Since January we’ve been looking at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus is on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Probably at this place.  Teaching a large - diverse - group of people.  Teaching them - and us - about what it means to live in relationship with the Sovereign Almighty Holy God of Creation down on the level where we live life.

Jesus began by telling His listeners that they - we - are blessed.  The Message paraphrases Jesus teaching this way:

“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope.”  “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you.”  Or a bit further on in His teaching: “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution…  Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit Me.”  (Matthew 5:3a,4a,10a,11a - The Message)

Which may sound pretty strange - being at the end of our rope and being blessed.  We might not always think of ourselves that way.  But the amazing truth - that Jesus is getting at - the truth is that God has brought the reality of Who He is - His kingdom - what it means to live in a God forgiven - God restored - relationship with Him - God has brought all that down to us - into the drama of the day to day of our lives.

God blesses us with His presence - chooses to forgive our sins - chooses to allow us to live in relationship with Him.  That’s astounding.

Jesus has been teaching that God gives purpose and meaning to our lives.  We’re not some freak accident of ooze and lighting.  God has purposefully created us.  He chooses to involve us in His work here on earth - His eternal purposes.  He chooses to instruct us in how we’re to live out our relationship with Him and to live out that relationship with others - in the way that glorifies Him.

Jesus has taught about the core struggles of our lives - pride - ego - hypocrisy - lust - greed - anger - anxiety.  He’s taught about marriage and adultery - money and wealth - faith and religion - what we value and what motivates us - on and on.  Not just identifying our struggles.  “Yep, that’s a struggle.”  But giving us the solutions - the answers -  to what we struggle with.

People try to make Jesus into some kind of moralizing - philosophical - lightweight - that in our enlightened modern world we’ve moved beyond.  But, He’s the greatest teacher.  What He’s taught is revolutionary.  Its counter-culture.  Its mind bending.  Teaching that should re-orientate our thinking about life.  His teaching and truth has changed the course of humanity.  All that is contained in what we call the Sermon on the Mount. 

This morning we’re coming to Matthew 7 - starting at verse 24 - the last part of Jesus teaching - that we actually began looking at last Sunday.  Jesus.  In this last part of His teaching Jesus is calling on us to choose.  To think through our response to what Jesus has taught.

We can come here and do the whole Easter thing - sing the songs - hear the message - go and eat way too much food - crack a few eggs.  We can walk away from here and just go on doing what we’ve been doing.  That’s a choice.

Or, we can think about what Jesus said - maybe try to make a few changes for a bit - and then go on back to living our lives the way we’ve been living them.  That’s a choice.

Or, we can take Jesus up on what He’s been teaching - choose to take up the challenge to live out the blessed life that God has created us for and called us to.

One choice or another we will choose.

Verses 24 to 29 are probably familiar.  So, as we’ve been doing, we’re going to read these out loud together - to get them fresh in our minds - and then we’ll come back and unpack what Jesus is teaching.

Matthew 7 - starting at verse 24:  “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 mind 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.”

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.

The image Jesus uses here is pretty easy to grab on to.  Right?

A house built on a rock has got a solid foundation.  Hopefully that foundation is on something solid.  The emphasis is on permanence - safety - security - the ability to survive the storms of life.  A foundation worth building our lives on

The contrast is a house built on sand that’s on shaky ground.  Emphasis - an inability to withstand the storms of life.  A foundation we don’t want to build our lives on. 

Remember the Loma Prieta earthquake?  Hard to imagine that’s ancient history now.  Remember “liquefaction”?  The ground - dirt - sand - and trash - literally became like water.  Result - the houses in the Marina District came apart at the seams.

We’re tracking with Jesus.  Right?

Jesus showing us Our Choice of Foundations. 

Two possible foundations.  The rock is what?  What Jesus teaches - “these words of Mine.”  The sand is what?  Everything else - the wisdom - philosophy - culture - whatever of the world.

Jesus shows us two possible outcomes.  One really good.  One really disastrous. . 

Two choices.  Two possible responses.  Two ways to live life.  Two outcomes.  Live life basing our lives on what Jesus teaches or take your chances with whatever the world is currently putting out.

Remember the song?  We all have to sing the song.    Emphasis “all” of us.  You all know this.

