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Well, I wanted to thank everybody 
for your prayers for our visit to Honduras. It was great. It 
was a real blessing to be able to go to meet the brethren at 
the church there and to just see the people of God, to see 
John and Malena in their element, to see the love that they have 
for the brethren and the obvious love that the brethren have for 
them. I had kind of wished that it would have been a bad thing 
and we'd be able to take John back with us to the group in 
the church that really loves him. They really love him. And 
it does seem like a natural and a blessed fit. I'm sure we'll 
see him again. I'm just not sure we'll see him 
living in downtown Chilliwack. So pray for him. I was in touch 
with him as well within the last few hours. He said to send his 
greetings to everybody at the church here. But yeah, it is 
an impoverished country. Obviously, not everybody is as 
equally impoverished. John and Milena are living in 
a nice three-bedroom house in a nice community. They're having 
a house built on the property of the church building. But on 
the Thursday we were there, we went with Pastor Carlos and John 
to visit some of the poorer families. And it was a real eye-opener, 
just the difficulties encountered by the saints of God in other 
parts of the world, and the hardships and the heartaches that they 
face in their predicaments and in their situation. Sunday, the 
church was very well attended. Apparently, they heard that a 
gringo was going to be preaching. A lot of people came. There were 
some gift bags Carla and Rebecca made up for the kids. So there 
was a lot of children, a lot of activity. But it was just 
a blessing to be able to meet Pastor Carlos and Pastor Luis, 
men that we pray for. And another brother there, Pastor 
Isaias. He is another faithful brother. 
We felt like we were in the presence of C.H. Spurgeon. He looks like 
a younger version of Charles Haddon Spurgeon and the Spanish 
version or El Salvadorian version, but just really nice brethren, 
good fellowship. The hospitality was wonderful, 
and it was just a blessed time. And so again, we thank you for 
your prayers. It was good to hang out with Nathan and Carla, 
of course, with John and Milena, and just to share that experience. So we're back and hopefully get 
back to some degree of normal. We'll be in John's gospel next 
Sunday morning, but this morning we're going to look at Matthew's 
gospel. So you can turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7. 
Our focus will be on the two builders in verses 24 to 29. This is the end or the conclusion 
of the Sermon on the Mount. And the conclusion or the end 
starts in chapter 13. So I'll begin reading in Matthew 
7 at verse 13 to the end of the chapter. Jesus says in verse 
13, enter by the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad 
is the way that leads to destruction. And there are many who go in 
by it because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which 
leads to life. And there are few who find it. 
Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, 
but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by 
their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn 
bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears 
good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot 
bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree 
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the 
fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone 
who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, 
but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. 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? And then I will declare to them, 
I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice 
lawlessness. Therefore, whoever hears these 
sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man 
who built his house on the rock. And the rain descended, the floods 
came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did 
not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who 
hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like 
a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended, 
the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, 
and it fell, and great was its fall. And so it was, when Jesus 
had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at 
his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not 
as the scribes. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our 
God and our Father, we thank you for this beautiful day. We 
thank you for the sunshine, for the declaration of the glory 
of God through the created order. We thank you as well that you 
are sovereign, and in your providence you control all things. You govern 
all your creatures and all their actions. We rejoice in redemption 
and the fact that we've been saved by grace through faith 
in Christ Jesus our Lord. We praise you for his life of 
obedience, his death as a substitutionary sacrifice, his resurrection again 
the third day. We praise you for that current 
session now at the right hand of God Most High and we look 
forward to his return again in glory to judge the living and 
the dead. We pray now that you would send 
forth the Holy Spirit as we consider this passage of Scripture. Help 
us, God, to examine ourselves in light of the holy word of 
the living and true God. Forgive us for our sin and our 
unrighteousness. None of us does the will of God. 
None of us obeys the words of Christ as we ought. So please, 
even now, cleanse us from all sin and all unrighteousness and 
all of the wickedness that remains in our hearts. And for any and 
all who've come here this morning, still strangers, to your grace 
and to your mercy, we pray that today would be the day of salvation, 
that you would open their eyes to behold the truth as it is 
in Jesus, that they would hear that word and that by grace they 
would do what Christ says. And we ask this in the name and 
for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, the section 
I read concludes the Sermon on the Mount, so Jesus teaches in 
Matthew chapters 5 to 7, and it is the first of five discourses 
in Matthew's Gospel. Some have seen similarity with 
Moses. Moses went up on the Mount, and 
Moses preached, or preached, or taught the law. Jesus does 
the same sort of a thing. And when we come to this particular 
section, we see that it concludes the conclusion. So verses 13 
to 27 conclude the Sermon on the Mount as a whole, but verses 
24 to 27 specifically conclude it. You notice that by the way 
verse 24 starts, whoever hears these sayings of mine." And that 
reflects the entirety of his teaching in Matthew chapters 
5 to 7. But in terms of that whole concluding 
section, beginning in verse 13, we see that Christ speaks of 
two ways, verses 13 and 14, two trees, verses 15 to 20, two claims, 
verses 21 to 23, and then these two builders in verses 24 to 
27. RT France says the resultant 
