Luke 6_46_49

INTRO: Neil Marten, a member of the British Parliament, was once giving a group of his constituents a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament. During the course of the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hailsham, then Lord Chancellor, wearing all the regalia of his office. Hailsham recognized Marten among the group and cried, “Neil!” Not daring to question or disobey the “command,” the entire band of visitors promptly fell to their knees!

Obedience, distinguishes a sinner from a saint and a disciple from a hypocrite!

This text is the conclusion to the greatest sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus preached on the Subject “Kingdom Living” and Luke has condensed it for his Roman audience, Theopholis. Like any good preacher Jesus concludes with a call to action, Obey His Words!

CPS: Those who obey Jesus proves they belong to Jesus yet those who disobey Him do not belong to Him and will receive condemnation

I. Those who Obey Jesus’ Word belong to Jesus and will receive eternal reward (46-48)

Jesus had just called His twelve disciples, though one was the devil, and He began to preach to them and the multitude that was there. This sermon is about the Kingdom of God (NB) however it does not teach what must be done to enter the kingdom of God but what is expected of those who are already in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus asks a simple question, why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things I say?

Lord is the Greek noun kyrios, it means ruler, master, one who exercises authority over… What Jesus is saying, how can you rightly call me Lord yet not give me Lordship?

When I was in the military I was told I belonged to Uncle Sam.

ILL: Its like the young man who shortly after joining the Navy, asked his officer for a pass so he could attend a wedding. The officer gave him the pass, but informed the young man he would have to be back by 7 p.m. Sunday. “You don’t understand, sir,” said the recruit. “I’m in the wedding.” “No, you don’t understand,” the officer shot back. “You’re in the Navy!”

To call Jesus Lord is to openly admit that you belong to Him., and He is indeed Lord, John 13:13 ““You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.” Jesus is Lord who by the power of His voice created the heavens and the earth and all that are in them, who by the power of His words holds all things in the universe together and whom by His love stretched out His arms showing us how much He loves us as they were nailed to the cross to make atonement for the sin of the world.

Jesus is Lord indeed and the first duty of every soul is NOT to find its freedom but its Master! The follower of Jesus gives Jesus Lordship, and obeys all His instructions.

Giving Jesus Lordship is wise but it can only be done through the work of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:16 “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,” 1 Cor. 12:3 “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”

The one who treats Jesus as Lord, obeys. Him is truly saved by grace through faith in Jesus! Notice the list in verse 46 Cometh, Heareth, doeth.

Cometh is the Greek verb erchomai, it means to become, to come to a state or condition. Those who comes to Jesus comes to Him through faith and is transformed from a sinner to a saint. It is this person who hears Jesus’ words and applies them to His life.

Sayings is the Greek noun logos it means statement or message. Most modern translations translates Logos as Word. We are to obey the Word of Jesus, thus the very Word of God. Because it is profitable for man in all aspects of life, teaching, reproofing, correction, training in righteousness, so the man of God may be adequate for ever good work (2 Tim 3:16)

The Bible speaks plainly about obedience to God’s Word in both the O.T. and N.T. Deut. 6:1 ““Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it,” Solomon the wise king in old age, after searching for the meaning of his existence came to this conclusion Eccl.12:13 “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.” Jesus told His disciples John 14:15 ““If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” Jesus’ half brother James, the pillar of the early church writes James 1:22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” Those who belong to Jesus comes to Him through faith, hears His words and then does them.

We are to keep the entirety of God’s word from Genesis 1 through Revelation 22, However, we must still keep the context of Jesus’ statement in mind. The sermon begins in verse 20 and but for a lack of time I will summarize Jesus’ message. First He instructs His disciples to trust in God not the materials of this world, they may be poor yet their reward in heaven is great. In contrast Jesus teaches them that those who trust in the materials of this world and not God will receive grave judgment. TRUST GOD! Second, He instructs His disciples to be gracious and merciful to even those that are opposed to them. Luke 6:31 He gives the golden rule, treat others as you would have them treat you. Forgive them not condemn them. Extend Grace and Mercy! Notice the parallel we find with Exodus 20 The first 4 commands are in regards to our relationship with God, which the N.T. teaches is only by grace through faith in Jesus. The second 6 commands are in regards to our relationship with man, which Jesus teaches is based on grace and mercy. Third, He teaches His disciples to deal with their sin! How can they lead others into righteousness when there is sin in their lives. Our sins must be searched out, condemned, and crucified as our Lord Jesus was as He paid the ransom to set us free from sin. We must deal with our sin! When this takes place we will bear the fruits of righteousness that are pleasing to God!

