The Plain Sermon of Heaven Rules | Elder Ang Peng Hoe

You're listening to a message to go from next church. We hope this message

will light up your day. I've been praying on what to share, and

so the team that the Lord led me to us just share Jesus as sermons,

okay, And of course I'm like, oh, Jesus as sermons,

yeah, Ken. Of course, the most famous one we all know it's

the Sermon on the Mound. And then, of course you look at the

Sermon on the Mound, you realize that it's pretty long. If you think

speakers nowadays are chong hey, very long winded, I think Jesus can preach

longer messages. So Sermon on the Mound is above three to four chapters.

I think it's chapter five all the way to chapter seven of the Book of

Math. You and I was like, should I go into that? There

will probably be a whole Bible study on his own, You'll probably and I'm

one hundred pages if I'm going to share the entire Sermon on the Mound,

because there's a lot of different teachings. Of course, together with a Sermon

on the Mound, there's actually another sermon called the Sermon on the Plane,

as in Plateau, a plane ground and it's actually taken from the Book of

Luke, and he has some similarities with the Sermon on the Mound, And

sometimes some people have argued that the Sermon on the Plane could be the Sermon

on the Mound from another gospel writer's perspective. Certainly, he actually does seem

to cover quite similar ground. That means, if you read Luke's account and

you read Matthew's account, there are similarities, but Luke's account is much shorter,

so I can sort of condense it all into one message. So I

do I do want to be preaching, and I'm going to be preaching from

the Sermon on the Plane as as it is affectionately known. But some people

also like to pick four with the Bible because they try to highlight all those

Look, there's contradictions. Uh, you know, isn't it obvious if it's

the same message that the one in Matthew is preached on the mountain and the

one in Looke is preached on flat land, and that not the entire content

of the sermon is similar. H So I'm not sure if there is any

contradictions here at all, because the only thing that is obvious is I'm very

sure, Jesus preached many messages too, and he repeated his teachings on different

occasions at different places, to different crowds. And so what he said and

what he has said, whatever that's recorded in the Bible, is worth hearing

again and again and again. And don't don't just go and look for or

look discrepancy or look contradiction or no, no, no, let's just take

the truth from what is being said. That's going to be very, very

key. Because some people have said if everybody lived the sermons Jesus preach,

whether it's on the mountain or on the plateau, that's all that is needed,

actually, and I agree with it wholeheartedly. The only problem is I've

never really met anybody, and never have I even myself, who actually lived

out Jesus' sermons to the tea. And this sermon on the plane has to

be one of the shortest he ever preached, but it is one of the

greatest as well. And so this sermon is the Lord's teaching, the Word

of God coming to us, giving us guidance for practical living, and we

must all endeavor to apply it in our lives. And this is how as

you all remember the team for this year is Heaven rules. This is how

Heaven can rule over us when we apply the teachings of Christ in our life.

Okay, So this is how I'm going to start. So the sermon

is concerned with three relationships. Okay, I'm going to break it down so

that we can see clearer and when we're going to read the entire portion of

scripture where this sermon was actually preached. So is I'm going to read Luke

chapter six, verses twelve to forty nine. By the end of this message,

Okay, we will all be reading the entire portion of this scripture.

But is concerned with three relationships, and every one of us has to work

on this three relationships constantly. Firstly, is our relationship with ourselves important.

The second one is our relationship with one another, okay, and then the

third one is our relationship with God. Okay, everyone stay with me.

Let's read Luke chapter six, verses twelve to nineteen. I'm going to be

reading from the Annalty, and he just says, Jesus chooses the twelve apostles

one day. Soon afterwards, Jesus went up on the mountain to pray,

and he prayed to God all night. At daybreak he called together all of

his disciples and chose twelve of them to be a apostles. Here are their

names. Simon, whom he named Peter, Andrew, Peter's brother, James,

John, Philip, Bartolomeo, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alpheus,

Simon who was called the Zealot, Judas son of James. Judas is

Carrot, who later betrayed him. When they came down from the mountain,

the disciples stood with Jesus on a large level area, surrounded by many of

his followers and by the crowds. This is where you get the name of

the sermon Sermon on the Plane, because he stood when he came down,

they stood on the plateau. Okay, there were people from all over Judaea,

and from Jerusalem, and from as far north as the sea coast of

Tire and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of

their diseases, and those troubled by evil spirits were healed. Everyone tried to

touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

So before you considered a sermon, firstly, look at the congregation to

whom it was preach. I think it's important, okay, and you will

realize why it was preach. So Jesus had this big congregation on this occasion.