four sections, the ones I just mentioned, therefore press increasingly 
closer to home. The first is a simple contrast 
between saved and lost. The second concerns outsiders 
who merely pretend to be insiders. The third looks at those who 
think they are insiders but are not. And the fourth draws a line 
even within the group of insiders, those who hear Jesus' words, 
between those who respond and those who do not. So Christ is 
saying in this section as a whole that it's not just that you hear 
the doctrine, it's not that you... just hear the DJ. It's not that 
you just have some degree of familiarity with the Bible, but 
by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus, you must do what 
God says. And so these two builders illustrate 
that. So we'll look first at the wise 
builder, secondly at the foolish builder, And then we'll end with 
the authoritative preacher, because in verses 28 and 29, we see something 
unique in John's gospel. I mentioned that there are five 
major blocks of teaching by our Lord, and they all formally conclude 
with Jesus having completed or ended these sayings. But this 
is the only one that records for us the response of the crowd, 
and they're astonished because he taught not as a scribe, but 
he taught rather as one having authority. But let's look first 
at the wise builder in verses 24 to 25. We'll see first the 
description and secondly the illustration. Notice it is the 
conclusion of the sermon. Verse 24, therefore. This is 
how sermons typically end. Again, it's not enough just to 
hear the doctrine. It's not enough just to be confronted 
with the written word. It's not enough just to be confronted 
with the preached word. You must act, you must by grace 
believe, you must by grace live in a manner that is consistent 
with what God says to you. Notice, he speaks concerning 
these sayings of mine. Again, something unique in the 
life and the ministry of the Lord Jesus that this crowd was 
able to discern. they would come and basically 
appeal to rabbis. Not that Jesus didn't appeal 
to prophets, not that he didn't appeal to the written word of 
God, but in the rabbinic tradition they always just sided with the 
rabbis. This rabbi said this, this rabbi 
said that, where Jesus now shows that he has the ability, he has 
the prerogative, he has the right and the authority to legislate 
in the kingdom of God. And that's what he does. Whoever 
hears these sayings of mine, everything ultimately hinges 
upon God's Word. What you do with it or what you 
don't do with it. Christ says that, and then he 
goes on to say concerning the specific response of the wise 
builder, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them. Again, the doing of these things. is the primary difference between 
the ones not doing these things. Now the scene described, if you 
look back at verses 21 to 23, refers to the Day of Judgment. 
I don't take this wise and foolish builder in the same way. Not 
that they won't come to the Day of Judgment, Not that they won't 
finally meet the Lord Christ on His throne of glory to judge 
the living and the dead, but I think verses 24 to 27 is more 
connected to what we'll find later in the book of James. James 
talks about true and false religion, true and false faith. The saving 
faith that a man has will ultimately lead to fruit. There will be 
consequent fruit as a result of his having been saved by grace 
through faith. And I think that's the emphasis 
that Jesus is drawing out here. He is speaking more in terms 
of what James does in James chapter 1, with reference to being a 
doer of the word, and not merely a man or a woman or a boy or 
a girl who hears the word. Remember, James uses that very 
pertinent illustration, the man who looks in the mirror and then 
walks away and forgets what manner of man that he is. That's not 
the doer of the word, that's a man who receives it for a moment, 
it makes some sort of an impression, but he forgets it almost immediately. 
No, the doer of the word comes face to face with that word. 
He's not a perfect doer. He's not an infallible doer. 
He's not a doer that never has any stumbles or issues or problems 
or challenges, but the overarching theme in his or her life is that 
he is a doer of the word of God. Again, that's the emphasis of 
our Lord Jesus. He is not calling us to, and 
he's not specifying that faith in him results in sinless perfection. 
Christ knows that there is remaining corruption in the hearts of all 
of God's people. There is a big difference between 
those who hear the word and do it, and those who hear the word 
and don't do it. And so Christ is highlighting 
that reality. And in the context, the one who 
walks the narrow way, the one who avoids the false prophets, 
the one who does the will of the Father, 721-23, the will 
of the Father there is first and foremost belief in our Lord 
Jesus Christ, looking to Him for justification, looking to 
Him for salvation. So the one who walks the narrow 
way, who avoids the false prophets, who does the will of the Father, 
is the one who hears the words of Christ, and he does them. 
He acts upon them. He lives in light of them, again, 
with all of the qualifications notwithstanding, imperfectly, 
fallibly, with issues and challenges and ebbs and flows and a few 
steps forward and a few steps back. Nevertheless, the overarching 
theme of his or her life is that there is this commitment to the 
word of God. That's what saving faith does. That's what saving 
faith produces. That's what saving faith promotes. 
That's the emphasis in James 1 and James 2. And James didn't 
make that up. James didn't just conceptualize 
it. James got it from his half-brother, 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And most likely, I would argue, 
a lot of James has the Sermon on the Mount in terms of its 
background or its backdrop. Gil says, he is not only an hearer, 
but a doer of the word of the gospel, the doctrines of it he 
receives in the love of them and exercises faith on them upon 
Christ. His grace is righteousness held 
forth in them, which is the great work in business of a Christian. 
He is to do and does do in this life. The ordinances of it he 
cheerfully obeys, and all the duties of religion he performs 
from love to Christ, without any view to obtain eternal life 
hereby, which he only expects from Christ as his sayings and 
doctrines direct him. In other words, he obeys Christ 
not because he thinks that's the means by which he'll be saved. 
He obeys Christ because he has been saved. He's been conquered 
by sovereign grace. He's been justified freely by 
grace, and that grace is appropriated through faith, in the Lord Jesus. When that faith is there, when 
the man or the woman is born again, there will be fruit. There 
will be that consequent effect in terms of his belief in the 
Savior. Now notice how he illustrates 
this wise man. He says, I will liken him to 
a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain descended, 
the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. 
