, that's legit.

[32:11] That's a real profession. That evidence is real conversion. So what's the litmus test? How do you know if someone is genuinely a follower of Jesus?

[32:24] How do you know if someone's walking the narrow way or not? It's really simple according to Jesus. are they obeying his words? Are they doing what he says?

[32:39] Our conversion to Christ is demonstrated not just in word only. Our conversion to Christ is demonstrated in word and deed, a changed life.

[32:51] and not just any deeds. Jesus is talking about obedience to the will of his father.

[33:05] Moral obedience. Isn't it sobering when you read verse 22? On that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?

[33:19] That's a deed. Did we not cast out demons in your name? That's a deed. Did we not do mighty works, miracles in your name?

[33:29] Lord, Lord, did we not do this? Let us in. Let us in. I never knew you. You were never a part of my kingdom. In many Christian circles today, deeds like prophesying, casting out demons, working miracles, people are like, wow, you're awesome.

[33:53] That's really cool. You're legit. But Jesus is not impressed with that. You can be doing all this stuff in his name and not be saved.

[34:07] I never knew you. If it's not these kinds of deeds, what are the deeds?

[34:21] What kind of doing delights Jesus? If these kinds of deeds of prophesying and casting out demons and performing miracles, if that's not endearing to the Savior, what kind of deeds are?

[34:33] What kind of deeds are? not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

[34:49] That delights our King, obeying his commands. God's so don't murder and don't get sinfully angry at people.

[35:04] Don't cheat on your spouse and don't sexually lust after people. Yes, Lord, yes, Lord, help me, Lord. That's where he wants us obeying.

[35:16] As Jesus is saying here that works save you, he's not saying that. All he's saying here is that genuine faith in him results in real obedience to the will of the Father.

[35:31] It's yes, oh, the commandments of God are not burdensome, 1 John. It's our delight. I want to obey. It's not easy, but I want to.

[35:43] Good works don't save any of us. Only Jesus and through his blood and resurrection that's what saves us. But Jesus didn't save us in order to navel gaze.

[35:56] He saved us for good works. Ephesians 2, 8, 9, and 10. Titus 2, 11 through 14. James, when he says, faith without works is dead, what he's getting at is that, hey, if you're saying you believe in Jesus but it doesn't show up in a changed life, you're not really believing in Jesus.

[36:18] The chief characteristic of those on the hard, narrow way of discipleship is obedience. Choose this day whom you will obey.

[36:33] There's some, there's a beautiful passage, I actually, I read it this morning in my devotions, it's 1 John 2, 4 through 6. How do you know that someone is a child of God when they keep his commandments?

[36:48] obedience. So here are some implications to what Jesus is saying here. These, these two professions, it should sober you up.

[37:04] It should, it should make you ask this question, am I obeying Jesus or is it just lip service I'm giving him? Are you seeking to obey him?

[37:16] Is there a command right now you're asking help for to obey? Because you want to please him. You know, J.C. Ryle said this, many strange things will happen on the day of judgment.

[37:29] And this is one of them. Lord, Lord, I never knew you. Here's another implication. So first, be warned, take it to heart.

[37:41] Second, it changes your parenting. If you're a parent and your goal is to get your child to pray a prayer in which he or she asks Jesus into their heart and on that moment you're like, okay, on that day my four-year-old was saved.

[38:01] They will need to make a decision for Jesus. But what Jesus is calling us to here is not so much asking Jesus into your heart, but all of your heart obeying Jesus.

[38:15] And so as parents, when we raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, what we're trying to do is not trying to make them make a decision, what we're trying to help them see is, sweetheart, God is calling you to follow him.

[38:28] This is another area in which God wants your heart, you need to trust in him. And because you're not, it shows you're in need of him. it changes our parenting.

[38:41] I don't want any of my kids saying, Lord, Lord, I grew up in a pastor's house, let me in. That won't do anything. Choose this day whom you live.

[38:57] There's one more implication to this. I'm not sure if you noticed it. Did you notice the phrase, on that day? Again, Jesus is talking about eschatological judgment.

[39:09] And do you know who's the judge on that day? Jesus is the judge. Do you understand the claim he's making right now? He's God in the flesh. He's going to judge it all.

[39:21] You've got to stand before him on that day. Two professions. Let's move to two foundations. This is the parable that we all, many of us know, many of us grew up singing about.

[39:37] Two foundations. This is in verses 24-27. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

[39:49] And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

[40:16] We got to be very clear on the comparison Jesus is making here. Jesus is moving from saying without doing, a false profession, to now hearing without doing.

[40:29] hearing these words of mine. And the comparison Jesus is making, you see it in verse 24, everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them, contrasted to verse 26, and everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them.

[40:51] The parable is a contrast that gets at this issue of obedience. who will you obey today?

[41:04] The contrast is between those who hear and obey and those who hear and disobey. They do not do what Jesus says to do. Jesus likens the one who hears and obeys his words to a wise man who builds his house on the rock.