The wise man built his house upon the rock,

The wise man built his house upon the rock,

The wise man built his house upon the rock,

And the rains came tumbling down.

The rains came down and the floods came up,

The rains came down and the floods came up,

The rains came down and the floods came up,

And the house on the rock stood firm.

The foolish man built his house upon the sand,

The foolish man built his house upon the sand,

The foolish man built his house upon the sand,

And the rains came tumbling down.

The rains came down and the floods came up,

The rains came down and the floods came up,

The rains came down and the floods came up,

And the house on the sand went “SMASH.”

So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ,

So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ,

So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ,

And the blessings will come down.

The blessings come down as the prayers go up,

The blessings come down as the prayers go up,

The blessings come down as the prayers go up,

So build your house on the Lord.

Let’s make sure we’re together on what all that means.  It is crucial for each of us to be really clear on the significant - eternal - importance of the choice Jesus is laying out for us.

A few years back - at 7:51 a.m. - in a Washington DC metro station - a man positioned himself against a bare wall next to a trash basket.  He didn’t stand out much.  He was a young man in jeans - long-sleeved T shirt - wearing a Washington Nationals baseball cap.  From a small case he removed a violin.  Placing the open case at his feet, he threw in a few dollars and pocket change as seed money and began to play.

For the next 43 minutes - this man played Mozart and Shubert - masterpieces that have endured for centuries - played to perfection while rush hour crowds surged by - hardly bothering to notice.  Just another guy in a subway station playing for spare change.

Had they noticed - they might have recognized Joshua Bell - who is one of the great violin virtuosos of the world.  They might have noticed that he was playing a $4 million violin hand crafted in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari at the peak of his career.

In the metro station Bell collected $32 from the 27 people who stopped long enough to make a donation.  Three days earlier Bell had sold out Boston’s Symphony Hall - with cheaper seats going for $100.

The whole episode was a project of the Washington Post - that the editors called “an experiment in context, perception, and priorities…” (1)

Context - perception - priorities.  How we see and experience the world that we’re passing through.  What we understand.  Those things that are real and important to us.  What we’re building our lives on.  Rock or sand.

The Bible - God’s word - tells us that Satan was created by God - a magnificent creature - perfect in beauty.  Satan is called the “star of the morning” the “son of the dawn.”  Satan’s home was in heaven with God - in the riches and splendor of the presence of God - living in close intimacy with God.  He is exalted.  Full of wisdom.  Charming.  Skillful in his operation. (Isaiah 14:4-21; Ezekiel 28:1-10)

The Bible - God’s word - tells us that there was a war in heaven - Satan - in pride - rebelling against God.  The angel Michael and God’s angels fought a battle against Satan and his followers.  Satan - defeated - was kicked out of heaven. (Luke 10:18; Revelation 12:7-9)

The Bible - God’s word - tells us that Satan is the “Prince of the power of the air.” (Ephesians 2:2)  He’s the god of this world.  He controls darkness - the forces of darkness - all that’s evil.  Kicked out of heaven he’s working to make life on earth - hell on earth.   (2 Corinthians 4:4)

People may rush by him - not paying attention - choosing to ignore him.  Blaming the hard stuff of this world on poor choices or bad karma or something.  But he’s there.  Skillful at what he does.  Blinding - deceiving - orchestrating - luring people away from God - from what is true about life.

We need to grab on to that.  It is extremely easy for us to get caught off guard thinking that what is being put out by the culture we live in - that all that is what’s true and the reality we need to build our lives on.  But behind all that - foundational to whatever is not of God - behind all that is who?  Satan.

Context - perception - priorities. 

Satan loves to mess with our minds.  The word “satan” means “accuser” or “slanderer.”  He makes accusations about us before God.  “Look at all their sins - their failures.  They don’t deserve to be loved by You.  To know You.” (1 Samuel 29:4; 1 Kings 11:14)

Satan scores big when he gets us to believe those lies - to doubt ourselves and God’s love for us.  All those lies we believe about ourselves.  Things people have told us that cling to us.  The wounds we carry.  “Maybe he’s right.” 

