A Concluding Call to Kingdom Obedience

Everybody's building.

Every person on the face of the earth is building.

We're all builders.

We're all building.

A person builds a life.

And a person builds a life one decision at a time.

And each decision that someone makes

is based upon what they believe to be true.

In Matthew 5, 6, and 7,

Jesus lays out the Sermon on the Mount.

This is what is true, he says.

And this morning, we come to the close of the Sermon on the Mount.

We're following Jesus' lead here,

and we're bringing our study of the Sermon on the Mount to an end.

And what Jesus does in the Sermon on the Mount,

at the end of the Sermon on the Mount,

is he brings his listeners to a point of decision.

The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus making clear

what God truly means in the Old Testament law and the prophets.

And one of the effects is when he walks us through again and again,

you've heard this say, but I say, again and again and again,

it brings us to an end to ourselves.

We come to a point and say,

I cannot do this 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In Matthew 5, 48, if you just look in your Bibles there,

Jesus says, be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.

It's a call to perfection.

Anybody there?

Jesus very skillfully brings us to a point

where we've got to hold up our hands,

and we've got to say something like,

there is no way I can do this.

There's no way that, hey, I might not murder somebody,

but to not be sinfully angry with somebody,

I can't do that 24-7.

I can't avoid lust all the time.

I can't love my enemy all the time.

In the Sermon on the Mount,

Jesus raises the standard beyond what any of us can do.

He fulfills the true meaning of the law.

And so what the Sermon on the Mount does

is it actually exposes our spiritual bankruptcy.

It shows that we're poor in spirit.

It shows that the only one

who fulfilled the perfect requirements

of the law and the prophets that Jesus lays out

is the one who's preaching the sermon.

He's the only one who lived the Sermon on the Mount perfectly.

And so what Jesus is doing through this Sermon on the Mount

is bringing us to a point where we come to an end of ourselves.

I can't do this.

But he's also bringing us to a point of decision.

What are you going to do?

And so Jesus wants us to see that

we don't have it in and of ourselves

to live out the Sermon on the Mount

but where we say,

I can't,

he always says,

I can't.

The Sermon on the Mount brings us to Jesus.

Jesus is the one who will live his life out through us.

And so this morning,

we're at the end of this sermon,

probably the best sermon ever preached.

And in Matthew chapter 7,

Matthew 7:13–29

verses 13 through 29,

in this extended section,

Jesus is going to call you

to make a decision.

It's going to come out like this.

Choose this day

whom you will obey.

You will need to choose today

whom you're going to obey.

Jesus doesn't leave anything.

He makes it very clear.

You've got two options.

And what he is obviously going to tell us is

choose him.

Obey him.

And so he calls for a decision.

So these 17 verses,

Jesus lays out four options

for you to choose between.

You've got to choose between two paths.

You've got to choose between two prophets.

You've got to choose between two professions.

And you've got to choose between two foundations.

And so Jesus,

over these four times,

gives us options to choose between.

Choose this day

whom you will obey.

And what he's getting at

is this.

Whose authority are you going to come under?

Whose words are you going to build your life on?

Who's going to be in charge of your life?

Choose this day.

Choose this day

who you will obey.

And the one speaking

is the one

whom you must obey.

So four choices

given to us

by the incarnate God himself.

Choose this day

whom you will obey.

Let's look at this.

Verses 13 and 14,

these two paths.

Jesus commands,

enter by the narrow gate.

For the gate is wide

and the way is easy

that leads to destruction.

And those who enter it,

enter by it,

are many.

For the gate is narrow

and the way is hard

that leads to life.

And those who find it

are few.

And so,

in this first option,

Jesus gives us

two paths.

And they stand

in stark contrast

to each other.

Both paths

have a gate,

a starting point.

You can see in verse 15,

excuse me,

13,

enter by the narrow gate

for the gate is wide.

One of the gates

is a wide gate.

And if you

go through a wide gate,

what that means is

it's,

hey,

anybody can come through this gate.

