Sermon on the Mount

Okay. Well, we're gonna we are gonna reading now. So if you want to to Matthew chapter 7, in the the the bibles on your tables, and we're gonna read this section that we've been looking at for the past few weeks. We're gonna start in verse 13. And read through to the end of the chapter.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate to narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, they are ferocious wolves By their fruit, you will recognize them.

Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit. And a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, lord, lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the 1 who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, lord, lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name, drive out demons, and in your name perform many miracles Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, yet it did not fall. Because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice It's like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down. The streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house.

And it fell with a great crash. When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching. Because he taught as 1 who had authority and not as their teachers of the law. Good evening. Just to say, the the the the reason why we did the take that video just because we're not just random.

But there is, at polyapes, that take that tour bus. And and that that was what reminded us of of take that. It was also Bongiovi's tour bus. So if you're into previous era, then you can come and see the tour bus, and you can go on the bus that Barry but Barry What's his name? Gary Barlow.

Barry Bari Golo, Barri Golo slipped on. If you're really entertained and and Bon Jovi, it's it's even more impressive, I think. Was it? Bon John Bowie. Yes.

Yeah. Father help us now, please, as we look at these words, please help us to hear. And to put into practice in Jesus' name, amen. There's a whole series of books called The Bluffers 2. Of sort of pockets.

And they're written by experts to give to fudge your way They give you just the knowledge to be able to fudge the here's the introduction of this guide to horse racing. Instant require all knowledge you need to an expert in the world world of horse racing. Know what to say, what not to say, what went to bet, and why you should never be tempted to invest in a thoroughbred without in if it has got a leg. Never again confuse a hurdle race with a steeple chain or an anti post with a winning post. Easily between going.

That's good to soft or heavy or not going at all. Bask in of your race racing models as you dance confidently on range of turf and hold you against the most arrogant and dismissive of so called experts. It's great, isn't it? Guide to horse racing. Here's another 1, just another 1.

Just quickly, this is the Bluffers to university. So some of you might find this helpful. It's almost the same. Instantly require all the knowledge you need to pass as an expert in the world of university. Know how to get in, where to get in, how to stay in, what to say, where to say it, what not to say.

Where to be seen, what to eat, and even what to wear. Never again could use a bugless. An MA from Oxford or Cambridge with a genuinely hard master's degree. A p 8 a p 8 with a d fill or a cleaning rotor with a clean student flat. And it's got in brackets, otherwise known as an oxymoron.

They're the bluffer's guides to all kinds of things that you can buy. Tonight, I want us to think about a bluff of Christianity, so we can bluff our way in and keep bluffing. And if you carefully, you might be able to bluff your way into becoming a Cornerstone church member. There have been people that have done it. Now, Of course, when it comes to Christianity, there are different church groups and the bluff needs to be fine tuned.

Just as if you're at different universities or in different races, it needs to be fine tuned. But I the general way into church, there are First of all, words. Word. If you're gonna bluff your way around Christianity, you need to know code words, passwords. You need a whole vocabulary really.

And the more you've got, the better, brother. Sister, fellowship, No 1 knows what these mean. Grace, blessing. Praise the Lord. That's a good 1.

The gospel. Testimony. Fraser like this go down really well if you're gonna bluff your way in. I'll pray about it. But you've no intention to, of course.

What knows? That's a good you gotta get the sort of way you say it. The hand always out. God knows, look very concerned. Lord of lords, king of kings, they're very helpful sort of words to have have around.

The emoji is always praying hands. At the end of everything. So words, words, that's 1 thing to bluff your way. Second thing is social norms or characteristics. Now, 1 of the big things you need to learn is what people dislike in the church group.

Who are the real enemies? That's more important than knowing what they like. Because you unite around the enemy. Yeah. And so that will bring you right into the center if you know what to dislike.

Make sure that you sign petitions, but make sure they're the right petitions and make sure that everybody knows that you've signed the right petitions. That's very helpful. That will get you in. Rough roughly sort of dress sort of the same. That's roughly that's quite good.

Don't smoke, at least not around the church building. That's helpful. Have a spiritual experience. That's a good 1. Talk about an experience you've had.

If you've got a great testimony, that's really good. Yeah. I used to be this. But now I'm this. Then then that's really helpful.

I don't know whether any of you have ever read Mark Twain. He was a old American writer. He wrote Tom Soyer and Huckleberry Fin. He's got in those stories who goes around church speaking. He's got estimane.