Satan is called “The Tempter.” (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5)   Jesus called Satan “the father of lies.”  (John 8:44)  The best lie is the one - what? - closest to the truth.

Satan mimics God’s truth.  Imitates God’s work.  Promises great things to those who will follow him in his lies.  Tempting us to trust ourselves - to follow him.  Satan doing whatever he can to lead us away from God and to our own destruction. (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25; Luke 9:24)

Satan is called “The Destroyer.” (Mark 5:3; 15:30; Acts 26:18; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Revelation 9:11)  His desire is to destroy God’s people - us.  He leads us to destroy our marriages - our families - to addictions - to attitudes and actions that are self-destructive.  Ultimately to eternal damnation - torment and punishment with him forever removed from God.

Think house built on sand:  “and great was the fall of it.”

The apostle Peter warns us, “Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a - what?  like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

A team of researchers at the University of Tokyo announced that they’d genetically engineered a mouse - genetically removed receptors in its brain - so that the mouse had no fear of cats.  The mouse just snuggles up to the cat.  While the mouse didn’t fear the cat - at one point they had to remove the cat who began to think of the mouse as food. 

Satan would love to disable our ability to recognize spiritual danger - our being aware of his prowling - his working the things of this world to lead us away from God and God’s truth.

The paws of Satan are the philosophies and ideas and religions of this world.  His teeth are the economics - the things we run after - the ungodly desires and cravings of our hearts.  He’s licking his chops - hungry - “seeking someone to devour.”

There is no rational way to ignore what Jesus teaches.  To do the “Happy Easter thing” and just wander out of here and go on doing life as usual.

We’re engaged in a struggle over foundations and outcomes - a struggle  of eternal consequences that Satan would love to have us ignorant of - building on his foundation - complacently heading to destruction.

Jesus is teaching - exposing the lies - the deception - the mind games of Satan and the destruction of this passing world.  Exposing our hearts.  Giving us God’s truth of how to live life with God.

Life where sins are forgiven - guilt is removed - victory replaces defeat.  Life where marriages are made strong - wounds are healed - where we’re set from what binds us - where we live by God’s strength and know His peace.  Where God is glorified.  The eternal God blessed life of living out what He has created us for and called us to.

Our choice of foundations.  Sand or rock?  Deception or truth?  Death or life?

Coming to verses 28 and 29 - Matthew tells us that “when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished - blown away - at His teaching,  Why?  He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

Every teacher that these people had ever heard - every Pharisee - every scribe - meaning every teacher of the law - they all quoted someone else - gave interpretations of God’s law.  Every teacher we’ve ever heard - the greatest theologians of today are all interpreting - seeking to explain and process what God has already said.

When Jesus taught He wasn’t quoting anybody else.  No “Moses says this” or “The prophet says this” or “in the law it says this.” 

Jesus speaks with His own authority.  He is His own authority.  There is no greater authority.  Jesus is the source.  God Himself speaking to us about how to do life.

Which brings us face to face with Our Choice of Authorities.  Are we really going to choose to take Jesus at His word?

Let’s make sure we’re together.  There is no way to piggy back on someone else’s faith.  Faith is a personal choice we make as to who or what is going to have authority over how we live our lives.  In the day to day drama of life who sets the direction.  Who sets the boundaries.  How do those choices get made?

The people of Jesus’ day might have said that they were following the teaching of the Pharisees.  Men who were looked up to as being righteous with God.  Or they we’re following the teaching of some great Rabbi - some teacher of Scripture.  How they lived.  What they taught.  That was the authority.  We believe what they’re teaching and that’s how we’re living. 

Like today people listen to speakers on the net or the radio or T.V.  Following the teaching of some pastor.

Let’s be clear.  When our lives meet the drama of reality what good is someone else’s faith?  What does it matter what our parents believed or what a pastor believes or how we were raised - the church we attended - what we were taught - our Sunday School teachers - or AWANA leaders - the youth group we were a part of.  As godly as they might be - all that is about their relationship with God.

But faith is personal.  We can’t piggy back on someone else’s faith.  Each of us individually must come to a point of choosing what we ourselves will believe - under who or what authority we will place our lives.

When the winds blow and the rain pours down - what counts is the foundation our lives our built on - not someone else’s.  What counts is who’s authority we’re living under.  Someone who thinks they understand life - who interprets life?  Or the God Who created life?

