Sunday, August 9th • Beau Bradberry
"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock." — Matthew 7:24
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Thanks for listening.
We are wrapping up our series on the Sermon on the Mount.
As you turn there, I just want to kind of remind everybody, we talked about our Discovering
Willow class in the announcements.
If you're looking to make this place your home, or to find out more information about
Willow Ridge Church, but we're excited about the new season that awaits us in the life of
our church, right?
Like, so conversations we're having right now, we're figuring out, giving details about is
the importance of our small groups, and how we're regathering with them back in the fall.
Conversations about baptism, as we've seen people give their life to the Lord over these
last several months.
And so the encouraging part for me, right, is the movement and the work of God is continuing
on, and we're continuing to push forward with that.
So I want to thank you guys, whether you're here joining us, or whether you're at home
joining us as we push forth to be obedient to God together.
So the parable that we are going to look at this morning is the parable of the wise and
the foolish builder.
And it's important that we know that, like every parable that we've talked about in this
series, the context in which Jesus gives this parable.
This parable that Jesus shares is at the very beginning of his earthly ministry.
All right, so Jesus has been out doing some stuff.
Matthew chapter 4 tells us that Jesus had been going into the synagogues and teaching.
It tells us that he had been out proclaiming the gospel.
And so that from the, whether it's in the synagogue, whether it's out into the streets, the message
that Jesus is teaching is different than any message that they've heard before.
You know, Jesus is surrounded by religious people.
Jesus is surrounded by a people who has, it's been ingrained in them of what to do.
But as Jesus comes and shares something, it's a new message that they're not familiar with.
But then it also tells us that Jesus has been already performing miracles, that Jesus has
been healing people.
And so what is beginning to happen very early on in the stages of Jesus's life, that there's
this large gathering that surrounds Jesus whenever he goes somewhere.
In that group that is surrounding with Jesus, there's the group of people who were his disciples.
Jesus has already started to call that close group that's going to follow him.
There's another group, while they're not in that inner circle, but they've committed their
lives to seeking after Christ and they're following him as well.
But an interesting dynamic that we also find in this group that follows Jesus is there's
the skeptics, there's the critics, and there's the curious.
So even as Jesus goes, right, they've heard stories of the things that Jesus has taught.
They've maybe even been in the synagogue when Jesus begins to teach and they think, wait a
minute, that's different than what all the other teachers are saying.
They've heard about the miracles that he's performed.
And so they too begin to follow Jesus, not necessarily to follow him and surrender their life, but
following out of curiosity.
What is he going to say next?
What is he going to do next?
Whether their hearts are intrigued by him or whether they're disgusted by him because they
disagree.
And so the setting that we find ourselves at the beginning of Matthew chapter 5 is Jesus
is on the side of a hill and he looks around and he sees that the crowd is great around
him.
And so Jesus sits down and he begins to give the Sermon on the Mount.
And at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, the longest recorded sermon in Scripture that
Jesus gives, he does like a lot of teachers or communicators or pastors do, he ends it with
a story.
And it's the parable that we're going to look at this morning.
And so let's look at Matthew 7 starting in verse 24.
Jesus concludes this long sermon with this, everyone then who hears these words of mine and does
not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the rock and the rain fell
and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall
because it had been founded on the rock.
And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish
man who built his house on the sand and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds
blew and beat against that house and it fell and great was the fall of it.
So everyone who has heard this story of Jesus has all heard the same words.
They've all sat through it.
They've heard Jesus talk about prayer.
They've heard him talk about fasting.
They've all heard him talk about divorce.
They've heard him talk about what it means to be blessed.
They've all heard him talk about retaliation.
Regardless if they're a committed disciple or they're a distant skeptic, everyone who has
come and sat on the side of this hill and listened to the words of Jesus have all heard the exact
same thing.
And so Jesus begins to tell a story about two men who find themselves in the exact same situation,
who find themselves with the exact same knowledge, but choose to do something different based off of
the same information.
And so Jesus says, as you've all sat here and as you've all heard these words of mine,
it's like two builders.
One builder who builds his house and builds his house on the rock and the storms would come,
but the house would stand.
