Luke 6:46-49 Building on the right foundation

Intro: Today we are going to finish this sermon that Jesus preached - been looking at for several weeks

  1. We noted a few weeks ago that Jesus was addressing those who would hear - knowing that because of the nature of his teaching some would not
  1. Some would tune out what Jesus was saying - others would walk away.
  1. Jesus ends this sermon by coming back to this subject of hearing & listening - by saying in essence it is not Just a matter of hearing or listening
    1. What really matters is what you do w/ what you hear - that determines the kind of life you will live -
  1. What kind of Christian you will be - or if you will be one at all.

Read v.46-49

 

There are 3 main things we want to look at in this teaching.

1st - What does it mean to call Jesus your Lord.

2nd Why are many People deceived into thinking that Jesus is their Lord

when He really isn’t

3rd How to make sure that Jesus is your Lord!

 

So What does it mean then to confess that Jesus is Lord ?

A) 1st understand that Lord is NOT His name - It is His title

  1. It is A title that expresses RELATIONSHIP So IF I say: "He is Lord", THEN I am also saying: "I am His slave"

1) That is the counter relationship to one baring the title of Lord or Master

John 13:13 13 "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am.14 "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 "For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

  1. IF you call Him lord ...... THEN it must follow that you are SERVANT

and SUBJECT unto Him

1) Meaning you will do what He says - no questions asked !

  1. In fact Any expression of opposition to His will is a DENIAL of His

Lordship in my life !

d)My place is that of COMPLETE & TOTAL obedience to His commands

E) THAT is what it means to confess that Jesus is Lord

It is to YIELD myself to OBEY that which He has declared!

  1. To call Him Lord and then NOT do what He says is FALSEHOOD

 

EXAMPLE: Acts 10 - Peter at house of Simon the tanner in Joppa

He was hungry and went up on the roof to wait for lunch / Sounds strange...

But not in that part of the world The roof is more like the patio

While praying on the roof he saw a vision and in that vision there was every kind of animal

Acts 10:13-14 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat But Peter said, Not so, Lord; ( Read again)

  1. Now Here we have a TOTAL contradiction/ A man is saying NO to the one he calls LORD ( you can’t do that )

1) IF He is Lord, then you can NOT say NO to Him

a) But often are we guilty of making the SAME contradiction

  1. We say: "Praise the Lord"...... "The Lord did this or that".... We sing : Jesus you are Lord -

1) But then He requests something of us and we say not so

"I'll do a lot of things Lord... but NOT that" ( Doesn’t make sense)

C) Guys we need to stop & consider our relationship w/ Jesus -

1) IF He is the Lord, THEN that means that He is the master over your life

Which means You can NOT tell Him what you will or won't do

  1. In fact the moment you tell Him that you are NOT going to do something

you are USURPING His Lordship in your life

  1. and you are saying You are the Lord - putting self on the throne!!!!

  1. So to confess Jesus as my Lord means that He is on the throne of my life

and that I am His servant - I am submitted & yielded to Him

 

But Jesus says why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?

  1. He is indicating that there are some people who are deceived as to their relationship to the Lord .

B) They call Him Lord but they don’t act like He is their Lord !

C) Now we are told in Rom. 10:9 that The way that one comes into the

Kingdom of Heaven is by confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord

  1. Rom. 10:9 if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in

your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

c) So according to that NO ONE will get into the Kingdom of Heaven w/ out

acknowledging the Lordship of Jesus/ W/ out calling Him Lord

  1. But Jesus also said that Not all who say: "Jesus is Lord" will be in the

Kingdom of Heaven

Matt. 7:22 -23 22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

  1. Heavy statement / There will be many who will be deceived into thinking that because they confess Jesus as Lord - they are Ok / when their not

HOW CAN THIS BE ? IT IS A MATTER OF THE HEART

A) Jesus declared in Matt. 15:8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. 9 And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

B) THIS DESCRIBES THOSE WHO GIVE JESUS LIP SERVICE

  1. People who are deceived into thinking that because they have made a profession or joined a church - cleaned up their act

1) PROBLEM : Their heart is far !

  1. They go through the motions the follow the rituals but in reality they are not really committed to The Lord in their hearts

  1. Matt. 7 indicates that they might even be involved in ministry/ they might be even be used of the Lord . ( Signs & wonders )

  1. They might even know the Word very well - study the bible - but they don’t live it !!

1) James said 1:22 be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving

yourselves.

  1. Many are deceived because they think that HEARING & KNOWING the Word of God is sufficient / sticklers for detail & doctrine

  1. They can quote the Bible and THEY know the word - so they think - Sure Jesus is my Lord

b) "A pastor, was teaching one Sunday morning when he noticed a young girl in the front row, who seemed to be hanging on to every word he said. This greatly encouraged him. HE THOUGHT TO HIMSELF If he could hold the attention of a small child, how much more would the adults be absorbing what he had to say!