And it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. So the wise 
man builds his house on the rock. I mentioned that James, I think, 
draws from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. I think that Jesus, 
at least to some degree, draws from Solomon in the Book of Proverbs. You have wisdom addressing her 
hearers in such a way as to build their house, as to enter in to 
the house of wisdom. It's the fool who despises that. 
It's the fool who rejects that. It's the fool who'd rather not 
be present in the house of wisdom, but chooses the folly of sin. 
The wise man hears the word of Christ, he looks to Christ in 
faith, rests upon Christ, and then follows Christ. Again, this 
is Christianity 101. We all know this, but this is 
the distinguishing factor between the two groups presented by our 
Lord Jesus in this section. You've got the wise builder. 
Now, the wise builder isn't ultimately wise in himself. The wise builder's 
house isn't ultimately not beat down by the storms because of 
the wise builder. It's founded on that rock. It's 
founded on that foundation. The strength, the glory, the 
power, the excellence goes to our Lord Jesus Christ. So the 
wise man's house is built on the rock, but then notice that 
there are trials that the wise man faces. See, the Christian 
life does not make us immune to the difficulties in this world. 
Well, I've become a Christian now. I'm not going to have any 
trials. I'm not going to have any afflictions. I'm not going 
to have any opposition. I'm not going to have any hardship. 
Again, that might work for the Benny Hinn crowd, but that doesn't 
work for the Bible crowd, because the Bible crowd reads what Jesus 
says at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, or at the end of 
the Upper Room Discourse, when Jesus says, in this world you 
will have tribulation. We hear that. We see that. We 
witness it, not only in our Bibles, with reference to the godly men 
and women that make up redemptive history, but we see it in redemptive 
history. We see it in the history of the 
church. We see it in the martyrdom of God's faithful saints. We 
see it in our own life, in terms of the trials and the afflictions 
that come to us. Just being a believer does not 
make you immune from the hardships associated with life. This is 
a tough world. This is a sin-cursed world. There 
are consequences affecting us that are oftentimes directly 
connected to us, and even indirectly. And so Christ says that this 
man's house will stand strong, again, because of the foundation. 
Not because of his wisdom, not because of his ability to build, 
but ultimately because the house was founded on the rock. So the 
believer is not free from trials and afflictions. But as well, 
the believer is actively opposed by an unholy trinity. He is actively 
opposed by an unholy trinity. He's actively helped. He's actively 
blessed. He's actively encouraged by a 
holy trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 
is on his side. But there is this unholy trinity 
that seeks to disrupt God's people. And so I think when we look at 
a passage like this, verse 25, in the rain descended, the floods 
came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. Jesus is 
underscoring a reality of the Christian life. It ain't easy. It's not simple. It's not for 
the faint-hearted. It's not for the delicate. It's 
for those who understand, by God's grace, that siding with 
our Lord Jesus Christ in this world will oftentimes bring great 
opposition. You have the opposition of the 
devil. 1 Peter chapter 5 tells us the 
devil roams about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may do 
what to? Whom he may devour. That's pretty 
strong language, isn't it? That's language suggestive of 
the decimating influence or power of the devil that he exercises 
over persons. Or rather, he tries to exercise 
over persons. The devil is a sworn enemy to 
the church of Jesus Christ. You see that in Revelation chapter 
12. That accuser of the brethren. 
That one who is attempting to sideline and to detract from 
God's redemptive plan in this world. He rages against the bride. He rages against the church. 
He rages against the people of God. He rages against those who 
are seeking, by the grace of God, to faithfully live for our 
Lord Jesus Christ. It's not just the devil that 
tries to devour, it's the world that deceives. Turn to 1 John 
chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2, you've heard 
the statement, we are in the world, but we're not of the world. And we say that with our Christian 
ease, but at times it's not always so simple. You know, we're in 
the world. That's obvious. We're not, you 
know, on Pluto. We're not on Neptune. We're in 
the world, the earth that God made. We're not 
of it. We don't have that same orientation. 
We don't walk lockstep with the godless. But there are those 
seasons and there are those times when there is a war waged against 
us, and John indicates that. 1 John 2.15, do not love the 
world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the 
love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, 
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life 
is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is 
passing away, and the lust of it, but he who does the will 
of God abides forever. See, John describes the world 
in language that is very suggestive. This isn't, you know, a neutral 
sort of a situation. You Christians, you just do your 
thing. You just go over there and you 
just do your thing. I mean, I guess in certain times 
in history it's sort of been that way, but in many other times 
in history it's not been that way at all. In fact, there's 
been this active opposition on the part of the world against 
the church. And this is a true enemy. This is a true hostile 
force. This is something that we have 
to reckon with, something we have to defend against. Well, 
I said there was this unholy trinity. You've got the devil, 
roams about like a lion, seeking whom he may devour. You've got 
the world, who's trying to deceive you at every step of the way. 
And then you've got probably the most difficult of the enemies. 
It's you. It's me. It's the guy or gal 
you look at in the mirror every day when you're shaving. It's 
that remaining corruption in the hearts of God's people. The devil is not omnipotent. He's not omnipresent. He's not 
omniscient. There may be a time and a season 
where the devil isn't messing with you. You ever meet those 
people? Oh, the devil only ever messes with me. You're probably 
not that important. He's got other fish to fry as 
well. He is not God. He is creature. So he has limitation. So there 
might be an occasion where the devil is not messing with you. 