And he speaks at these these meetings, and the Christians are all excited because he says, I used to be this, and and then I became this, and then he has and, of course, afterwards, gets the money. And then as the story goes on, he's complete fraud. He's He's just a it for me. So what does next is, repent. That's a good bluff.

Where he repents before the crowds and says I was I was false, but now I'm real and he gets more money. So that's a good 1. Singing. Singing. Now you gotta be careful here because hands up, hands down all.

So that's a fine tuning issue there. Look bored or look enthusiastic depending on what group what group you're in. So words social norm, characteristics. This is a Bluffers guy. Third thing, the right heritage.

Know who are the in Christians to know, basically. Get the get the right names. You know, drop in names. That's quite helpful. If you're a parent of of a Christian worker, that helps a lot.

But talk about the you don't have to go to the conferences. But you talk about conferences and speakers and the music, you know, the Christian music. Talk about that. Books, that helps you could drop a few. You don't have to read.

This is a Bluffers guide. You've just got to have the book or at least say you're ordering it from Amazon. Or even better from a Christian bookshop. That goes down even better. But you don't have to have the books.

You've just got to have the summer reading list of the books and that will go down. And that's largely it. And of course, if you go to a few prayer meetings and a few bible study great. If you do, make sure you've got some illness or problem that someone can pray about because because that goes down very, very well. That's the Bluffers guide to Christianity, which can fool most of us because we can't see the heart.

In fact, As you can follow those outward norse, those characteristics, those words without any inward reality, you actually might even fool yourself. Often time is the thing It's the bluffer because you up. But here's my first Jesus knows fucking. Jesus knows you're bluffing. Jesus knows you're bluffing.

The Lord sees through all the He knows who are bluffers and who are believers, who have faith and who are fakes. And his great desire is to expose the fake and the bluffer, not just to expose them to condemn them but to expose them to bring them to faith, to bring them to true reality. So we're at the end of this amazing sermon on the mount. I mean, really amazing. I think all of us preachers sort of feel like we ought to go back and start again preaching it.

We're just sort of be getting getting to know it. I don't know how many sermons are online that we've done on sermon on the mount. I really recommend that you keep reading it. But what at the end, right at the end, we've been seeing again and again that Jesus is saying, what are you gonna do now with this sermon that you've What are you going to do my words? Are you hearing?

Deals with the self deluded and fakers and the bluffers and the pretenders. And he says, have you really list or are you just bluffing? So look at verse We've looked at these before, but in verse 15, he says, watch out false prophets. They're the faint false bluffers. Yeah?

Now these are really, really great bluffers because it says that they come to you in sheep's clothing. But inwardly they're ferocious wolves. They really great bluff. Bring the right cloak look like sheep. But that even you in time will see through them.

So it says, they come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, they are ferocious wolves. It says, buy their fruit, you will recognize them. Their wolves and they feed on lambs. They're the great bluffers because they dress like a Christian but they never give They're never thankful. They're always mean.

They're always selves. They're always the lambs. Assuming and never get fake. Boss. And on file, you see their flea It's interesting good book company a few years ago.

On April fools day, put up a false advert. Do you remember this? A false advert for a new book on April fools day called fleecing flock. And it said, pastors, how to most out of your flock? Yeah.

And people actually try to buy it. That's in this country. It's amazing, isn't it? I'd love to know who those people were. But there we go.

But but but but that's it. They fleece the flock. There's never any give from these people. They're fakes, they they eat you alive. Yeah?

Even though they claim to be a prophet. A men versus 21 and 22, as we saw last week. Look at these. Not everyone who says to me lord, lord, see here's the bluffers again, will enter the kingdom of heaven but only those who do the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord lord, did we not prophecy in your name and in your name, drive out demons, and in your name, perform miracles?

And they will tell you and I will tell them plainly I never knew you away from me, you evil doers. Now these bluffers, they have the right words. That's the first category I was talking about. They have the right words. They have the right theology, lord lord.

He's lord of lords. He's king of kings. They've got the right code words and they've got the supernatural experience They're driving out demons. They're doing miracles, but they're bluffers. Their face.

They don't do what the father wants them to do. And they don't know Jesus and Jesus doesn't know them. He knows they're bluff, but he doesn't know them. In fact, Jesus calls them evil doers, and that phrase means they practice lawlessness They not only don't do the father's will, they do the opposite to the father. Then you come to this last parable that we're particularly focusing in on this evening.

