Sermon Notes 8-23-2015

Sermon on the mount

The Big finish

Matthew 7:21-29

Matthew 7:21–29 (NLT)

²¹“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.

²²On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’

²³But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’

²⁴“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.

²⁵Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.

²⁶But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand.

²⁷When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

²⁸When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching,

²⁹for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

Just knowing is not enough!

²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

·      This verse is for believers!

o   You might be getting in the gate, but are you going to get all God has for you

·      Simply saying “Jesus” is lord is not enough

·      That is the beginning, but not the how

·      We have to not only believe it, but live it out

·      Even Satan knows who Jesus is

James 2:19 (NIV)

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

·      Simple religious knowledge is not enough

·      Do you walk the walk that you talk

·      Jesus is calling us to a higher standard of living

o   To be gracious

o   To be loving

o   To be merciful

o   To forgive

o   To not point the finger

o   To live by the standard her gave us in the Sermon on the Mount!

Questions for you to think about:

Are you Desiring Gods will for your life?

Are you Discovering Gods will for your life?

Are you trying to Do Gods will for your life? (What he teaches)

Are you Excited about what Gods will has for your life?

Now Jesus addresses the non-believers!

²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’

²³Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

·      The final Judgment day is coming

·      The day we will all stand before a Holy, Sovereign God

·      And Many will think they knew him but they didn’t

·      And Jesus will be the Judge of all men

Acts 17:30–31 (NLT)

³⁰“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him.

³¹For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”

Romans 2:16 (NLT)

¹⁶And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.

·      Many will know there doomed, but many will be led a stray

·      Just like the Pharisees

·      Many will speak about Jesus with there lips, but not have Him in there heart

·      Please get in the word, get to know who God is

o   I see so many that know of him, but don’t know him personally

o   That talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk

o   That say the right things, but do another

2 Timothy 4:1–4 (NLT)

¹I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom:

²Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

³For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.

⁴They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

·      Your works wont save you

·      Your money wont save you

·      Your charity wont save you

·      Nothing will save you except Jesus

o   You need Jesus to truly change

o   You need Jesus to prepare a place for you

o   You need Jesus to let you in

o   You need Jesus to deliver you

Only Emanuel (God is with us) can save you, nothing you can do will save you from the pain that awaits you in hell!

Hearing is not enough; you have to put it in to practice!

²⁴“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.

Some day our faith will be put on trial, and this is what we will be judged by! Did you put what Jesus talked about in to practice??

·      Did you try to forgive

·      Did you try and not point the finger

·      Did you try and not gossip

·      Did you try and not hate

·      Did you try to be a good neighbor

·      Did you try and live by the Golden rule?

God doesn’t expect perfection, but he does demand that we try every single day by his word and teaching!

The wise and the foolish!

²⁵The 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.

²⁶But 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.

²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

I see a couple things in these verses

1. We can chose to be wise or foolish and 2. Trials will come, and we can stop them.

Trials will happen!

·      Jesus uses a storm to make this clear

·      Have you ever been able to stop a storm?

·      He says the rains came, the water rose, and the winds blew

·      We can relate to this is Kansas

o   We know if it ain’t tied down you will probably loose it

o   Tornados will come

o   We have floods all the time

·      We know its going to happen

o   So we prepare for them

o   We tie down

o   We build shelters

o   We batten down the hatch

·      Why don’t we move?

o   Because we know we are ready

o   We prepared for it

o   We expect it

o   And we aren’t caught off guard

Jesus uses the wise vs foolish to help us understand why we must follow his teaching

Wise Vs Foolish

Wise	Foolish
Humble	Arrogant
Applies Jesus teaching	Hears Jesus teaching
Plans a head	Lives for the moment
Seeks Gods will	Lives by his own rules
Heeds advice	Never listens
Suffers justly	Suffers more than he has to

And Jesus uses this to help us understand we can’t get away from suffering (trials) but we can prepare for it!  