It's really broad.

It's really wide.

It's designed to let

a lot of people

go through at one time.

But there's another gate.

It's a narrow gate.

And a narrow gate

is restrictive.

Do you know

what a turnstile is?

Have you ever been

walking into,

like,

a ball game

or a concert

and the big mob

of people

that wants to get in,

they,

it funnels down

to this one turnstile?

Click,

clink,

click,

clink,

click,

clink,

click,

clink,

only one at a time.

It's a narrow gate.

Jesus says,

enter by the narrow gate.

In John 10,

9,

Jesus says that

he is the door.

He is the gate.

If anyone enters

through him,

he will be saved.

And so from the get-go

in these two paths,

you've got to realize

there's two gates.

There's a wide gate

that lets a lot

of people through

and then there's

a narrow gate.

Jesus is that gate.

But both paths

have distinct ways.

Did you notice that?

There's the broad gate

that opens

to a wide way.

Think of a five-lane highway.

Remember driving

through Atlanta

years ago.

It's a huge highway.

Multiple lanes.

But the broad way,

think about it

this way today.

There are five lanes

in that highway.

There's the lane

of pluralism.

That's where people say,

hey, there are many ways

to heaven or nirvana

or salvation,

whatever you want

to call it.

We're all going

the same direction.

Pluralism.

That's one of the lanes

on this broad way.

Scientism.

You know what

scientism is?

It's the belief

that the final say,

the final authority

on all things

is science.

Many people

are on that path,

that lane.

There's another lane

on this broad way.

It's called materialism.

It's thinking that,

hey, my value,

my joy,

my happiness

is determined

by my net worth

or the abundance

of my possessions.

That's just another lane

on this broad way.

And then there's

this thing called

hedonism,

the pursuit of pleasure.

I will do

whatever I want to do

with whoever

I want to do

whenever I want to do it.

It's a broad way

with many lanes.

Standing in stark contrast

to that broad way

is a narrow way.

When one enters

the narrow gate of Jesus,

he steps onto

the narrow way

of discipleship.

And it's a narrow way.

It's walking

according to the words

of Jesus.

It's living

according to what

he says.

In one sense,

it is restrictive.

In verse 14,

when Jesus says

that this way

is hard,

do you see that?

For the gate is narrow

and the way is hard

that leads to life.

That word hard

means to press.

Like if someone

pressed your nose hard

and started to bleed,

it's part of a word group

in the New Testament

that gets at the word

tribulation.

And so we see it

showing up in Acts 14,

22.

Through many tribulations

we must enter

the kingdom of God.

This narrow way

of discipleship

is a way that's marked

by hardship,

by suffering.

That's what Jesus

has promised.

He says,

just flip back

to the Beatitudes.

And if you turn

to where Jesus

ends all these

blessings,

he says in verse 10,

blessed are those

who are persecuted

for righteousness' sake.

Verse 11,

blessed are you

when others revile you

and persecute you

and utter all kinds

of evil against you

falsely on my account.

When you get on

the narrow way

through the gate of Jesus,

it's going to go hard

for you.

It's not a cakewalk.

And Jesus doesn't put it

in small print.

He's like right up front.

It's not going to be easy.

And so the narrow way

of discipleship,

it's not,

it's completely different

than the broad way.

There's not pluralism.

For us who follow Jesus,

it's exclusively

about Jesus.

It's only through Christ

that you can be saved.

There's only one name

given among men

under heaven

by which man can be saved.

That's the name of Jesus.

Jesus.

Scientism isn't

our final authority.

The words of Jesus

are our final authority.

The Bible is our final.

God speaking to us.

Greed isn't a lane

we travel on.

We don't store up

treasures on earth,

but treasures in heaven.

We don't live for the dot,

we live for the line.

And we're not living

as hedonists.

I'll want whatever I want

with whoever I want

whenever.

It's not what I want,

it's what He wants.

You see,

the narrow path is,

it's a way of submission

to Jesus.