You might actually go live off the grid. There's a lot of uninhabited 
space in British Columbia, as far as I know. If you're so inclined 
to, you know, 80% of your life with rain and, you know, wet 
and cold, you're free to go do that. You won't have the deception 
of the world. Now, I'm not necessarily counseling 
you to do that, but I'm just suggesting. You can get away 
from the devil. He may not be messing with you 
today. Might be the A to Ls, and tomorrow it'll be the M to 
the Zs, and so you're an A to the L, so you're okay for today, 
and the devil's not messing with you. You may go live up in the, 
you know, the northern hemisphere or wherever. You want to go live 
somewhere on your own, and you're not affected by the world. You 
may not have a cell phone. You may not have a modem. You 
may not have any of that stuff. But you know what you always 
have? You've always got you. I've always got me. We've always 
got each other. No, I'm sorry. We've got that 
remaining corruption that Paul speaks to in Romans 7 and Galatians 
5. Brethren, the Christian life 
can be difficult. The Christian life can be punctuated 
by tribulation. It can be trials. It can be afflictions. It can be sickness. It can be 
hardship. can be bankruptcy, can be job loss, can be disease, 
can be sickness, can be a whole host of things, can be that unholy 
trinity of devil, world, and flesh. But nevertheless, going 
back to Christ, he says that the man who built his house on 
the rock will stand. The rain descended, the floods 
came, the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did not 
fall, for it was founded on the rock. So the reality is that 
the person who listens to the words of Jesus and does them, 
their house is going to stand. Now, brethren, that probably 
doesn't mean it won't look a little weather-beaten. It won't look 
a little worn. It won't look a little worn out 
by the end. I mean, I'm sure there's going 
to be those marks. There's going to be those wounds. 
There's going to be those brand marks that you bear for the Lord 
Jesus Christ. But when all is said and done, 
that house is going to stand. And Jesus gives the reason, for 
it was founded on the rock. Again, he wants to destroy any 
notion that it's the wise builder. He wants to destroy any notion 
that it's the wise builder's building program. It's the rock 
that makes the difference. It's the sayings of Jesus that 
makes the difference. It's the word of the living God 
that makes the difference. It's not my appropriation of 
it. It's not your appropriation of 
it. It's the it. It's the words of 
Christ. It's the sayings of the Savior. 
The wise man or the wise woman by grace had been given ears 
to hear and hearts to receive that truth. They have built their 
house on that rock. When all of these things come 
against it, the house continues to stand because it's built it 
on the solid foundation of Jesus Christ. My hope is built on nothing 
less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest 
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. Christ is the solid rock. Christ is the solid foundation. 
Christ is the one to whom we have recourse. Now notice, secondly, 
he speaks concerning the foolish builder. Verses 26 and 27. Again, we've got description 
and we've got illustration. The description in verse 26, 
but everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not 
do them. It's interesting, if you go back 
into the plague narrative in the book of Exodus, I'm pretty 
sure it's the plague of hail. The plague of hail. You'll see 
this differentiation between those who heard Moses' words 
and did them, and those who heard Moses' words and didn't do them. Now think about that. You've 
seen frogs more than you'll ever want to see again. You've seen 
lice, you've seen boils, you've seen all these things. And now 
Moses comes and says, you need to get your livestock undercover 
because there's some hailstones that are gonna come out of heaven 
and destroy that. There were actually people that 
heard that and didn't move their animals. Yeah, there were actually 
people that heard that and didn't move their animals. Just like 
in churches all over the world today. There are going to be 
people, I know it's weird, but there's going to be people that 
hear about faith in Christ as the only hope for sinners. Faith 
in Christ as the only means for the entrance into heaven. They're 
going to hear that, and yet they're not going to respond? Yeah, just 
like those fools that left their livestock out for the hailstones 
to decimate and destroy. So Jesus appeals again, in terms 
of illustration, to something that we understand. Everyone 
who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be 
like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain 
descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house 
and it fell and great was its fall. So now the one who walks 
on the Broadway, the one who listens to the false prophets, 
the one who is not a doer of the will of God, which means 
to believe in Jesus, is the one who hears the word of Christ 
and does not obey it. He doesn't do it. Now, be aware, 
brethren, that this is not always easily discernible. There are 
some similarities between the wise man and the foolish man. 
They both hear the sayings of Jesus. The proof is ultimately 
in the pudding, where and how they build their house, whether 
they build it on the rock or they build it in the sand. They're 
all present in the same church. In fact, some of them might even 
nod along while the Word is going forth. You might think, well, 
no, I don't think that's true. Well, there was an instance in 
Israel's history where God tells Ezekiel that that's exactly what's 
going to happen. in a passage charged with warnings 
for the covenant people of Israel, that if they don't believe, they 
don't repent, they don't follow God, they're going to reap judgment 
from on high. The Lord God Most High tells 
Ezekiel that there's going to be people that like your preaching. I'm sure there were people here. 
I mean, the next two verses tell us they were astonished at his 
teaching. Now, brethren, I'm not convinced 
that everybody who heard Jesus teaching in the Sermon on the 
Mount was necessarily converted. Just like I'm not convinced that 
everybody who ever heard George Whitefield preach was necessarily 
converted. George Whitefield had a good 
friend in Benjamin Franklin. You probably know the story. 