He uses a house to explain what we are supposed to do, and the foundation that we build off of is crucial!

Why the foundation?

·      Anything you build is only as good as the foundation you build it on.

·       A car

·      A plane

·      A house

·      A relationship

There is nothing stronger than the foundation you build it on

So what does a wise man build his spiritual house on?

·      We build it on Jesus and his teaching

·      Think of your walk with Jesus like a house

o   We have to start with a good foundation

o   This is Jesus first teaching, He starts with a foundation of setting the record straight

o   Lust = adultery

o   Hate = murder

o   Gossip = murder

o   Love your enemy

·      Jesus Sermon on the Mount is the game changer of your life; it is where the Holy Spirit will always guide you.

A foundation is only as good as the materials you use to build it with

·      The foolish builds on sand

o   Doesn’t apply Jesus teaching

o   Isn’t living for heaven

o   Looks to quick fixes, not long term growth

o   Wants to feel good all the time, not find the sin there lives

o   Wont use the bible as a mirror

o   And when the storms come, the house is destroyed

§  Their lives are torn a part

§  It all looked good on the outside, but cant hold up to the pressures of big storms

·      The wise builds on Rock

o   Applies the teaching of Jesus

o   Lives for heaven

o   Knows the change Jesus brings is slow (a marathon not a sprint)

o   Looks at there lives in the light of Jesus, knows they need work

o   Looks in the sometimes painful mirror of the bible and works daily to over come sin

o   And when the storms come they stand firm

o   The outside might get a little tattered, but the foundation of JESUS anchors them down!

Sermon Notes 8-16-2015

Sermon on the mount

I LOVE A GOOD HUNT!

Matthew 7:15-20

Matthew 7:15–20 (NLT)

¹⁵“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.

¹⁶You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

¹⁷A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.

¹⁸A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.

¹⁹So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.

²⁰Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

I know what your thinking, “man you have preached on this a lot”, that’s because through the New Testament it is warned about a lot!

Why?

·      Because False Prophets (wolves) have been around long before Jesus came

·      As long as we live in the fallen world Satan will try and pull as many people off course as he can

·      We must never forget this is a war!

·      Satan wants all to fail, and what better way then to use a spy!

So here is what I want to do, lets break the text down quickly and go into some practical application of how to identify, and deal with the wolves!

¹⁵“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves.

·      False prophet’s and false teacher’s are one in the same

o   The both give miss information in Gods name

o   A good one will only bend the truth a little

·      Disguised as harmless sheep

o   They are not leaders

o   They are just a part of the flock

·      Vicious wolves

o   But on the inside, they motives are to destroy your faith and the church

¹⁶You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

·      The true meaning is in their fruit, there motives

·      Watch how they act

·      Can you identify every tree?? No!

o   But when the fruit comes on you can

o   So be cautious of there fruit!

¹⁷A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.

¹⁸A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit.

·      This indicates a heart issue

·      A heart of stone, only produces rocks

·      A good heart cant produce bad things

·      A ugly heart cant produce beautiful things

·      Have you know folks that are just angry, hard hearted, did you know it right away? No

·      It takes time to see the fruit, because we can hid for awhile, but eventually, the fruit shows!

¹⁹So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire.

·      All my gardeners know if it don’t produce, its cut down, in this case sent to HELL

·      Just like a cull in the heard, but it takes time to see it, sometimes several seasons

·      So watch for the fruit in everyone, and you will know

²⁰Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

·      Here he wraps up his thought

·      You can know a tree by its fruit

·      And you can know a man by his actions, which comes from the heart

**note**

Not even the best tree produces good fruit all the time, it takes time to see the true nature of the tree, and also the heart.

Practical application!

So, what is a “Wolf” anyway?

·      Its not a Christian

·      They actually work for the satan!

·      And there purpose is to?

John 10:10 (NLT)

¹⁰The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

·      A wolf comes to harm

·      They likely run in packs

·      They likely have a leader

·      A wolf is someone that wants your attention, to divert you away from Gods work!