It's living under His authority.

It's obedience to His words.

And it stands in stark contrast

to the broad way.

So we've seen two gates,

we've seen two ways,

but there are also

two destinations.

Did you notice that?

Enter by the narrow gate

for the gate is wide

and the way is easy.

That leads to destruction.

The broad way,

this multi-lane highway

is on its way

to destruction.

And Jesus is talking

about eschatological destruction.

It's a fancy way

for saying end times,

final destruction.

He's talking about hell,

eternal torment,

outer darkness,

the place where there's

weeping and gnashing of teeth.

He compares it

to a burning trash dump.

Jesus talks about hell

more than He talks

about heaven.

And what He's saying here

is this multi-lane highway,

pluralism, scientism,

materialism, hedonism,

it's all going somewhere.

Apart from Christ,

that is moving towards destruction.

But the narrow gate,

the hard way,

the Jesus way,

that doesn't lead

to destruction.

That leads to life.

It leads to eternal life.

That leads to

seeing Jesus face to face,

being in His company

for eternity.

Not in outer darkness,

but in His presence.

Not weeping and gnashing

of teeth,

but wide-mouthed joy.

Both paths have travelers

on them.

There are many

on the broad way.

Many on the way

to eternal torment.

Many on the path

to destruction.

But Jesus' way

that leads to life,

there are relatively few.

As followers of Jesus,

what you need to understand

is that we're in the minority.

We're a minority people group.

It is not popular

to go on the narrow path.

The popular way

is the broad way.

The hard way

is the Jesus way.

And so here are two paths

between,

and you need to choose one.

You need to pick

which path

you're going to live on.

You're going to pick

which gate

you're going to go through.

Now there are warnings here.

Now imagine

that you have been

walking on the broad way.

You've been living

a life of a hedonist.

You've been living

under that thinking that,

hey, there are many ways

to God.

What's the big deal?

And as you're walking

on that broad way,

you've got to realize,

Jesus is like

on the side of the broad way

and He is waving to you.

He's saying,

come off the broad way.

Turn from the broad way.

Do you not know

where the broad way is going?

Come to me.

Come to my path.

Come to life.

life.

He's beckoning you

if you're on the broad way

and you know it

to turn off

the broad way

and to come to Him.

Come follow Him.

Come under

His saving reign.

Will you obey Him?

Will you say,

Jesus, Jesus?

There's one more piece

I want to clarify here

because I think

that there's some confusion

on this.

If you think

that you can live life

with one foot

in the broad way

and one foot

in the narrow way,

you are deceiving yourself.

Jesus does not give you

that option.

If you're not

fully in the narrow way,

you're in the broad way.

There's one more lane.

It's the lane of compromise.

On the broad way.

It's the lane that Judas walked.

It's the lane that Demas,

who, in love for the world,

abandoned Paul.

It's a broad path

and compromise is on it.

You can't walk both paths simultaneously.

You're either in one

or you're in the other.

And Jesus says,

today,

choose the path

of life.

Choose the narrow gate.

Choose the narrow way.

Choose life.

Choose Jesus.

Jesus.

whom

this day

will you obey.

Two paths.

Now let's look at two prophets.

Verses 15 through 20.

Beware of false prophets

who come to you

in sheep's clothing,

but inwardly

are ravenous wolves.

You will recognize them

by their fruits.

Are grapes gathered

from thorn bushes

or figs from thistles?

So every healthy tree

bears good fruit,

but the diseased tree

bears bad fruit.

A healthy tree

cannot bear bad fruit,

nor can a diseased tree

bear good fruit.

Every tree

that does not bear good fruit

is cut down

and thrown

into the fire.

Thus,

you will recognize them

by their fruit.

Today,

you need to choose

whom you're going

to listen to.

Whose words

you're going to believe.

Because what

you believe

matters.

You will build

your life

on someone's words.

Jesus says,

beware.

Take heed.

Watch out

for false prophets.

Literally,

pseudo-prophets.