Benjamin Franklin was a deist. That means he was not a Christian 
theist. He thought there was a God, but 
the God of Franklin and the God of some of the original founding 
fathers in the United States was a God who created and then 
sort of left things to go on its own. The best illustration, 
it's kind of like a watchmaker. He makes the watch and he puts 
it on the shelf and he lets it do its thing. Deism has no eminence 
with God, no personalness of God and the creation. So Ben 
Franklin wanted to go hear Whitefield preach. And at the end of Whitefield's 
preaching, it often appealed for money, money for the orphanage, 
not money for Whitefield. His wife didn't need a new car, 
but he tried to get money to build orphanages. And Benjamin 
Franklin, I think, said once that, you know, I'm going to 
go, I'm going to hear his appeal, and I'm not going to give a red cent 
for those orphans. Well, by the time the sermon 
was over, he's emptying his pockets to give money to the orphans. 
There's no history, no testimony, no evidence that Benjamin Franklin 
was ever saved, but I would imagine he was impressed at that preaching. 
I would imagine that the man who could say Mesopotamia in 
such a way that a famous actor at the time said he'd pay however 
many pounds to be able to say Mesopotamia the way George Whitefield 
did. In other words, there can be 
preaching that impresses, but does not penetrate the heart. 
And so God alerts Ezekiel to this. As for you, son of man, 
the children of your people are talking about you beside the 
walls and in the doors of the houses. They speak to one another. Everyone's saying to his brother, 
please come and hear what the word is that comes from the Lord. 
So they come to you as people do. They sit before you as my 
people and they hear your words, but they do not do that. You 
see a theme with God's word? It's the doing of it. It's the 
receiving of it. It's the appropriating of it 
by faith and living in light of it. He says, for with their 
mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own 
gain. Indeed, you are to them as a very lovely song of one 
who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument. 
For they hear your words, but they do not do them. And when 
this comes to pass, surely it will come, then they will know 
that a prophet has been among them. It's Ezekiel 33, 30 to 
33. One of the famous watchman passages 
where God says, if you fail to warn, I will require their blood 
at your hands. But if you warn them the way 
you're supposed to, then you will be vindicated. There will 
be no requitement. in terms of any punishment owing 
to you. Remember, Paul does that before 
the Ephesian elders. I have not shrunk back from declaring 
to you the whole counsel of God. My hands are clean. They are 
innocent of the blood of all men. Well, that's the background, 
the prophetic word. People that like it doesn't necessarily 
mean they're converted. And so Jesus uses this illustration. Everyone who hears these sayings 
of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who 
built his house on the sand. Now, that's an obvious illustration. 
If you're going to build a house, even a fool like me knows don't 
build it on the sand, because when all these things in nature 
come about, your house is going to slip right into the sea. Don't 
do that. You need a solid, strong foundation. He is not trying to dazzle in 
terms of the illustration. He's trying to remain simple 
so that everybody can get it. So the rain descended, the floods 
came, the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell. So 
the fool lives without regard for the Word of God. The fool 
lives as if he cannot be bothered with the Word of God. You've 
probably all seen this with persons that you've witnessed to. What 
do they do? They say, oh, thank you. I'm 
glad you've given me the eternal word of God. I'm going to live 
my life according to it. Now, God's grace and mercy and 
kindness, sometimes that happens. For the most part, you meet with 
a person or people that can't be bothered with it, that they're 
not affected by it. They don't get moved by it. There's 
no sort of importunateness on their part that they've got to 
close with Christ. So the fool hears those sayings, 
but the fool does not do them. So the fool is likened to the 
man who builds his house upon the sand. But then notice this 
fool undergoes the same sorts of things that the wise man faces. So for those who say, well, you 
know, you Christians, you have disease. You Christians, you 
have bankruptcy. You Christians, you have your 
misery. Well, so do you non-Christians. It happens out in the unbelieving 
world as well. We just have the sure confidence 
that in spite of all these things, our God is faithful and will 
see us through it and ultimately into the new Jerusalem. But for 
the unbeliever, he doesn't have that. He's built his house upon 
the sand. He's heard the Word of God, but 
he doesn't do what it says. But the same rains come, the 
same winds blow, the same tempests fall upon him, but instead of 
the wise man, his house falls. But notice how Jesus ends the 
Sermon on the Mount. It ends on the emphasis of the 
calamity that is facing the unbeliever. And great was its fall. He doesn't 
do that with the wise man. He simply says, it did not fall, 
for it was founded on the rock. Here he says, and it fell, which 
should be corresponding to the parallel thought the end of the 
Sermon on the Mount. But he ends the Sermon on the 
Mount with the greatness of the fall of the man, the woman, the 
boy, the girl who hears the words of the Sermon on the Mount and 
doesn't do them, doesn't believe the gospel, doesn't look unto 
Jesus, doesn't do the will of God, doesn't go the narrow path, 
listens to the false prophets. is the sort of person in 721 
to 723, who on the day of judgment, instead of saying, nothing in 
my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling, is saying, but 
didn't I, didn't I, didn't I? Great will be the fall of all 
those who've come into contact with the word of the living and 
true God, and yet have not received it, have not believed it, have 
not come to the Savior King. That's where the sermon ends. Some have pointed out that Jesus 
Christ speaks more of hell than heaven in his earthly ministry. 