 What do they look like?

·      They look like you!

·      Typically they are not leaders in the local church

o   My dad once said “ the best way to influence politics is from the outside”

o   They want to be in the crowd

·      They often question authority

·      They are gossips

·      They are sometimes well versed

o   But Satan uses all kinds to disrupt the church and its mission

·      Think back to the “pearls and the pigs”

·      Satan often times will just take out time away with giving our pearls to pigs!

·      So in a nutshell like you and me, in sheep’s clothing!

2 Corinthians 11:13–14 (NLT)

¹³These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ.

¹⁴But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

How do we recognize them??

Romans 16:17–18 (NLT)

¹⁷And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them.

¹⁸Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.

·      There fairly easy to see when your looking for the right things (Fruit)

1 John 4:1 (NLT)

¹Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.

·      Do their actions lead to the narrow gate? (Most of the time)

·      Do their actions glorify God or self

·      Their lives bear no fruit

·      Everything they do has conditions

·      Most everything they say tears down, it never lifts up

·      Their jealous by nature

·      It almost always about what the church can do for them

·      They do not like to be under authority (this was me)

·      Study the bile on “Good Fruit” (drive this home)

·      They almost always come to you

o   With gossip

o   Questioning of authority

o   Leading away from the flock

o   Taking all of your time

o   Seeking to have you drink the wrong Kool-Aid!

·      The thorns on the tree will show, if your looking for them

Its kind of like working a heard, there is always a few rank ones in the mix. They will walk along with the heard until you push them a little and then they will blow right up on ya and smoke ya if your not looking!

So what do we do to protect ourselves?

·      Be on your guard

o   It might take some time to see the real fruit

·      Be careful of folks that give you what you want to hear

·      Know that not everyone in the church has your best interest at heart

·      Always know they are here

o   We sometimes are the most gullible

o   We think everyone that walks in and stays awhile is a Christian, don’t!

·      We need to know when Jesus is moving in a church, that’s when the wolves will hit the hardest

o   I always know when God has big plans for us a body things go haywire!

o   When God is working the most in your life, Satan will attack you from all sides

o   And the wolves are just waiting

·      Wolves are crafty!

o   They will wait, and strike at the right time

o   As a keeper of the flock, I look for Wolves who tend to spread there gossip, and stir the pot in Christian lives when they are experiencing God

·      Wolves rarely attack the leaders head on

o   They know we will see them for what they are

o   They tend to move around the herd and avoid the leaders

o   They tear at the fabric of the church form the inside

Why the sheep?

Matthew 7:7 (NLT)

⁷“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

·      Because God makes us work for things

·      He is teaching us to wait, and we don’t like that

·      So we look for the easy way

o   We don’t want to be patient

o   We don’t want what God wants for us all the time

o   We want it our way, not Gods way

o   And that gives the wolves and advantage

·      Satan knows you as well as you do

o   He knows what you like and don’t like

o   And he will show you the Wide gate, the “easy way” to find God.

o   But it’s a lie

·      That takes me to this verse

2 Timothy 4:3–4 (NLT)

³For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.

⁴They will reject the truth and chase after myths.

·      That takes me to some TV evangelist

o   They tell you God will make you rich

o   Gods way is easy

o   They play in to your fears

o   Your greed

o   Your lust for all things worldly

Be very careful whom you trust

·      Trust needs to be given slowly and taken quickly

·      Trust God above all, test everything against His word

James 1:6 (NLT)

⁶But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.

·      Never doubt God

·      Trust those God has put in the position as leaders of the flock

o   You have an issue that needs counsel, talk to your pastor or elders, or lay pastors

o   You think someone is leading you down the wrong path take to your shepherd

o   You need help pray first and then talk to me, I will get you with the right people

·      The only way you will see a wolf in the flock is if you spend time getting to know them

o   Don’t trust to quickly, PLEASE!

o   Don’t share your hurts to quickly, it might come back and be used against you!