And what Jesus

is doing in this

section is making

a distinction

between false prophets

and true prophets.

He's saying,

choose who you're

going to listen to.

Choose who you're

going to follow.

Choose the one

who's going to direct

you down which

path.

Now,

a prophet is someone

who speaks

on behalf of God.

He speaks

God's word.

And what God

calls a prophet

to do is

God says,

speak the truth,

the whole truth,

and nothing

but the truth.

You don't

take away

from what God

is saying.

You don't add

to what God

is saying.

and for sure

you don't make

something up

and say,

it's God

speaking.

A false prophet

is someone

who's claiming

to speak for God

but is leaving

words out.

They're adding

to his words.

They're making

stuff up

and slapping

God on it.

In verse 15,

Jesus tells us

why we must

be aware.

Look at verse 15.

Beware of false

prophets who come

to you,

to you,

in sheep's clothing,

in our inwardly

ravenous woes.

False prophets

have an agenda.

They come

into a church

and they're dressed

up like a nice

Christian

but they got

an agenda.

They're wanting

to mislead

God's people.

They want

to feed them

with falsehood

and bring

destruction

and harm

to God's people.

Who are they

looking,

who are these

ravenous wolves

looking to

shred apart

God's sheep,

the flock of God,

God's people?

Well,

you can believe

that Jesus

has an issue

with these

false prophets.

False prophets

are false shepherds

who mislead

God's people

by their false

words.

They claim

an authority

from God

but their message

and their life

and their fruit

show that

they're imposters.

sinners.

Now,

if you're

wondering now,

like,

how do I

recognize

a false prophet?

Jesus is a step

ahead of you.

Jesus moves

from talking

about shepherding

wolves and sheep

to horticulture.

He starts talking

about trees

and fruit.

And we see

that in verse

16,

you will recognize

them by their

fruits.

And then down

in verse 20,

thus you will

recognize them

by their fruits.

We are going

to recognize

false prophets

by their fruit.

It might take

a little time

but we will

recognize them.

Now,

before I point

you to three

tests,

three kind of

steps to take

for fruit inspection,

I want to let

you know this.

The New Testament

is very clear.

There will

be

false prophets

who seek

to come

among us.

Jesus warns

it in Matthew

24,

11.

Paul brings

together the

elders of

Ephesus and

Miletus and

says,

be aware.

And he says

to them,

from among you

elders there will

be false prophets.

Wolves,

he calls them.

It's very

sobering.

2 Timothy 4,

3,

2 Peter 2,

1 through 3,

1 John 4,

1.

The New Testament

is very clear.

There's going

to be false

teachers who

are going

to want

to come

in and

influence

God's

church.

Okay.

I've got

some serious

questions about

Joel Olsteen.

I've got some

serious questions

about Joyce

Myers,

Kerflo Dollar.

I've got some

serious questions

about them.

They're

concerning to

me.

They're on

dangerous ground.

So how do

you recognize

a false

prophet?

Three tests.

You start

with a

thump

test.

Like a

cantaloupe.

You thump

a cantaloupe.

You're

thumping

for truth.

Are they

speaking truth?

Are they

saying what

God says?

Are they

leaving

something out?

Are they

adding

something to

it?

Are they

making this

up on

their own?

You know,

one of the

clearest

tests is

right from

the text.

It's

this.

Are they

teaching

the narrow

way?

Are they

saying that

it's only

through Jesus

you can be

saved?

That is a

very effective

test for a

false prophet.

Do you

say that

Jesus is

the only

way?

Or do

you think

that there

are many

ways to

Jesus?

It's only

through Jesus.

And do

they say

that the

way of

discipleship

is easy?

Or do

they say

that the

way of

discipleship

is hard?

There's a

distortion of

the gospel

being propagated

out there.

It's called

the prosperity

gospel.

It goes

something like

this.

Oh,

your father

in heaven

wants good

for you.

And so

he wants

you to be

experiencing

the abundant

life.