But there's a foolish builder and the foolish builder does not build his house on the rock.
Instead, he builds his house on the sand and the wind comes and the rain comes and the floods come.
The same one that came to the other and his house falls.
Well, one is wise and one is foolish.
And what makes one wise and one foolish?
Their willingness to do what they have been told and they have commanded to do.
And what we begin to find in this parable of what Jesus teaches is that when the storms come,
they will reveal the quality of the work.
That when the same storms come to you, when the same storms come to me,
what's going to happen in our life is the storms of life are going to reveal the quality of the work
of the foundation in which the house or the life is built on.
So let's understand this story that Jesus tells.
One says one built on the rock, one says one built on the sand.
Well, here's the truth.
When you would look at both of the houses,
they both would appear to having been built on the sand.
So let's talk about this sand in the Middle East and the area in which Jesus lives.
We're not thinking about sand like I have in my backyard.
You know, one of the things about living in Lexington is depending on what side of Lexington you live,
right, you either have clay that's impossible to dig through,
or you have sand, which is very easy to dig through, right?
Now, I have sand at my house.
And so when it comes time to dig, it's very, very easy to dig through that sand.
That's not the sand that Jesus talks about here.
The sand that Jesus talks about here is desert sand that experiences floods.
Well, when the floodwaters would come and mix with the sand,
and then the sun would begin to bake on the sand, guess what would happen?
That sand would turn into almost like concrete.
If you're here with us at church, almost like the tile floor that you guys are sitting on today,
that level of hardness would be the level what the sand would be.
So you're there, and you're going to build your house.
Well, you have to make a choice.
Do I choose to dig through the sand?
Do I choose to get out my tools that are possibly going to break?
Do I choose to go through the back-breaking work in order to get the firm foundation?
Or do I just build on top of it?
It's hard.
It'll withstand.
So one man chooses to do the hard work, and one man chooses to do it his way.
Well, what would happen during this time is, like we said,
it would be common to rain, be common to flood.
This area that Jesus was speaking in, that people would understand, would have been in a valley.
And so what you and I would consider a light rain, but it would rain over time.
And not only would the rain that fell from the sky land there,
but the rain that would come into the mountains would channel and would funnel.
And what at one point in time looked like dry land would all of a sudden become like a river.
And what would happen is that hard, packed-down sand that felt like concrete would now turn into mush.
And the house that was built on the sand would blow away.
And so what we begin to see is that Jesus says, look, there's one man who does it the wise way,
who does it the way that he's been told to do.
But there's another man who does it his own way, who does it the way that he wants to.
So Jesus looks at this group of people at the very beginning and says,
you've heard these words of mine.
You've heard everything that I have to say.
You're going to have to make a choice.
Are you going to do it your way?
Are you going to do it the way that I'm calling you to?
It's important for us to know Jesus both defines wisdom and foolishness in this passage of Scripture.
You see, for Jesus, wisdom is knowledge and obedience.
For so many of us, we think that wisdom is just knowing something.
Well, if I know this, then that makes me wise.
But when it comes to biblical application of Scripture and what God is calling us to,
wisdom is more than just knowing.
Jesus says, no, no, no, wisdom is about knowing these words of mine
and putting them into practice like the wise man who built his house on the rock.
But then Jesus also defines foolishness.
You see, there's a difference between foolishness and ignorance
because foolishness is knowing but being disobedient.
Jesus says, but the foolish man is the one who hears the words of mine
and doesn't put them into practice.
So you know what you're supposed to do.
But as it resonates in your heart, as you process through it in your mind,
you decide, no, no, no, no, no, Jesus, my way is better.
This is how I'm going to approach it.
This is what I want to do.
And so foolishness wrestles with not what we feel,
not what we want,
not what we've been taught by others,
but wisdom is what has Jesus called us,
commanded us,
and desired for us to do.
And church, as we go through this,
every single week,
as we journey through Scripture
and understanding God's standard for our life,
what we find,
what rang true almost 2,000 years ago
that rings true today
is that as the body and as the people of Christ,
what he calls us to do is to be different.
