Well, we come to today the conclusion in the Sermon on the Mount. I said from the beginning I was really interested and excited to go through this particular section. I've never preached a Sermon on the Mount, and it has definitely stretched me and helped me in many ways, and I hope the same is for you, because I knew it would challenge us in ways that really, as Jesus does, makes us uncomfortable. Jesus had no problem doing that. That is precisely, if you look how it was received, if you look at the end of this sermon, those two little verses here at the end in 28 and 29 are really remarkable verses that when Jesus had finished these sayings, the people were astonished at his teaching. For he taught them as one who had having authority and not as the scribes. The very literal reading of that, the very literal rendering of that is they were struck and blown out of their minds when they heard this kind of teaching. Not as the storytellers, not as the ear ticklers that we get today. They were absolutely captured by his message. They were stunned by his message. And why? Why were they so astonished? The sermon not only was just full of truth in every single word that was spoken, but it wasn't done in some kind of abstract manner. It wasn't like the scribes who gave dry, boring lectures, always quoting person after person, sometimes like a Reformed lecture. I even got a smile from Dr. Godfrey, so I'm okay, I'm okay. He was pressing people into the kingdom. He was dealing with the most important issues of life. Issues that deal with people's eternal destinies. That's what mattered to him. He wasn't giving trivialities. This wasn't story time. He used illustrations in a powerful way to convey truth. He wasn't a political revolutionary either. He wasn't the strong man that they wanted. Sure, he was meek. He was humble. But his teaching came with power. His teaching came with authority. There wasn't a moment of triviality. Most obvious is the authority with which it came because he wanted people to make a decision on the claims. I think that's by and large so necessary for ministry that it's something we have to recapture. It's something we have to think more about in helping even seminary students to think about this. We see the importance of Jesus pressing down and the connection on the end of the sermon to the end of the sermon is like a grand crescendo on this great point that he said in the sermon. He wanted evaluation. He wanted people to take it in. He wanted deep thought given. He didn't want them to walk away from the sermon and talk about milk prices. He wanted people to grapple with it. It was full of illustration. It was full of wisdom. It was full of imagination. This is our Lord. With the goal of drawing out people to make a decision on the claims and how they stand in relation to it. It's so important. It's as if Jesus says, okay, you've heard my grand sermon here. Now what? Now what? Where do you stand in relation to what I've been saying to you? You see, that's a different kind of preaching and teaching. There's just no ear tickling in it. You didn't come to entertain the masses. It's the pressing quality of the sermon that expresses the goal of it. How does that make you feel? He's speaking to followers, not the world. Sermon on the Mount has been picked up by Gandhi as just a great model. It's really ironic. Does anyone think after hearing this sermon, this is just easily achieved? Right in the uncomfortable nature of the sermon, it faces us. What have we done with it? And this was Christ's goal. Christ is calling us here to take into our hearts what he has been saying. To build our entire lives on what he has been saying. The summarizing principle is just that of the whole sermon, what I just said. To build our lives on what he has been saying. And I hope I get to show you that today with some amount of clarity. Today he's using a building metaphor or even you might call a little parable here. and we are to consider the manner, if you're taking notes, the manner first of how we're building our lives, the tests that are intended and that we will face in regard to the way we are building and then the result that will be shown and exposed in the way that we're building. So again, the manner, the tests, and the result. We may conclude this today with God's help, I pray, as Jesus wants this to be heard among us and among the masses of his people to this day, that we would not just be astonished or just impressed, but that we would build our house on the rock. Let's consider what that means for a minute. We begin today to take up this little parable of Jesus, and in verse 24, that's exactly what we read, everyone then, notice we're coming to a grand conclusion here. Who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. As throughout the sermon, he gives a summarizing provocative statement up front, a challenging statement, and then builds on that and then builds on it to bring great conviction in that single great statement that he made. That's how Jesus has been teaching the whole time in the Sermon on the Mount. Summarizing powerful statement, expand on it to bring conviction. Remember the context. Christ has already called us to enter into the narrow gate, you remember, and he contrasts two kinds of followers of him in this life, people who are entering and walking through this life, and they are either entering the narrow gate or they're entering the wide gate. These are followers. And then he described the great barrier that people face of entering the narrow gate. It's a plethora of false teachers out there, and a false teacher never says, here I am. They're sophists. They know exactly what they're doing. Jesus was never nice to them, and he got beat up for it. He was concerned that we would give great attention to not listen to them. Who amass a wide, huge gate following in this life. That road is easy. That road is easy. Then he followed it up by challenging people that on that day many will come to him, followers, and say, Lord, Lord, look at all we've done. But they had not done the will of their father. They had, truth be told, even though it wasn't known, practiced lawlessness. So he's probed, you see. He's probed into people's lives. He's probed into hearts, wanting them to consider the will of God, wanting people to consider the will of God. But now he finishes with a powerful description to complete the comparisons that he's been making in chapter 7 on these themes of judgment. Two paths, two responses, and now two very different houses that are being built. Those who hear him are like a wise man who built his house on the rock. But those who do not hear him are like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. It's really a powerful illustration. Almost any builder here knows exactly what I'm talking about. And most of you could, as a sermon, I don't feel