On the one hand, there were his disciples listening to him, his

own disciples, huh. And out of the large number of followers he already

had, Jesus actually labored all night, it says all night in prayer to

choose these disciples, very very important. And you can look at this.

Men know his disciples. They were ordinary men. There was not a single

famous, rich, or intellectually clever person among them. I mean, you

don't see it described as such. They were a mixed bunch. Okay.

Some of them were traitors to their nation and others were resistance fighters. You

can get it from their names on all these things. No, at least

four sets of brothers were among them. But they were young men. Actually,

this is something that we sometimes don't realize. They were actually young men,

and it is something that not many people realize. The twelve Apostles or

the twelve Disciples begin their ministry somewhere in their late teens or early twenties,

and that's something that we need to take note of. Christianity actually begin as

a young people's movement. And this tells me that young people have such an

important role in kingdom building where Heaven rules. If you are sixteen or fifteen

or seventeen, don't think I gon no play in God's kingdom because I'm still

young. No, no, no, no. All of your have a

place. Because it was this bunch of teenagers possibly who went out and turned

the world not just upside down, but it turned it inside out as well.

It's amazing. The other group there consistent of people who had wanted to

come because they had a need. That's what the scripture says. Many was

sick, and in those days there was no health survice. So and the

thought of finding health or going to a place where some sort of health care

is being offered is like a real heavenly privilege to the people back in those

days. Then there will also those who are demon possessed, those who came

to find freedom. So Jesus was looking at this congregation made up of this

entire group his disciples, those who had needs, and he spoke to them

all, and this was what he said. It starts off in verses twenty

to twenty three. This is basically the Beatitudes condensed version of the Beatitudes.

Okay, it says this. Then Jesus turned to his disciples. Okay,

he turned to his disciples and say, God blesses you who are poor,

for the Kingdom of God is yours. God blesses you who are hungry now,

for you will be satisfied. God blesses you who weep. Now,

for in due time you will laugh. What blessings await you when people hate

you and exclude you, and mock you and curse you as evil because you

follow the son of men. When that happens, be happy, Yes,

leap for joy, for a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember

their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way. So in the first point,

Jesus is telling us the secret of true happiness. Do you want to

know how to be happy or blessed? You know that's the beats happy is

or blessed is. It's the same word, how to be in harmony with

yourself? Very very important. You won't like it, know what Jesus is

teaching here, but it's essentially this is what he thought. He says,

how happy are you poor? How happy are you hungry? How happy are

you who looked? Said, and that is how Jesus looks at life.

It says he addressed that part of the sermon to his own disciples and unhappy,

poor, unpopular bunch. He said, oh, you're the happy ones

here today. And then he goes on to say this. He goes on

to one verses twenty four to twenty six. No, it says this sorrows

for but woo to you who are rich, for you have already received your

comfort. Woo to you who are well fed now, for you will go

hungry. Woo to you who laugh, now for you will mourn. And

Woo to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how your

ancestors treated the false prophets. So Jesus actually went on. He turned towards

those who are better dressed in the congregation, who were chatting and laughing away

as he was preaching. Maybe, and then he says, how terrible it

is to be rich, to be well fed, and to laugh all the

time, and to be popular. Oh, very very strong now, So

right at the beginning of his amazing message, that Jesus actually shows that his

outlook is completely opposed to everything we think of because the world says, at

all costs, avoid being poor. At all costs, Please avoid being hungry.

If you want to be happy, you will need to be popular.

If you want to to be happy, you need money. If you want

to be happy, then go watch a sitcom until you laugh your head off

if you want to be happy. This is the way. That's how the

world teaches us. But none of that is what Jesus says. You see,

his disciples had already been following him for some months. Already they were

getting poorer. Already they are clothes and their sandals were starting to be worn

out. In fact, their sandals had holes in it. We read it

in other portions of scripture. Already they were beginning to be an unpopular lot,

and already they were beginning to feel the burden that he had for the

world. That Jesus had for the world, and to see the world true.