That within the course of our obedience to God,
that we're going to have to do things differently than the way we feel like we want to do them.
That we're going to have to do things differently than the way that we want to do them.
That we may even have to do things differently than how others tell us we should do them.
And it's been the heart of everything Jesus has gone through
and has taught through them in the Sermon on the Mount.
You see, beginning in Matthew chapter 5,
Jesus is going to begin to lay out for them what following him looks like.
And what following him looks like,
and I think we as the church,
we sometimes skate around this and want to ignore this.
Following Jesus isn't easy.
Following Jesus is going to be difficult.
Following Jesus is going to be hard work.
Following Jesus is going to be a commitment.
Because Jesus says,
it's following me is like the wise man that puts in the work.
It's like the wise man that does the hard stuff.
It's like the wise man that pushes through.
Not like the foolish man who was done in a day.
Not like the foolish man who said,
well, this is easy.
Well, not like the foolish man who said,
well, this is how I feel.
But the wise man who took the words of Jesus
and applied them to his life.
Now, several years ago,
I preached through the Sermon on the Mount.
All right?
And it took me about 18 weeks
to preach through the Sermon on the Mount.
Now, what I want to do is
I want to preach through the Sermon on the Mount,
but this time do it in about 18 minutes.
Okay?
So, pray for me as we kind of go through this.
Because it's important.
Jesus starts it out by saying,
these words of mine.
So, everything he's built on from that moment
rests in the understanding of this parable.
From that, I'm going to,
now that you know these things,
now that this has been entrusted to you,
whether you're the skeptic,
whether you're a disciple,
if you're going to be in a relationship with me,
if you want to be wise,
if you want to live in the life that glorifies God,
then this is what this looks like
on a day-to-day basis in your life.
And the problem with everybody in the crowd
2,000 years ago
is the same problem
with everybody in the crowd today.
It goes against a lot of the things that we feel.
It goes against a lot of the things that we want.
And it even goes against a lot of the things
that others teach us and tell us to do.
The gospel so many times comes into conflict
with what my sinful self still wants to do
and still wants to pursue.
And so what I want us to look at
is just an overview, right?
We're not going to read it all.
We're just going to look at an overview
of the four large areas
that I think that Jesus attacks in this moment,
in the Sermon on the Mount,
that says, look,
if you want to put these words into place,
here's what this looks like.
And it's going to speak against our culture.
And it's going to speak against,
for so many of us,
what comes natural to us.
The first thing is the theme
of the Sermon on the Mount
that Jesus commands is this,
that we are to fight sin and love others.
Now, I'll be honest with you.
If we flip around a couple of words,
it's where our sinful hearts want to push us to.
Our sinful hearts want us
to not fight sin and love others.
Our sinful hearts want us
to love sin and fight others.
That can become our tendency in life.
The sin feels good.
You're difficult, right?
This is what I want.
I don't want any part of that.
But Jesus is going to speak to the core of this.
Jesus is going to teach things
throughout the Sermon on the Mount
and throughout of his life
and what we're going to see in Scripture
that says that you and I,
as his followers in relationships,
when we come into conflict,
do you know what we're supposed to do?
Jesus says we reconcile.
We reconcile.
That that is the heart
and the desire
and the pursuit
and the action of a believer.
That when I'm done wrong by you
and when you're done wrong by me,
the working nature
of what God has called us to
is to reconcile.
Jesus tells us crazy things
when it comes to fighting sin.
Like if lust is an issue,
destroy whatever is causing you to lust.
The example that Jesus gives in Scripture is this.
Hey, if your eye causes you to stumble,
gouge it out.
Now, did Jesus literally mean that?
I think yes.
I think Jesus meant
whatever causes you
to fall into patterns of sin,
destroy it before it destroys you.
What if it was this?
I mean,
are we so committed to following Jesus
that if a piece of technology
causes us to stumble,
would we be willing to lay it down
and take a hammer to it?
What if it was
whatever streaming service
you're a part of?
Would we delete it?
Would we cancel it?
Would we sit down
and have the boldness
to sit down with our spouse
and our kids and say,
look,
this causes me
to go here
and I don't need to go here
and so for the betterment
of my walk
and for my family,
it needs to be gone.
