Let Me Not Wander

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. Are you amazed? You should be. The teachings of Jesus are amazing. They are unlike any other teachings on this earth, from any other teacher that has ever lived. The crowd that day, that heard this sermon, recognized the difference. They knew that this was different than anything they had ever heard. Maybe you have heard this sermon so many times that it has lost its edge. Please read back through and see what you think. I believe that if you open your eyes, you might be amazed once again.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is 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. How do you live your life? Maybe you go to church from time to time. Maybe you go to a Christian School, and there are some Bible classes there and a Chapel service or two. Maybe you go to a Bible study from time to time. Maybe you just came across this blog. Whatever the case is, you are foolish if you do not put the very Words of God into practice. Your foundation will crumble under the storms of life, and your house will fall. If you know anything of the teachings of Jesus, do what you know .

The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. I love this entire verse. Especially the phrase, "...yet it did not fall..." One of the greatest joys of living a life in obedience to the teachings of Jesus is the did not fall . The house might shake and crumble a little. The siding might need to be prepared. Some shingles might fly off. You might need to do some painting where the leaks were. But when the storms of life come... which they will, the house will not fall. Praise God for His word today. His living and powerful word that will change us.

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. Here we are drawing close to the end of the Sermon on the Mount. There have been several different teachings that have rocked the foundations of the listeners in that day, and are still rocking the foundations of the listeners today. But right at the end Jesus tells us probably the most important point of the entire Sermon: the wise man is the one who "...hears these words of mine and puts them into practice." Now, most of my life I was focusing on the rock and the sand. I can even remember teaching people that the rock was Jesus himself, but in this example, the rock, the sure foundation of living isn't Jesus; it is hearing the words of Jesus and applying them to your life. You are wise if you are doing, not just hearing.

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 perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' There are many interesting things about this passage, but there are two things that I don't think should be passed by. One is the surprise of these people. You can almost sense it in their response. They are crying out, "...didn't we do enough? Didn't we do what we were supposed to be doing? How is this possible?!?" They were going through life thinking, and believing that they were OK. But they were self-deceived. The other thing that I would like to point out is the very first word, "Many..." That word is frightening. There are going to be many people who fall into this category. Jesus tells us in another place that the road is wide that leads to destruction, and many will find it.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. I know that to some this might seem like a contradiction. There are many people who know the verse that says, "...whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." But Matthew 7:21 doesn't contradict this verse, it clarifies it. It tells us what it means to "...call upon the name of the Lord..." The people who call , are the people who do .

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, 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. As I mentioned in the previous post, which was ages ago, this is teaching on who we are . And I would like you to notice that the focus of this passage is recognition of others. And even though this passage could be used to do some introspection, it is primarily for discerning who the "bad trees" are. I know that in this modern society we live in, we "aren't allowed" to talk about anyone else, but the Bible would clearly say differently. We are commanded to discern (judge) who the people around us are, from the teachers that we listen to, on down to the friends that influence us on a day to d...

Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. Here we begin some teaching on the reality of who we are . Now maybe you have never looked at this bit of the Bible in this way, but I would like to challenge you to look at it from this perspective. Not looking at other people to see who they really are, but asking yourself if you are a wolf in sheep's clothing.

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 and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. There are other places in the Bible where Jesus tells us that His way is easy, that His burden is light. But as easy as it is, there are still few who find it. Some miss the way because of the deception of the world. Some miss the way because of their own deception. They hear the word, but they never do what it says, so they live, thinking that they are OK, when in reality they are headed down the wrong path. Some miss the way because of the cares of this world. The path to destruction is wide. To get on this path is easy. Which path are you on today?

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. If you would summarize all of the teachings, into one phrase that would be a good rule to live by, it would be this verse. This rule has even made it into the secular world. Some even forget who the author of this rule is, and where it came from. But it is easy to forget to apply this when you hear it too often. In all that you do today, do to others what you would want them to do to you.

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! In relation to the previous two verses, here we see an illustration as to why God will answer our prayers. Probably one of the most important concepts here is that God is good. He is going to give us what is good.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. When we read these two verses, we like to focus on the receiving, the finding, and the opening. I would like to challenge you to focus on the asking, the seeking, and the knocking. What kinds of things are you asking for? What are you seeking after, and what doors are you hoping to open with your knocking?

Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. I suppose that you are hoping for some amazing commentary on this verse. Don't got it. Please feel free to add some input on this one.

You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. I kept this verse separate from verses 3 and 4, because I wanted to talk about the word hypocrite. In the Bible, the word hypocrite is a transliterated greek word, which refers to an actor. So if you called someone a hypocrite, you were in essence calling them actors. If you take this into consideration when you read this passage, then it would say, "you actor, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." Just imagine this, you go to the eye doctor, because you have something stuck in your eye. The doctor comes out with a stick in his eye. Aside from the fact that this would be gross and weird, you would probably say, "whoa! Doctor, umm... are you alright?" Doctor: "Sure, I'm fine, now let me take a look at this..." You: "Wait a minute do...

Why do you look at the speck 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, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? This is one of those verses that we like to quote to others when they are confronting us with issues in our own lives. "Don't you tell me! I know you! I know what you do, get the beam out of your own eye!" Nobody likes to be confronted. It is difficult, and painful at times. But God has designed this life to be lived in fellowship with others, and part of true fellowship is confronting your brothers and sisters when they are in need of it. These two verses are there to help us make that confrontation process a little less painful. I used to think that this meant that I had to be near-perfect before I could confront anyone, but that isn't true. If it were, there would never be any confrontation because none of us are ever ...

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. People love these two verses. Especially when they are doing the wrong thing. I would like you to consider something, first, there will be a judge. So, if you are using these verses to "defend" yourself, then remeber, there will be a judge. Also, you should consider I Corinthians 5:12. (Remember, the best way to understand any verse of the Bible, is to interpret it according to other places in the Bible on the same topic.) "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside." So, judging is not entirely banned. There are cases when it is necessary, even commanded. Try to expand your list of memory verses.

"Beware of placing our Lord as teacher first instead of Savior. That tendency is prevalent today, and it s a dangerous tendency. We must know Him first as Savior before His teaching can have any meaning for us or before it can have any meaning other than that of an ideal that leads to despair. Fancy coming to men and women with defective lives and defiled hearts and wrong mainsprings, and telling them to be pure in heart! What is the use of giving us an ideal we cannot possibly attain? We are happier without it. If Jesus is a teacher only, then all He can do is to tantalize us by erecting a standard we cannot come anywhere near. But if by being born again from above we know Him first as Savior, we know that He did not come to teach us only: He came to make us what He teaches we should be . The Sermon on the Mount is a statement of the life we will live when the Holy Spirit is having His way with us." Oswald Chambers, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount , 1960.