Luke 6:43-49 - Who Do You Follow?
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
Everyone follows someone or something. We are made to follow. We can see this from the beginning of time. Leaders have risen to power through gaining followers. Kings lead because they have subjects that follow them. Even in modern times we see people have followers on social media. People are, by default, made to follow.
Despite our efforts to be leaders and teach others to lead, we inherently have a built in default of following. But is this ingrained bend toward being a follower the main issue in our culture? Is it the problem that we should address?
Christianity understands that people were designed and created to be followers. But instead of following others, we were designed to follow Christ. We were made to be in an eternal relationship with our Creator. Only then can we truly lead others as we follow the lead of Christ.
But after sin entered the world, this ingrained nature to follow God was corrupted. Now man seeks to follow his sinful flesh, and he, by nature, follows others who influence him negatively. Man naturally rebels against God and follows what he wants - namely sin.
It is important to note that even those who think they are not followers and claim to be nonconformists and atheists are still followers. They are followers of their father, the devil (John 8:44-45). Their ideas of nonconformity still came from following someone - namely the evil one. Their ideas are not original as Satan was the first rebel toward God.
With all of this in mind, we now are given a decision that each of us must make.
The question that posed by today’s message is:
Who Do You Follow?
Read Full Scripture:
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit,
for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like:
he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
Prayer
We have been going through Luke’s abbreviated version of the Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 5-7 for the past few weeks. This morning we will come to the last section of Scripture from this sermon from Jesus. I hope that it has been as fun for you as it has for me to go through these difficult but practical teachings. And I pray that today is a challenging message as well.
Today we will address three questions in regards to the Scripture we have just read. The first question is…
I. Do You Follow With Discrimination? (43-45)
I. Do You Follow With Discrimination? (43-45)
“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
The word discrimination has gotten a bad rap in English. We usually think of racism when we hear this word. Yet this word is really similar to discernment. It means the ability or power to see or make fine distinctions. Although discrimination can certainly be used in a negative and evil way, it can also be used to help us discriminate good from evil.
Sadly, the negative use of discrimination in our culture has seemed to discourage the use of any discrimination or discernment in our culture. Most people either lack the ability or fortitude to distinguish good from evil. They are afraid to call out evil because they are afraid it will make them appear unloving and narrow-minded.
Brothers and sisters, we are called to discriminate and discern good from evil. We are not to just blindly follow whatever our culture says and does.
The overarching essence of this section of this Scripture we have been going through in Luke has been self-reflective in nature. Paralleling Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount passage found in chapters 5-7 of his Gospel, Luke has given us Jesus’ challenges to live a righteous life before God by teaching us the beatitudes and woes and teaching us to love our enemies, to be gracious, to be generous and humble, and to lovingly aid our brothers and sisters who are in sin.
Today’s message will put an end cap on these Sermon on the Mount teachings of Jesus.
And today we again see the need for Matthew’s parallel account to help us understand the fullness of Jesus’ teachings here.
Luke and Matthew’s account regarding the tree and its fruit are very similar. However, Matthew starts off with the following:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
This is an important distinction because it changes the message from completely self-reflective and self-aware to also needing to be outwardly aware.
So as we go through today’s message, we need to not only be self-reflective by viewing our own fruit and our own life’s foundation - but we also need to ask ourselves a very important question that we have mentioned already:
Who Do You Follow?
Jesus has just asserted in verses 43-44 that no good tree bears bad fruit and gives the reverse as truth as well - no bad tree bears good fruit.
What fruit is Jesus referring to here? Jesus is speaking of a person’s conduct, their deeds, their speech, and their moral attitude. Those who are in Christ have the fruits of the Spirit that are mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Looking back at verse 44…
for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.
Jesus moves on to say that each tree is known by its fruit. And he gives a good illustration to us after this statement.
Figs are not gathered from thornbushes. Grapes aren’t gathered from a bramble bush.
A thornbush produces what a thornbush produces - and that is thorns!
If you try to pick the fruit of a thornbush - you end up painfully picking thorns!
You know what kind of tree or plant that you are looking at by seeing the fruit that it produces.
I find it very interesting that this comes right after Jesus’ teaching on the persons with a log and a speck in the eye. Because if one is not seeing clearly, they are not able to discern well.
I wear contacts and glasses and when I’m not using them, I’m not sure how well I’d be able to tell the difference between a fig tree and a thornbush. I’d have to be pretty close and maybe even touch them both! Obviously that wouldn’t be the best way to tell the difference!
