Building on the Rock
“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..." (Matthew 7:24)
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses the ways of His kingdom and those who will faithfully represent Him in contrast to those who are outside of His kingdom. Jesus addressed the various issues of the heart and the hypocrisy of the religious leaders and the false system that in the end was a form of building their lives on the sand. But Jesus reveals that this would end with a great fall...when the day of reckoning comes.
This is why Jesus ends this powerful sermon with such a stern warning for all that would associate with Him and appeal to their own righteous works on the day of judgment. The sobering words that Jesus shares is probably the scariest passage in the entire Bible. Jesus points out that there will be "MANY" on that day who will refer to Jesus as "Lord, Lord..." claiming to have done great things in His Name, but Jesus will look on that person and say, "DEPART from Me...I NEVER knew you."
...Can you imagine hearing such words of finality and heart exposure!
Without a doubt, these would be the worst words that any human soul could ever hear. These are words that not only reveal the true condition of the heart among those who make false claims of faith but they declare once and for all the final judgment that one's soul must live outside of His loving presence for all eternity.
The enemy of our souls, the devil desires this for every soul since he comes "to steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10). The devil can come as an angel of light to deceive many and even grant them power to give the appearance that they are followers of Christ when they are not. There are "many" hearing the words of Christ and even associating with Christ in one form or another but they are NOT doing what He says.
As Paul writes in one of his epistles, "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved" (2 Thes. 2:9-10). Therefore, what are you basing your salvation on? Are you trusting in the finished work of Christ and His righteousness OR your own?
The Lord knows those who are His and is willing meet the needs of those who are truly seeking Him for help and healing despite how flawed and false the vessels might be that are seeking to do things in His Name. The Lord knows which vessels are for honor and which vessels are for dishonor (2 Tim. 2:20). The Lord knows those who are truly HIS!
This is why Jesus emphasizes that it is our obedience that authenticates our faith when we call Him 'Lord'. We must not be those who only HEAR His teachings but rather those who HEAR AND DO them. The Lord doesn't look for the nodding of our head but the change in our hearts.
In the end, Jesus knows there are only two true kingdoms here on this earth. Jesus depicts each one by stating there are TWO ROADS to walk on…TWO TREES to grow on…TWO HOUSES to build on. The real question is which one are YOU?
HEART WORK
Don't let these challenging words fall on deaf ears or assume it is for everyone else.
- Do you consider Jesus to be the Lord of your life?
- If you are calling Jesus, 'Lord, Lord..." then ask the Lord to show you if there are any areas of your life where He is not reigning over you.
- Are you building your life on the rock or on the sand?
Make sure that you are building on the rock before it is too late.