Do What I Say

Well, over the summer, we've been looking at one of the sermons that Jesus gave early on in his public ministry, which we read about in Luke chapter 6.

Luke 6 · chapter mention

And today we're going to hear about how Jesus brought this sermon to a close.

And as a reminder, you're welcome to open to there in your Bible, Jesus spoke about a variety of things on this particular occasion.

He talked about the great reversal that was coming for his followers, and how though they may face hardship and sorrows now,

they are blessed because they will soon inherit the kingdom of God, and they will soon see all their tears replaced with joy.

In contrast, Jesus also warned about how there was a great reversal coming for those who do not receive him,

and how their times of comfort and laughter will be replaced with want and weeping.

Jesus then talked about how his followers should respond to mistreatment from others.

He taught that we are to love our enemies and not retaliate.

Instead, we're to respond with kindness and mercy and generosity, treating others the way we would want to be treated.

After all, that's how God has dealt with us, despite how we've treated him.

And Jesus said that there's a reward in store for those who show that same kind of love to others, even when it's hard.

Then we heard Jesus exhort his followers not to be judgmental and hypercritical of others.

Instead, we're to be gracious and forgiving.

First, looking at the faults in ourselves and making sure that we address those things before trying to help others with their issues.

And then last week, we heard Jesus warn about false prophets and teachers and how to recognize them,

how to discern what's inside a person by the fruit that eventually comes from their lives.

Well, now Jesus finally brings this sermon to a close,

and we're going to hear how he concludes in Luke 6, verse 46.

Luke 6:46

Let me read it for us.

Jesus says,

Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?

As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice,

I will show you what they are like.

They are like a man building a house who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.

When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it because it was well built.

But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.

The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.

Probably most of us are quite familiar with these words of Jesus.

They've made it into some of the songs we sing even from early childhood in the church.

The wise man built his house upon the rock.

Maybe you remember singing that when you were young.

Or my daughter Sophie's favorite.

Don't build your house on the sandy land.

And then later we learned some of the old hymns.

On Christ the solid rock I stand.

All other ground is sinking sand.

So we're very familiar with these words.

And yet even though we're familiar with them, they don't easily lose their impact.

They're shocking.

They're powerful images that speak to our hearts again and again.

And let's look at this first statement of Jesus here in verse 46.

He says,

Why do you call me Lord?

Lord.

And do not do what I say.

This is the shocking part.

And here in Luke's gospel, this is just an abbreviated version of what Jesus said on this occasion.

The fuller version of this is in Matthew's gospel.

But can you imagine ending a speech in this way?

Or a class lesson in this way?

Why do you call me the honored guest speaker?

And don't do what I say.

Or why do you call me the teacher?

And don't do what I say.

It's kind of jolting, isn't it?

Jesus ends his sermon by calling out all the pretenders in his audience.

It's like he's saying, there are many of you here who aren't taking me seriously right now.

You've been following me around.

You've been calling me your Lord, your Master.

Just like my true followers do.

And yet you're completely disregarding my words.

You're doing the very things I'm telling you not to do.

And you're neglecting to do the things that I'm instructing you to do.

Even early on here in Jesus' ministry, hypocrisy was a problem.

Religious hypocrisy.

Pretending to be a follower of Jesus was a real thing.

Today, we call this nominalism.

It has to do with people who are Christians in name only.

People who claim Jesus to be their Lord, their Master, their Savior, their King.

And yet their claim is hollow as seen by the fruit in their lives.

There's the connection to what Jesus said just before this.

When it comes right down to it, they don't live according to Jesus' words.

How they live betrays their profession of faith.

And it's shocking because maybe there were many in the crowd that day who felt quite comfortable

keeping their doubts and their skepticism to themselves.

You know, we'll just try and blend in with the rest of them for now.

But now it's like Jesus is looking them all straight in the face and saying,

You can't fool me.

What you really believe about me is plainly on display in how you live.

How you respond to my words.

And so it's pointless to try and fake it.

It's pointless to pretend to be my disciple.

When you're living says otherwise.