We need to see things clearly through the Word of God in order to discern good from evil.
Jesus finishes this section with the following statement:
The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
Jesus applies this illustration of fruit bearing to the human heart. He starts off with the good person - understand that no one is good as we see in Romans 3. But we are considered good only when we are saved and the goodness of God dwells in us through the Holy Spirit. And we who have the Holy Spirit are seen as good and holy because God sees us through the lens of our glorious Mediator Jesus Christ. And having the Holy Spirit indwelling us allows us to bear good fruit because of the wondrous treasure of the Holy Spirit that lives in us.
Yet those who are evil - those without Christ - will produce evil because their hearts are evil.
And Jesus hits one such evil fruit that is clearly evident - namely the wicked speech of evil persons. You can tell a lot about a person by listening to their speech. Jesus lets us know that we can learn a lot because the things that come out of someone’s mouth are actually coming from their heart.
Let’s let that sit for a moment. Jesus tells us that the things we say give us a microscopic and up-close view of our hearts.
How is your speech my friends?
If your speech is evil - Jesus says that your heart is evil.
Obviously we all fail at some points with our speech. None of us are perfect. James actually lets us know that no one can truly and completely tame the tongue (James 3).
But are you known by having hateful speech? Are you known by being hypercritical? Are you known by being ungracious? If these terms describe you, Jesus calls you out today through His Word. Repent my friends. You may not be in Christ. You may look like you are a Christian but your rotten and evil fruit gives you away. Repent and truly turn to Christ. He will remove your evil heart of stone and give you a new heart!
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
It is important that we examine ourselves rightly in light of this passage. It is important that we personalize Christ’s words here to our own lives.
But it is also important to interpret what Christ says here with the parallel passage in Matthew to understand another aspect of this teaching.
If you recall, Matthew 7:15 said: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
Matthew then moved on to discuss a tree and its fruit in light of false prophets. And it is because of this that I have entitled today’s message - Who Do You Follow?
My friends, there are those out there that seem like that they are one thing, but when you get close, you see that they are not who they say they are. They claim to be a fig tree - but the closer you get, the more you see that they are actually a thornbush trying to act like a fig tree. Their only fruit is thorns. Everything they preach and say brings pain and suffering. They promise fruit that tastes great, but each time one partakes in the fruit that they offer, it brings suffering and darkness.
Beware of false teachers. Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing. Beware of who you follow.
Friends, be sure to follow with discrimination and discernment… Our next question is…
Scripture References: John 8:44-45, Matthew 7:15, Galatians 5:22-23, Romans 3, James 3, Ezekiel 36:26
II. Do You Follow With Determination? (46-48)
II. Do You Follow With Determination? (46-48)
“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
So who do you follow? Jesus says - Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I tell you?
I love Jesus’ boldness here as He calls out false converts. He doesn’t just let people give lip service to Him. He doesn’t just let them play the game and act like they are following Him when they aren’t.
Jesus calls us to follow Him in complete obedience.
Jesus commands us to not only be hearers of the Word but also doers of the Word.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Church, Jesus challenges us with these words even today. We may be true converts - I pray that we all are here this morning! If you are not - let’s make that right after the service and talk about what it means to follow Christ in faith and repentance!
But for us who are in Christ - is it possible that we are maybe not be as obedient as we think we are? Are we really predominantly doers of the Word or do we fall more into the hearers only camp?
How many of us ‘amen’ the things of God yet do not do the things of God?
We hear the teachings but we surely aren’t doing it much.
How many of us agree that people need Jesus - that Christ is the only way to God - but yet fail to regularly share the Gospel with people in our lives?
How many of us agree that we are to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ but yet fail to do anything for anyone but ourselves?
How many of us agree that the church is how God has chosen to reach the world but yet fail to make it the priority God commands?
How many of us agree that God calls us to be generous, but yet we just store up treasures for ourselves on earth instead of giving to the Lord.
The list goes on and on.
And these questions are not asked to try to guilt you all into doing better and being better. These questions are meant to call us all to repentance, brothers and sisters. We should be a church marked by humility and repentance. We all can do better in all of these areas! We all can follow Christ with more determination than we had yesterday. And we can only do this by asking God to equip and empower us to do so through His Holy Spirit.
I pray that today, you get even more serious about your commitment to Christ. Don’t just hear the Word - Do the Word.
And don’t do it from your own abilities. As we say time and time again.
You can’t but God can. Ask Him to equip and empower you to obey Him through the power of the Holy Spirit.