Jesus's eyes doesn't always make you fool of joy? Do you realize that?

On the contrary, it actually says that Jesus was a man of sorrows

and acquainted with grief. That's in Isaiah chapter fifty three. We read it

time and time again, or during Easter or Good Friday Isaiah fifty three.

Jesus actually thought, how happy you are if you're poor, because you have

followed me. That is the implication. He's not saying that everybody who is

poor is going to be rich, or everybody who is rich he's going to

be poor. He's speaking to his disciples, and these things have come because

they are his disciples. So Jesus is saying, maybe you're poorer than you

were before, maybe you're hungrier, maybe you have burdens and have lost a

lot of your friends, but look at how happy you are. And this

actually tells me something very profound that real happiness is not dependent on your present

feelings. Real happiness is not related to the circumstances in which you are placed

at this moment. Real happiness is dependent on your future, not your present.

It is one of the hardest things in life to grasp. It sounds

almost like a contradiction in terms now, but Jesus knew what he was talking

about. The real reason for Christian happiness is it's not how we are placed

in the present, but how we are going to be in the future.

Yes, Jesus promised that we would be poorer in this life. He promised

us a loss in this life. He promised trouble. He promised unpopularity for

his sake. Actually he says all those things. There is this quote not

from an English author. His name is Chesterton. He says that Jesus promised

his disciples three things, that they will be completely fearless, absurdly happy,

and in constant trouble. He constant trouble. I don't know how many of

your life here that And like, yeah, I'm looking forward to being a

disciple of Christ. How about that for a promise? Way, But at

least it was honest. So happiness is not feeling happy, it's actually being

in a happy position that you position yourself knowing that what's to come. That

gives me the confidence to be happy right now, Every Christian, no matter

how low they get, no matter how much they no matter how hungry they

may be, no matter how unpopular they end up being, and no matter

how men can insult them and say all manners of things, whether falsely against

them, they still can say, I'm the happiest man alive because of my

future. I'm the happiest woman alive because of my future. This is where

I stand, And of course Jesus is stating his own situation because this applied

to him. That is how he was. He was not universally popular.

He wept time and time again, He pray until he cried. He didn't

have a place to call his own. He fasted, and he went hungry.

He was poor in a sense. In fact, when he died,

he couldn't leave his own clothes to anybody else. They were actually taken from

him, and he had nothing to leave but his peace. It's amazing.

These are truths that only believers in Jesus would accept. A person who wasn't

a Christian would laugh at it. A suggestion like this, like say,

how are your You will follow someone who is like that? But yet,

if you want to know the secret of happiness, it's this, Follow Jesus

until it hurts, and how happy you will be. I believe that with

all my heart, And that is the secret. Which would you rather go

through a tough time in this life and look forward to glory and wealth and

everything that lies beyond for those who God loves, or have a good time

right now and do without it forever afterwards? What would our choice be?

You need to be at peace and in harmony with yourself to be able to

live in accordance to Jesus's sermon. That is this first part. That's why

I say you need to learn how to follow Jesus until it hurts. Being

at peace it's always synonymous with being in harmony. And basically these teachings are

teachings or how you are at peace with yourself, how you're at peace with

one another, and how you are at peace with God. What does harmony

means? Think about it in music? Yeah, I'm not musically inclined,

but you know when you can have different instruments in the music. I'm looking

at Josiah and maybe you can help me. But you can either be all

in Rhedom or all out of Rhedom. If you're in Rhedom, there's going

to be a harmony. If you're all out of Rhedom, that's going to

be noise. Okay. So being at peace basically is being in harmony.

That tells me that you got to be in rhedom with yourself. You've got

to be in rhedom with one another, You've got to be in Rhedom with

God. You could be playing different instruments, you could be playing different beats.

But if you're in reedom, then it's melodious. That means you are

playing a melody and it's harmony. It's not and it becomes even though it's

how that sounds like heavy metal. Might say heavy metal God harmony, and

I listen to stuff like that, you can actually hear it. That's the

reality of it. So these teachings are teaching us to be in edom.