Why do you call me Lord, Lord?

And do not do what I say.

A true disciple of Jesus

takes Jesus' words seriously

and does what Jesus says.

A true disciple of Jesus

takes Jesus' words seriously

and does what Jesus says.

Or to say it another way,

if Jesus really is your Lord,

your Master,

then you will do what He says.

Jesus then brings this point

to a close

with one final illustration.

As for everyone who comes to me

and hears my words

and puts them into practice,

I will show you what they are like.

They are like a man building a house

who dug down deep

and laid the foundation on rock.

When a flood came,

the torrent struck that house

but could not shake it.

Because it was well built.

But the one who hears my words

and does not put them into practice

is like a man who built a house

on the ground without a foundation.

The moment the torrent struck that house,

it collapsed.

And its destruction was complete.

So there's essentially two responses

that we can have to Jesus' words.

His words in this sermon

and all His other words as well.

There are two responses.

We can hear them

and put them into practice.

Or we can hear them

and not put them into practice.

And Jesus gives an analogy for each.

He says,

The person who hears my words

and puts them into practice,

that man's like a man

who in building his house

dug down deep

and laid a foundation

on rock.

But the person who hears my words

and does not put them into practice,

says Jesus,

is like a man who in building his house

doesn't even bother

to build it on a foundation.

Just builds it right on the ground.

No footing,

no piles,

no bedrock,

nothing.

Just stands up the walls,

nails them together

right there on the ground.

Matthew,

in his gospel,

even records Jesus

as saying,

what kind of ground?

Sand

or loose dirt

kind of ground.

Also in Matthew's gospel,

Jesus

very explicitly

describes the character

behind this decision.

He says,

One of these decisions

is wise

and one of these decisions

is foolish.

And I think it's obvious

which is which.

But you know,

initially,

there may seem to be

no consequence.

Both men have a house

to live in.

Once it's finished,

the foundation

is not really that visible

except to people

who like to look

for those things.

The foolish man

may even congratulate himself

since he didn't have to go

to as much trouble

or expense

or time

to do all that digging

and foundation stuff.

I was thinking back

to Jesus' days.

Like,

they didn't have

backhoes then.

This was by hand.

They would do this digging.

So initially,

there may seem

to be no consequence.

In fact,

it may even be

that the foolish man

is ahead.

But then

comes the flood.

This is where

the difference

in the two houses

is seen.

And the language

Jesus uses

to describe the flood

is quite vivid.

This is a picture

of a river

overflowing its banks

and a part of that river

crashing

or breaking

against the house.

The video footage

we're about to see

comes from the flood

that happened

just this summer

on July 4th

in Texas.

and this video

is sped up

as you'll see

on screen

but it shows

what happened

in just 10 minutes

to one of the roads.

10 minutes.

That's a lot of water.

Here's a second clip

showing some

of the effects.

That's a house

colliding with a bridge.

It's like this

for miles

and miles

and miles.

Can you kill the audio

on it, Rob?

So utter devastation.

An estimated

38,000 homes

damaged

and 138 people

have been found dead

and sadly

there were many

children among them.

Here's a man

standing in what's

left of his living room.

You can see

some of his roof

and the walls

of his house

on the ground

behind him.

hear these words

of Jesus.

The one who

hears my words

and does not

put them into practice

is like a man

who built a house

on the ground

without a foundation.

The moment

the torrent

struck that house

it collapsed

and its destruction

was complete.

Jesus is saying

that this

is the situation

this will be

the situation

for the person

who hears my words

and doesn't

take them seriously.

Fortunately

for this man

he wasn't in his house

sleeping

when it collapsed.

But this is a picture

of complete loss.

Total

destruction.

And that

says Jesus

is what awaits

those who

disregard my words.

Those who do not

act on them.

up until this point

in the analogy

Jesus has been

quite clear

of what the elements

of this analogy

refer to.

The building

of the foundation

refers to

hearing his words

and putting them

into practice.

Not building

the foundation

refers to

not

putting the words

of Jesus

into practice.

