I have now preached twenty-three sermons from Jesus Sermon on the Mount from Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7. Leave it to a Methodist preacher to take one of Jesus’ sermons and turn it into 23 sermons. But Christ’s teachings are so important it was worth soaking in each one.
Let's list Jesus' lessons from the Sermon on the Mount:
- He said you are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
- And Jesus said He didn’t come to abolish the Old Testament Laws but to fulfill them. So therefore, we should live righteously—just as He lives righteously.
- We shouldn’t murder, but we shouldn’t even be angry or curse at people.
- Not only should we avoid adultery, we shouldn’t even lust in our hearts.
- We should be faithful to our spouse, not take revenge, and go so far as to love our enemies.
- We must be generous and help the needy, not in order to impress people with wealth and generosity, but do it privately so no one even knows we are giving.
- With that same attitude, we should pray and fast privately, so no one even knows we’re doing it.
- Store up treasures in heaven where they won’t be corrupted or stolen.
- And don’t worry about anything, but trust God to take of you.
- You shouldn’t be judgmental, thinking your are better than anyone else.
- But don’t throw your pearls to pigs.
- Treat others as you would like them to treat you.
- Because the gate to heaven is narrow and the path to life is difficult and few ever find it.
- And we have to be careful of false prophets, because many will sneak up like wolves dressed in sheep’s clothing saying things people like to hear. But we can tell who is a true prophet by the fruit they produce—because bad trees can’t produce good fruit.
- And we should produce good fruit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Because these are the fruits of a true disciple.
- Not everyone who cries out “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who did the will of God the Father.
These
are the foundational teachings of Jesus Christ. If we say we are Christians, these are the core teachings we follow. And here’s how Jesus finished his sermon—Matthew 7:24-27.
24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”
Jesus says, “Any who listens to my teachings and follows is wise, like a person who builds a house on a solid rock.” Now, we’ve just finished 23 sermons based on Jesus’ core teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. They are challenging, but not difficult to understand. If you build your life upon these teachings, your life will stand against anything.
We will all face many trials and tribulations in
this life. But if your life is built upon
the solid rock of Christ, you will not fall even when rains and floods and wind
beat against you. Now, you know we’re
not talking about rain and floods and wind.
We’re talking anything that life can throw at you: grief, divorce, depression, unemployment,
alcoholism… You can think of hundreds of
trials and tribulations you might face in your life—whether they come in your
own life or in the lives of people you love.
But when these trials come against you, you will not fall if your
life is firmly build upon the solid rock of Christ’s teaching.
Even when cold, dark death comes to visit you (as
it comes for ever person), you will not fall if your life is built
firmly upon the rock of Christ’s teaching.
For everyone “…who believes in Jesus will not perish, but have eternal
life.”
But I must also point out that Jesus says, “Any
who listens to my teachings and follows is wise, like a person who
builds a house on a solid rock.” You’ll
notice he says, listens and follows.
There are many people who come to church every
time the door is open. They love the experience of being at church.
They love the music. They love
the people. They may even love to hear the words of Jesus preached and read from the
Bible. But you can’t build a solid foundation on hearing alone. You also have to follow.
James 1:22 says, “But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.” Many people listen to the Word of God week after week, but never do the Word of God. They are only fooling themselves. It is critical we listen and follow Jesus’ teaching. It is the only way our lives will be able to remain standing when the troubles of life assail us and when death finally comes to visit and we must face Jesus on our last day.
Jesus teaching is a solid foundation that can support your life and even lead you into eternal life in Heaven. Everything else is sinking sand. There are a lot of people who build their life on things beside Jesus teaching. But it’s not a solid foundation. It cannot stand.
You cannot build your life on a foundation of feelings, but so many try. They base everything on how they feel. Some even choose to follow Christ because of an emotional religious experience. Maybe they went to a revival and heard the Word of God or some great spiritual music and it moved them and made them feel something wonderful and the experience led them to follow Christ. But that cannot be the foundation--because the feelings change and sometimes fade. We have highs and we have lows. Feelings are good and can be (should be) part of our walk with Jesus, but they cannot be the foundation.
