Build My Life (Obeying Jesus) #4; Build your Life #30

INTRO: Think about the worst storm you’ve ever been in… I can remember 2 particularly bad storms, both of them tornadoes- one as a child & one as an adult.

On April 22, 1984, there was a horrible storm that passed over our house in Oxford, MS, on its way to Water Valley. It was so bad that I remember my parents woke us up to take cover. The next morning was Easter, & we learned that two tornadoes hit Water Valley, demolishing the little town, damaging the 1st Baptist Church, killing seven, injuring 75, & doing about $24 million worth of damage. On April 21, 1996, I was in college but home for the weekend when a tornado hit Fort Smith. My family rode out that storm in a neighbor’s cellar. It was a bad one, but nothing like the one that hit Lubbock in 1970.

Anyone here go through the 1970 tornado? It was an F5 tornado, the only F5 in 24 counties in west Texas since 1950. It was 1.5 miles wide, killed 26 people, injured 1,500 more, & did $250 million in damage.

Nature’s storms are terrible, aren’t they? They can do so much physical damage, but the storms of life can be so much worse. They can do spiritual damage to us. How do you know that your life can withstand the storms that will come? Jesus will help us with that today.

Matthew 7:24–29, 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.

It’s been said that everyone is either coming out of a storm, in the middle of a storm, or about to go into a storm. Some storms are bigger than others, but there’s always something happening- rain, wind, sometimes a flood. How can we build a life that withstands storms?

1. When it’s Built on Jesus’ WORDS: What He Says.

Therefore- always have to look back to see what it is there for, in this instance, it points to the immediate context of vss. 13-23, Matthew 7:13, Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Matthew 7:21, Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. The Sermon on the Mount is about the Kingdom of Heaven.

Just before it started in chapter 5, Matthew 4:23, And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. This is when great multitudes began to follow Him, and when He saw them, He went up a mountain & began to teach His disciples. And what was it He taught them? These Sayings= words, message. His Message on the Mountain is the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Like any message, it has an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion.The introduction is the Beatitudes (5:1-16). The main body is His teachings on Righteousness (5:17-6:34). The conclusion is about obedience- or making the choice to follow Jesus (ch. 7).

In the intro, Jesus drops the mic on who has the kingdom- the poor in spirit & those persecuted for righteousness’ sake. In the main body, Jesus talks about how to get into the kingdom. This middle section is marked off by the repetition of the words “law and prophets.” Matthew 5:17, Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. Matthew 7:12, Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

The central point of this section is Matthew 5:20, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Think of the most biblically knowledgeable and moral people you know, and that is the point of comparison here- your righteousness must be better. This section points us to two main thoughts-

(1) we need Christ to change our hearts with His righteousness,

(2) we need to practice the righteousness we have received from Him.

Which brings us to the conclusion of the message: are we going to follow Jesus or not? We’ve sat at His feet and learned from Him, now are we going to get up and follow Him? Because that’s what disciples do.

Jesus ends the sermon with a parable contrasting what it’s like to do, or not do, what He has said (24b-27).

2. When it’s Built on Jesus’ WISDOM: What You Do

The parable of the two builders sets Jesus’ teaching within the broader context of biblical wisdom. He even uses the word “wise” to describe the person who hears His sayings and does them, i.e., that person is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Wise- prudent, marked by the exercise of good judgment.

More than any other book of the Bible, the word “wise” appears in Proverbs 69 times, wisdom- 54 times (that’s 1 less than the whole NT).

Proverbs 1:1-7, The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: 2 To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, 3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity; 4To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion— 5A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, 6 To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (6 times in 7 verses, 3 each)

‌The “wise” man is contrasted with the “foolish” man. Foolish- moros, from where we get the word moron, it means to be devoid of wisdom, good sense, or sound judgment. 78 times Proverbs talks about the “fool” or “foolish” person. Many of those chapters use the word several times.

Proverbs 10 reads like the fool’s greatest hits compilation album. Proverbs 10:1, A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother. 10:8, The wise in heart will receive commands, but a prating fool will fall. 10:14, Wise people store up knowledge, But the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. 10:18, Whoever hides hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool. 10:21, The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of wisdom. 10:23, To do evil is like sport to a fool, but a man of understanding has wisdom.

‌By all appearances the wise man & the foolish man both build solid houses, they both hear the words of Jesus, but the distinguishing factor is what they do with them. John Stott- Jesus is not contrasting professing Christians with non-Christians who make no profession. On the contrary, what is common to both spiritual housebuilders is that they hear these words of mine. So both are members of the visible Christian community. Both read the Bible, go to church, listen to sermons and buy Christian literature. The reason you often cannot tell the difference between them is that the deep foundations of their lives are hidden from view. The real question is not whether they hear Christ’s teaching (nor even whether they respect or believe it), but whether they do what they hear. Only a storm will reveal the truth. ‌

Storm- rains descended, floods came, winds blew & beat on both houses. Rain is bad, wind worse, but floods are devastating.

ILL: Memorial weekend 2015, massive rainfall resulted in a 40-foot wall of water that gushed down the Blanco River, wiping out parts of Wimberley & killing more than a dozen people. Becky & I were there 2 weeks after the flood & saw some of the devastation; 44 ft high marks on trees that were stripped bare, houses built on high piers to avoid flooding were swept away, some had whole families inside. It was awful!

‌You remember, the Lord destroyed the world in a flood (Gen 6-8).The prophets (e.g., Isaiah, Jeremiah, & Daniel) depicted advancing enemy armies as floods. Jesus used floods to illustrate divine judgment on the Day of the Lord (Matt 24:37-39). The person who hears Jesus’ words and does them is a wise person whose house withstands the storms of life & of judgment because they are founded on the rock. The person who hears Jesus’ words but doesn’t do them is a foolish person who builds their house on sand & it will fall in a great catastrophe. ‌

Proverbs 12:7, The wicked are overthrown and are no more, but the house of the righteous will stand. ‌If our house is going to withstand the storms of life & the last judgment, we must build on Jesus’ wisdom- be doers of the word, & not hearers only, deceiving ourselves (James 1:22).

3. When our Life is Built on Jesus’ WORTH: Who He Is

The Sermon ends like it begins- 2 verses introduce it & 2 conclude it

When Jesus ended His teaching (didache- instruction) the people were astonished (utterly amazed). Jesus was a different kind of teacher. They were used to the scribes, who were experts in the law of Moses. These were the ones that Jesus referred to when He said, you have heard that it was said. What set Jesus apart from them was Him saying- But I say unto you… He spoke with AUTHORITY (power to rule).

By the time you get to the end of Matthew, after Jesus’ death, burial, & resurrection, “Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt 28:18). These people were getting just a small glimpse into Who Jesus Is by What He was Saying & What He challenged people to Do.

We need to see that Who Jesus Is (Identity) gives credence to What He said (Instruction) & is the impetus for us to Obey Him (Authority).

Who is He? What is His Identity? In Matthew 16, Jesus asked His disciples- who do people say that I am? Some said Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Then He asked them- But who do you say that I am? To which Peter replied- You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Messiah & Eternal Son of God, God in the flesh (incarnation).

Matthew 16:17-18, Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Jesus is the rock of the church to build our lives on.

What does He want you to do? Recognize His Authority in your life. 1 Corinthians 3:11, For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. How do you do that?

Recognize Jesus for who He is, understand what He has done for you, and confess Him as your Lord & Savior. Romans 10:9, that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is the greatest sermon that has ever been preached, but it’s not an ethical essay. It is about surrendering our lives to Jesus’ way of life. What are you building your life on & will it last? If it is not Jesus, then when the storms come, your house is going to fall.