And what

is the

abundant

life?

The abundant

life,

it means

that you

have all

health

possible

and that

you are

well off.

That you're

healthy and

that you're

wealthy.

That's what

God your

father wants

for you.

So you

just need

to ask him

for that.

And then

keep on

asking.

And if you

don't have

it, it's

on you.

You just

don't have

enough faith.

Oh, by the

way, send

us a check

just to show

because we're

trusting that

God is going

to make us

healthy and

wealthy.

Jesus doesn't

teach that.

Jesus doesn't

say the way

of discipleship

is easy.

He says it's

hard and

narrow, that

you're going

to suffer, it's

going to be

difficult.

That's how you

get this stuff

out.

Thump,

thump,

are you

speaking truth?

Are you

making stuff

up to pad

your pocket?

Second

test is the

sniff test.

Does their

lifestyle square

with God's

word?

Do that, are

they walking

the narrow

way?

You know, one

of the things

that 2 Peter

raises in its

denunciation of

false prophets

is they do

it for greed.

they do it

for money.

They do it

for building

up wealth.

Does their

lifestyle square

with the call

of Jesus

to lay up

treasures in

heaven, not

on earth?

you know what?

There are a

group of

people who

are preaching

the prosperity

gospel, and

do you know

what they're

doing?

They fly in

their private

jets to

nations, third

world countries,

fill stadiums,

collect money,

and then fly

back home.

We're exporting

it.

What does

Jesus think

of that?

Lord, have

mercy.

The third

fruit is the

taste fruit.

Taste test.

What effect

is their

ministry having

on others?

What is the

effect?

What is it

producing?

Is it

producing people

who are walking

through the

narrow gate, who

are saying, I'm

going to go the

hard way, I'm

going to follow

Jesus no matter

what comes, or

is it confusing

people?

Is it giving

people license to

compromise?

Jeremiah 6

warns against

false prophets.

They're preaching

peace, peace,

when there is

no peace.

it matters to

God.

Holiness matters

to God.

The true

prophets, the

good trees, the

healthy trees, not

the bad trees, not

the diseased

trees, the good

trees.

These prophets

seek to speak

God's word

carefully.

They don't want

to leave anything

out.

They don't want

to add anything

to it, and

they're certainly

not going to

tell you something

that they think

you should hear

in the name

of God.

They're not

going to say,

write me a

check, thus

saith the

Lord.

They don't

do that.

True

prophets know

that God's

words, His

very words, are

life to His

sheep.

They want to

feed the

sheep with

God's word.

They're good

trees that

produce good

fruit.

And so

this morning,

you need to

choose who

you're going

to listen

to.

What

prophets are

you going to

listen to

their

podcasts?

When they

proclaim Jesus

as the only

way, and

they call you

to a hard

way that leads

to life, that

their lives

reflect their

message.

It's not about

greed.

It's not about

power.

It's not about

prestige.

But these

true prophets

are seeking to

be humble

servants, stewards

of the very

words of God.

Their ministry

results in

clear-minded

followers of

Jesus who

don't compromise,

but are

wholeheartedly

obedient to

their King.

did you

know?

Did you notice

verse 19?

Every tree,

every diseased

tree, every

false prophet

that does not

bear good

fruit is cut

down and

thrown into

the fire.

Eschatological

fire.

Judgment.

Jesus doesn't

mince words

about false

prophets.

He takes it

very serious

because his

people's health

are at stake.

The way of

salvation is

under challenge.

Very serious.

So choose this

day whom you

will listen to.

Are you going to

listen to false

prophets or are you

going to listen to

prophets sent to you

from Jesus himself?

Well, we've

moved from two

prophets now.

Let's look at two

professions.

Verses 21

through 23.

Not everyone

who says to me,

this is really

hard, what

you're about to

read.

Not everyone

who says to me,

Lord, Lord,

will enter the

kingdom of heaven,

but the one who

does the will of

my Father who is

in heaven.