like giving expertise on the matter. The last person you want building your house is Pastor Gordon, I'll tell you that. The thing will fall. Good thing I have spiritual application to this. But when my parents were building a home in Arizona, northern Arizona, it was tricky. The soil in Arizona is very unique. They had to get just the foundation just right to build that house. And there's a whole lot of clay soil in that region that soaks up the moisture and will contract due to the whole thing drying out. So it's tricky to get this foundation right. And in northern Arizona, it's mountainous. You'll have a whole lot of rock and a whole lot of granite. You get what's called lateral movement. When a rock starts to move, it's hard to stop moving downhill. They call it foundation settlement. downward movement of sinking of the base of a structure or foundation, heaving the upward movement of a foundation due to an increase in moisture causing soils to expand. I have no idea what I'm talking about, but Brett does. Why am I telling you this? Because it took a long time to build that house. They sat in an apartment for a year. The builder was nervous about it. In Jesus' imagery here, you had big Mediterranean storms that would come through, and then would come the water. And then it would quickly become a torrent, threatening the whole structure. And so he speaks of two kinds of builders. Everything depends on, for the house, the foundation. There's a wise builder who, using the language, first sits down and counts the cost. He wants to study this. He wants to figure this out. He's a very thoughtful builder. He considers the soil. He thinks carefully about the foundation. He thinks about the fact, hey, I'm building in summer, but, you know, fall and winter's coming, and that means water is coming. So he removes the loose scrabble and he digs down deep to the rock. Then there's the foolish builder. He's rash. He doesn't think about any of this. It doesn't even dawn on him. He doesn't consider the foundation at all. he just wants the house up he wants the house up now he wants it to look good so these are two houses right next to each other same place same proximity outwardly they look exactly the same there's the imagery i remember in linden there were two beautiful homes right next to each other two beautiful two-story houses. Both had swing sets outside. Both had painted trim. Really nice houses. Gorgeous two-story houses. And then one day I read that the FBI had to come and raid one of them because the whole thing was a pot farm inside. That was in Linden. Do you know the shock of that? I think you get the imagery. Powerful spiritual illustration here of your life. He's describing two kinds of followers, two kinds of listeners to a sermon. In a real sense, we are the house he's talking about. We all come together today dressed fine. Jesus is challenging saying, are you a wise builder? Not all lives are the same. Some are building very wise in this life, and some are fools. So, the most basic point that Jesus is making here, I think we have an entire summary of the Sermon on the Mount back in chapter 5 where he tied it together with, here we have the summary, but it's tied together with having a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees that has been the thrust throughout the sermon of those who will truly enter the kingdom. blessed are those who, what, hear my word and do my word. He's describing a holistic view of a new created man in Christ, of a new covenant man, of a new covenant community. Don't miss what I just said. He's describing the fundamental difference of people who are indeed building their house on the rock. And what defines that? How do you know you're doing that? Well, here it is. Here's the grand summary. The grand summary of the sermon, if you will, I think is right here. Whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them. Tonight we come back to the doctrine of justification. That is such a wonderful, beautiful doctrine. You're just missing out if you're not hearing the best news you could ever hear in this life tonight. And I want that for you. We're not really talking about that here. He's doing something much broader than that. He's doing a holistic picture. He's describing the whole character of his new created man, of his saved person, the new creation. What he's essentially just said is the fundamental difference between the wise and the foolish builder, the fundamental difference between those who have already entered the kingdom, who have gone through the narrow gate now, and those who have not, big picture is you hear his word. And you practice that word. That's the great question of this. What is your response to the word of God? Are we really taking the word into the heart? Has it become the lamp to our feet and the light to our path. Are there not 12 hours in a day, said Jesus? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble for they see the world's light. It's when a person walks at night that they stumble for they have no light. The word is the light. The word is his word is the lamp. His word, his gospel, his truth is the foundation upon which we build our lives. According to the grace of God, which was given to me, Paul, 1 Corinthians 3, as a wise master builder, I've laid the foundation and another builds on it, but let each one take heed how he builds. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. The wise builder is the man living by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. The foolish one, as Jesus said everywhere, are those in whom his word has no place in them. John 5. It does not touch them. it does not touch their reality. It does not touch their walk. It does not touch their life. The false followers, the person who has no interest to listen carefully to the Word, to take it in, and those who have. You see the whole spirit of this in the Gospels. When Peter was challenged, When the word was given to the people, and 5,000, talk about a giant failure in human eyes. He made the masses furious. 5,000 walked away from Christ. 