But what does

the flood

represent?

what does

the torrential

flood

that comes

crashing

against the house

represent?

Jesus

leaves it up

to us

to figure it out.

But I think

he knows

that we know

what it represents.

The torrential

flood

represents

God's judgment

which is coming

for all of us.

And it's not

because God

is vindictive

or unkind

that his judgment

is coming

but because

of our rebellion

our wickedness

our sins.

The Bible

tells us

that God

is bringing

this catastrophic

flood of judgment

at the end

because he

is good

and because

he is just

and because

we really

do deserve

it.

It will be

the ultimate

disaster

that sweeps

us all away

and completely

ruins us

unless

unless

we have

heard

and truly

believed

and put

into practice

the words

of Jesus.

He is the

salvation

that we need.

He

is the

rescue.

If we hear

his words

and do

as he

says

we will

be saved.

And when

the flood

of God's

judgment

comes

this is

going to

be the

outcome

for us

instead

says

Jesus.

Those who

hear my

words

and put

them

into

practice

are like

a man

building

a house

who dug

down deep

and laid

the foundation

on rock.

When a flood

came

the torrent

struck that

house

but could

not shake

it

because it

was well

built.

The torrent

struck

but could

not

shake

it.

So there

is a way

to pass

through the

coming flood

of God's

righteous

judgment.

We will

not be

disturbed

moved

or shaken

by it.

We will

be completely

spared

of its

devastation

so long

as we are

well founded

having truly

believed

and taken

seriously

the words

of Jesus.

And we

might wonder

how do we

know if

we are

truly

believing

the words

of Jesus?

How do we

know if

we are

taking

Jesus'

words

seriously?

Well we

know

that we

do

if we

put his

words

into

practice

and do

them.

If we

do what

he says

that

reveals

whether

he is

truly

our

Lord

truly

our

master.

Very

simply

Jesus

shows us

our

choice.

Hear

his

words

and put

them

into

practice

or hear

his

words

and ignore

them.

Don't

put them

into

practice.

One

choice

is wise

and leads

to life.

The

other

is foolish

says

Jesus

and leads

to

disaster.

And so

I want

to ask

you

very

simply

this

morning

have

you

made

the

wise

choice?

Have

you

made

the

wise

choice?

Have

you

come

to

Jesus

not

just

to

hear

his

words

but

have

you

embraced

his

words?

Are

you

putting

them

into

practice

in

your

life?