[41:27] The rock are the words of Jesus. Jesus says, everyone who hears these words of mine, he repeats that in verse 26, these words of mine.

[41:43] The words of Jesus are rock solid because he's God incarnate. They're solid. You can build your life on it. what he's laid out for us in the Sermon on the Mount, these words of mine about himself, that he's the fulfiller of the law, that he's the judge over all.

[42:05] They're rock solid. How he calls us to live our lives, they're rock solid. He lays out the path of life. Now, if you connect what he's saying here, these words of mine with verse 21, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven, his words reveal the will of his father in heaven.

[42:33] His words are rock solid. I started this sermon by saying all of us are builders. All of us are constructing a life.

[42:44] Every human being is building a life. That's the house. Daily, we're making decisions based upon what we believe to be true. And if you're on the broad way, you're believing what the broad way is telling to be true.

[42:59] If you're on the narrow way, you're believing what Jesus is saying to be true. So decisions like how will I treat others? Decisions like how will I respond when I'm wrong? Decisions like what am I going to live for?

[43:10] Am I going to live for the dot? Am I going to line? Am I going to invest in eternity? Or in this dying world? these kinds of decisions are based upon words.

[43:22] Who you believe. Who's the authority in your life? When building your life on Jesus' words, you base your decisions on what Jesus says.

[43:38] One decision at a time. that's the life of faith. That's the life of obedience. And when you do that, when you obey all his commandments, not perfectly but faithfully, you build your house on a rock solid foundation.

[43:57] You build your house on the rock. You build your house on Jesus. But when you disobey Jesus' words, and that's what he's saying.

[44:08] Those who hear my words and do not do them, when you disobey them, you're going to still build your life. You're just choosing not to base your decisions on what Jesus has commanded.

[44:29] Maybe you've heard what Jesus has said about anger, lust, and divorce, but you just disregarded it. Maybe you've heard what Jesus has said about storing up treasures on earth and judging others. You just disregarded it.

[44:40] You're building. And over time, you may build a really nice looking life without obeying Jesus' words.

[44:54] It may look great. But here's what Jesus says. Just as true as every person is building, there's a storm coming.

[45:05] torrents of rain, raising floods, blowing winds, and in verses 25 and 27, both houses, both lives experience the storm, and what the storm reveals is what the house is built on.

[45:27] Now, the question we need to answer is this. What do the rains, floods, and winds represent? They could represent life's hardships, the trials and challenges we all deal with, losing a child, hearing that you've got cancer, losing a job.

[45:47] Both Christian and non-Christian experience these storms of life, and they will shake you to the core, won't they? I don't think that's what Jesus is talking about.

[45:59] I don't think he's talking about the storms of life that we all deal with. I think he's talking about the storm of final judgment, and here's why. With every option he's given so far, he's made an appeal to final judgment.

[46:20] There's the path that leads to the destruction. There are the false prophets who are thrown into the fire. There are those false professors in whom Jesus, the judge on that day says, away from me.

[46:36] Writing throughout Jesus' clothes here is this very real appeal to final judgment. When you stand before Jesus, and so I think he's talking about that day.

[46:53] And Jesus is comparing God's final judgment to a revealing storm. Christian, you will withstand the storm.

[47:10] Do you know why? You're standing on a rock-solid foundation. You've built your life on Jesus. You've come through the gate and walked the way, and it's just right before you enter life.

[47:26] But if you're a non-Christian, that collapse which Jesus talks about, and it fell, and great was it fall.

[47:36] It is a great fall. It's the fall that comes after final judgment and being cast out.

[47:48] It's the eternal collapse. two foundations. Are you building on Jesus' words?

[47:59] Are you building your life on what Jesus says? Choose this day to obey his words. Build your life upon Jesus, and you don't need to fear the storm.

[48:13] God's salvation. We've covered a lot of ground this morning. Two paths, two prophets, two professors, two foundations. At the close, in verses 28 and 29, Jesus finished this sermon, and the crowds were astonished at his teaching.

[48:31] Look at verse 29. For he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as a scribe. Is it any wonder when God shows up and he preaches a sermon, God incarnate, and he says, I fulfill the law and the prophets, and he talks about himself as judge over all, is it no wonder that they are aware of his divine authority?

[48:57] Are you aware of Jesus' divine authority? This morning, are you aware of his authority? More so, have you submitted yourself to his authority?

[49:11] Have you come under his reign, and are you obeying his words? Choose this day whom you will obey. It will result in either destruction or life.

[49:26] Choose Jesus. Let's pray. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, I think we would all say we would rather hear you preach your sermon.

[49:42] But we've heard your words this morning, Lord Jesus, and we pray that you would do with them as you will. God, would you help us as your people to walk in the narrow path?

[49:56] And we pray, Father, for those who are walking on the broad way, that God, they would hear you calling to them. Lord Jesus, they would turn and turn to you and find life.

[50:08] God, help us to build our lives on the rock solid foundation of your words, Jesus. In your name we pray.

[50:20] Amen.