1 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:11,160 When the series parables of Jesus in Matthew Chapter 7, 2 00:00:11,160 --> 00:00:16,840 please open your Bibles. Matthew Chapter 7, it's actually 3 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:18,960 continuing. It's still the Sermon on the 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:23,920 Mount starts in Matthew 5, but it continues and we're still in 5 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:25,960 the Sermon on the Mount. We're going to pick it up from 6 00:00:26,440 --> 00:00:35,080 verse 13 of Matthew Chapter 7 verse 13 says enter by the 7 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:40,000 narrow gate for why does the gate broad is the way that leads 8 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:45,400 to destruction. There are many who go by it 9 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:49,800 because narrow is the gate. Notice this please will you? 10 00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:53,360 If you think Christianity is difficult, it is Jesus said so 11 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:59,000 difficult is the way which leads to life. 12 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,280 You ever heard life not meant to be easy? 13 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:08,080 Bible says that and there are few who find it tonight. 14 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:13,080 You found it then he says beware of false prophets who come to 15 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:17,160 you in sheep's clothing. Inwardly they are ravenous 16 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:19,840 wolves. You'll know them by their 17 00:01:19,840 --> 00:01:23,120 fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn 18 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:27,320 bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears 19 00:01:27,320 --> 00:01:29,960 good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 20 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:37,200 That's how you tell what sort of belief and whether they are they 21 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:41,720 are false or true. A good tree cannot bear bad 22 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:46,840 fruit, nor can a bad tree, a cult, bear good fruit. 23 00:01:47,960 --> 00:01:52,320 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down, thrown 24 00:01:52,320 --> 00:01:57,600 into the fire. Therefore now he said all this 25 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:00,160 every time you see you, therefore you ask what's it? 26 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:03,920 Therefore, based on what I've just said, Jesus says, therefore 27 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:07,280 by their fruits you'll know them. 28 00:02:07,400 --> 00:02:10,759 You can tell if someone's a Christian by their fruits. 29 00:02:12,400 --> 00:02:18,520 Now then he adds more detail. So we're seeing Jesus giving us 30 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:22,920 wisdom about and and remember he'd been preaching about the on 31 00:02:22,920 --> 00:02:25,000 the Sermon on the Mount about the Pharisees. 32 00:02:25,000 --> 00:02:29,520 Oh, I know we we give, we tithe, you know, you know, we do all 33 00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:34,200 the right things and Jesus, no, no, it's it's not about what you 34 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:38,080 do action outside just that the thoughts of your heart, the 35 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:41,800 attitudes of your heart. They tell us who you really are. 36 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:48,840 And now Jesus adds some more. He says not everyone who says to 37 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:55,680 me, Lord, Lord, and notice this is the most, I think scariest 38 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:59,360 verse in the Bible. Not everyone who says to me, 39 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,480 Lord, Lord shall enter the Kingdom of heaven. 40 00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:07,280 You say Jesus is Lord doesn't necessarily mean you're going to 41 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:12,360 go to heaven, but he and now here is the one who is going to 42 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:18,120 go to heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. 43 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:25,160 Many will say to me in that day, day of judgement, Lord, Lord, 44 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:31,240 have we not prophesied in your name cast out demons in your 45 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:36,880 name done many wonders in your name and then Jesus says I will 46 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:40,800 declare to them I never knew you depart from me. 47 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:45,840 You who practise lawlessness. Verse 24. 48 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:50,240 Therefore, here's another. Therefore, what's it there for, 49 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:54,240 based on what I've just said? Therefore, back on what I've 50 00:03:54,240 --> 00:04:01,440 just said, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I 51 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:05,640 will liken him to a wise man who build his house on the rock. 52 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,360 And the rain descended. That's when things get 53 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:13,520 difficult. The floods came, the winds blew 54 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:23,080 beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on 55 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:27,240 the rock. Yeah, he's going to do a 56 00:04:27,240 --> 00:04:31,720 comparison. But everyone who hears so they 57 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:35,680 hear these sayings of mine, what's the difference? 58 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:42,280 And does not do them. Will be like what a foolish man 59 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:50,160 who built his house on the sand. The rain descended, floods came, 60 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:54,240 all the problems of life difficulties, the winds blew 61 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,240 beat on that house. What was the difference? 