On that day,

many will say

to me,

Lord, Lord,

did we not

prophesy in your

name and cast

out demons in

your name and do

many mighty works

in your name and

then will I

declare to them,

I never knew

you.

Depart from me,

you workers of

lawlessness.

Jesus raises a

very, very

sobering truth

for us here.

There will be

some, he

says, many

on the day

of judgment

who will go

to the day

of judgment

and stand

before Christ

the King

and they will

say, Lord,

Lord.

Only to hear

that Jesus

declares, I

never knew you.

Depart from me,

you worker of

lawlessness.

There are two

claims being made

here.

There are two

professions that

Jesus is laying

out in front of

us.

Two professions

we need to

choose between.

The false

claim of

Lord, Lord,

and the true

claim of an

obedient life.

Now, don't

get me wrong.

Confessing that

Jesus is Lord

is essential to

being saved.

Romans 10, 9,

if you confess

with your mouth

that Jesus is

Lord and believe

with your heart

that God raised

him from the

dead, you will

be saved.

And so, confessing

Jesus is Lord is

essential to being

saved, but it

doesn't necessarily

prove you're

saved.

Just because you

publicly declared

Jesus to be your

Lord doesn't mean

he's actually your

Lord.

What Jesus is

saying, there's

going to be some

people on that

day are saying

one thing, but

they've been doing

another.

And it doesn't

get by the

king.

In other words,

a claim to

Jesus'

lordship over

your life without

a life that is

changing because

you're seeking to

obey the will of

the Father.

Do you know

what that is?

That's a false

profession.

It's a false

claim.

But a claim of

Jesus being my

Lord that is

coupled by a life

that's changing

because you're

hearing the words

of your king and

you're wanting to

obey them and do

them and you're

trying to walk in

the narrow way,

that's legit.

That's a real

profession.

That evidence is

real conversion.

So what's the

litmus test?

How do you know

if someone is

genuinely a follower

of Jesus?

How do you know

if someone's walking

the narrow way or

not?

It's really simple

according to Jesus.

are they obeying his

words?

Are they doing what

he says?

Our conversion to

Christ is

demonstrated not

just in word

only.

Our conversion to

Christ is

demonstrated in

word and deed,

a changed life.

and not just any

deeds.

Jesus is talking

about obedience to

the will of his

father.

Moral obedience.

Isn't it sobering

when you read verse

22?

On that day,

many will say to

me,

Lord, Lord,

did we not

prophesy in your

name?

That's a deed.

Did we not

cast out demons

in your name?

That's a deed.

Did we not do

mighty works,

miracles in your

name?

Lord, Lord,

did we not do

this?

Let us in.

Let us in.

I never knew

you.

You were never

a part of my

kingdom.

In many

Christian circles

today,

deeds like

prophesying,

casting out

demons,

working miracles,

people are like,

wow, you're

awesome.

That's really

cool.

You're legit.

But Jesus is

not impressed

with that.

You can be

doing all

this stuff

in his

name and

not be

saved.

I never

knew you.

If it's not

these kinds

of deeds,

what are the

deeds?

What kind

of doing

delights

Jesus?

If these

kinds of

deeds of

prophesying

and casting

out demons

and performing

miracles,

if that's not

endearing to

the Savior,

what kind

of deeds

are?

What kind

of deeds

are?

not everyone

who says

to me,

Lord,

Lord,

will enter

the kingdom

of heaven,

but the

one who

does the

will of

my Father

in heaven.

That delights

our King,

obeying

his commands.

God's

so don't

murder

and don't

get sinfully

angry at

people.

Don't

cheat on

your spouse

and don't

sexually lust

after people.

Yes,

Lord,

yes,

Lord,

help me,

Lord.

That's

where he

wants us

obeying.

As Jesus

is saying

here that

works save

you,

he's not

saying that.

All he's

saying here

is that

genuine

faith in

him

results in

real

obedience

to the

will of

the Father.