That's what being at peace really means. Okay, so that's the first one,

being at peace with yourself. Now let's look at the second relationship,

harmony with other people. Okay, And there are two things that Jesus talks

about here. He talks about concerns and he talks about criticism. Okay,

two things. And these things will determine how you get on with other people.

How deep is your concern for them and how harsh is your criticism for

them? Two things. So I'm going to read continue reading verses twenty seven

to thirty six, and this one mmmmm, he says love for enemies.

Okay, let's go. But to you who are listening again, I remember

this is all one sermon is I'm just reading it one after the other.

Line by line. But to you who are listening, I say, love

your enemies, do good to those who hate you, Bless those who curse

you. Pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one

chick, turn to the turn to them the other. Also, if someone

takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone

who asks you. And if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not

demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Ver study too. If you love those who love you, what credit

is dead to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if

you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is dead

to you? Even sinners do that. And if you learn to those from

whom you expect repayment, what credit is dead to you. Even sinners lend

to sinners expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do

good to them, and learn to them without expecting to get anything back.

Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the most

High, Because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful,

just as your father is merciful. Wow Strong, teaching a lot of times

this is the one that people like to make fun of. Can I slap

then the argy? So, first of all, it's a matter of concern,

and Jesus is here speaking of our concern for our enemies. Okay,

he sure knows how to set the standard right, because it is not to

those you like, not to your friends, but to those who hate and

mistreat you that he's applying this teaching. So your concern for them will decide

whether you have learned relationships with people or not. Anybody can get on with

those who love them. Anybody can relate to nice people, All of us

can. There are plenty of good deeds done by people who are not believer

us as well. There is plenty of love outside the church, in families

and among friends we see them. But Jesus teaches us that the kind of

love that is a secret of real harmony basically amongst one another, is the

love that can be concerned for those who would abuse us in return for us

being kind to them. It's a different level and a different standard of teaching.

I know it is a bit shattering. Sometimes we discover what human nature

really is. Like what Jesus is teaching here is a love that expects nothing

back whatever, A love that will learn to people and not expect to get

it back. A love that returns kindness for hate, A love that is

patient and is kind, A love that returns good for evil. So what

we call the Golden rule comes in at this point. Have you all ever

heard of the Golden rule? Have you noticed that most people actually this golden

rule? In the inverse, you ask somebody what they think the Golden rule

is, and they will always say, never do to anyone else what you

don't want them to do to you. But do you notice that's in the

negative form, never due to anyone else what you don't want them to do

to you. But then came Jesus, And you know that phraser that I

just read is what most religions teach. Actually, it's in the negative.

Actually, a lot of religion teaches the golden rule, but only Christianity teaches

it this way due to others what you want them to do to you.

That is just one of the differences between Jesus's teachings and the world's philosophy.

So the world's philosophy says, I'm all right, I've never done anybody any

hum. But again that's in the negative. Jesus's philosophy is did you do

them any good? We always look at it as I've never done them any

harm. But Jesus is saying, do you have you done them any good?

That is the golden rule. The golden rule is actually positive due to

others, as you would have them do to you whatever they do to you.

You see, love is not a matter of feelings here. Love is

not a matter of falling in love. Love is not something that happens to

you. Love is something that you decide to do. It's a big difference.

I know. There is a kind of love knows sometimes between a man

and a woman, for example, between close friends, which is reciprocal and

responsive, and it happens to most of us. You fall in love or

you like that person and then there is a two way communication. But when

Jesus spoke of love, he wasn't thinking of that kind of love at all.

Jesus was thinking of the kind of love that goes on loving whatever is

done to it. That is what Jesus a gop pay love means. It's

something that we may not be able to fully comprehend, because if you study

Scripture. Carefully, you realize that the word l O v E translated into

English can be I think that's about four or if I'm not mistaken, four

great words that we're being used. We translate everything as l ov But there

are different kinds of love in the Bible. There is there is the fileo

love, which is I think, the brotherly love. There is the ross

kind of love, which is the erotic kind of love. And then there

is this a gap pay love, which is the love that God had for

people. It's something that it's different, it's different from what you can ever

imagine, doesn't require two way communication. Basically, it's a kind of love

that goes on living whatever is done to it. There is a kind of

love that you don't find naturally because it does not occur in our flesh.