62 00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:02,840 His life fell apart. It fell, and great was its 63 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:06,720 fault. So it was when Jesus head into 64 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,160 these sayings that the people were astonished at His teaching, 65 00:05:10,960 --> 00:05:13,760 for He taught them as one having authority and not as the 66 00:05:13,760 --> 00:05:15,640 scribes. During the Sermon on the Mount 67 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:21,360 Jesus said, man it has been said and because the Pharisees never 68 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:25,200 quoted themselves, they would say Pharisee halal says this and 69 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:30,560 they quote But Jesus said it has been said, but I say unto you, 70 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:33,200 he was saying, Now listen to what I say. 71 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,000 In the closing paragraph of Jesus Sermon on the Mount, 72 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:44,000 Christ pictures two men each building their family home or 73 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:48,480 their lives. One man worked feverishly to 74 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,800 build his house and does not think about a solid foundation. 75 00:05:52,800 --> 00:05:57,080 Up it goes to withstand future storms, floods, and winds. 76 00:05:58,600 --> 00:06:02,080 Jesus calls. Jesus calls this man, verse 26, 77 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:05,240 the foolish man. There is another man. 78 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,320 He too is building his home, building his life. 79 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:11,680 He's called the wise man verse 24. 80 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:14,680 So the story is simple. The parable is simple. 81 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:18,560 Two men building their homes. 1 is wise, the other is foolish. 82 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:23,120 So what's the difference? But the story, though simple, is 83 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:27,800 a very real powerful and dramatic commentary on people 84 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,360 who know Jesus words and either do them. 85 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,080 That's the difference, or don't do them. 86 00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:43,040 But the result between those people is worlds, and as Jesus 87 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,000 says, Lord, Lord shall not enter the Kingdom of heaven. 88 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:50,800 Eternities apart. You could say the difference 89 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:56,160 between heaven and hell. In verses 13 to 14 we saw that 90 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,960 Jesus began the close to his sermon and he did so with an 91 00:06:59,960 --> 00:07:02,280 invitation and by the narrow gate. 92 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:06,720 For why does the gate brought? It is the way that leads to 93 00:07:06,720 --> 00:07:08,640 destruction. There are many who go in by it 94 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,320 verse 14 because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way 95 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:15,880 which leads to life and there are a few who find it. 96 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,520 We should say each time someone says I'd like to become a 97 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:21,280 Christian, we should we should lay out the warnings. 98 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:26,000 Guess what, everyone's going to get hard now instead of what 99 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:29,920 what do what do well meaning Oh, it's just going to be so 100 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:32,720 wonderful. You know, Jesus is going to come 101 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,600 here and you're going to walk on a bit of roses and they go home. 102 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:38,520 First thing that happens, there's division in the family. 103 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:40,600 They're called an idiot and what's, what have you done? 104 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:44,040 You go crazy and they go, oh, I, I went to church and I told her 105 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,320 and I reckon I'm, I've gone mad. They just treat me looking so 106 00:07:47,320 --> 00:07:51,760 different. When you become a Christian, 107 00:07:52,880 --> 00:07:56,800 when you become a follower of Christ, the world hates you. 108 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,120 There's a change. If you truly are born again, all 109 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:07,560 of a sudden you're not welcome to enter the narrow gate onto 110 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:09,320 the narrow way that leads to life. 111 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:14,920 Jesus told us it would not be easy for two basic reasons. 112 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:17,920 False prophets would deceive many. 113 00:08:18,040 --> 00:08:19,640 Oh no, you don't have to worry about that. 114 00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:22,360 Hey, Jesus loves you. You know it's all good. 115 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:28,360 No, just carry on and they would send you on the Broadway. 116 00:08:30,200 --> 00:08:34,280 Many people will falsely profess Christ and deceive themselves. 117 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:40,760 Jesus said there would be people who verbally profess to belong 118 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:44,520 to the Kingdom of God but won't do what Jesus said. 119 00:08:45,480 --> 00:08:49,400 The reality is, Jesus said that they are not true Christians. 120 00:08:50,200 --> 00:08:54,800 We could say the first group deceived by false prophets have 121 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:59,120 empty words. Paul warned us in in the last 122 00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:00,600 days. Perilous times would come. 123 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:05,640 People would reject the truth and they would drift after those 124 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,480 who would scratch them behind their ears. 125 00:09:09,240 --> 00:09:10,800 That feels. I felt so good. 126 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:13,600 Remember, coming to church is not about feeling good. 127 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:17,560 You know, if you went to hospital, I've come to the 128 00:09:17,560 --> 00:09:19,560 hospital, I've come to the surgeon because I just want to 129 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:21,800 feel good. Well, let me just get this big 130 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:24,320 needle and like go to the dentist. 