I haven't actually done the math. I'm sure there's guys out there 
that have done the math. Probably as simple as going to 
a concordance. I just haven't got there yet, but I don't doubt 
the authorities that I've heard say that. That's interesting, 
isn't it? Why do you think he underscores 
that? Why do you think he points to foolish men? Why do you think 
he points to houses built on sand? Because of the prevalence 
of it. Because of the broadness of the 
way that leads to destruction. Because of the manifold number 
of fools that'll listen to a false prophet but won't listen to the 
truth. The manifold number of fools 
that'll stand up on the day of judgment trying to pony up their 
words, instead of resting upon the finished work of the Savior, 
or the person who has heard the Word of God. In Moses' instance, 
they've heard the Word of God mediated through the man Moses, 
that hailstones were going to fall. And on good authority, 
brethren, by this time, Moses was a man you could bet on. And 
I'm not saying you should have or would, but his His predictions 
in terms of calamities were pretty spot on. So when the hail comes, 
they didn't listen. Well, the same is true today 
in churches all over Canada, churches all over Honduras, churches 
all over the United States, churches all over the world. There are 
people hearing the word of Christ that aren't going to do it. They're 
not paying attention. They can't wait till the sermon's 
over. They want to get on with better 
things. They don't want to think about 
the reality that the wise man builds on the rock, the foolish 
man builds on the sand, the foolish man's house ultimately falls, 
but it doesn't just fall, it's a great and calamitous fall. It is a terrifying thing to fall 
into the hands of the living and the true God. Deuteronomy 
4, Hebrews chapter 12, that's a consistent theme in Holy Scripture. And yet all over the earth today, 
people are just, okay, well, you know, no problem. I'll just 
deal with that when I get there. Deal with it now. The best means 
by which to deal with that reality is to come to the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Hear his words in Matthew 11. Come to me, all you who labor 
and are heavy laden, and I will do what? I'll give you rest. 
John 6, all that the Father gives me will come to me, and the one 
who comes to me I will certainly not cast out. Don't despise those 
blessed overtures of God's good grace. Receive them by grace. Believe on him and be the wise 
man who built his house on the rock that is able to withstand 
all of the tempest that life sends our ways. Now notice the 
conclusion, the authoritative preacher, verses 28 to 29. The response of the people, so 
it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people 
were astonished at his teaching. It wasn't just, yeah, yeah, it 
was all right. It was okay, it's a five. I mean, 
he could have done better, better illustrations, a little bit more 
exegesis, a little bit more clarity on the doctrine and justification 
by faith, but it was all all right, it was decent. They're 
astonished, brethren. They hadn't met a man like this. 
We've seen that in the last few months in some of the sermons, 
when Jesus hushes the wind, when he stills the sea. What's the 
response from the disciples? What kind of a man is this? What manner of man speaks to 
the wind and the waves, and the wind and the waves actually hear 
him, and they stop doing their thing? then in this instance, 
they're hearing the Word. They're astonished. The tense 
of the verb suggests that this didn't go away. Whenever Jesus 
taught, they were astonished at His teaching. There's a couple 
other references just here in Matthew's Gospel. Look at chapter 
13. Chapter 13. Specifically at the end of the 
kingdom parables, verse 53, now it came to pass when Jesus had 
finished these parables. So again, like we see there in 
seven. So at the end of a block of teaching, 
there's a statement that concludes that block of teaching. And then 
typically it's the next action or it's the next scene that Jesus 
is going to embrace. Here it says, when he had come 
to his own country, he taught them in their synagogue so that 
they were astonished and said, where did this man get this wisdom 
and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's son? 
Is not his mother called Mary, his brothers James, Josie, Simon, 
and Judas? And his sisters, are they not 
all with us? Where then did this man get all these things? So 
they were offended at him. They're astonished. They wonder 
as to his origin. He was a carpenter or builder. And you know, under his father's 
sort of structure, he has these earthly realm. Where did he get 
this? But instead of them saying, where 
did he get this? This is glorious. Let us come to him. They're offended 
at him. They're scandalized by this. 
Turn to chapter 19. Same sort of an emphasis. 19. Verse 23, Then Jesus said to 
his disciples, Assuredly, I say to you, it is hard for a rich 
man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again, I say to you, it is 
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for 
a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard 
it, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved? 
See, this wasn't a one-off in the teaching ministry of our 
Lord. He was different, being the Son of God, who took on our 
humanity, with all the essential properties and the common infirmities 
thereof, and yet without sin. He was different in terms of 
His authoritative teaching. Look at 22-33, same sort of an 
emphasis. 22, 33, after he answers the Sadducees. Sadducees denied the resurrection 
of the dead. So they come and try to stump 
Jesus. And they ask in verse 28, therefore 
in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For 
they all had her. They're no doubt, you know, smiling, 
grinning. We got him. It probably wasn't 
the first time they used this story with Pharisees. Pharisees 
believed in the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees didn't. 
So the Sadducees wove this tale about the woman who had the several 
husbands. If we, you know, when she gets to the resurrection, 
which they, by the way, denied. When she gets to the resurrection, 
whose will she be? They thought they got him. Well, 
look at what happens. Jesus answered and said to them, you are mistaken, 
not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God. For in the 
resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but 
are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection 
of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God 
saying, in a book they received, by the way, I am the God of Jacob, 
the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. God is not the God 
of the dead, but of the living. This is truly an amazing response 
that he gives to the Sadducees, and that evokes verse 33. And 
when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. So going back to our passage, 
so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people 
were astonished at his teaching. And then it gives the reason. 
For he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. Christ had authority. Christ was not like their scribes. Now the scribes would have had 
a delegated authority as being sort of over the people, but 
again, scribal or the rabbinic tradition was to cite and quote 
rabbis. Rabbi this said this, rabbi this 
said this, rabbi this said this. What does Jesus do? Amen, amen, 
I say unto you. He doesn't do the rabbinic bit. He doesn't appeal to the men 
before. Again, appeals to the prophets, 
appeals to the written Word, because it's His Word, they were 
His prophets. When he speaks here, he speaks 
as one having authority, and they saw that, they understood 
that, they knew that. Calvin says the meaning of the 
evangelist is that the power of the Spirit shone in the preaching 
of Christ with such brightness as to extort admiration even 
from irreligious and cold hearers. There was something unique about 
him. And yet, the text does not say 
that astonishment led them to believe the gospel of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Were there persons that did that? 
