Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
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Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Well, what took Jesus one teaching session to communicate has taken us 25 Sundays to cover.
That’s probably because I’m not as good a teacher as Jesus, but its also because there is so much packed into these words of Jesus.
As we will see in this text, there was no shortage of teachers in Jesus’ day.
There were many students who came up through their formative years and became teachers and interpreters of the law.
But as Jesus’ disciples and the crowds around listened to every word, there was something different about this teacher.
There was something different about this person.
The words he spoke and the way he spoke, and the claims that he made, set Him apart.
Last week we talked about the idea that every good sermon “calls for a verdict.”
there is a decision that has to be made.
Am I going to do this, or ignore it?
And we were faced with that last week with the idea of entering the narrow gate.
Jesus, of course, is the gate.
He is the way.
Jesus’ life and ministry, his teaching and his work of redemption take away any wonder about questions like “is there more than one way of salvation?”
or “are there multiple roads to heaven?”
The answer is simply no - Christ is the narrow way.
In this closing section, Jesus has used three illustrations to show the seriousness of His teaching.
He used the illustration of the two gates, broad and narrow.
He then used the illustration of two trees - healthy and unhealthy.
Now he uses the illustration of two builders - wise and foolish.
All these comparisons come down the examining what the person’s relation to Christ is.
Do they enter by His narrow gate?
Are they a good tree that produces the fruit of righteousness?
And here, finally, are they a person who builds solidly upon the foundation of Christ and His Words.
This illustration about the wise and foolish builder could almost be considered Christ’s first parable.
As a child this story was memorialized in my mind by the little tune that was sung in Sunday School.
Its a vivid picture, a relatable image, but as always, the ramifications in reality are bigger than the picture lets on.
In the story, it is the fate of houses at stake - but in reality, it is lives that are at stake.
In all of these closing remarks - the broad and narrow way, the good and bad trees, the wise and foolish builders, Jesus is making clear that there really are only two choices in life.
There are genuine followers of Christ, who trust in His righteousness and stake their lives on Him, and there are all others.
All others are in varying degrees of ignorance, deceit, or rebellion.
But there are really two ways.
At the end of Jesus’ teaching, nobody has the excuse to say “I simply didn’t understand the stakes.
I didn’t understand my options.”
The call to follow Jesus is a call to righteousness, peace, and eternal life, and it is also a call to righteousness, peace, and joy within this life.
It is the here and now, and it is the eternal aspect at stake.
At the end of the day, we must know Christ is the foundation, and we must follow Him in building upon that foundation.
It is not enough to know Christ is a foundation.
It is not enough to see Him and admire his ways.
It is not enough to mentally assent to what He says as being true.
In the final analysis, simply hearing or knowing Jesus’ words does not ensure security.
We must build upon the firm foundation of Christ.
1.
The Foundation
Let’s start by getting the scene in this equation.
Who is involved here?
In both cases it is “everyone who hears these words of mine...”
So there are two parties involved at the onset.
There is Jesus, the one speaking the words, and those who have heard.
On that day, it included literally everyone in that crowd.
Everyone listening.
Extend that out a bit, and that includes us as well.
We haven’t heard Jesus speak the words audibly, but we have heard and read them.
And let me say, just because myself or another person has been up here teaching these words, that does not exclude me or another teacher from “everyone who hears them.”
Going a bit further in the analysis though, the group of hearers are divided into two.
Those who hear and do, and those who hear and ignore.
So there are three parties involved - Jesus, and the two types of hearers.
The two types of hearers are equated to two types of builders.
One who builds on a solid foundation, and one who build upon an inadequate foundation, or really no foundation at all.
The scenario is quite simple - and the question behind the illustration become immediately obvious.
When you’ve heard these words, how will you respond to Jesus?
What will you do with Him?
The example in James there is absurd in a sense.
If you look in the mirror and realize your face is covered in mud, your inclination would be to wipe your face.
But if you step away from the mirror, and forget and do nothing, then the mirror did you no good.
None at all.
There is no blessing from that interaction, only a curse.
The same is true of the two builders.
Both built a house, seemingly the same kind of house in the same general area.
Both put much work into the building of their house.
Both expended time and resources and materials in making a home to dwell in.
But when the storm came, one of them received no benefit from his house at all - in fact, he was worse off than if he had never built at all.
The foundation matters - and in this case, it is “hearing and doing.”
But it is not just hearing and doing anything.
Again, both builders were probably hard workers.
Jesus is not denying that many people work very hard to build their lives upon something.
The Pharisees were extremely hard workers when it came to keeping their regulations.
But they were not building upon the solid foundation.
“These words of mine” which obviously refers to the sermon on the mount itself, but it also says something about Jesus Himself as a person.
The question is, then, not are you working hard.
Not are you a diligent builder - but what is the foundation you are building on?
If you are not building upon Christ and His Words, then you are building on no foundation at all.
Around Christmastime, Myself and my coworkers took on a project in which we had to rebuild a garage that was falling down.
This garage was attached to a house, it was built in the same manner, the same architectural style, the same materials as the house.
The garage itself was constructed with diligence, but the problem was the foundation had totally failed.
It had sunk, broken, and was literally crumbling, and the garage was falling down.
The builders worked hard.
They used good material.
But there was no foundation.
Are you working hard to build a good life?
That is commendable, but it is not sufficient.
Your work ethic is a good thing, but it is not the answer.
Christ is the solid rock.
He is the foundation.
Do you admire Christ for who He is, but fail to follow Him? Knowing that Christ is a firm foundation is not enough.
You must build upon Him, which in this case includes following and obeying Him.
If I as a builder show up to a job site where the concrete crew had just finished their work.
They had put down footings, and included steel and rebar, and poured 8’ walls on top of the footings, and the concrete was cured and wonderfully prepared.
If i show up and say, “what a rugged foundation!
That is the specimen of strength!
That would be a great place to build a house!” but then build 100 feet away on a pile of dirt in stead, then what good did that foundation do?
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