131 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:28,240 It's not like I've come to the dentist because I just want to 132 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:29,600 really feel good. You know, I feel happy. 133 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:40,560 No, it's to get something fixed. The second group, they're worse. 134 00:09:40,680 --> 00:09:42,200 They're not deceived by prophets. 135 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:46,640 They're deceived by themselves. And they have all the words, but 136 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:51,560 they have empty hearts. Again, in verses 24 to 27, Jesus 137 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:55,040 reminds us again of God's standard of righteousness. 138 00:09:55,480 --> 00:09:57,880 What is that? The Sermon on the Mount says? 139 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,280 God's standard of righteousness to get into heaven is what you 140 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:06,400 know, what perfection you go, Well, no one can get into 141 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:12,120 heaven, correct? You need Christ's righteousness 142 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:14,600 upon your life for you to get into heaven. 143 00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:19,440 That's what the cross is about. He exchanged, he took our sin 144 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:23,560 upon himself, remember, and he put his righteousness upon you. 145 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:27,280 So when God the Father looks upon you, he sees you are 146 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:33,200 covered by the blood of Christ, which as we take communion for 147 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:39,920 the remission of what all our sins, unless your life is built 148 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:44,400 on God's standard, you won't last stones and you know world, 149 00:10:44,400 --> 00:10:48,000 the world's going to get worse. I read today, just tonight in 150 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:53,200 the South China Sea where many of our Australian Navy people 151 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:57,560 say if there's going to be a war, Australia will go to war 152 00:10:57,560 --> 00:11:00,280 with China. That's what our own sailors are 153 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:02,840 saying. Because they're they're armed, 154 00:11:03,200 --> 00:11:07,480 they're not just having toy bullets, blanks, they are 155 00:11:07,480 --> 00:11:10,720 actually armed sailing in the South China Sea. 156 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:17,120 But right at this moment, the US, I can't remember the name of 157 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:21,400 the aircraft carriage, just lost my mind, part of my mind. 158 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:25,800 They and some other vessels are in the South China Sea too, and 159 00:11:25,800 --> 00:11:30,000 it says the American ships are there and the Chinese ships 160 00:11:30,360 --> 00:11:33,240 aren't moving. Watch this space. 161 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:38,920 Unless your life is built on God's standard, you won't last 162 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:45,160 storms and your life will be washed away by the flood, as was 163 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:51,200 the billions who heard Noah's preaching 120 years of it but 164 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:53,680 refused to repent and turn to God. 165 00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:56,600 Because the only way you come into the Kingdom of God is to 166 00:11:56,600 --> 00:12:01,520 repent of your sins, call on God and ask Him to forgive you and 167 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:03,800 then receive the forgiveness of Christ. 168 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:09,520 And not carefully. Jesus says it does not matter 169 00:12:09,680 --> 00:12:13,080 how much you know. Yeah, I've come across people 170 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:15,480 who actually study the Bible. They're atheists. 171 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:17,720 Don't know if you've ever come across people. 172 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,280 I have, You know, you go out to these functions. 173 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:22,560 And when I was with the police, we used to go a lot of the 174 00:12:22,560 --> 00:12:24,240 dinners and things and sit with people. 175 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:25,880 We we had no idea. And. 176 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:28,000 And like. Oh, yeah. 177 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:29,560 Well, I actually, I've studied the Bible. 178 00:12:29,560 --> 00:12:31,160 I studied at university. I did this. 179 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:32,160 Oh. So you believe it? 180 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:36,680 No. And so people, they, they can 181 00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:41,120 know all about the Bible. And there are, then there are 182 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:45,720 the other group of people who are busy and then we see them. 183 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:47,240 It's kind of like the Australian culture. 184 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:48,760 They're a great person. They'll go to heaven. 185 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,560 You know what, they're always at the soup kitchen, they're always 186 00:12:51,560 --> 00:12:53,760 cutting someone's lawn. They're always doing that. 187 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:55,800 They're they're great. They're nice people, always 188 00:12:55,800 --> 00:13:00,760 doing something to someone. It's not how feverishly or busy 189 00:13:00,760 --> 00:13:03,320 you conduct your spiritual activity. 190 00:13:04,960 --> 00:13:08,320 So the two builders, the two builders according to Jesus have 191 00:13:08,320 --> 00:13:11,040 both heard his message, heard his words. 