If

you

haven't

made

this

wise

choice

yet

then

I

want

to

urge

you

make

it

make

it

today

we

don't

know

how

long

each

of

us

has

before

we

take

our

last

breath

and

that's

it

make

the

wise

choice

today

begin

to

put

into

practice

and

obey

the

words

of

Jesus

that

is

true

faith

anything

less

than

that

is

pointless

pretending

now

I

know

that

many

of

you

here

have

made

the

wise

choice

already

that

makes

me

rejoice

inside

you

have

believed

in

Jesus

you

have

owned

him

as

your

Lord

and

you

are

trying

to

put

his

words

into

practice

and

so

if

that's

you

this

morning

and

I

think

you

know

if

it

is

take

comfort

rest

secure

the

coming

devastation

will

not

shake

you

Christ

took

the

punishment

that we

deserve

on

himself

so that

we

could be

spared

and if

we

belong

to

Christ

we

are

safe

forever

what a

comfort

that

being

true

we

should

not

let

the

salvation

which

we

now

have

become

an

excuse

to

do

less

of

what

Jesus

has

told

us

to

do

these

are

the

words

that

really

stuck

in

my

heart

and

mind

this

week

here's

my

words

and

puts

them

into

practice

if

Jesus

really

is

our

Lord

and

our

master

our

king

the

one

we

pledged

allegiance

to

then

we

should

make

it

the

very

mission

of

our

lives

to

put

his

words

into

practice

more

and

more

every

day

to

learn

what

he

has

said

by

reading

it

in

our

Bibles

and

to

carry

out

his

commands

and

instructions

as

best

and

as

much

as

we

can

and

not

just

these

instructions

here

in

this

one

sermon

but

all

of

his

instructions

all

of

his

commands

which

we

find

throughout

the

rest

of

the

pages

of

this

book

this

is

what

it

really

means

to

believe

in

Jesus

and

to

be

a

follower

of

Jesus

and

so

I

want

to

ask

you

is

that

your

mindset

to

go

after

a

deeper

understanding

of

Jesus

words

and

more

to

go

after

a

fuller

obedience

to

Jesus

words

this

is

priority

number

one

for

all

of

Jesus

disciples

this

is

priority

for

the

disciples

he

was

speaking

to

back

then

in

the

crowd

and

this

is

his

number

one

priority

for

us

today

who

call

him

Lord

let's

do

what

he

says

let's

not

sit

back

and

coast

along

content

with

what

we've

already

done

the

Lord

has

us

here

each

day

on

this

earth

for

a

reason

and

it's

to

do

what

he

says

to

bear

much

fruit

for

his

glory

to

do

the

works

which

he

prepared

which

God

prepared

in

advance

for

us

to

do

maybe

you're

a true

Christian

but

have

fallen

into

complacency

or

apathy

if

that's

you

this

morning

let

these

words

wake

you

up

we

have

words

of

Jesus

to

put

into

practice

to

do

the

race

is

not

over

yet

let's

throw

off

everything

that

hinders

and

the

sin

that

so

easily

entangles

and run

with

perseverance

this race

that's

marked

out

for

us

fixing

our

eyes

on

Jesus

the

author

and

perfecter

of

our

faith

Jesus

has

given

us

a

clear

mission

go

and

make

disciples

of

all

nations

let's

not

forget

the

mission

the

mission

is

not

to

get

the

job

we're

most

interested

in

or

the

house

that

we've

always

wanted

or

the

vehicle

that

we

really

like

the

mission

is

not

to

dial

up

the

comforts

and

the

pleasures

and

spend

as

much

time

as

possible

in

sport

or

hobby

or

recreation

the

mission

is

not

to

get

the

ideal

picture

perfect

family

whatever

that

is

in

our

definition

it's

to

spend

our

days

living

for

Christ

doing

what

he

says

is

that

your

priority

number

one

I

think

to

those

words

of

Paul

the

apostle

Paul

to

live

!

is

Christ

he

said

and

to

die

that's

gain

because

then

I

get

to

be

with

him

but

if

I'm

to

go

on

living

in

the

body

he

said

this

will

mean

fruitful

labor

for

me

the

kind

of

labor

that

sees

more

people

come

to

hear

about

Jesus

and

follow

him

as

we

think

about

this

whole

analogy

of

the

house

and

the

flood

I'm

reminded

that we

shouldn't

just be

focused

on our

own

house

but

that

there

are

still

others

in

this

world

who

haven't

heard

of

Jesus

Jesus

is on

a rescue

mission

and if

we're

enjoined

to him

because

he is

our

Lord

then that

puts

us

on

that

same

mission

with

him

we

don't

want

to

see

anybody

get

swept

away

by

the

torrent

that's

coming

at

the

end

so

I

just

want

to

ask

you

is

that

your

priority

today

your

number

one

priority

to

do

what

the

Lord

says

let's

pray

Lord

Jesus

thank you

for these

words

which you

spoke

long

ago

and

which

still

are

powerful

today

in our

lives

you

know

the

things

that

are

holding

us

back

the

things

that

are

distracting

us

the

things

that

are

keeping

us

from

following

you

with

all

our

heart

and

I

pray

that

you

would

set

us

free

from

those

things

and

that

you

would

unleash

us

with

your

power

to

do

the

things

you

said

that

may

look

different

for

different

people

in

this

room

in

our

church

but

we

want

to

be

used

by

you

we

want

to

serve

you

and

one

day

you're

going

to

bust

through

the

clouds

and

we

want

to

be

found

doing

what

you

have

given

us

to

do

stir

that

fire

in our

hearts

if

we've

lost

it

keep

it

burning

if

we

haven't

we

commit

ourselves

to

you

for

your

glory

amen