Would we be willing
to go into work tomorrow
and sit down
with our boss
and say,
look,
I gotta share something.
There's an individual here
who I'm in a relationship with
and it's not God-honoring
and it's not glorifying
and if I'm even married,
it's not glorifying it.
So I'm done.
I'm done.
But that's crazy.
That's insane.
Jesus would never expect that.
I'm still paying on my iPhone.
Why would I break it?
I don't know if he says
if your eye calls
as you gouge it out,
I think he takes this stuff
pretty serious.
That fight sin,
love others.
In a world
in which we're taught
to press back
when others press on us,
Jesus says,
if someone slaps you
in the face,
don't hit them back.
Give them the other cheek.
Now, here's the words
that Jesus uses is this.
If you punch me,
I think I can handle that.
These aren't Jesus' words.
These are my words real quick.
All right?
If you punch me,
I think I can handle that.
The words that Jesus uses is this.
If someone backhands you,
right?
Now, the point of backhanding anything
is to both show power
and dominance
and to embarrass the person
that you're doing that to.
So Jesus says,
if someone backhands you,
turn the other cheek
so that when they come back by,
they can just hit you again.
And then you do nothing.
But stand up for yourself.
But defend yourself.
Jesus says, no,
it's bigger than that.
We fight sin.
We love others.
The second thing
that's a big thing
that Jesus talks about in this
is he addresses the comfort
of the people who are around him.
Jesus speaks to the very heart
of what they long for
and for what they want
in their lives.
And here's what I want to speak to.
There may not be
a more unlike,
Christ-like characteristic
that the church embodies
any more so than entitlement.
And that when we as Christians
feel entitled as people,
as this is what we deserve,
that this is what is owed to us,
that I deserve to always get what I want,
that I always deserve
to get what I feel like is mine,
and Jesus is going to speak
to the heart of that
as believers.
And he says, no, no, no.
We're going to speak to comfort.
And at the very beginning,
Jesus says that it has got
to be within us
that what we desire for,
what we long for,
and what we pursue
is sacrifice.
The complete opposite
of entitlement.
That even though
this is what I've been given,
this is what I lay down
before you.
And so that in our lives,
when we begin to manifest this
and walk through this
and play this out in our life,
it means that we give to the needy,
that those who are in need,
that we looked at
with the parable
of the Good Samaritan,
that that's in our heart,
and that's who we are,
that we long to give
to those from our abundance,
from what we have,
and even from our sacrifice
so that others can have.
Jesus speaks to comfort
and he addresses something
that really wrestles
with all of us,
especially maybe right now
as you're thinking about lunch.
And Jesus says,
no, we've got to fast.
We've got to fast.
Because we've got to say
that our own personal comfort
is nothing like the depth
of the relationship with God
when I depend on him.
As we think about our comfort,
I think the last two
are really going to ring true
in what we're talking about
and what we're living in
in our days right now.
And this is not me being pro
or anti anything
other than being pro
the words of Jesus.
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount
says this,
don't worry about your life.
We get that.
Don't worry about your life.
Jesus says it's in God's hands.
It's in control.
Now we're not called to be foolish,
but Jesus says,
don't worry.
I've got this.
I know the number of your days
and I have you here
for a plan and for a purpose.
It's a big thing
that we're battling right now.
Don't worry doesn't mean be careless.
Don't worry means trust God.
Jesus says,
Jesus says,
look,
as a command,
don't be anxious.
I want to say this
because I had a conversation
even with somebody
after our first service.
I know
what anxiety
feels like.
I know
what depression
feels like.
The scariest day
of my life
was about 12 years ago.
I walked up,
was in a season
of stress
like I hadn't
at that point in time
ever experienced before.
Walked up onto the stage
Sunday morning
to perform my job
as a pastor.
The lights cut on.
I saw everyone
in the audience.
I saw the camera
that we had
cut on
and in the moment
all of the stress,
all of the anxiety,
all of the worry
hit
and I went into
a panic attack
filled with anxiety
like I'd never
experienced before
and in the midst
of the service
I took off
my mic pack,
I handed it
to my youth pastor,
I said,
whether you've got it
or not buddy,
you've got this.
