Build a Better Life

Have you ever been given advice that you did not take?

Sometimes the people giving advice, don’t seem to be taking their own advice. Or they just think they are wise, and they are experts, so their advice is easily ignored. And I’ll admit, I have opinions like everyone else, but that doesn’t make me an expert or a wise person in all areas.

But there is wisdom worth heeding. There are those who are wise and knowledgeable and great wisdom to share. But, wise counsel is only valuable if you choose to believe it and act upon it.

I was given some great financial wisdom that I wish I had listened to when I was in my 20’s. My doctor has given me wisdom lately, reminding me I am not 30. I probably should listen to him.

So, how many of you have received wise counsel and knew it was right, but you didn’t heed it?

Have you ever been given wise counsel that you did not heed?

It is easy to ignore doing what is right, wise and even best in your finances, your diet, your family, even your spiritual life when there are no emergencies or dumpster fires that require you and I to give our full attention to.

Today, we conclude our study of the sermon on the mount and simply ask, so what? Over the past 22 Sundays, yes we have spent 22 Sundays deep diving into the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus has dripped wise, dropped knowledge and today he mic drops.

You heed it because you need it or you can ignore it at you own peril but the question is …

How will you live differently knowing what Jesus was told you?

· We spent 8 weeks studying the beatitudes, where we looked at greater flourishing in the kingdom of heaven.

· We spent 2 weeks studying what Jesus says about our greater impact as salt and light in the world.

· We celebrated Easter by looking at the greater way that is Jesus. Knowing that we cannot measure up to the law and we desperately need the righteousness of Jesus.

· We have spent the last 10 weeks in the sermon on the mount considering our call to a greater life! What does it mean to live out the righteousness of Christ that belongs to each one of us.

Last week I shared that throughout the sermon of Jesus there are constant choices presented …

Eternal Perspective or Temporal Focus.

Internal Reality or External Experience.

Will of God or my Desires.

The Way of Life or the Way of Death.

We have been invited into the Kingdom of God. Hopefully you have made that choice and are here today because you want to understand and live into what it means for you to be a child of God in this Kingdom where Jesus reigns on the throne of our heart and life!

The Psalmists reminds us …

Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth! Psalm 78:1

In the gospels Jesus gives us wisdom with the reminder.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 11:15; 13:9

If you have ears this morning, listen carefully to the words of scripture!

But not just hear… do!

We listen, so that we can understand what is being commanded. What is being taught. What is being offered. What are the choices before me. James the brother of Jesus writes …

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. James 1:22–24

In an age of information excess, everything is urgent and important to the point that I can’t tell if something is to be believed and/or acted upon. But scripture teaching us timeless transcendent truths …

But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. James 1:25

This is saying, pay attention to what you have heard. Jesus ends his sermon on the mount with a warning that causes us to listen up. Because when you live a life that is shaped by the wisdom of scripture and the savior, your life will be a better life, a flourishing life. This wisdom that we have received from Jesus will change our lives, if we will build our lives upon it. We will be building a better life in the Kingdom of God than we ever thought possible.

Building a Better Life in the Kingdom of God! Is about the fruit we bear, the faith we profess and the foundation we build upon.

First – Jesus says that if you believe what he has just said and you enter this new reality of life in the kingdom then you will bear good fruit. Because …

In the Kingdom of God we are recognized by the fruit we bear!

Jesus almost immediately points us to the masters of the mask – pharisees. Remember Jesus has told us that what matters is the heart behind the hand, it is the motive more than the mask. So he reminds all of us …

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 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 fruits. Matthew 7:15–20

The crowds of people who were listening to Jesus, understood exactly what He was talking about. They got their fruit right from the tree. They knew a bad tree and good tree and that what Jesus was saying made sense. Everyone is known by the fruit of their lives.

In the kingdom of God, we have the Holy Spirit that produces fruit that is consistent with who we are …

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22–23

I believe that love is the fruit that matters … all that other flow from love for God and love for others just as you love yourself. Paul writes in Romans 8 that there are those who are in the flesh and in the spirit. Those in the kingdom have the spirit …

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Romans 8:1–9

You might be asking … “Can you fake your fruit?” Fake fruit looks good but isn’t real. From a distance, yes, but when you get close and taste to see if it is good. You find out that it isn’t what you thought.

By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

Love for God and others leads to a life that other focused and filled with joy. Have you ever noticed that when life squeezes you stuff comes out. Sometimes it is anger, impatience, judgmental thoughts and even actions that are harmful to others. That is why we focus on our hearts and the work that God is doing in us through faith.

In the Kingdom of God our fruit comes from our faith!

Jesus has been teaching to everyone, it is about our relationship more than the requirements.

Talk is cheap … that is an expression that is commonly used of those who talk a good game but don’t live it out. Jesus says …

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; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Matthew 7:21-23

You think, what do I have to do, Jesus is telling you it is about being with me and a part of me. When I am with Jesus, I go where He leads me because of faith. You might be tempted to say …

Look what I’ve doneversus look who I know!

When Jesus says “I never knew you” The word for “know”, is a word meaning an intimate relationship that is very close. Jesus says, you are living in open defiance to me, when you design your own devotion, when you curate your own conviction about what life is supposed to be about. When you tout your own truth.

Faith in Jesus, living in the Kingdom involves every part of our being. It is the substance of our lives.

Faith is about a wholisticapproach to your life!

Body, mind, relationships, work, hobbies, food, freedom. We love God with everything we are and everything we have. We aren’t just social members, pay our dues, hangout when we have time. No, our faith has a foundation upon which all of life is built!

In the Kingdom of God our faith has a firm foundation!

What is you life built upon? The words of scripture, faith in your Savior, personal preference or your own personal pursuit of pleasure and happiness. Maybe your life is built upon freedom to choose your own life and be your own boss. Jesus gives us this last metaphor by reminding us … Listen.

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 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.” Matthew 7:24-28

If the foundation of a building is solid, you know it. A bad foundation puts at risk, everyone being built upon it.

In the OT and NT, buildings had cornerstones …

The original structural purpose of a cornerstone in construction was to serve as the foundation stone or the first stone laid in a building's foundation. It played a vital role in ensuring the stability and integrity of the structure.

The cornerstone was typically large, solid, and often made of durable materials like stone or brick. It was carefully positioned at the corner of the building's foundation, acting as a reference point for the alignment of the entire structure. The subsequent construction of the walls and other elements of the building would be based on the position and orientation of the cornerstone.

The Psalmist wrote …

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Psalm 118:22

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Matthew 21:42

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.’ Isaiah 28:16

Peter references this passage from Isaiah …

For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 1 Peter 2:6

Let’s all build a Better life upon the foundation, faith and fruit of life with Jesus in the Kingdom of God!

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. Matthew 7:28–8:1

What do I need to do to build a better life in the Kingdom?

Build your life on the only foundation that matters.

Put your faith in Jesus and Him alone.

Focus on bearing fruit in keeping with a life in the Kingdom!

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying!

There is no greater God, there is no greater foundation upon which to build your life. We confess our faith in the cornerstone of our sure foundation and we worship Him who is the Great I Am.

Song – Great I Am