192 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:16,280 Then at the end of verse 24 and 26, we said we read of the two 193 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:20,960 men building their houses. Both have listened and both are 194 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:25,520 involved in spiritual activity. Can't tell any difference 195 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:30,040 between the two. Like the four types of hearts 196 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:31,720 and the parable of the sower on the sea. 197 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:36,360 The first parable we did, you know, each one of the four types 198 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:41,040 of soil all heard the word, All of them. 199 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:48,320 But only one type of the soil received the word and then bore 200 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:50,320 fruit in its lives. One out of four. 201 00:13:51,520 --> 00:13:54,640 Maybe they both belong to the same church, these two men. 202 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:58,920 Maybe they both read the Bible. Maybe they attended the same 203 00:13:58,920 --> 00:14:01,760 meetings. But there's one huge difference 204 00:14:01,760 --> 00:14:04,680 between the foolish one and the wise one. 205 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:08,960 What is that? One man is wise because he 206 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:12,800 builds on a rock. The other man is a fool because 207 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:17,360 he builds on sand. And note with me too, once the 208 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:21,480 houses are built, you can't tell what's under the under the 209 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:25,000 house. Both beautiful houses, House A 210 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:29,520 exhibit House B exhibit 2 builders, beautiful job. 211 00:14:29,520 --> 00:14:32,200 They look amazing. Both both lovely. 212 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:36,520 What Jesus is saying is very simple. 213 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:40,600 Many people hear Christ teaching, but it's those who 214 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:43,840 obey his teaching that get into the Kingdom. 215 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:49,160 That's the bottom line. I need to pastor Israel referred 216 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:54,360 to it in Second Corinthians. I need to examine my life and 217 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:58,760 see if I'm a hearer only and not a doer as well. 218 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:05,280 Because if you are, you deceive yourself that you are a 219 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,200 believer. While I went to church, I heard 220 00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:10,920 the message didn't make any difference the way you lived. 221 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:18,160 James chapter one verse 22 But be doers of the word, and not 222 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:22,720 hearers only deceiving your own selves, James says. 223 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,480 James goes on to say, For if any, be a hearer of the word, 224 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:31,680 and not a doer, he is like unto a man, beholding his face and 225 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:34,640 glass. He beholds himself, he sees, and 226 00:15:34,640 --> 00:15:37,720 he goes away, and he forgets all about what he looked like. 227 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:41,760 But whoever looks into the perfect law of liberty, Christ, 228 00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:46,360 and continues therein, he is not a forgetful hearer, but he's a 229 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:48,680 doer of the work. In other words, I live my life 230 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,280 now driven because I know what Christ has done for me. 231 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:56,560 I haven't forgotten about it. Jesus said the storms that come, 232 00:15:57,200 --> 00:15:58,600 and we're all going to face storms. 233 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,920 Everyone of us, all of us will face a big storm. 234 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:06,280 It's called death. And that will reveal the truth. 235 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:10,000 Who is wise and who is foolish. But you don't want to have it 236 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:18,000 revealed after death too late. So Jesus highlights our 237 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:22,080 similarities in the story. First, both men build a house. 238 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:25,760 Both were involved in spiritual activity that has to do with the 239 00:16:25,760 --> 00:16:28,600 Kingdom of God. Both build the houses in the 240 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,640 same location, I believe, because we're told both houses 241 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:35,360 were subject to the same storm, same winds, same flood. 242 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:40,120 Thirdly, both of their buildings are so similar we can't tell the 243 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:42,040 difference. But Jesus says the only 244 00:16:42,040 --> 00:16:45,200 difference was in their foundation, what the houses were 245 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:48,480 built on. So we look at the foundations. 246 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:52,440 Verse 24, it says that one man build his house upon a rock. 247 00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:57,000 It's the Greek word Petra. It's a rock bed, solid rock. 248 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:02,160 The wise man build his house on a rock bed. 249 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:08,640 One Corinthians 311 Paul says for no other foundation can 250 00:17:08,640 --> 00:17:12,960 anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 251 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:18,280 So he's to be the foundation. Verse 26 says the other man 252 00:17:18,560 --> 00:17:22,280 build his house upon the sand. It's the Greek word, come on, 253 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:27,599 that is his house is built on sand, just like the beach, beach 254 00:17:27,599 --> 00:17:31,160 sand. The false prophets, by the way, 255 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:35,840 in verses 15 to 20, they're the real estate agents selling you 256 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:38,280 the sandlots. Come and build here. 257 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:43,800 Come and live your life here. Jesus rebukes the religion of 258 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:47,400 the Pharisees in his Sermon on the Mount because they had no 259 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:51,800 regard for spirituality of soul. Theirs was all outward. 260 00:17:52,760 --> 00:17:56,480 Jesus said, yeah, yeah, all nice and white, painted like, like 261 00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:58,680 the dead man's tombs. You're all nice and white on the 262 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:00,840 outside, but inside you're full of death. 