It's not a thing that happens to us. It's a thing that you do

or you don't do. Does that make sense? Only Jesus would be able

to, you know, love Those who ridiculed him, put him down,

spat on him, abused him, physically, tormented him, put him through

the most painful death possible. But only he can go on living a lot

that has done the worst of the worst to him, it's amazing, and

that is the kind of love that he's teaching us. Let us move to

the second point about our relationship with one another, and that is namely criticism

of our friends. Okay, stay with me, asked Amy, verse thirty

seven to forty two. I'm going to read it now. It says,

do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn,

and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give

and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down,

shaken together, and running over will be part to your lap. For with

the measure you use, it will be magic to you. He also told

them this parable. Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both

fall into a pit? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone

who is fully trained will be like their teacher. Why do you look at

the spec of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank

in your own eye? How can you say to your brother brother, let

me take the spect out of your eye, when you yourself failed to see

the plank in your own eye, You hypocrite, First, take the plank

out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the spect

from your brother's eye. Strong words again. See. The funny thing is

criticism works this way that you always find yourself criticizing the people closest to you.

Do you realize that? I mean, you think about who you criticize

the past week. Will they people in some far away place that you don't

know you didn't criticize? Know the people I don't know in China or in

Ukraine or hardly even? Or were they people close to you? Ask yourself

that question, because the reason why we do it to people near to us

is because it actually does this. No, my criticism does this. It

puts people or it takes people a few levels down, and it lifts us

up a few levels. I know it sounds bad, but that is the

ultimate truth, because whenever we say something critical against someone, ultimately that is

what's happening. So you don't criticize someone down the road in another church nearly

as much as you criticize members of your own children. If you are living

the natural, which all of us are, and if you're not careful,

you become more critical of your own people than of any other, without even

realizing it because it isn't your enemies you criticize. It is usually your friends.

And that is why Jesus speaking in these portions of scripture, he's speaking

of our concern for our enemy, and then now he goes on to speak

about us criticizing our brother. Think about it. You see this is opposite

of the world again. The worlder has deep concern for friends and criticism for

enemies. But Christians need to go a whole lot deeper because Jesus's standards is

not about having concerned for your friends and criticizing your enemy. Jesus' standards is

having concerned for your enemy and don't criticize your brother. Is mind blowing sometimes.

So let us look at what Jesus says about that. He gives us

two simple illustrations. The first one is supposing you were out in the street

and you saw two people, each with a stake. They were trying to

help each other across the road, and then both ended up in a long

tun. Okay, let me paraphrase. That's what happened. That's quite sad,

right, But you know, when you try to help someone else,

you have got to watch carefully that you are not so blind so that you

can really see either of your property. That's basically the teaching. Basically,

your criticism may just be like a blind man leading a blind man, and

you will both fall into the ditch together. It is sad, but a

lot of our criticism comes under this category. That means we criticize without realizing

that we ourselves are actually at fault. Okay, that's the first illustration.

The second illustration Jesus uses here is this. There's a man walking on the

road with a big balang stuck in his eye. Okay, paraphrase again,

and then he stops a passer by and say, excuse me, there's a

little strength of hair in your eye. Okay. You know, Jesus can

be quite humorous as well, and he uses humor. But when you have

laughed at a joke, then you realize you are laughing at yourself, because

that's what most of us are like. In fact, you can only see,

or you can only really see the fault in your brother, clearly,

if you have got rid of the faults in yourself. Us. But a

lot of times that's not us. We always see other's fault. Other's faults

are always amplified, and that's how desperately deceitful the heart is. Jesus is

actually teaching that we will learn about harmony in relationships with one another when you