We don't know. The Bible doesn't tell us. I 
would suppose there probably were some. but simply being astonished 
at the teaching of Jesus does not put you into the camp of 
the wise man who built his house on the rock. Because it's not 
just hearing the Word, not just appreciating the Word, but appropriating 
the Word through faith, believing what it says concerning the Son 
of God who saves sinners, and believing what it says in terms 
of those who are saved by the Son of God through faith. There 
will be consequent fruit. There will be a life of obedience. There will be a pursuit of Jesus 
Christ. They will be those who follow 
the Lamb wherever He bids them to go. In conclusion, there are 
similarities between the builders. The wolves, verse 15, look like 
sheep. So the foolish builder may at 
times appear like the wise builder. I mean, I haven't ever gone to 
somebody's house and before entering, you know, sort of checked out 
the foundation to make sure that, you know, my visit there wouldn't 
end in calamity. Just don't usually do that. I assume that most people's houses 
are built on solid foundations. But occasionally, you'll hear 
that, you know, that one wasn't built on a solid foundation. 
And there are similarities. Just receiving or hearing, coming 
into contact with the Word of God is not what is in view. The foolish and the wise both 
hear the Word of Christ. The foolish and the wise both 
have the difficulties associated with life. But the foolish and 
the wise are markedly different in the way they navigate through 
those difficulties. The wise, obviously, is founded 
on the rock, which is Christ. The fool is founded on the sand. 
J.C. Ryle made the observation, the 
religion that can stand trial is the true religion. Now, there'll 
always be somebody, well, you know, there's an, okay, there's 
probably an exception to that rule, but for the most part, 
that's a good rule. The religion that can stand trial is the true 
religion. Calvin said, true piety is not 
fully distinguished from its counterfeit till it comes to 
the trial. See, difficulty is what ultimately 
reveals the character and nature of a being. See, when the sun 
is shining, and when the wallet's full, and the kids are happy, 
and the belly is full, it's easy, right, to be a Christian. But 
when those things are dried up, or when those things are gone, 
or when those things are pinched, or when those things are momentarily 
suspended, or perhaps permanently suspended, when the trial comes, 
then we sort of know what the man or the woman is about. It 
is that that reveals the nature, the character, the very heart 
of the man who professes faith in Jesus Christ. So there are 
similarities, but there are differences. The wise man builds on Christ, 
the fool builds on everything but Christ. What are some examples 
of sinking sand? Well, I would suggest the 21 
to 23 passage helps us. Sinking sand would be your works. 
Well, Lord, didn't I do this? Didn't I do that? Didn't I go 
here? Didn't I go there? You build 
on your works, that is sinking sand. You will fall and great 
will be your fall. Another piece of sand, another 
block of sand would be bad religion. A religion that denies the person 
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. a religion that blocks up the 
very entrance into heaven by grace alone, through faith alone, 
and Christ alone. There's a lot of places to build on the sand, 
but there is one Christ, one word, and one response that is 
appropriate. It is to believe, and it is to 
act in accordance with that belief. As well, the wise man may have 
the battles, well, he will have the battles, and he may sometimes 
fall under trial. Doesn't the Old Testament speak 
like this? Don't we see it later in the 
life of Peter? What does Peter do? Lord, I will 
not deny you. There's no way. Peter says with 
an arrogance, with a boldness, with an impetuosity that I will 
not. If everybody else denies you, 
Lord, I'm not gonna deny you. He denies Jesus not to the emperor. He denies Jesus not to the SS. 
He denies Jesus not to the goons at his door who have, you know, 
machine guns and are ready to bring him in. He denies Jesus 
to a servant girl. Brethren, these things are written 
for our admonition. These things are written for 
our encouragement as well. Not so that we'll go out and 
deny the Savior. but that will understand there 
is no perfection on this side of heaven. There is no triumphalism 
on this side of heaven. The believer may undergo times 
of great hardship and great difficulty. I quoted the verse earlier from 
Edward Mote, on Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground 
is sinking sand. He speaks to this as well. He 
says, when darkness veils his lovely face, that happens, doesn't 
it? I'm just being honest, brethren. 
There are times you go to your Bible, you come to church, and 
you say with the disciples, we have seen Jesus. There's other 
times it's not quite like that. You read, and you pray, and you 
might as well be reading a Japanese phone book, because you're getting 
as much out of it as you are out of Romans. And then you're 
thinking, what's wrong with me? What's in here? I'm reading Paul's 
epistle to the Romans, and I'm not seeing Jesus? I'm not beholding 
his lovely face? There are seasons like that, 
brethren, and the hymn writer was no stranger to it. When darkness 
veils his lovely face, I rest upon unchanging grace. I don't rest upon my works. I don't rest upon my false religion. I rest upon the rock that is 
Jesus, even when his face is veiled from me. In every rough 
and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. He goes on to 
say, his oath, his covenant, his blood, support me in the 
overwhelming flood. Notice what Edward Mote doesn't 
say. He doesn't say, my oath, my covenant, my blood, support 
me in the overwhelming flood. Brethren, I have seen too many 
times in my own heart and in the hearts of God's, well, not 
the hearts, but the actions of God's people, we don't always 
do this. We don't always trust in Christ. 