Some will say they found their faith on traditions instead. They say traditions last generation after generation and are more permanent that feelings and emotional experiences. Traditions can be a helpful part of our walk with Christ, but they cannot be the foundation. Traditions change and sometimes they are wrong. Sometimes we find our traditions are contrary to Scripture and must be discarded. Other times our traditions lose their value when they now longer serve to connect us to Christ and the mission of His Church. So tradition cannot be our foundation.
Others will say the build their life on ideas, reason and philosophy. They want to use their intellect to build a reasonable foundation that doesn't rely on tradition or religion or superstition. Some may even subscribe to the best ideas and knowledge of the modern era. But these also are an inadequate foundation. For we soon find we were wrong. And the morals and values and philosophies of today are soon found by another generation to be out dated and rejected. These too are sinking sand.
What about family? Surely family is a sure foundation upon which we can build. Well, family is very important. Maybe it should be the walls or the roof or the carpet of our life, but it cannot be the foundation. For our family is only human. They cannot fill the void in our life that only God can fill. And family members will disappoint, reject, or die (for they are only mortal). Family cannot be a truly solid foundation.
Nor can the pursuit of pleasures, our careers, wealth, status, popularity, or anything else other than Jesus' teachings be the sure foundation we need to stand against the storms of life. Everything else is sinking sand. If you try to build your life and your faith upon them, they will fail and you will fall.
We are told often in Church (and in the Bible), “Believe in Jesus and you will be saved.” This is true. I can quote many Scriptures that say this and I preach it. But what does it mean to believe?
To believe Jesus means to trust Him enough to leave
behind your life of sin and follow His way of living. Jesus’ way of living is spelled out in the
Sermon on the Mount (as well as the Gospels and the teachings of His people in the Bible).
James 2:14 puts it this way: “What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?” You see, saving faith is listening to Jesus’ teachings and following them.
We all fall short, but God is gracious and
forgiving. In 1 John 1:8-9, it says: “If we claim
we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
So, as we end the message today—as we end this
series of messages on Jesus Sermon on the Mount—I invite you to join me in a
confession of our sins. The words to this confession are taken the new Methodist hymnal "Our Great Redeemers Praise" on pages 738-739. This is part of the Wesley Covenant Service.
Leader: We are those who seek to live as true disciples of Jesus Christ, but sometimes we fall short. Let us now examine ourselves before God, humbly confessing our sins and submitting our hearts so that we do not deceive ourselves and cut ourselves away from God. Let us pray:
People: Father God, You have set forth the way of life through Your Son Jesus Christ, whom You love dearly. We shamefully confess that we have been slow to learn of Him and have been reluctant to follow Him. You have spoken and called to us but we have not listened. You have revealed Your beauty to us, but we have been blind. You have stretched out Your hands to us through our friends, but we have passed by them. We have accepted Your gifts and offered little thanks. We are unworthy of Your unchanging love.
Leader: We now confess to you our sins.
Please forgive us for the poverty of our worship…
for the selfishness of our prayers…
for our inconsistency and unbelief…
for the ways we neglect fellowship and Your grace…
for our hesitation to tell others about Christ….
for the ways we deceive others…
People: Forgive us for when we waste time and when we misuse the gifts you have given us. Forgive us for when we have made excuses for the wrong things we have done and when we have purposefully avoided responsibility.
Leader: Forgive us that we have been unwilling to overcome evil with good and that we have not been ready to carry our cross. Forgive us that we have not allowed Your love to work through us to help others and that we have not made their suffering our own. Forgive us for those times when instead of working for unity we made it hard for others to live with us because of our lack of forgiveness, inconsiderate judgment, and quick criticism.
People: Forgive us for when we have not tried to reconcile with others and when we have been slow to seek redemption.
Leader: Forgive us also for these sins that we silently confess to you now.
Leader: God, the Father of all mercies, is faithful to cleanse us from our sins and restore us to Christ’s image. Praise and glory be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Amen.
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