The Two Foundations
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.” 28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. This is Jesus' summation to His sermon. His true disciples hear his words and and put them into practice obediently. These principles and the Word of God as a whole make a foundation as solid as bedrock that will last the test of time. No matter what comes, God and His Word will endure forever and never fail. Those who hear the words and refuse to listen to them and fail to apply them are building their lives on a faulty foundation, like building a house on nothing but shifting sand. It may look great to be close to the beach, but if your house is just sitting on to of sand it's just going to be blown over because it wasn't build on a good foundation. Ephesians 4:14-15 New American Standard Bible (NASB) 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, We see that the people realized that Jesus taught as if He authority that exceeded that of their religious teachers--and they were right. Do you recognize His authority too? Which foundation will you build your life on? Will it be able to withstand the coming judgment when not just our deeds, but our thoughts, attitudes and motives will be judged? Let us examine ourselves that call ourselves Christians and see if we love God words, apply His truth, obey His commands, and give Him the glory that only He deserves.
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True and False Prophets
15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. True and False Disciples 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. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ I cannot logically separate these two passages in my mind and therefore will combine them into a single blog, even though it may be quite long as this is one of the key passages that led me to want to start writing these blogs in the first place. I am concerned that so many today are being led astray by false teachers and believing in a false gospel to the point where some may even believe they are disciples of Christ, but are actually not following after Him at all. So, first, let's focus on how we can know if a message that someone is preaching is from God and if the teacher/prophet is from God. Also, before we continue, let's straighten out something important here that the world "prophet" is not necessarily someone who tells you what's going to happen in the future. The prophet is a role from the Old Testament where God gives His message to the prophet to tell the people "Thus says the LORD...." Usually the prophet's message is rooted in the violation of God's Law, the need for repentance, and the coming judgment for those sins if we do not repent. While we may not immediately see this as an act of grace on God's part, we see that God is saying,the He is willing to withhold judgement if you would only repent and return to Him and His Law. God does not love to judge people, but His justice requires that sin be punished. So how do we know whether the message of a particular prophet comes from God or from Satan when someone tells us they have heard a message from God? 1 John 4:1-6 New International Version (NIV) 4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. 4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. So we can recognize a false prophet if what he says will come to pass does not, we know he's false if his message does not glorify God or says that Jesus is not God in the flesh or they teach us to disobey God's Law. But what is this part about a tree and its fruit?" I believe the answer to this is spelled out in the book of Galatians. Galatians 5:16-25 New International Version (NIV) 16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. A tree does not choose what kind of tree it is and what kind of fruit it will produce. It is in its DNA. An apple tree produces apples because it is an apple tree and it is impossible for it to produce anything other than apples. A grape vine produces grapes because it is a grape vine and it is impossible for it to produce anything else. A lost man has an identity consistent with the description of verses 19-21 because that is his nature. It's not simply his identity because he does those things, he does those things because that's his identity. A person who is saved and full of the Holy Spirit has been given a new heart and a new identity in Christ, and should therefore have different "fruit" because they have a different "root"--they are a completely different type of tree. Just like you wouldn't walk up to a cherry tree to pick an orange, you shouldn't walk up to a Christian and find someone who is living in sexual sin or who swindles people or who is selfish or a gossip, etc. You should see someone full of the nature, character and attributes of God who they claim is their father (remember children resemble their father--whether that be God or the devil). Are we full of the fruits of the Spirit or the fruits of the flesh? This tells us who is in control and can help us spot false teachers and false disciples. Now for one of the scariest passages in Scripture. It is possible for some people to think they are saved and not be saved because they have believed in a false gospel which is a gospel of works that is centered on one person..."I." Notice how many times the false disciple takes credit for all the "good" things done, even though done "in your name." Jesus corrects the thinking quickly that it's not all about the externals (the fruit that we can see), but will ultimately be able the internal (the "root" we can't see) when He says, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ It doesn't come across very clearly in the New International Version, but it's more clear in the New American Standard Bible (NASB), " And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS..’ The part in capital letters is a quote from the Old Testament, but it's also the part I want to focus on--they practice lawlessness. It's not just that they've committed evil deeds, it is their lifestyle and they are good at it. They have lives as if there is no moral law of God to live by. Jesus would later say "My sheep know my voice and they listen to me (obey my commandments)," and "If you love me, you will keep My commandments." Those who hate God will not be able to love His Word and His Law. Ultimately, it will be for Jesus to look at them and say "Well done my good and faithful servant" or "Depart me from...I never knew you," but we today should be discerning so as to not be lead astray ourselves and not let those who are in our watch-care to be lead astray. "Be as shrewd as serpents but as harmless as doves." as you discern truth from error and confront the lies of Satan with the truth of God's Word (as Jesus did in Matthew 4), making sure to always give all the praise and glory to the only God and King who deserves it. I know that was a lot, and it might spark a lot of discussion. I could have made this much longer if I would have tried to cite specific examples of false teachings, false prophets and false disciples, but we can talk more one-on-one if you have a specific concern about if something you're heard, or maybe something you believe, is true or in error. The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Jesus will flesh this out later, but He now lays the choice out in front of everyone. Much like the ultimatum given by Joshua when he was leading the people of Israel into the promised land: Joshua 24:15 New International Version (NIV) 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” and by Moses shortly before he died, before the people of Israel crossed over into the promised land: Deuteronomy 30:11-20 New International Version (NIV) The Offer of Life or Death 11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jesus calls us to make a similar choices. You can choose your path, but that choice will determine your destination and your destiny. The wide gate and the broad road that looks easy--many will take it, but it ultimately leads to destruction and separation from God. The narrow gate and the narrow road with is hard--few will take it, but it leads to life everlasting in the presence of God. Which will you choose? No one will make the choice for you, but you must choose. Either Jesus is Lord of all or He's not Lord at all in your life. If you want to know to make sure you are on the right road, please message me and I'll be happy to help you. 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
I decided to talk about this verse separately because it didn't really seem to be a part of the previous passage, but more a summary of everything we have talked about so far. Everything means just that--everything. Not just our actions, but our attitudes, thoughts, motives, desires, and thoughts. Jesus is King over all areas of our lives and we should conduct ourselves in a way that always brings glory and honor to Him--part of which is to love His Law and obey it. We cannot love God and hate others, that is also clear from the Sermon on the Mount, so Jesus here emphasizes that we need to love others the same way that we love ourselves--remember that we just talked about forgiving others with the same measure with which we want to be forgiven. It is assumed that you love yourself and want to look out for your own best interest, so if you treat others as good as you would treat yourself, then you should theoretically not break any of the last 6 commandments nor should you need to come under the judgment from the prophets which usually had to do with people mistreating their neighbors in addition to failing to correctly worship God and turning to idols instead. Here are a few more verses from the epistle of 1 John to reinforce this idea. 1 John 2:9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 1 John 2:11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. 1 John 3:15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 1 John 4:20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. Let's examine our hearts and make sure that we love God and love others and realize that the two cannot be separated from each other. We must be in a right relationship with each other to be in a right relationship with God and only through a right relationship with God can we have a right relationship with one another. Ask, Seek, Knock
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! This reminds me of one of the names of God, "The God who sees me" (see Genesis 16: 13). While God sees and meets all of our needs, He is a good father who enjoys it when His children come to Him to ask for their needs to be met. They have the understanding that only He can meet their needs, that He has the resources and desire to do so, and that He would only do what's best for them. In the same way, we need to ask, not to treat God like a genie in a bottle that fulfills our every desire, but when we genuinely have a need and realize it is something that we need to turn over to God and trust Him to provide. Such action shows our true faith in Him and shines the spotlight on Him and brings glory to His great name--remember this seems to be the theme of this entire sermon. Keeping the great name of God and His reputation in mind, examine the next part of the passage. If the wicked fathers of this world in their imperfect love know how to give good gifts to their children and provide for their needs, how much more then should we believe that our heavenly Father who loves His children perfectly knows and will meet all of their needs? It would only damage His reputation if He did not. Do not misuse this passage as a "name it and claim it" passage....it is not about you, it's all about Him. Ask in such a way where where you, like David in the Psalms pour out your heart and tell God your need, but then come back to His character and believe that He will meet your needs in a way that is best for you and which brings glory to Himself. Let's first quote the entire section so that we don't make the common error of quoting only a single verse and loosing its contextual meaning (many people like to quote verse 1 by itself to try to make it mean something it doesn't mean).