are concerned for your enemies and you do not criticize your friends. That's how

you will be in harmony with one another. Now, he goes on to

say, is no judge, not that you be not judge. He does

not mean that you must renounce all critical faculties. If he meant that,

we would never examine each other in a positive light, right, I mean

I would never end up writing a reference for anyone. You will never end

up going to school and sitting for exams all those levels of judging in that

sense. No, so he's not saying don't don't have any form of critical

faculties. But what Jesus is actually talking about is condemnation. Condemning it means

a writing someone off, saying that this person you're beyond redemption. That is

essentially what he's saying. It means saying that this person is hopeless and we

can't do anything for him because only God has a right to be such a

judge. That's the reality of it, and one of the most frightening things

that Jesus ever said, is right here now that with what measure you judge,

you shall be judged. That is what he meant when he said,

I judge you by your own outlook. If you condemn this in others,

then it is wrong. I will therefore examine your life by what you believe

to be wrong. Can any of us stand before God if that is how

he is to judge, For we know we have condemned in others what there

is in our own hearts on that's the reality of it. And we must

therefore learn this secret of harmony with other people is very, very very important.

Be in harmony with one another. Don't go on criticizing your brothers,

and learn to have concern for your enemies. And finally, there is the

secret of holiness before God. And again this is practical because Jesus spoke in

pictures no so that his hearers could actually see the truth. As his hearers

listen to him, they could say, oh, now I see what you

are trying to tell me. Let's finish the last two portions. Verse for

the tree says no good tree bears bad fruit, nor there's a bad tree

bear fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not

pick figs from torn bushes or grapes from briers. A good man brings good

things out of the goods thought up in his heart, and an evil man

brings evil things out of the evil stought up in his heart. For the

mouth speaks what the heart is full off. So this is a law of

nature that the tree can only produce after its own kind. Okay, what

the tree is that it will produce. It is also a law of human

nature. Basically, what is stored up in your heart will come out of

your mouth, which is why Jesus said on another occasion, every man will

be judged by the idol words that proceeds from his mouth. So why is

what is so important about the mouth? Jesus actually teaches that every man and

woman over the years has built up this treasury in their hearts, thoughts that

are stored in your hearts. All the experiences of life is in there,

whether the good or the bad. So when you open your mouth, the

treasures in your or heart you will come out as well, whether the good

or the bad, and the things that you have stought up will just overflow.

And so as a man thinks in his heart soul. Is he Jesus

is actually saying a bad tree can't produce good food, and a good tree

can't produce bad food. But then he gives us a further warning. He

says that the things that come out of the mouth can be unreal. Sometimes

in a casual conversation, the things that come out will be from your heart.

But in a formal conversation, in the official conversation, what you say

may not be from your heart at all. Sometimes do you realize that's nice?

You overthink things. You'll be like, oh wait, let me see

how I'm going to respond, and I'm going to exercise put more thought into

a formal conversation. And this is the danger of religion, actually that you

see you say things which are not from the heart. You know, sometimes

fixed prayers can be so meaningless one because it's just not from the heart.

So it is when you are not consciously controlling your mouth. Your heart is

revealed when you're not consciously controlling your mouth. Sometimes when you are consciously controlling

your mouth, it can actually very easily lead to hypocrisy. That is the

biggest warning that Jesus is actually giving here, So be careful. Sometimes where

I know, I know, I sometimes speak quite candidly, wantonly and that

is really it is from the heart. One. My wife knows, no,

I, you don't have the time cracking jokes, but she knows,

deep down inside there's a little humor bunk within me. But when I sometimes

I find myself trying to think of what to say in a very cordial sense.

And I know I'm tittering between hypocrisy and truth. But that's what we've

got to be very very careful with. Okay, And now for the climax

of the passage. You will never get fruit without roots. So going deep

down to the invisible Jesus now changes the picture from fruit to foundation. And

he tells us the secret of holiness before God is not technically in the number

of sermons you have listened to. Okay, I'll read, and then I'll

draw to a conclusion. Verse for the six He says this, 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 the 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. Strong words again, So everything rests on

what you do with the teaching. It rests on what you do with this

sermon, because that's how Jesus finishes this sermon with an illustration from the days

in which he was a carpenter. Jesus himself is a builder, so he

understands building, and he has built up many houses. So Jesus is teaching

us that when you listen to preaching, you are building something as you listen.