263 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:06,040 They had no purity of heart. They had no integrity, and their 264 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:08,520 behaviour was not in obedience to God. 265 00:18:09,360 --> 00:18:12,880 They were building their big spiritual structure on sand. 266 00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,680 But the wise man, he builds his life on rock. 267 00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:21,960 Verse 24 What does it mean to build your life on rock? 268 00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:24,280 You know what does that actually look like? 269 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:30,400 It is that we are building our lives on everything God tells 270 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:36,800 us. Psalm 18, Verse 2 The Lord is my 271 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,320 rock. The rock is Christ on Peter 26, 272 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:43,520 He is the chief cornerstone. That's part of it. 273 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:47,840 However, in the context of Christ's sermon, there is more 274 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:51,800 to building on the rock than just saying, Oh my life is built 275 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:56,040 on Christ. Because verse 24 and 26 tell us 276 00:18:56,040 --> 00:19:01,840 plenty who The Who the rock is. Jesus said, Whoever hears these 277 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:08,240 sayings of mine and does them qualify, I will liken him unto a 278 00:19:08,240 --> 00:19:11,120 wise man to build his house upon a rock. 279 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:15,120 That's the difference. It is the people who hear and do 280 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:18,160 what Christ commanded that build their house on the rock. 281 00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:21,080 So a young couple are thinking of getting married. 282 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:22,960 They start a relationship. Sorry. 283 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:24,920 They start, they begin seeing one another. 284 00:19:25,200 --> 00:19:28,160 They see what the Bible says about how we should conduct 285 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:30,240 ourselves. We're not married, you know, so 286 00:19:30,240 --> 00:19:32,040 we shouldn't have any premarital sex. 287 00:19:32,040 --> 00:19:34,480 We shouldn't be living together. We should be separate. 288 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:37,280 And then they prepare. So they prepare. 289 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:39,360 How are we going to live? Are you the right person that 290 00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:41,360 I'm to marry? Let's pray about, you pray 291 00:19:41,360 --> 00:19:42,320 about. I'll pray about. 292 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:44,880 Let's go to God, see what God says about the matter. 293 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,120 You see, that's how you're building your house upon a rock. 294 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,560 You don't just go, oh, he's lovely or she's fantastic. 295 00:19:53,080 --> 00:19:57,160 Doesn't work that way. The Lord is saying that the 296 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,440 person who only hears God's word but doesn't act on it is 297 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:03,800 building on sand. So what does the sand represent? 298 00:20:04,040 --> 00:20:06,760 If Jesus is the rock, what's the sand represent? 299 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,760 Here's what the sand represents. Human will. 300 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:13,120 This is what I'm going to do. I know the Bible says that this 301 00:20:13,120 --> 00:20:18,760 is what I'm going to do. OK, It's opinion. 302 00:20:19,040 --> 00:20:23,200 Well, I've spoken to my friends and they say what I should do is 303 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,440 this. Everyone lives together, so we 304 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:30,680 should live together. And attitudes, the world's 305 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:35,040 attitudes. A foolish person builds his life 306 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:37,880 on the shifting sands of human philosophy. 307 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:44,880 And this isn't interesting. How the study of human 308 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:48,080 philosophy has changed since you went to school. 309 00:20:49,720 --> 00:20:52,280 How come? How come it, How come the 310 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:56,560 raising of children has changed again, again and again and 311 00:20:56,560 --> 00:20:58,120 again? Oh, we've done a great job, 312 00:20:58,120 --> 00:21:02,360 haven't we? That's why I love the Bible. 313 00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:04,920 Doesn't change. God doesn't change. 314 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,880 Truth doesn't. See, truth doesn't change. 315 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:11,400 Philosophy does, Pastor John Miller says. 316 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:15,400 What is philosophy? He says it's a blind man put in 317 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:19,080 a dark room, told to look for a black cat that doesn't exist. 318 00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:31,520 He or she who builds on sand listens to God's Word. 319 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:34,880 They hear it, but they're not established on the rock. 320 00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:38,240 Yeah, I know what the Bible says, but we're not doing it. 321 00:21:38,360 --> 00:21:41,200 I'm not going to do that. I know the Bible says this is 322 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:43,680 how I should raise my children, but you know, I don't believe 323 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:44,760 that. Well, I think there's a better 324 00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:49,880 way. The wise man that hears God's 325 00:21:49,880 --> 00:21:53,520 word and builds his life on it. He's building on a rock 326 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:57,160 foundation. He lives the life of obedience. 327 00:21:57,520 --> 00:21:59,960 I love that when I first got saved, how long I first got 328 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:02,560 saved, there are things we didn't know about what to do 329 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:05,760 about giving, about tithing about, you know, grace offerings 330 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:08,360 about serving in the in the church and things. 