Jesus is teaching with the authority of God.  Which means either He’s a nut case or we better be choosing really really wisely how we respond to what He says.

Today we’re celebrating Jesus’ resurrection.  If Jesus doesn’t rise from the dead - then we know that He was just another crazy person with delusions of godhood.  Resurrection from death - from the domain and power of Satan - the great deceiver - our adversary - resurrection is the greatest and final test that Jesus is who He claims to be.

Which He did.  Jesus’ resurrection is an incontrovertible fact of history.

From the tremendous security precautions the Romans and Jews took to make sure Jesus stayed dead - or at least that nobody would steal His body.  To the discovery of the empty tomb and the witness of hundreds of people who saw Him after His resurrection.  Including His closest associates who’s lives were completely transformed by the reality of His resurrection and presence with them.  To the reality of His transformation of the direction of human history and the lives of many of us in this room.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that everything Jesus taught about what it means to be blessed by God with a relationship with God - what it means to live that life out in the day to day drama of our lives - living that out with the God given purpose that God created us for and called us to - to live that God forgiven and God restored relationship with God now and forever - everything Jesus taught is 100% absolutely authoritatively true.

He is the authority - the only authority - that is worthy of trusting our lives to - of following through life - now and forever.

We have a choice of foundations.  Satan’s slight of hand world of delusion or God’s truth.  We have a choice of authorities - Satan’s wonderful world of lies and what people think about God - or Jesus speaking with the authority of God.

Thinking about what that choice could look like for each of us - personally - as we head out of here into what’s out there - would could that mean for us - building our lives on God’s truth and giving Jesus complete authority over our lives.

In verse 24 Jesus says that those who are wise - who build on rock and live under His authority - Jesus says that these people are those who hear His words.

First - in thinking through what all this could mean for us - first, We Need To Hear His Words. 

It would be so easy to read these familiar words - here in the Sermon on the Mount - and to respond with complacency.  “Been there.  Done that.  Next.”  To skip past the revolutionary - life re-orientating - reality of what Jesus is showing us about this world and our lives.

The word in Greek for “hear” is “akouō”.  It has the idea of perception - listening and comprehending - understanding - the meaning of what’s being said.

In the book of Revelation - in the first 3 chapters - when Jesus is talking to the seven churches - Jesus ends His message to each church with these words, “He who has an ear, let him hear - same word - “akouō” - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

In Revelation Jesus is telling each church that what He’s saying is crucial for them to hear - it comes directly from God.  Those who know God need to pay attention.  They need to make a choice.  To hear those words or not to hear those words.  Same idea here in the Sermon on the Mount.  To hear is a choice.

There’s a story about some scientists who took a house fly and cut off its wings.  They put the fly on a petri dish and clapped their hands right near the fly.  Which of course just sat there in the petri dish rather than flying off.  The scientists concluded that without wings a fly can’t hear.

God’s people have ears to hear.  The spiritual equipment to hear.  But will we listen?  “He who has ears to hear” is all about the heart of a disciple - the condition of our heart before God - our openness to the work of the Holy Spirit.

Our willingness to take in what we’re hearing - to recognize the danger - to see the precariousness of our position - to seek understanding of what God offers to each one of us.  The authority we give God to use His words to transform our lives.

Let me encourage you to go back - this week - go back and read the Sermon on the Mount all the way through in one setting - Matthew 5 to 7 - like your listening to Jesus teaching it out there on the mount.  Shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes or so. 

Before you start to read - ask God to help you hear Him.  What do Jesus’ words offer to you?  What do you need to hear?  To be open to?  To allow God to show you about your life?  Where does God want to get a hold of your life and transform you forever?

Each of us - individually - needs to choose to hear what Jesus is personally saying to us.

Second - Jesus goes on to say - verse 24:  “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them”   Meaning, We Need To Do His Words. 

Once upon a time, a beautiful, independent, self assured princess happened upon a frog in a pond.  The frog said to the princess, “I was once a handsome prince.  One kiss from you and I will turn back into a prince and then we can marry, move into the castle with my mom, and you can prepare my meals, clean my clothes, bear my children and forever feel happy doing so.”