We don't always trust in Christ for justification. We trust in 
Christ for that forgiveness of sins and the imputed righteousness 
received by faith alone. But when the winds come, and 
the rains beat, and the tempests fall upon us, it's typically 
to us we have recourse. Well, I've tried to this, and 
I've tried to that, and I've tried to go, and I've tried... 
We need to rest on Jesus, His oath, His covenant, His blood. 
Support me in the overwhelming flood. And then listen to this, 
again, a hymn writer that is honest. Brethren, I'm not against 
all modern hymnody, but it's not all as honest as we'd find 
in scripture, in the Psalms, and in the brothers that wrote 
the hymns that we sing. You know the brothers that wrote 
the hymns that we sing, guess what their job was? They were 
worship team leaders. They were drummers. They were 
pastors. They were theologians. These 
men pastored and shepherded the church of God. They understood 
sound doctrine, and they put that sound doctrine into hymnody. 
He says, when all around my soul gives way, he then is all my 
hope and stay. And then the final observation, 
just leaning on Moat. The wise man will stand ready 
on the day of judgment when the great storm of God's wrath is 
unleashed. and it fell, and great was its 
fall. The day of judgment will be the 
unlashing of God's great wrath." But what does Moat say? when 
I shall launch in worlds unseen. Oh, may I then be found in him, 
dressed in his righteousness alone, faultless to stand before 
the throne. On Christ the solid rock I stand, 
all other ground is sinking sand. I guarantee you Edward Mote had 
Matthew 7, 24 to 29 in his mind when he composed that hymn. Again, 
I want to encourage anybody that has not come to Christ, there 
is nothing sort of noble about waiting. The text this morning 
was gonna be Paul before Felix, but some things changed. What does Felix do? Felix fears 
under the preaching of Paul. There's a moment there where 
Felix is caught in the crosshairs, and Felix knows it. Felix wanted to hear Paul discourse 
about the faith in Christ. You know where Paul goes? He 
goes to righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come. Righteousness, 
most likely, because Paul was a tireless preacher of justification 
by faith alone. When he's talking to Felix, you 
can bet he's talking about the way of righteousness, and that 
way is to believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to 
have your sins forgiven, and to receive a righteousness that 
avails with God. When he spoke of self-control, 
it was so that Felix, wretched Felix, would know that the Holy 
God has standards. Felix was a bad man. Felix was 
a wretch of a man. And so it's no accident that 
Paul speaks of the way of salvation, righteousness, in Jesus Christ. 
The reason for salvation, your lack of self-control, Felix, 
necessitated, or that kind of sin, necessitated the coming 
of Jesus into this world to live a life of obedience, to live 
a life of absolute blessedness before the Father, to die as 
a sacrifice and to be raised again. And then he ends the sermon 
where Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount, the judgment to come. 
So you can't live your life as if there's no judgment to come. 
There is a judgment to come. So Felix is cut to the heart. 
The text doesn't say that, but he's definitely a factet. But 
that's short-lived. He then keeps Paul and hopes 
that Paul's gonna grease his palm to let him out. This idea 
of waiting, this idea of pondering, this idea of contemplating. What 
does the wise man do? The wise man hears the words 
of Christ, and he does them. He doesn't hear the word of Christ 
and say, well, you know, I've got to wait for a while. I've 
got to think this through. I've got to ponder this. I've 
got to, you know, look at it from every jot and tittle. Again, 
that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you're packing a parachute, 
make sure it's packed properly, by all means. But all of you, 
I think, have had enough contact with the Word of the Living and 
True God to know that it is the Word of the Living and True God. 
So don't wait, don't tarry, don't continue to build on sand, but 
rather believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and enter the ranks of 
the wise builders who build their houses on the rock. who build 
their houses upon Jesus Christ, and that by God's grace, not 
owing to themselves, not owing to their abilities. It is the 
blessed Christ who saves to the uttermost, and the blessed Christ 
who keeps to the uttermost all those who believe in Him. Well, 
let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
You for Your Word. We thank You for the clarity 
of this passage, a very simple passage and a very pointed passage. I pray that we would all examine 
our own hearts, that we would receive that Word, that we would, 
by grace, do that Word, and that You would be glorified. And bless 
the Word. as it's preached throughout the 
world. May it run swiftly, and may it be glorified, for certainly 
these are days in which a great revival would be wonderful, an 
awakening of those dead in their trespasses and sins. But irrespective 
of those things, God, we pray that you would work according 
to your will, according to your purpose, and according to your 
plan. It is sufficient for us to know that Christ will build 
his church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against 
it. And we pray now in his most blessed name. Amen. We'll stand 
with me and we'll close our service by singing 568. 568. Peace at the moon of blessing 
flow, grace in all creatures give thee love. Praising above the heavenly host, 
Praise for her solemn holy host. May the grace of the Lord Jesus 
Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit 
be with you all. Amen. Father, thank you for the 
Word of God. Thank you for our Lord Jesus 
Christ and the authority with which he brought that message 
at the Sermon on the Mount in those days. Thank you that the 
Holy Spirit has given us this Word and the Scriptures have 
been given to the church. to sustain, to nourish, to feed, 
and to help us along this pilgrim path. We ask that you would go 
with us now, and we pray that you would help us to sanctify 
the day, help us to call it a delight, and help us to see Jesus as altogether 
lovely and chief among 10,000. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, please be seated for a 
brief time of meditation.