6,000. And he looks at his disciples, do you want to go? He's testing them. Remember Peter's response? You have the words of eternal life. Where else would we go? this is where the sermon has pressed us. I can ask this with a simple test. If you can answer it honestly, you'll have your answer. Jesus has challenged us greatly in the sermon with his word, a word that blew away the minds of the people, calling us to not practice our righteousness to be seen, calling us to love even the greatest of our enemies, calling us not to store up our treasures on earth or moth. I could go on and on. What's your reaction to that? There's the test. Is that what you want? The antinomian writes it off and doesn't take any of it seriously. Doesn't consider it. Do you believe the word? Is it your heartfelt practice to follow the word? to love the Word, to hear the Word, to practice the Word? The wise man does. He's built his life on the Word. He's built his life on the Word of God. The foolish man does not care because his life is not being built on the foundation of Christ and the Word. What do you think of Jesus' sermon? these words proceeded out of the mouth of God. How does that affect us? And here Jesus pushes the parable, if you will. He says, those who build their house on the word, on him, the rains descended one day. The floods came. The winds blew and beat on that house. And it did not fall. It could not fall. because it was founded on the rock. Think about the one who built his house on the sand. The rains descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house, and great was its fall. You see, he's describing here that at some point in all of our lives, beloved, some point our homes, How we have built, where our foundation is, is going to come with serious testing. Very serious testing. You know nothing in this life is sure. Even our physical homes, if we build the analogy a little bit, fires take them out, earthquake can happen. At some point, giant tests or trial will come, and it exposes. It exposes who we truly are. It exposes where we are. Have we built our house on Christ and the Word? Crisis is coming. Your crisis is coming. My crisis is coming. Something at some point in your life is going to go really wrong. And the foundation will be exposed. It could be severe trial. It can be death. It can be all kinds of testings. Ultimately, there's a day of judgment to come. And when that day comes, it exposes. And in this then comes the great call of the sermon. Listen, Carrie, if you were to ask me, what is the summarizing thing in all the Gospels? It's one of the few times the Father spoke. What did the Father say? This is my beloved Son. Hear Him. Hear Him. This is what rings out as the great message in the Gospels. He's got really good news for us. When He came to deliver people from their sins, He came to seek that which is lost, which was lost, and to find them. And he laid down his life and a death and a resurrection. And his goal was to preach a good word to people. Isn't this amazing? His goal was always to preach a good word to people. But he indeed challenged those not listening, begrudging the word, complaining about the word, never taking it in. And that leads to the result here. When the floods came, the house with the foundation stood. But the house without the foundation came crashing immediately down. The image you're here, I was thinking, is he thinking of anything in the Old Testament? I don't know if I have this right. You can apply things. I couldn't get Psalm 29 out of my head. The imagery of Psalm 29 is that of a great storm pushing through the Mediterranean Sea and onto the land and laying everything bare. The glory of the God thunders. The Lord thunders over the waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful. The voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. The Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon leap like a calf, mighty mountains, Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the Lord strikes with flashes of lightning. The voice of the Lord shakes the desert. The Lord shakes the desert of Kadesh. The voice of the Lord twists the oaks, strips the forest bare, and in his temple, all of his people say, glory. The Lord sits enthroned over the flood. The Lord sits enthroned as king forever. The Lord gives strength to his people, and the Lord blesses his people with, in this life through the storm, peace. In the deep blackness of the Mediterranean, a huge fire cloud lifts up. the storm begins to form and it raises like a blanket a black terror heading for the land and it comes on in hurricane-like fury it sweeps down and it strips the whole land of Canaan bear every even the deers give birth when they see this everything is left behind in the wake of the storm is just desolate and laid bare and his people through the midst of it are absolutely pictured with peace. And this is the great comforting truth of this ending of this sermon. Whoever is building their house on the rock will never be put to shame. Nevertheless, think of the promises. My loving kindness will I never take from him. Nor suffer my faith to fail. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me. Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Out of my hands, said Jesus, you'll never be snatched. From my love, you'll never be separated. You have an inheritance that can never fade away, reserved for you in heaven. No good thing will the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. For the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give favor and glory. No good thing will he withhold. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear if the mountains are picked up and hurled in the midst of the sea. So do not fear. Isaiah, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous hand. Faith, faith, as our Heidelberg says, is trusting, believing everything he has said in his word. Christ is the foundation, and by his word he upholds us. take that word in believe that word rest on this word sermon on the mount beloved has confronted all the superficial religion of the scribes and the pharisees and leading the masses astray with nothing that ever presses like this it's amazing people can't see that to this day but the heart of it comes with a call. Look to Christ. Look to my word. Come to me, you who are weary and heavy laden. Build your foundation on me and my word. He is our hope. He is our answer. He gave his life as an atonement to make new creatures who've been given life by the word. It's his word that commands our lives. It's his word that guides our paths. So if you have this word, and you believe this word, and you're resting on this word, receive these promises. No storm can take you down. Not one. You are blessed. So around the mountain, begin with blessings. You are blessed. Nothing can knock us back. Nothing can take what is ours in Christ. Let that news blow your minds away. That's what it should do. And you all will be the very man, as Jesus is describing here, who built his house on the rock. You will always stand by his grace. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your living and your powerful word that shatters mountains and breaks oaks into bits. May our whole lives, O Lord, be built on the truth of your gospel, your word, your son. Let us hear him. Help us, for we are weak. Those who have not appropriated this word are taking it into their hearts. May they be greatly convicted, O Lord, to believe this word today. May all of us here, every last one of us, build our house on the rock. thank you that that rock is Christ. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.