The New Covenant - The Wise and The Foolish
The New Covenant • Sermon • Submitted
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· 9 viewsThat God's Word is the highest in all of creation and we would do well to conform to it.
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Introduction
Introduction
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
Body
Body
Jesus here divides the congregation, and indeed, all of humanity who is exposed to the Gospel into two separate camps:
Those who hear the Word of God, understand it, and do what is commanded.
Those who hear the Word of God, understand it, and do NOT do that which is commanded.
Jesus continues His exhortation to obey God.
“It is not enough to hear Christ’s sayings, and understand them, hear them, and remember them, hear them, and talk of them, repeat them, dispute for them; but we must hear, and do them. This do, and thou shalt live. Those only that hear, and do, are blessed[1] “ Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 1647). Peabody: Hendrickson.
Most people, and many Christians, do not concern themselves with the next life. They’re too wrapped up and too careful about this one.
They live, they act, they make decisions, they build as if they will remain down here forever and can’t be bothered to build for eternity.
Jesus likens obedience to the process of building a house.
We must count the cost when starting a building project.
We must have blueprints to show us what exactly is being built
We must build in the right order
We must build so that everything is in the right place
We must labor and work until the house is built
Finishing the work will require diligence, care, and discipline
Finishing will require us to continue working when things get hard
Finishing will require us to identify mistakes in the process we’ve made and get them corrected
Only the finished product has any real value
Building on sand:
All buildings are only as strong as their foundation.
All lives are only as strong as their foundation.
Building on sand is easy, and it’s quick
Just start building! No need for any intensive digging.
Those that despise work, discipline, hardness will be apt to build on sand
These will often despise those who discipline themselves. Those who are not afraid of working hard at their salvation.
They want to go to heaven, they want to do right, but not at the cost of obedience. Not at the cost of submission. Not at the cost of sacrifice.
They are not obedient to God’s Word.
Because of this, they have no strength. No foundation.
Some build their hopes upon worldly prosperity and success.
“God is blessing my life!”
“I can help so many people.”
Some depend on an external profession of religion, their reputation as a Christian to carry them through.
Say the right things, do the right things, but nothing internal.
A salvation of works that cannot withstand the honest scrutiny of the storm.
Building on the Rock:
The structure will not shift and move around even though the ground around them does.
Our lives will not be affected by the shifting tides of human opinion, changing doctrines and worldviews, or cultural and societal upheavals.
Our lives will not be affected by personal tragedy, temptations, betrayals, or anything that seeks to destroy our walks with God.
Building on a solid foundation requires more work
Have to dig down to bedrock
Or, need to excavate down and pour solid footings
It can be hard to dig truths out of God’s Word and apply them to our lives
It can be hard to examine ourselves in light of God’s Word and let God reveal things in our lives that need to go, or that need to come in.
22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
Sometimes that tribulation is self-inflicted because we are not willing to conform to Scripture
Sometimes that tribulation comes because we are conforming to Scripture
Even in this though, we’re on the rock of Jesus Christ.
Building on this sure foundation assures us that we are the “real deal”.
There will be no problem with hypocrisy in the true Christian.
We will be effective for the kingdom of God when we’re founded on God’s Word.
Our houses will be tested.
Houses are built primarily for shelter from the elements.
We live in a fearful, fallen world and storms come. Sometimes frequently.
The storms don’t care if you have shelter or not. They don’t care if you’ve built properly or not. They just come.
Will your religion, your belief system, your faith, your house, stand when you need it?
If you’re foundation is weak, built on sand, your house will fail you when you need it most.
Where you expected your belief system to keep you in difficult situations, it didn’t have the strength, and it fell.
The storm proved more powerful than your house. It was built to shelter you from the storm and it couldn’t. It failed.
After your house collapses in the middle of the storm, you have no time to quickly build another shelter.
Now, because the storm found out the weakness of your belief system, you are completely exposed to the elements. Unprotected.
Building a house takes time, effort, planning. You can’t do that in the middle of the storm.
After Jesus concluded His sermon, the people were astonished!
It is possible for people to hear good preaching, and yet to remain in ignorance and unbelief; to be astonished, and yet not sanctified.
Not everyone followed Jesus off the mount.
Later, just about all of them left, save the twelve.
Jesus spoke with authority!
The Pharisees preached without any life or force, as a school-boy reciting his lessons.
Jesus preached and taught as a judge gives his charge. His lessons were law. His word a word of command.
When we preach and teach God’s Word, we ought to do so with the same authority.
We represent Jesus Christ, who has all power and all authority.
We are handling the very Word of God, which is the highest thing in all of creation.
2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, And praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
In all things, and in every area of our lives, we must submit ourselves to God’s Word
Our lives need to conform to it.
Our belief system (our ideas about reality, morality, etc.) needs to come from it.
Our methods and procedures as a church need to come from it.
Conclusion
Conclusion
When who we are, and what we believe, and what we’re doing, are built upon, and conform to God’s living Word, we are built upon the foundation Christ has laid for us.
A solid, immovable foundation that can withstand any storm, any disaster, any hurt, any disappointment, and any attack.
89 LAMED. For ever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
When in doubt, we can always find strength, stability, assurance, and direction in God’s Word.