If you enjoy the sermon, you're moved by it, then you go

away and you do absolutely nothing about it. You have built a house that

looks all right, a life that looks pretty much very Christian. You may

live in a life like that for some time, but when chrisis comes,

your Christian life will collapse because it has no foundation. But if you listen

to the sermon, and you listen to the world of God and you go

away and you do something about it, then you will know who God really

is. And then when chrisis comes, You're Christian life will stand. That

is the secret of holiness before God. To listen to his word and then

to do something about it. That is key and that is essential. You

know, sometimes we don't do anything about it because we have this mindset.

You know, God's grace, don't do anything to deserve it. Don't have

to do anything to deserve God's grace. That's how sometimes it has been taught.

Yes, I agree, we can't do anything to deserve salvation, but

you still need to receive salvation, right, You need to receive it isn't

the act of reception doing something. A lot of times we think that God's

grace is just going to land on nurse pool and then we are filed and

nothing we do and no choices that we make counts for anything. No,

Yes, I agree that nothing you can do to cause you to deserve God's

grace. No amount of good deeds will allow you to deserve God's grace.

No amount of bad deeds definitely will allow you to deserve God's gift of his

grace. But yet you realize it's a gift. And what you need to

do with gifts, it's either you reject it or you receive it. And

that's something that we need to learn because a lot of times we think that

all. Once I put my trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, that's it.

Coult him and I don't need to make choices in life, and everything

is going to be okay. I can sleep, I can fall, I

can make conscious decisions to go against him, and at the end of it,

I will meet him at the polygates and he'll say, well done,

my good and faithful servan. Come on in. I am saying we must

practice whatever the Lord has taught us, put it into application. It's important.

And so let's conclude. I'm going to ask ju side the leaders in

that song, Jesus, Beautiful Savior, let's conclude. No this I I

entitled this message the plain Sermon of Heaven Rules because it's a plain sermon.

It's as simple as as you can get. It's the things that we learn

over and over and over again, whether we apply. You know, we

always laugh at the turn the at the chick and let someone else lap you,

but we learn it over since we were young kids. But I think

the older we get, the less we actually do that the more someone offenses,

we probably want to hit the person back. That's the reality of it.

But let's conclude. Let's conclude the plain sermon of Heaven rules. In

your relationship with yourself, follow Christ until it hurts. Then you will be

happy in your secured future. I believe in that with all my heart.

In your relationship with others, with one another, have concern for your enemies

and refrain from criticizing your friends. And the secret of holiness with God is

to bear the fruit that comes from having roots and having a foundation in Christ

Jesus, because He is our rock of ages. You know, he has

been said that that when we read scriptures, it acts as a mirror to

show the dirt and the stains in our own life. And this actually lives

us with a dilemma because when I read true the life and the teaching of

Christ, I know that it is right. I know that it is the

truth. I know that He is the Way, I know that He is

the Life, But sometimes I just cannot do it right. Is that all

of us? And that is why we need a savior That's why we need

the Lord. That is why people don't live out the sermon on the mound.

People don't live out the sermon on the plane, not until they find

Jesus Christ. Because nobody does live like this until Jesus forgives their sins,

until he begins his work in their heart, and until he begins to live

his life in them. That is the reality of it. For all the

good things that we have read in this passage, all of it is perfectly

true of Jesus. You know, they spent on him, like I said,

now, they whipped him, they mocked him, they laughed at him,

and then they nailed him to a block of wood. And then he

said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.

And we think he's living it out, and we're like, oh, my

goodness, how are we ever? Is anyone able to ever follow suit and

do something similar? And then we realize. You read a bit later into

the accounts of the Book of x not long after that one of the earliest

Christian, if not the first Christian martyr, right at the time in which

he was about to be stoned to death, he was living out Jesus's sermon

because do you realize that when Stephen was breeding about to breathe his last he

actually said this, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. It

is possible to live out the sermons of Jesus, but not possible to do

it by ourselves. Only possible when we will do it with Jesus, because

He is going to put on his righteousness on us so that we have strength

to make the right choices in life. We hope you've been blessed by this

message. For more information on our church, please visit x church Org.

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going to be a good week, a hit for you. God bless