Verse 24 to 27 of chapter 7 24 27 of chapter 7 right at the end of this sermon on the map about the It's about these builders. Wiseman builds his house on the rock, you know, foolish man builds his house on the sand. We've just read it. We should have sung that song. Well, I I don't know why we didn't sing the kid's song.

If you've got it, we could sing it. But it's important. But here we've got another bluffer, the foolish man. He's another bluffer. He can build a house that looks exactly like the other house.

It's a he's a fantastic faker because you can't tell the difference between the wise man's house and the foolish man's house. He's a great bluffer. It's only when a storm comes then you can see who's the fake and who's the real. It's only when the storm hits that it reveals. Who's got a foundation and who and what is the foundation?

Look at verse 24. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like the wise man who built his house on the rock. Here's the words of Christ and puts them into practice. Look at verse 26, but everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like the foolish man who built his house on the sand. 1 has foundations, 1 doesn't have foundations, What are the foundations?

Hearing are some practice. So put all those sections together and we have the Bluff. We have the faker. 1. They can put on sheep's clothing.

They look like a there is never any fruit. Take take take. Never give. Consume, but never all giving. No service, fake bluffers.

2, they have right words and spiritual experience is, but they do not do what the file is, and they have no with Jesus. They can look could like a good house, good times, but no foundation of Jesus. Now, this you might be able to away into church membership. You might be able to. Definitely had church members that are bluffers.

I I've had apprentices that worked with me that's the scary pretty good at bluffing. It's very good and I and I've been around for a long time. I've been So you might be able to bluff your way in church membership, but you can't bluff your way into heaven. Jesus knows. A bluffer.

1. Everyone who says to me, will enter the kingdom of heaven. I'm not bluffed. I won't fall for that bluff, but only those who do the will of my father in heaven. That's the first point.

Jesus knows. Who the bluffers are. Second point. Which builder will you be? The wise or the foolish?

Are you a bluffer? Have you even bluffed yourself? If to the will of the father, you will come to do this as savior and lord. If you do that, will be known by Jesus who will s word to you, and you will seek all humility to put those into practice. If you with all humility his words into practice, You will build your on the rock and you will bear fruit.

Notice what Jesus doesn't say. He doesn't say this, listen carefully. Everyone who hears these words of mine, a wise man who built his house on the rock. He doesn't say that. Everyone who hears these words of mine is like the wise man who built his house on the rock.

He doesn't say that. Put into practice, hear, and put into practice. Ring sermons is not enough. It's a bluff. You you probably heard hundreds of sermons.

It's a bluff. You may have heard from the greatest preachers in the world. You go on the internet and listen to them. It's a bluff. If you don't put into practice, you're man, who builds his any foundation.

Moses Jesus didn't say this. Everyone who these words of mine believes everything I say is like the wise man who built his he didn't say that. Hearing is not enough. Even what Jesus said enough. It's a bluff.

Jesus say, everyone who hears of mine and studies the in a home group is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Jesus didn't say that. That can be a Jesus say, everyone who hears these words and teaches others to put them into practice. Is like the wise man who built his house on the rock. No bluff.

That's a bluff. That's a great 1. That's a great bluff, by the way, to be a Sunday school teacher. The people Jesus says are wise, Gear these words of mine and put them into practice. Put them into Words of mine, verse 24, these words verse 26, put together with verse 21, do the will of the father.

The will of the father is that you obey the words of Jesus, that you put the words of Jesus into practice. You work on them. You live it in them. Just as any athlete practices They may fail, they bowl, and they don't get it right, but they practice, and they practice And they build up the strength, put it into practice. Jesus is speaking the very words of life itself.

Here are these listeners on the mount, listening to Jesus with their ears, and they're listening to the greatest teacher of all time Everybody recognizes that. The the very word of God speaking the very words of God. Everyone that hears these words of and puts them into practice is like the wise man. These words of mine, they're not just words. They are what he is.

He is the word. The words are him. See, I'm very different to Jesus as a teacher. All I can do is stand up here and tell you what he said. But when he says something, he says I say to you.

He speaks the authority of God, your maker. These are the words, the sermon on the mount are the words of the word of God. Just look at these verses. They come up on the screens. Whiz through the bible.

But Matthew 60 here is Peter Jesus speaking to Simon, Peter, 1 of its disciples, Jesus has said, who do you say I am? And it says, Simon Peter answered him, you are the Messiah, the son of the living God. That's who Jesus is. Jesus replied, bless to you, Simon son of Jonah for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my father in heaven. So it's a this is the real spiritual experience.