331 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:12,560 And every time I came up, the gifts that are there speaking in 332 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:14,760 tongues. Oh, did I mention that other 333 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,200 things like that and they're that are in the Bible and I went 334 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:22,080 well, if they're in the Bible and God says that's what we're 335 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,600 to do. I've got to change my mind. 336 00:22:26,440 --> 00:22:28,000 I've got to do what the Bible says. 337 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,800 You know, it's a life of obedience. 338 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:36,960 John 830 Jesus said as he spoke these words, many believed on 339 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:40,040 him, says that as Jesus spoke, many believed on him. 340 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,560 They listened to Christ. And in verse 31 of the same 341 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:48,560 passage in John 8, Jesus added, but he says, oh great, he added, 342 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:54,520 if you continue in my word, then are you my disciples Indeed. 343 00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:01,040 You see, if we just hear and believe doesn't mean anything 344 00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:02,440 because you know what the devil does? 345 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:07,240 He hears, he believes that make him build a life built on the 346 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:11,080 rock. No, James says, no, it's when we 347 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:15,680 continue to obey the word of God that we build our lives on the 348 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:20,000 rock. James told us that be doers of 349 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:24,760 the word, not hearers only. In other words, if you are not a 350 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:29,600 doer of the Word, then it is not having any effect on your life 351 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:31,880 or destiny. It's not changing you. 352 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:36,640 You're not changing to the word. Building your life on the rock 353 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:40,880 means obedience. Again, examine your life. 354 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:47,600 Ask yourself, do you desire more than anything else, more than 355 00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:56,680 anything else, to obey the word of God or do you continually 356 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:02,920 justify yourself whilst you're living in disobedience? 357 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:06,560 We're going through Daniel. They never justified themselves 358 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:08,520 ever. Daniel didn't. 359 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:11,200 Neither did Shadrach, Meshach or Abednego. 360 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:13,120 Never said, well, things are tough. 361 00:24:13,120 --> 00:24:15,320 You know, we're we're away. We don't have our family, 362 00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:17,200 there's no temple. And listen, we don't have 363 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:19,320 friends around us. Who's to know? 364 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:23,520 No, no, no, That's what we're learning, how to live righteous 365 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,600 in a fallen world. The apostle John really hits at 366 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:33,640 home and he says our obedience, our obedience is a sign of our 367 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:35,840 salvation. If you want to know how can I 368 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:39,440 tell if someone's a Christian, I recommend you read first John, 369 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:43,840 second John, and 3rd John, but particularly read very carefully 370 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:50,440 and slowly. 1 John, Throughout Christ's Sermon on the Mount, 371 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,680 the obedient life is described by Jesus. 372 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:59,720 He is the obedient believer. He says you assault, you are 373 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:04,760 light and you're in the world, but you're not part of it. 374 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:08,640 It does not seek to alter the Bible. 375 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,720 I don't seek, well, I know I don't like this part of the 376 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:14,880 Bible. I don't seek to alter my moral 377 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:19,920 standards on living are based on God's word, not what you know 378 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:24,200 the the fashions of the day say, but of the foolish man. 379 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:27,280 You see, it's easy to build on sand. 380 00:25:27,880 --> 00:25:31,240 It's easy to go along with everyone else because you don't 381 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:33,240 have to dig. It's no effort. 382 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:39,040 Now we lived in Coogee at one time we put up a fence and the 383 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:43,360 boys were across the net and Israel were I don't have food, 384 00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:46,400 ain't living some or younger. We dug one side. 385 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:52,240 It was solid limestone. It took us 3-4 days and it 386 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:55,920 killed us and we're trying to put super 6 fencing into the 387 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:59,440 ground everywhere. It was just so it was just, it's 388 00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:03,920 hard. You have to dig, but that's the 389 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:07,360 way of life, the way of life on the Broadway. 390 00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:11,880 It's easy, easy Christianity, easy. 391 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,040 Just go to church and don't, and just live like everybody else 392 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:18,640 and go to church. You can do what you want and 393 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,200 carry all the garbage with you. You don't have to change or 394 00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:24,360 anything. Now a fool builds this way for 395 00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:28,120 two reasons on sand. One, he's in a hurry. 