I walked out the doors,
I found an empty room,
I got on the floor
and wept like a baby.
Somebody came in
and they said,
what do you need?
I said,
I just want my wife.
Aaron came in there
and he just held me.
I couldn't explain
what I was going through.
Went through counseling,
went to the hospital
that day immediately.
They thought I was
having a heart attack.
I wasn't having
a heart attack.
I think a heart attack
would have been easier
because at least
we know what's going on.
Found out later,
going through counseling,
struggled with anxiety.
So if you're like,
I struggle with anxiety,
let me tell you,
I get it.
I know.
I've been there.
I've done that.
I've walked through.
But I can't ignore the fact
that Jesus says,
don't be anxious.
That that's a command of God.
And here's why.
My heart breaks
if you're someone
who struggles with anxiety.
My heart breaks for you.
I've been there
and oftentimes
I still find that I am there.
But what Jesus wants you to say
is, Lord, here's control.
Everything that brought me
to that point that morning
on that floor
was all of the things
that I was trying to control.
And I realized
I can't do it anymore.
I can't do it anymore.
Jesus deals with our comfort.
Jesus wants to deal
with our prayer.
Jesus is speaking
to a religious group of people.
They know prayer.
But Jesus says,
but I want your prayer
to be different.
I want to be different
than it was before.
And so Jesus begins to say,
hey, this is what prayer looks like.
It's rooted,
it's beginned,
and it's fulfilled fully.
Number one in praise.
Right?
Like our prayers
begin by declaring
the goodness
and greatness of God.
Right?
I don't know about you
and I don't know
how many people
still do this,
but you remember
when you used to write
love letters,
right?
There were some details
that you had to get to,
like I'll see you after class,
let's go here,
all those kind of things,
right?
But they kind of
usually began
with dear so-and-so,
oh, I love you,
you're so beautiful,
right?
And we'd end it with,
I'm so lucky
to be with you.
And when we look at God,
when we approach Him
in a depth that we've
never communicated before,
what He longs for
and what frees our hearts
is when it's rooted in praise,
with the declaration
of who He is,
that God sent Jesus
to redeem His people
so that when we look forward
in Revelation,
what do we find?
What's the end goal?
What do we come to?
We come to the praise
and adoration of God,
right?
It's the closest thing
to heaven on earth
that we'll ever experience.
And Jesus says
that's what prayer's rooted in.
But He also says
that prayer is based
in repentance,
brokenness before Him.
Understand,
we're not talking
about confession,
which is what we do a lot.
God, here's what I've done,
right?
He knows.
He knows the list.
But repentance,
the true brokenness
for what we've done,
the true brokenness
for the sorrow,
and then desperately
seeking His will.
Desperately seeking His will.
And so Jesus begins
to build on
and build on
and build on
all of these things.
But the last thing
that we're going to look at
because I think it culturally
impacts so much
of who we are
is going to be
what Jesus begins
the Sermon on the Mount
with.
As Jesus addressed
what it means
to be blessed.
To be blessed.
Being blessed
is a word
that everyone uses,
right?
Whether you're religious
or not,
whether you're a Christian
or not,
everybody wants
to be blessed.
No one hears
the word blessing
and thinks
that's a bad thing.
And if we were to poll
everybody,
we should get
100% of the people
in here watching online
should say,
yeah absolutely
I want to be blessed.
But then the question is,
well what does that mean?
What does it mean for you?
What does it mean for me?
And Jesus says
at the very beginning
on the Sermon on the Mount
that being blessed
means this.
And it's going to be different.
And it's going to mold you
and shape you
into something more
than this world
would ever have to offer.
because being blessed
begins in a desperation
for Christ.
Being blessed
means being desperate
for him.
Jesus is going to say
that being blessed
means being broken.
You're like,
well I don't want
to be broken
but being blessed
means be broken
for our sins.
Being blessed
means to be humble.
not prideful
not what I deserve
not what I'm owed
not what you should give me
but being humble.
Not thinking less
of ourselves
but thinking of ourselves
less.