And I tell you that you are Peter, which means pebble. And on this rock, I will build my church in the gates of Hades or hell or not overcome it. There's the rock to build the church on. And what is the rock? Well, it's certainly not Peter or the first pope or a pope at all.

It's the words of Peter you are the Messiah, the son of the living God. The rock, the foundation is not only the Word of God. It's the Word of God. It's not just words, it's God, it's Christ, it's God come into the world. He's the rock.

That's what you build upon. Or look at 1 Corinthians chapter 3 in verse 11. Here's Paul speaking. And he's talking about to leaders. And he says, for no 1 can lay any foundation other than the 1 already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

He's the foundation. He is. His words from the word. Or look at 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 7. Now to you who believe this stone is precious, But to those who do not believe, the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

He's the cornerstone. He's the stone that you build on. So the wise man builds on that foundation. Who Jesus. Knowing Jesus.

Through his words, the word through his words. The wise man knows Jesus is known by Jesus. That's revealed by god the father to you. The father, by his spirit, reveals to you who Jesus is. And from that point on, a wise man digs deep into the foundations, builds Jesus into every aspect of his or her life.

Digging down, digging down, it may take sweat and energy, and the the man building on hand may laugh at all the energy going in, the reading and the praying and the and the and putting yourself up against the sermon on and seeing where you practice and need to practice. It could become perfect like Jesus. Where you need to work at it. Well, I'm I'm not very skilled in this area. I need my muscles in this area.

I need to run more in this area. Ice man, digs, digs, digs, sweats, puts his energy to a foundation, an and practice. The foolish man, each structure with no foundation. He's a bluffer. He's a bluffer.

It looks good, but there's no foundation. Foolish man only hears the Jesus, but never takes them into his life and puts them into practice. And wisdom and foolishness are seen in the outcomes when the storm hits. See, we build houses. Oh, well, I hope we do.

We build houses to survive the worst weather, not the best weather, do we? I mean, imagine just a builder says, yeah. Well, I built this house. I built it in the summer, beautiful weather, you know, no rain, you know, just sun, just lovely. I've only built it, you know, to survive the best weather.

Alright? Imagine if your builder said that, Paul. Yeah. I built this. It's lovely, mate.

It's finished. Yeah. Just to build the best you know, it's just for the best weather. I mean yeah. Let's forget the storms.

No 1 builds a house to survive the best times. You build a house to survive the storms, unless you're a fool. Bility of your life is really when the storm isn't it? First 20 therefore, everyone these words of mine and puts them into practice like the 1 I built his house on the rock, verse But every everyone who hears these words of mine and do not put them into practice is like the fool who built his house on the stat sand and when the storms come, it will come down with a crash. The test of salvation, the test of the foundation, is will you seek to put into practice when the storms hit, or will you collapse?

It storms that reveal a bluffer. If we put our trust in Jesus as our Savior, As we put our trust in him as our savior, we take him as lord. And as we take him as lord, Day by day we seek to put into practice what he says. The sermon on the mount is what we use. In the power of the Holy Spirit, we put up to be the thing at.

Will joyfully transform into. We practice it. We build on it. Of course, we fail. Of course, we're weak.

But if we have saving faith, what do we do we come back with the first words of the sermon. Bless are the poor in spirit. We see again and again, and our practice goes wrong when we fail against target of the sermon on the mount that we're wonderfully forgiven, that he loves the pouring spirit. That they're blessed because when you fail, you see the Savior who loves you as we were seeing this morning with an intoxicating love He won't give up on us. And when you fail, you come back, poor in spirit.

The word when it's in you will protect you from the storms. Let me just take you A minute, we're gonna read the whole of the sermon on the mount. We're gonna read the whole of it in a minute. We've got different readers. But let me just take you.

Just have a look. Word and see what the storm could be. So verse 3 of chapter 5, just have a look at it. Blessed are the poor were it. Well, what the storm?

The storm will be, well, I thought I was doing very well, but I'm absolutely weak. I've failed. I've failed. Well, bless poor in spirit. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

You come kingdom of heaven, not relying on yourself, but you know lead a savior. Look at verse 5 of chapter blessed are the meek for the earth. When the storm comes that you wanna be proud and full of yourself? What do you meek? Will you practice meek?

Or what about merciful in verse 7? Bless of the mercy but they'll be shown mercy. When when you wanna be cruel to someone, when you wanna have a go at someone, will you show mercy? How are you gonna do in the storm there? Or what about verse 10 when it talks about persecution voicing in persecution?