396 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:35,440 Proverbs 2820 A faithful man shall abound with blessings, but 397 00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:39,840 he that makes haste to be rich shall not be innocent. 398 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:44,880 A fool is always looking for shortcuts and quick results. 399 00:26:44,880 --> 00:26:49,200 I worked with the man in the Department of Education who was 400 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:53,120 originally a Carpenter and then he went into teaching manual 401 00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:55,520 arts and then supervisor Superintendent. 402 00:26:55,880 --> 00:26:59,760 I said, you know, So what? What was the big deal for you 403 00:26:59,760 --> 00:27:01,080 learning how to be a good Carpenter? 404 00:27:01,080 --> 00:27:04,960 He said this easy, don't learn the tricks of the trade, learn 405 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:09,320 the trade. People say no, no, you'll learn 406 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:10,600 the trade. Learn the trade. 407 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:16,000 Jesus says no one should build a tower until he has counted the 408 00:27:16,000 --> 00:27:18,160 cost. We should say that to someone. 409 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:20,480 Every time they say, I think I want to become a Christian, 410 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,400 well, there's a cost. Luke 1428. 411 00:27:25,160 --> 00:27:28,080 The one who builds on the sand is superficial. 412 00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:31,440 They say they believe in God. They accept the gospel. 413 00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:35,240 If there's no evidence in their life to confirm it, we can't 414 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:37,920 tell when their house begins to collapse. 415 00:27:38,120 --> 00:27:40,560 They just look for another Sandlot to build. 416 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:45,160 The wise man is not in a hurry. That's one of the greatest 417 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:52,040 lessons I've learned in my life. Whenever I made mistakes, I was 418 00:27:52,080 --> 00:27:56,000 always in a hurry. My biggest mistakes was always 419 00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:59,760 made in haste. If you have a decision and it's 420 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:03,760 a big decision, I don't care if it's a big small decision and 421 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:05,280 someone says hurry up, make that decision. 422 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:09,000 Stop, not pause. I'm not. 423 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:11,440 No, since I hear that alarm bells go off. 424 00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:13,360 Now. Danger. 425 00:28:13,360 --> 00:28:15,440 Danger. If a salesman comes to our house 426 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:17,800 and he's trying to sell, you got to sign today of your deals 427 00:28:17,800 --> 00:28:18,320 only. OK. 428 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,040 OK. Come walk, man. 429 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:21,920 I walk him out the door and I say see you later. 430 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:26,240 I don't want to talk with you. Don't make decisions, any 431 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:30,120 decision in a hurry. God is never in a hurry. 432 00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:31,720 You go. Well, what if I miss out? 433 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:36,160 No, you don't miss out if you obey the will of God. 434 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:39,840 He dug deep. The wise men dug deep. 435 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:42,640 He dug deep for the rock. What's that? 436 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:44,880 God's word? What does God want to know about 437 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,440 this? He blew away the sand of human 438 00:28:47,440 --> 00:28:50,880 opinion and self will. He counted the cost. 439 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:55,280 Later in Matthew 13, the parable of the sower of the seed, verse 440 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:59,040 20 to 21, there were Stony places where the seed fell. 441 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:03,400 I'm a Christian person, but as soon as the the demands of God's 442 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:04,800 words, it's difficult. You mean I've got to go to 443 00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:06,480 church all the time? You mean I've got to pray or 444 00:29:06,480 --> 00:29:08,560 read the Bible? You mean I can't do this, can't 445 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:09,560 do that? Stop. 446 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:12,760 No, you can do all that stuff, just can't be a Christian. 447 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:19,600 This is a choice. The wise man gives maximum 448 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:22,720 effort. Those who dig deep show a desire 449 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:25,880 to give maximum effort. Let me give you the figures from 450 00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:29,280 a crusade, recent crusade, they're startling. 451 00:29:29,280 --> 00:29:33,160 You know these massive crusades, 28,000 people professed 452 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:37,240 conversion on paper. At this crusade 28,000 people 453 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:40,520 came and said you don't want to have Jesus sin, sin his prayer. 454 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:48,000 9600 people were baptised. So it's dropping fair bit. 123 455 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:54,640 people only were added to the church, 123 out of 28,000. 456 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:59,200 Again the problem, the problem is not the difficulty of follow 457 00:29:59,200 --> 00:30:02,760 up, it's the haziness of true conversion. 458 00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,760 We cannot follow up people who were never redeemed. 459 00:30:06,760 --> 00:30:08,840 It's not going to make any difference. 460 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:12,880 People say well we have to get converts and do a follow up 461 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:17,680 programme. No, why can't we just leave them 462 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:20,960 to the Holy Spirit? When I got saved, when Helen got 463 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,440 saved, we didn't need a follow up programme. 