That night, while the princess dined on frog legs, she kept laughing and saying, “I don't think so.”

The Greek word for “act” is “poieō.”  It has the meaning of taking something like an idea - or something we’re taught - think Jesus’ words to us - and making it into something concrete.  Putting into action what’s going through our brains.

James puts it this way - James 1:22:  “But be doers of the word, and not - what? hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

Have you ever noticed that kids can look in a bathroom mirror - see all the dirt on their face - splash water everywhere - and still leave with dirt on their faces?  They will swear up and down that they’re clean - delusion.  “Be doers - not just hearers who deceive themselves.”

Sometimes when it comes to God’s word we don’t want to see what’s really in the mirror.  What’s really being shown to us.  We try to make the personal implications - the application - the doing of what Jesus says into something less than what He’s telling us.

When it comes to listening to God’s word some of us have selective hearing.  We pick and choose from God’s word.  We only want to do what we think makes sense to us.  Sometimes we’ve gotten so accustomed to what Satan is dishing out - the crud of this world - the lies we’ve heard - the pain we feel - or the toys we own - that we’re fearful to trust God’s word.  Fearful to risk doing something unknown.

God isn’t impressed when we read His Bible.  “Ooouuu.  You read the Bible.  Impressive.”  Or when we come to Him for wisdom.   We can have devotions five times a day and it wouldn’t impress God.

Jesus - in His teaching - isn’t taking us through some intellectual exercise - a discussion of theological and doctrinal principles - trying to get us to listen to Him teaching about our need to love and forgive and to surrender our lives totally to God - to trust Him for everything that we need in life.  Jesus isn’t just some kind of talking head exploring a new philosophical approach to life.

When Jesus is teaching about love He’s teaching us to love - to actually go out there and love others.  To forgive.  To knock off the lust and anger and self-destructive attitudes and behaviors we got stirring around inside us - to actually turn from all that - and to actually surrender our lives - from the heart level - to give everything we are to Him.  To place our lives under the authority of His word.

What He says we do.  Period.

Both of these builders - building houses here in Jesus’ illustration - could have been listeners to the word of God - like those people out on the hill - like each of us here.  Read their Bibles everyday - twice a day.  Been to church every Sunday.  Gone to Bible study - Sunday School.  Had a Bible on their coffee table and commentaries on the shelf.  But that’s not acting on Jesus’ words.

Ever look at a set of instructions - maybe U-Build It Furniture - instructions on how to put something together - every look at that and say to yourself, “They’ve got to be kidding.  I have no clue.”

But - we process this - the only way that what’s in the box is ever going to look like what’s on the cover of the box is to follow the instructions.  To place ourselves under the authority of the instructions and do what they say.

When we act upon God’s word - follow His instructions - we’re set free from being bound by the lies of this world.  We’re set free from trying to do life on our own and to figure out how it all works together - trying to make sense out of all this.  What generally we’ve already messed up anyway.  When we choose to turn from that - to follow God’s word - we’re set free to become all that God has created us to be.

Yosemite in the Spring is awesome.  Yosemite anytime is awesome.  A while back I was up in Yosemite and happened to go by Yosemite Falls - which at that time - after summer was barely a trickle - some moisture on the side of the cliff.  The river below the falls was bone dry. 

At the bridge that goes over where the river is suppose to be - you know what I’m talking about?  At the viewing area - there are these tourists staring up at this moisture on the cliff.  Tourists that have come thousands of miles to see Yosemite - the cliffs - and these awesome waterfalls.  They’re taking pictures - individual pictures - group pictures - lots of pictures - of themselves and this moisture on the cliff.

I thought to myself, “Its too bad they’re having to settle for this.  Its too bad they can’t see this waterfall when its full.  They really have no idea what they’re missing.”

Way too often we settle for so much less than what God desires to pour into our lives - what by His grace and love He continually offers to us.  What God offers us through the resurrected Jesus.  We miss all that because we’re living by our own authority building on some other foundation.

Who needs the lies of this world?  How much better to be blown away by God and all that He offers.

Two questions:  What foundation is your life built on?  What authority controls your life?

_____________________

1. 04.08.07 Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html