After this incredible charge from Jesus, He goes into a discourse on two foundations. You can build your life on Him or you can build your life on the false teachings of this world. You have to decide. And verses 47-48 tell us how to build our lives with determination and wisdom on the solid rock of Christ:
Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
Christ Speaks First on the Foundation of True Believers. True Believers...
1. Have Come
True believers have come to Christ in salvation. They have put their trust in the sinless Savior - God-made-flesh - who lived a sinless life and died on the cross for the sins of the world. True believers have repented of their sins and placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. The have decided to follow Jesus. Next, they…
2. Continue to Hear
True believers continue to hear Christ’s Word. They hunger and thirst for it. But as we already discussed a moment ago they also...
3. Continue to Do
True believers continue to do God’s Word.
Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.
And Jesus illustrates these true believers with an illustration of laying the foundation of one’s home in verses 47-48. A wise man lays a proper foundation. He digs until he hits rock and then lays the foundation. This certainly takes more work. It takes more time. And it takes determination.
This determination described in laying a foundation is a metaphor for building one’s life on the solid rock of Jesus Christ.
Interestingly, the word rock is mentioned in the Scriptures some 131 times in 120 verses, and a great many of these instances refer to God. Some of these examples are as follows:
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.
therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
I could likely go on for hours describing how the Scriptures refer to God as our rock, but this last verse that I mentioned especially applies to our understanding today. Jesus Christ is the only true salvation. He is our true, solid rock in which we are to build our life.
Because the storms of this life will certainly come as Matthew asserts in his parallel passage. The flood waters will come upon your life. But if your life is built on the solid rock, a rock that is immoveable - then you can know that your foundation is secure. If you are a true follower of Jesus, you can know that you are eternally secure.
We have discussed the need for discrimination and discernment as well as the need for determination. But our final questions is…
Scripture References: James 1:22, Psalm 62:2, Isaiah 26:4, Isaiah 28:16, 1 Corinthians 3:10-11
III. Do You Follow Knowing Your Destination? (49)
III. Do You Follow Knowing Your Destination? (49)
But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”
After mentioning the wise builder, Jesus discusses the foolish builder. This man builds his house without a foundation. The house may seem beautiful from the outside, but it is fragile and not sturdy. There is no quality in this house.
Consider many of today’s movie stars, singers, and athletes. Their lives may appear extravagant at first glance. But deep down, there is no foundation for their life. And when their life gets hard - when the storms come - their lives are shaken and their lives crash down quickly.
Jesus tells us that the foundation is going to be tested at some point. Matthew’s Gospel adds:
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.”
Matthew describes the storm in more detail than Luke. This is not just a small amount of water. This is a flood. It almost sounds like a hurricane or tropical storm. There are strong winds and rain, and there is flooding.
And with this in mind, the foundation of this home is extremely important. With this kind of weather, only the strongest of structures can stand. This is why Jesus Christ is the only solid rock that one can build his life upon. All other foundations have no true depth. They are all without a true foundation. And the storms of this life will sweep your life away if you are not in Christ.
The epitome of this storm mentioned, however, is death.
The greatest storm that you will face on this side of eternity is death. This will be the greatest test for your foundation.
When the house is pummeled by the storm of death - how will it end for you?
Friends:
Is this how you want your life to end? Do you want your life’s story to be - And the ruin of that house was great? Or as Matthew states, ‘and great was the fall of it?’
I pray that this is not the story of your life. I pray that you follow Christ and know your eternal destination.
There is no more important decision in your life for you to make than the decision to build your life upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ.
I am afraid that many people even in our churches today have laid a shallow foundation on the ground. They have built their house up to look like a believer. They do the right things and say the right things. But they haven’t actually dug down to the rock. They haven’t fully humbled themselves and repented of their sins. They say that the follow Christ but they do not do what He commands.
Friends, be sure that your life has a solid and sure foundation built on Christ. Be sure that you are truly a believer. Be sure that you know who you truly follow.
Scripture References: Matthew 7:27
Conclusion:
As we come to a close, I pray that today’s message has challenged you to consider who you follow and how you follow. I pray that you have decided to follow Jesus. I pray that you have built your life on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. And if you have not yet, I pray that you do that today.
As the old hymn states:
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.
My friends - all other ground truly is sinking sand. There is only one True and Firm Foundation and that is our Savior and our Rock - Jesus Christ. Only a life built on Christ can stand firm into eternity.
Prayer