Then Jesus speaks a parable, likening a man who obeys these Words to a wise Builder (Matthew 7:24). Notice how he builds, 1st He digs deep, he removes all the loose and unsteady ground. 2nd He lays His foundation “themelios” on the rock (petra) which means large rock or in this case the bedrock, which is a layer of rock beneath the surface. But don’t miss this, when the flood arose the stream beat violently against the house. Stream (torrent) is the Greek noun potamos = means river, in this contexts it is a dry river bed and wadi which is a river void of water in the dry season but becomes a torrent in the winter (wet season). Matthew 7: 24 tells us that when the rain fell and the flood came, and the winds blew against the house it did not fall, because it was built well.

The disciple obeys Jesus’ words building a foundation for His life on the rock Jesus Christ Himself. Paul tells us 1 Cor. 3:11 “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

By the use of potamos (dry river bed)Jesus tells us that in this life the rains will fall and the flood will come however those who obey His words elong to Him and we will not be shaken much less destroyed. And on the day when this life is over and we stand before the Holy One of God we will hear the glorious words, “Well done my good and faithful servant now enter into the Joy of your master.”

II. Those who disobey Jesus’ words do not belong to Jesus and will receive eternal destruction. (46,49)

The Disciple is one who gives Lordship to Jesus, who comes to Him by Grace through faith and receives the reward of heavenly blessings in the eternal Kingdom of God. However, the one who only hears Jesus’ words and does not come to Him through faith and does not obey His word has no future only demise.

In the context we see that this sermon is given to the Disciples of Jesus AND a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon (Luke 6:16) who came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Many of which called Him Lord yet did not trust in Him, thus the question, why do you call me Lord Lord, yet do what I tell you to do.

This is an allusion to an Old Testament text Mal. 1:6 ““ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’”

Malachi (450-420 BC) was a prophet of God who called out Judea’s sin. The people doubted God’s love becoming disobedient, the priest were playing religion taking their portion first and keeping the best portion, for themselves. They defiled God’s covenant by divorcing their Jewish wives and marrying Gentile women. They were selfish and faithless and God promised them Judgment.

Mal. 1:6 tells us that the people of Judah dishonored the name of God by calling Him Lord by not giving Him Lordship. The Jews would have picked up on this statement and recall God’s words through Malachi. A call to repentance through faith that leads to obedience in God.

Jesus gives a second Simile, now of a foolish builder. Note the absence of cometh in the second simile, that person does not come to Jesus through faith yet he hears Jesus’ words literally but does not get past the sin hardness of the heart and His words are not applied.

The person who does not act upon Jesus’ words has built his house (life) without a foundation, but upon the earth (Greek noun for soil).

ILL: This week while we were in the Bahamas I noticed the dock that was attached to my friends (Andy) house have pillars that were embedded in a concrete foundation. The dock was sturdy, well made. I noticed the white sand of the beach to both sides of the dock had eroded over countless tide changes.

Can you imagine a house built on sand. It would never stand the storms of life. But, notice this house was also built in the stream, (potamos = dry river bed). During the dry season the house would be ok, but as the seasons change and the rainy season comes beating vehemently upon the house, immediately it will fall.

So is the person who does not obey God, this is speaking of Hypocrisy. the man who calls Jesus Lord but does not give Him Lordship over His life. When the storms come he will be shaken, immediately his house will fall and the ruin will be great! .In this life and the next! Ruin is the Greek noun rhēgma it means destruction, Great is the Greek Noun megas much in degree!

At the end of that person’s life he will stand in judgment and His penalty will be destruction. Matthew 7:21 ““Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” Matthew 7:22-23 ““Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’”

I’ reminded of a poem I once read;

Ye call Me Master and obey me not,

Ye call Me Light and see me not,

Ye call Me way and follow me not

Ye call Me Life and desire me not,

Ye call Me wise and acknowledge me not,

Ye call Me fair and love me not,

Ye call Me rich and ask me not,

Ye call Me eternal and seek me not,

Ye call Me gracious and trust me not,

Ye call Me Noble and serve me not,

Ye call Me mighty and honor me not,

Ye call Me just and fear me not,

If I condemn you, blame me not.

This person is cast into the lake of fire and his only future is eternal death.

Conclusion: Is Jesus your Lord?

Luke 6:46-49 “Lordship”