It's

yes,

oh,

the commandments

of God

are not

burdensome,

1 John.

It's our

delight.

I want to

obey.

It's not

easy,

but I

want to.

Good works

don't save

any of us.

Only Jesus

and through

his blood

and resurrection

that's what

saves us.

But Jesus

didn't save

us in

order to

navel

gaze.

He saved

us for

good works.

Ephesians

2,

8,

9,

and 10.

Titus

2,

11 through

14.

James,

when he

says,

faith without

works is

dead,

what he's

getting at

is that,

hey,

if you're

saying you

believe in

Jesus but

it doesn't

show up in

a changed

life,

you're not

really

believing in

Jesus.

The chief

characteristic of

those on the

hard,

narrow way of

discipleship is

obedience.

Choose this

day whom

you will

obey.

There's some,

there's a

beautiful passage,

I actually,

I read it this

morning in my

devotions,

it's 1 John

2,

4 through 6.

How do you

know that

someone is a

child of God

when they

keep his

commandments?

obedience.

So here are

some implications

to what Jesus

is saying

here.

These,

these two

professions,

it should

sober you

up.

It should,

it should

make you

ask this

question,

am I

obeying

Jesus or

is it just

lip service

I'm giving

him?

Are you

seeking to

obey him?

Is there a

command right

now you're

asking help

for to

obey?

Because you

want to

please him.

You know,

J.C.

Ryle said

this,

many strange

things will

happen on

the day of

judgment.

And this

is one of

them.

Lord,

Lord,

I never

knew you.

Here's another

implication.

So first,

be warned,

take it to

heart.

Second,

it changes

your parenting.

If you're a

parent and

your goal

is to

get your

child to

pray a

prayer in

which he

or she

asks Jesus

into their

heart and

on that

moment you're

like,

okay,

on that

day my

four-year-old

was saved.

They will

need to make

a decision

for Jesus.

But what

Jesus is

calling us

to here is

not so much

asking Jesus

into your

heart,

but all of

your heart

obeying

Jesus.

And so as

parents,

when we

raise our

children in

the fear and

admonition of

the Lord,

what we're

trying to do

is not

trying to

make them

make a

decision,

what we're

trying to

help them

see is,

sweetheart,

God is

calling you

to follow

him.

This is

another area

in which God

wants your

heart,

you need to

trust in

him.

And because

you're not,

it shows

you're in

need of

him.

it changes

our parenting.

I don't want

any of my

kids saying,

Lord,

Lord,

I grew up

in a

pastor's

house,

let me

in.

That won't

do anything.

Choose

this day

whom you

live.

There's one

more implication

to this.

I'm not sure

if you

noticed it.

Did you

notice the

phrase,

on that

day?

Again,

Jesus is

talking about

eschatological

judgment.

And do you

know who's

the judge

on that

day?

Jesus is

the judge.

Do you

understand the

claim he's

making right

now?

He's God

in the

flesh.

He's going

to judge

it all.

You've

got to

stand before

him on

that day.

Two

professions.

Let's

move to

two

foundations.

This is

the parable

that we

all,

many of

us know,

many of

us grew

up singing

about.

Two

foundations.

This is

in verses

24-27.

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

mine 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.

We got to

be very

clear on the

comparison Jesus

is making

here.

Jesus is

moving from

saying without

doing, a

false profession,

to now

hearing without

doing.

hearing these

words of

mine.

And the

comparison Jesus

is making, you

see it in

verse 24,

everyone then

who hears

these words

of mine

and does

them,

contrasted to

verse 26,

and everyone

who hears

these words

of mine

and does

not do

them.

The parable

is a

contrast

that gets

at this

issue of

obedience.

who will

you obey

today?

The contrast

is between

those who

hear and

obey and

those who

hear and

disobey.

They do

not do

what Jesus

says to

do.

Jesus

likens

the one

who hears

and obeys

his words

to a wise

man who

builds his

house on

the rock.

The rock

are the

words of

Jesus.

Jesus

says,

everyone who