"After the service, he approached the girl and said, `Young lady, I noticed you were listening carefully to every word I said.' She looked at him and said, `Do you realize you used the word "the" 242 times?'

Some Listen - some know the Word - but the point is If you are NOT OBEDIENT to that which you can quote,

  1. THEN your ability to quote the Bible becomes the very thing that deceives

you

  1. So it is possible to know the Bible very well and not really be saved -

because if I only know it & don’t live it - I am DECEIVED !!!

C) Unfortunately on that day - ( JUDGEMENT ) there is going to be those

who say but Lord - I went to Such & such church for 20 yrs.

  1. Sang in the Choir - I went to the classes I followed the rules -I studied your book But He will say depart from me I never knew you .

D) ALL BECAUSE THEIR HEARTS WERE FAR !

  1. So in light of that lets look at the 3rd point - HOW TO MAKE SURE

THAT HE IS THE LORD ( Jesus gives a parable -story illustrate a Pt.)

47 "Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 "He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

49 "But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."

This parable has commonly been called the Parable of the Builders

  1. It’s the story of 2 men who are each building a house / the houses can represent their lives

  1. Houses speak of REST / COMFORT / AND SECURITY !

  1. People are searching for those things today - longing for them !

  1. Fri. I read in the paper a short interview w/ Peta Wilson - Australian up & coming movie actress - She said two things I thought was interesting

  1. #1 Fantasy or dream - To Be eternally Happy - SECURITY

  2. Things she can’t stand - Fear & Guilt - REST & COMFORT

Now here is a gal living out her dream to be a movie star - to achieve fortune & fame - yet she is bothered by guilt & fear

  1. And she is still searching for lasting happiness and security !

  1. That is typical - People want to feel secure And people want to find rest & comfort that Last

  1. but they can’t because they are constantly plagued by guilt - it is like a splinter that needs to be removed .

  1. Only Jesus can remove a persons guilt / only Jesus can bring lasting satisfaction!

  1. so we have a picture 2 men building houses looking for REST / COMFORT /SECURITY & SATISFACTION -that is going to last

Let's examine the picture and see how these two men are alike & also how much they are different.

A) First of all, let's see what these two men had in common.

1. They both had the same desire./ They both desired to build a house.

B)2nd Jesus makes no distinction between the two designs.

We can safely say that the men WANTED the same kind of house.

1) House where - REST COMFORTABLE / SAFE / SECURE

C) 3rd They are apparently in the same location because they are subject to the same conditions.

D) 4th They had both FINISHED their projects.

  1. SUPERFICIALLY the men and their houses look exactly the same.

 

BUT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE - What is interesting is that the diff. Is not an obvious one - it is subtle - its not surfacy - below surface!

  1. The difference is in the foundation - one house had a strong - foundation the other house didn’t .

B) It is important to note this because the difference between the

TRUE Christian and the unbeliever IS NOT always OBVIOUS.

  1. It is below the surface that counts and what is below the surface is that

which will stand the test of time ! / Stand in the storm.

 

Now the difference in the 2 builders had to do w/ how they approached their building !

A) Matthew, tells us in his gospel account that the 1st builder was referred to as "wise" but the 2nd builder was "foolish".

B) And LUKE gives us an important insight as to WHY one builder

was WISE and the other FOOLISH:

b) We are told that the "wise man the 1st builder DUG DEEP and laid the foundation on ROCK."

  1. We are told that the "foolish" builder did not dig at all he just laid his

foundation on the dirt or the sand !

C) In other words He DID NOT take the TIME or the TROUBLE to lay a foundation

D) Petra (rock) does not mean a stone or even a boulder, but a great outcropping of rock, a large expanse of bedrock.

  1. That which is solid, stable, and unmovable.

Sand, by contrast, is loose, unstable, and extremely movable.

  1. The sand speaks to us of the passing fads & trends of our society / of the person who is trying to build their life on the opinions of others

1) The Everybody is doing it mentality!

 

THE foolish" builder was IN A HURRY.

A) He was only interested in the IMMEDIATE and the short term. / He wanted everything RIGHT NOW.

B) He wanted his house RIGHT NOW.- He typifies that mentality of "Get what you want and get it now. Don't worry about the long term.....

1) Don't worry about how things will stand up..... Just GET IT NOW!!"

  1. And Because he was so interested in IMMEDIATE satisfaction he DID NOT pay any attention to the RULES that govern construction.

  1. And how many people today do the same because they are so interested in their immediate satisfaction - they ignore - God’s word

  1. They live for today - w/ no vision of tomorrow !!!! No thought of eternity ! SUCH ARE FOOLISH

 

tHE FOOLISH builder was SHORT SIGHTED

  1. NEVER stops to consider the possibilities or consequences of

building his house on sand.