Jesus says
that being blessed
means that we
we're desiring
the righteousness
of God
above all things.
that being blessed
means that what I give
is not retaliation
but what I give
is mercy.
Jesus says
that being blessed
means that the desire
of my heart
of everything
that I long for
is an inner
moral purity.
Jesus is dealing
with a group of people
who know how to do
all of the right things.
external
moral purity
is where they thrive
but Jesus says
it has to begin here
and then Jesus says
too
at the heart
of the gospel
what must ring true
in our lives
that blessed
are the peacemakers.
You see Jesus came
to bring peace
to reconcile
and of the heart
of the gospel
of what it plays
out to
in our lives
and in our world
and in our culture
is this
that you and I
having received
that you and I
having been made new
through the blood
of Christ
that you and I
who walk
in the freedom
and the power
of the resurrection
that you and I
as this is where
we find ourselves
if we're going
to be peacemakers
then here's what
it means
to love God
and to love others
that the heartbeat
the cry
of our life
is how do I bring peace
between a holy God
and a sinful man
and so we declare
the hope
of the gospel
of Jesus Christ
so that all may hear
and respond
to his goodness
and gracious
and we bring peace
through that
but we not always
not also bring peace
between God and man
but that we work
as individuals
that in our daily life
to show that peace
and so what do we do
from the very beginning
we reconcile
between each other
we reconcile
between us
because remember
Peter comes
and says
how many times
should I forgive
my brother
seven times
and Jesus says
no
77
no matter
how
many
times
we forgive
we forgive
we forgive
and I want to close
with this
in Matthew 7
the commentary
on the end
of the Sermon
on the Mount
it says
when Jesus
finished these sayings
the crowds
were astonished
at his teaching
for he was teaching
them as one
who had authority
and not
as their scribes
you see
they understood
that this man
that some of them
who they didn't even know
was God
has called them
to something different
than what the world
had for them
and so they had to make
a choice
as they left
would they be wise
and put these words
into practice
or would they be foolish
and continue to do them
their own way
would you pray
with me
Lord we thank you
so much
for this time
and this opportunity
that we could be here
Lord the words
that you give
they cut
to our heart
Lord the words
you give
are powerful
and they call
us
to be different
to set aside
our agendas
to set aside
our foolish
ways
to set aside
what we want
to set aside
what we feel
to set aside
the way
we often times
encourage each other
to be
maybe even set aside
the way that we were
raised to be
but instead
Lord to take
your words
and not to just
know them
but to put them
into practice
at a depth
of a layer
of obedience
that is rested in
and found in you
and in you alone
Lord I pray for
every single one
of us
whether we are
gathered in here
gathered at home
Lord that today
whether directly
or indirectly
we make a choice
every head bowed
and every eye
closed
the first choice
that you have
to reconcile
within yourself
is this
am I willing
to trust Jesus
am I willing
to believe Jesus
am I willing
to surrender
to him
recognize him
as Lord
and Savior
second choice
is this
if you've done
that
if that's who
you are
you know him
and are known
by him
and are found
in him
will you be
like the wise
man who
built his house
on the rock
or will you
be like the fool
who chooses
to do it
your own way
Jesus
I pray
for the hearts
of the individuals
in this room
we all have
a decision
to make
Lord my prayer
is that we
would leave here
surrendered
to you
different
because of you
seeking
obedience
to you
in your name
we pray
amen
in just a moment
we're going to stand
and we're going to sing
I'm going to be out
in the hallway again
like I was last week
if you want to come
and talk to somebody
about a relationship
with Christ
I would love to
talk with you
pray with you
encourage you
point you in the direction
explain to you
the goodness
of the gospel
of Jesus
but church
these aren't
just words
every one of you
myself included
has a decision
to make
as we leave
here today
we all know
we've all heard
are we going
to obey
would you stand
as we worship
and respond
to him
thanks again
for listening
to the
Willow Ridge
Church
weekly podcast
we hope
that you enjoyed
listening to this
week's message
if you'd like
to learn more
about who we are
or explore
additional resources
visit us online
at www.willowridgechurch.com
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you