Judging Others 1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. Remember the context of the entire Sermon on the Mount so far....point people to God and act in a way which brings glory to Him. This passage reminds us first that we don't need to usurp God's role as the ultimate Judge of the universe,, and that we should have as much grace and mercy with others as we want God to have with us (remember that verse that said that if we don't forgive others, God won't forgive us? Here it is again, just in another form). Jesus then uses some hyperbole to make His point that He's not telling us to never judge anyone but we must first examine ourselves and we must always do so with the right attitude--to help and heal, not to harm. If someone has a splinter in their eye, they probably are going to know that something is there causing them pain, but they probably won't be able to see what it is because it is so small and so close to them. Therefore you as a friend might need to help them identify and get rid of the issue, but first examine yourself to make sure there isn't a glaring issue in your own life (a log coming out of your eye) that everyone sees and would hinder you from getting close to the person and effectively helping them. "Who are you to tell me that I need to stop doing X when everyone knows that you're doing Y?" If we do hear such things from friends then it is upon us to deal with those issues as our sin has clearly not just damaged our name and reputation, but the name and reputation of God--which again is our central theme here. The last section here may not seem like it fits, but I promise it does. Another type of judgment is discernment. Jesus tells us here and other places to be discerning, and you will see throughout His ministry that He did not always treat every question as if it was an honest question...He knew when it was not and He handled different people and situations differently. He knew when people were out for the truth and when they were out to try to destroy Him and to try to make God look bad. We must be willing to share the gospel with everyone, but it is okay to ask people, "If I could answer that question, would you accept the answer and would it change anything about what you believe and how you live?" If the answer is "No," then they are not seeking truth, they are seeking to make you look bad and Jesus tells you to not waste your time because it's as foolish as trying to make pigs appreciate the beauty of pearls. Pigs and dogs are often used as metaphors for the heathen. Pigs today aren't that different, but dogs are--they were not pets, they roamed the streets and were like vultures that cleaned up the dead things and hunted the weak and sick. They were full of diseases and parasites and they were vicious and would attack no matter if you were trying to be kind to them. Pigs much the same way don't care about much other than rolling around in the mud and other dirt and eating anything and everything they can. Wild pigs are actually very dangerous and will kill and eat almost anything, even people. So, the passage is clear, judge rightly with the right type of judgement. It does not tell us that we need to be naive an let everyone con us, nor does it tell us that God is opposed to a judicial system that judges and punishes crimes against society, nor does it say that we are not to discern who is receptive to the gospel and who isn't or who is a true believer and who isn't (keep reading this chapter for that part), nor that we shouldn't help people rightly identify sin in their lives and deal with it. It does tell us to be careful about condemning people (telling them they are irredeemable or they are going to hell) because only God is supposed to do that, and we are to be careful to use no standard other than God's standard when we judge and we are to use as much forgiveness, grace, and mercy with others aw we want to be shown by God. I'll say this one last thing. Be careful that you simply don't see your own sin in others. We love to project our bad thinking and bad desires on others, "They only said that or did that because....." and we assign a motive that we assume is theirs because it would have been ours. I believe this is also part of the "log in your own eye" thing, and when you see this, deal with it. Don't correct people to put them down, but do it because you want them to be able to correctly see God and receive His full blessing in their lives and be in a right relationship with other believers. Don't expect pigs or dogs to act like sheep, but it's okay to expect sheep to not act like pigs or dogs. We'll see that as we continue here. People who say they have been transformed by the gospel and show no change in heart and still act like pigs and dogs aren't going to fool God because he's going to see them from what they truly are. Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Ever know a chronic worrier? I have been that person and have several people that I know that would fit that description. Many times this had to do with a compulsion to make sure everything was perfect and for them to be in control of everything. News flash....we are not in control, not even over some of the smallest things in life, but God is (see Job 38-41 for some examples). Fear is a natural emotion when we encounter something that might require a "flights or fight" scenario, however, worry is making those fears the object of our faith instead of making God the object of our faith. Jesus also seems to be drawing a direct correlation with the word "Therefore" between who/what we worship and our need to worry. He seems to be saying, if you're living according to the Beatitudes, being salt and light, obeying both the letter of the Law and the spirit of the Law, praying for your needs to be met, worshiping in a way that brings glory to God, have a correct worldview so that you can see the truth clearly, and you're storing up treasures in heaven and not here on earth, then what need do you have to worry? That's a lot of "ifs" though that we know we don't follow through on and it is those items where we fall short that often are the cause of our worries. Jesus gets practical here and says that we don't even need to worry about food or clothes--I think His intent probably was to take people back to the time of the Exodus where God miraculously provided both manna and quail for the nation of Israel to eat, and gave them water from a rock, and their clothes and sandals did not wear out for their entire 40 year journey. But He also makes the argument from lesser to greater here saying that God takes care of feeding and clothing the plants and animals and isn't man who is created in the image of God much more valuable then them? So isn't it logical that God will also take care of us? Jesus even goes so far as to ask, "Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to his (or her) life?" We know the answer to this question is "No," and we're pretty sure that it's just the opposite, that people who worry a lot may actually be in worse health because of a physiological response to the worry. Live in the present and be ready to do today what God has for you to do with the strength and resources that He gives us to face each new day. I referenced the LORD giving manna to the children of Israel during the Exodus. They could only gather enough each morning to last them for that day. They could not horde or stockpile it, so they had to depend on God each and every day to meet their needs and trust that He would do for them today what He had done for them yesterday, and they had to do this for 40 years. Jesus encourages us in his last sentence to simply take one day at a time. We must make God and not our fears of the future or regrets about the past the object of our faith. |
Daniel WestfallI will mostly use this space for recording my "journal" from my daily devotions as I hope to encourage others to read the Bible along with me and to leave a legacy for others. Archives
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