Aa) He NEVER stops to think or ask himself: "What will happen if this river that looks so calm now should ever overflow?"

B) If someone came to him and said: "Look - You shouldn't build a house on sand. You don't know what this river is capable of doing. I've seen storms here that have brought down some of the best built houses My suggestion is that you DIG DEEP...... GET DOWN TO THE ROCK!!".......

  1. He would dismiss the whole thing..... Maybe even say: "Thanks for the

advice But I’m ok I know what I am doing & He just keeps on building.

  1. The same thing is true of people who give NO THOUGHT of how

God says you should build your life......

  1. They give NO THOUGHT of the long term consequences of building their

lives without Jesus Christ as their foundation.

1) THAT IS THE FOOLISH BUILDER

 

But the "wise BUILDER " is COMPLETELY DIFF

A) He says: "I don't know anything about how to build a house."

B) "I'm going to ask someone who knows about building houses." 1) He says I want PLANS & BLUE PRINTS from someone who knows

how to build a house that will last!

C) SPIRITUALLY, the "wise man" is the one who will go to THE AUTHORITY on what life is all about.

  1. And God is the AUTHOR of life. / He is the AUTHORITY on what life

is all about.

  1. And He not only READS the blueprints... He FOLLOWS them

  1. He begins w/ the foundation & makes sure that He is founded on that

which is strong sturdy & immovable !

 

RECAP The DIFFERENCES between the TWO HOUSES is not OBVIOUS.... below the surface

  1. But That DIFFERENCE determined whether or not the houses would

stand.....

B) Determined whether or not all of the time & energy expended was worth it.

1) The most important thing about a building is it's FOUNDATION.

It may be out of sight...... but it IS NOT insignificant.

D) One HOUSE had a solid foundation & the other HOUSE didn’t !

If the FOUNDATION IS WRONG, everything else is going to fail.

 

The DIFFERENCE IN THE BUILDERS :

  1. One man was wise and dug deep and laid his foundation on a Rock

  1. The other man was foolish - He didn’t dig at all / he was in a hurry / he

was shortsighted - had no foundation- built on sand.

WE ARE ALL BUILDING HOUSES - BUILDING OUR LIVES

  1. Now If your life IS NOT built upon the Lord Jesus Christ and His words then your life has NO FOUNDATION.

B) It is the man who hears the words of Jesus and DOES them that is like the WISE MAN who DUG DEEP and "laid the foundation on rock".

  1. But if you ONLY HEAR the words of Jesus, you will be like the

"foolish man" who "built his house earth without a foundation."

Notice the consequences to such an approach to building

"And great was it's fall." "And the ruin of that house was great."

A) NOTHING could be more TRUE about a life built without the foundation

of Jesus Christ!! HERE and in ETERNITY.

B) HERE: You can be sure that in the world you SHALL have tribulation.

You can be sure that your life will not be exempt from the storms of life.

1) There will be storms not a matter of if - matter of WHEN

C) What you are building on TODAY will determine whether or not your life will come through in one piece THEN.

1) Maybe even TODAY your life is being battered by storms:

D) Family problems.... Financial problems... Relationships

And your house is FALLING APART!!

1) Who is your foundation ?

E) the life built upon Jesus Christ STAYS IN TACT.......You will stand thru the storm & you will stand in ETERNITY

 

But If you are building your life w/out Christ

A) Everything that you've lived for is going to be lost and you will enter ETERNITY with nothing...... especially without God.

"What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but lose his soul."

Everyone is building their lives on something

IF IT ISN'T JESUS..... IT ISN'T ROCK..... IF IT ISN'T ROCK, IT WILL FALL APART.

A) The world says: "Believe in yourself." Lousy foundation..... Shifting sand.

Only a foolish man would believe that is a solid foundation

B) Some of are choosing to build their life by their own BLUE PRINT.

"There is a way that seems right to a man......"

Some are building their lives on the shifting sand of the desires of the flesh./ the shifting sand of goals and aspirations

  1. It is shifting sand because it can never be satisfied

  1. it might bring momentary pleasure but no security - question what about tomorrow .

  1. What about that nagging splinter of guilt - that I can’t really ignore or rationalize - How is it removed

  1. The answer is Jesus ! Is He Lord ? Is your Life Built on Him / Word ?

Do you do what He says ! Not perfect but consistent

The following words are from an old engraving on a cathedral in Labeck, Germany:

From Christ our Lord to us:

You call Me master and obey Me not.

You call Me light and see Me not.

You call Me the Way and walk Me not.

You call Me life and live for Me not.

You call Me wise and follow Me not.

You call Me fair and love Me not.

You call Me rich and ask Me not.

You call Me eternal and seek Me not.

If I condemn thee, blame Me not.

Many will say in that day - Lord / Lord …… Depart from me I never knew you

WHAT IF THAT DAY WAS TODAY !!!!