464 00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:26,960 We needed restraining from doing too much. 465 00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:29,920 We were, we just, it was everything. 466 00:30:30,280 --> 00:30:35,640 Our lives changed. We were born again in a real 467 00:30:35,640 --> 00:30:40,000 conversion. In a real conversion, God will 468 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:45,400 do his work. The person who digs deep is also 469 00:30:45,400 --> 00:30:47,520 teachable. I wanted to learn everything. 470 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:49,200 I didn't know anything about the Bible. 471 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:52,640 I needed to know what do I do? How do I live? 472 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,640 How am my husband now? How am I to be a father? 473 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,040 How am I to be a worker? How should I work? 474 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:01,480 The Pharisees weren't teachable. You couldn't tell him anything. 475 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:05,480 The person who digs deep gets rid of his self righteousness 476 00:31:05,680 --> 00:31:08,840 and self sufficiency. It's all finished. 477 00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:12,440 It's nailed on the cross. He knows he's not commendable 478 00:31:12,760 --> 00:31:15,640 and it's and he's overwhelmed by his sin. 479 00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:20,200 That's what I was, and you strive to enter into the narrow 480 00:31:20,200 --> 00:31:24,920 gate, and you place Scripture in your heart so that you won't sin 481 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:29,200 again against God. Psalm 100 and 1911, David says 482 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:34,080 thy word. I hid in my heart that I might 483 00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:37,560 not sin against you. So what happened when the storm 484 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:39,360 came? What are the storms? 485 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:42,080 Floods of sickness, floods of poverty. 486 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:44,680 You lose your job, disappointments, all that didn't 487 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:48,600 work out, relationships, bereavements, death. 488 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:51,640 These are storms. They're all going to hit your 489 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:53,560 house, all going to hit your life. 490 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:56,360 Everything's going to be revealed in the storm. 491 00:31:57,280 --> 00:31:59,600 Everyone in this world will encounter a storm. 492 00:31:59,840 --> 00:32:03,080 Once sent from God, some will stand and others will collapse. 493 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:11,920 Great. Was the fall of the man built on 494 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,120 Santa. I've got some other things I was 495 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:16,080 going to finish off, but I want to finish on this. 496 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:20,200 Pastor Israel and I went to Hollywood Hospital today. 497 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:24,120 We caught up with Leon, saw him, he's had his operation. 498 00:32:25,600 --> 00:32:29,000 Pastor Israel prayed with him and we read some scriptures and 499 00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:33,760 we talked with him. And I've got to tell you, he was 500 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:36,680 smiling. His skin colour was good. 501 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:39,840 He's put on some weight. He's changing his what he's 502 00:32:39,840 --> 00:32:43,320 eating, hoping to be home soon, maybe in a week, two weeks, 503 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:44,760 We're not sure yet. We don't know. 504 00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:49,200 But I said to Leon, suddenly you've been in hospital 505 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:54,440 basically around about a year. Is that long time anyway, eight, 506 00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:55,880 well, eight weeks, that part there. 507 00:32:56,280 --> 00:32:57,720 But he's been sick longer anyway. 508 00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:04,480 So he says, well I've been in the Bible. 509 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:13,040 So I said, and I shared with him, you now have been through a 510 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:16,240 dark time in your life. You could have said why? 511 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:22,240 How come? But he was there smiling at 512 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:27,000 peace with God. So the storm came, hit a 16 year 513 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:32,480 old kid, flood came. His house was not built on sand. 514 00:33:32,840 --> 00:33:36,960 He could have been angry, upset. How come me, why? 515 00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:38,480 Why can't I end up losing weight? 516 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:40,360 Look at me, I can't get out of bed. 517 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:45,360 Can't do this. But you see, because his house 518 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:50,720 is built upon rock, his salvation is sure he's going to 519 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:55,640 come out of this and he'll have a greater understanding and 520 00:33:55,640 --> 00:34:00,640 experience of of the traumas and storms of life at just the age 521 00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:05,040 of 16. You see, the difference is found 522 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:10,440 out when the storm hits. I pray that you're aware that 523 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:14,440 your life is built upon the rock and that's not sitting on sand. 524 00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:17,920 Let's pray. Father, we ask for your grace 525 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:24,520 and mercy to be with us. Lord, let us realise that a 526 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:29,360 faith that cannot stand trial is not a faith to be trusted in 527 00:34:31,080 --> 00:34:36,280 that, a faith that costs nothing in the sense of religion and 528 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:40,400 consists in nothing but hearing and not doing. 529 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:46,239 There's a faith that gives us nothing or our faith is in you, 530 00:34:47,600 --> 00:34:53,719 in your work. And Lord, we're so thankful that 531 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:55,639 you never forsake us nor leave us.