If the whole against you and mocks you for following g's. Will you actually take form? Will you stand because you'll say it's a joy. Executed in the name of the lord Jesus Christ. Or just think about how you treat people.

Go to 5 and verse 21. It went anger, when the storm is rising in your heart and want to thrash out. Will you practice not being a murderer? Or what about adultery? When there's lust and thoughts coming in your heart, will you practice?

When the storm of adultery hits you? Will you practice faithfulness? Or what about oaths? When when you could get out of something easily, but something better to go to. Someone invited you to a Bond Jovi concert.

And suddenly someone invites you to take that concert. And do you wanna come on the bus? Yeah. And then you get out of it and you say, yes, be yes, and you'll no be no. When the storm is tempting you to say, I can fudge it.

I can lie. I can pretend. I can try and get out of it. Or will you follow the Lord? Put it into practice.

When you say you mean yes? Or do you Hallowed to be your 6. You want him to be hallowed. When everybody's using the name God is a swear word. You say Lord, how's your name?

When you're tempted, blaspheme. By going after another God when the hit. The ultimate storm here, of course, is the day of judgment. When you will stand before Jesus. Will it be fake or fortune then?

Will your whole life crash down? Look at Revelation 21. Those who are victorious will inherit this. That's the new earth, the new heaven. And I will be their god and they will be my children.

But the cowardly, the unbelieving the vile, the murderers, to sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars. They will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur, the second death, hell itself. You practicing those things? Are you cowardly, unbelieving, vile, murderer, sexually immoral, magic arts, liar. Are you practicing Well, your practice will lead you house will collapse when the store judgment hits you.

It's interesting in Revelation. People call for rocks to fall on them to hide themselves from Jesus, the rock. Fall on us. Will the rocks fall on you? Or will you stand on the rock Jesus?

My third point. My third point. It's in verses 28 and 20 ninth, right at the end. Such a lot in this. 20 and I am amazed.

My third amazed. Look at it. Look what happens. When Jesus has finished saying these things, The crowd were amazed. They're amazed at his teach because he taught as 1 who had authority and not as their teachers of the law.

They're amazed. They're really impressed. Now I don't know about you, but I've always read that as as sort of like, wow. That was great Jesus. Thank you very much, and sort of almost belief.

But actually, it's unbelief. They're amazed. It doesn't say they put it into practice. They were just amazed. And if you work your way through Matthew's Gospel, you'll see that that word, a astonished amazed is used for unbelief in Matthew.

Jesus does a miracle in his hometown and they were amazed. And they said, who does he think he is? He's a carpenter's son and they unbelief. They're amazed And why were they amazed? Look, verse 29 because he taught us 1 who had authority.

He he doesn't he doesn't refer to all the rabbis and all the suggested ideas. And have you thought of this? Tangle here. He teaches us 1 who has authority, not as Or the teachers of the law would rabbi a thingybob said this, and so said this. Compare rabbis think, talk and talk and talk and they never know.

This 1 comes here. Speech like he's the worst God. Because he is. Amazing. He's so different to all the other tea.

Hered amazed means to strike out to panic, to dumbfound, to be at a loss. They'd come founded They're amazed. Amazing to you, he said. He didn't even refer to the rabbis. They're amazed, but they're not converted.

Always gets me that I don't know about you. If you watch a film on the telly or even just in in the cinema, you watch a film and you might be moved You spent, you know, 2 hours, and this whole film has built up to the end, and it's just finished. And almost just before it's finished, people are getting up out of their seats and going. It's it's extraordinary. I I I always think that's weird.

Or on Kelly, isn't it? You've just had this moving film. Yeah? And it's finished. And and as soon as it's finished, It goes you know, the the titles go like that.

A head comes up. The continuity bloke says, and now we're going over to see what Love Island are doing. And and it it completely just takes away. You've just seen an amazing film, had a great experience, paid for it, been taken up, almost cried, probably have cried in the cinema. And immediately, you're out and you're talking about something else.

Where should we eat? Or oh, what's happening on Love Island? Oh, look at her. On here. We go from 1 thing to the other.

Amazing. That's our world. Amazed. Jesus words. They are phenomenal.

What's for tea? What is happening on Love Island, actually, thinking about it? Did she kiss him? Did he kiss her? Did he kiss him?

I all kid. What's a tone? Are you gonna be amazed an amazing sufferer. What will you be then? Fake or faith in Jesus.

Bluff or belief. Pretend or a personal obedience, amazed or obey. Which 1? Let's have a moment of quiet. Let's think through these words.

Are you gonna be wise or foolish over to Tom?