Sermon Tone Analysis

“Teachings of Christ”

/Matthew 7: 21-29; Luke 6: 46-49/

/120508/

 

*Purpose*:*  To understand what God wants: our hearts.*

*Exegesis*:  There are two houses built one built on Christ and the other self or man.

One Christ knows the other Christ will not know despite great claims.

*INTRODUCTION*

 

1)      In preparing for tonights message I was reminded of my childhood church…it was by most standards a good church and nationally a great church.

However it accepted pastors of whom my last childhood pastor was to be, who did not believe in the irrefutable truth of Gods word and in not believing this undermined the strength and irrevocable truth of the testimony of Christ.

I am not sure if ever a confession of faith had been sought…in our communion class, the pastor’s theology left me with out my faith and apart from my childhood savior…I should have choose to believe what my childhood faith had lent itself too and not accepted the words of one who was at that time my authority in Christ.

2)      Tonight’s text has caused most to stumble and decide what it means…however after remembering my childhood accident of faith and recalling Jesus at Nazareth…it seems to all fall into place and this is not a text we should fear but embrace as one of true consistency of all that Christ has taught and said and also in true consistency with the desire of God for us no matter who we are in His kingdom.

Lets remember Nazareth and how a people who were Gods or should have been God's did not love God enough to be able to see God within God’s son and recognize Christ.

The individuals Jesus will speak to us about are the simple division of who truly recognizes Him as Lord and love God enough to obey His words …as in the teachings of Christ and those who have gone so far in not what is not God and what is not Christ, that Jesus will not recognize their work.

Tonight when we look at our text my hope for you is that you will clearly see the simple truth…God wants our hearts before He will accept the works of our hands.

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*            /Transition/*

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*EXPLANATION*

* **Matthew*

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 in heaven.

\\ 22 On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?' \\ 23 Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.'

*Hearers and Doers*

24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

\\ 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.

\\ 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

\\ 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!" \\ 28 Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, \\ 29 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

*Luke*

46 "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you? \\ 47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.

\\ 48 That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.

\\ 49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.

When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house."

* *

 

1) What Jesus uses as the qualifier is our Love of God and our Love of Him.

Most of what we do will often fail this test so it is a good time to look at what it is Jesus is really after…our hearts.

2)         Away from God we will fail no matter how great our works…we see this often in ministry and the church that if we look to our own contributions or successes our eyes are soon straying to self and away from God. God is more interested in the heart belonging to Him than the works belonging to man.                                  

3) It is our personal intimate relationship with Christ that will stand.

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            */Transition/*

* *

*MAIN** POINTS*

* *

*            *1) What Jesus uses as the qualifier is our Love of God and our Love of Him.

Most of what we do will often fail this test so it is a good time to look at what it is Jesus is really after…our hearts.

Matthew

24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

\\ 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.

\\                        

                                     2)        Away from God we will fail no matter how great our works…we see this often in ministry and the church that if we look to our own contributions or successes our eyes are soon straying to self and away from God. God is more interested in the heart belonging to Him than the works belonging to man.

*Supporting verse(s)*

*Matthew*

26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

\\ 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!"

*Luke*

46 "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you? \\ 47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.

\\ 48 That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.

\\ 49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation.

When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house."

* *

*Recall the account of Jesus reading from the prophet Isaiah in the temple at Nazareth, here was a people who were counted God’s yet did not love God enough to be able to recognize and acknowledge His son Christ.

The existing religious authorities based their weight of rightness on Jewish oral tradions and the traditions deployed by those very Jews attempting to endure and survue the silence of God.

God was now speaking again…through Christ and they could not hear Him.

They had no knowledge of God in the person of Christ.Jesus encountered many religious authorities who had no true recognition of Christ as the son of God yet they were representing God… Christ came and now Christ is the way, truth and the light.

The truth of Christ must be encountered and be the action verb part of every aspect of one's life.. the reason for being is to worship and love God through Christ His son.

In putting the text in the context of what it was like for Christ…many confessed to represent God but few came to the saving knowledge of Christ.

Christ is wanting us…all of us and all of us especially our hearts.

Many will claim to represent Christ with even great wonders occuring as the result of the faith of others but the most important deciding factor in ministry is the relationship we have to Christ ourselves.

When our motives are Christ and our relationship with Him, we will not be shaken, perhaps saken a little or even perhaps a lot..but we will stand because Christ is there with us.. our rock we have built our lives on the rock we have built our ministries on is the personal relationship to Christ that we have pursued..we love God and obey His commandments .

We love God and follow His Son Jesus becoming what God intended through Christ and being in faith as part of our very being…not able to do anything else but what pleases God and follows the teachings of Christ.

*

*I recall a time of intense strain, but what taxed me the most was what threatened to hinder my faith what threatened to distract me from God and His good.

Many will fail us in ministry some passively, some out of neglect and some actively..but Christ will always remain and we stand through His strength and righteousnesss not our own.

We should become each others eyes and ears and exhort our brothers and sisters when we sense they are being distracted from our source… we all will find ourselves at one occasion or another outside the fence of Christ ..our command is to bring each other with words of encouragement back in to the fold of our Shepherd.

If ever I saw division or dissention in a congregation it is the rise of self over the rise of Christ.

The rise of self brings ultimate destruction and devistation not only for the partakers but those that their actions affect.

Christ was right in His judging of the occurance..it will yield great destruction and threaten to tear away at the flock.

If we have professed to represent God..we have only the same yes and ears towards His flock and the medium is the love of God flowing out of our personal relationship to God towards others.

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*            III.

*It is our personal intimate relationship with Christ that will stand the test of time.

How do we insure that we are living lives and embarking in ministry in a manner that makes us belong to God?

By doing God’s will.

By being a God pleaser.

We know what pleases God, we know what does not please God.

We also know in ministry whether it be a large ministry or the ministry in our homes and our own private lives that we orient ourselves towards God...that our relationship with Him becomes the driving force and deciding factor that influences and directs all of our lives and actions.

Have we done what God asks or what might impress or influence man?

The foundation that is left when we face God in heaven is our relationship to God through Christ…we bring nothing else with us.

Remember the progression of our faith in the sermon on the mount...recognizing our own poverty in the light of Christ, opening oursleves up to the kingdom provision of God .

Mourning our inability to face God without Christ.

Mourning and repenting for our very lives.

God comforts us.

In being comforted we recognize who God is and what Christ has done for us.

God gives us the inheritance of the kingdom and we inherit more specifically the righteousness of Christ being filled with the Spirit of Christ.

In loving Christ we act towards others as Christ has acted towards us…with mercy.

In this demonstration of mercy we realize the true nature of Christ is mercy…the compassion of Christ receiving more of Christ than we thought possible.

Becoming pure in heart and receiving from God Himself.

Becoming peace makers.

Becoming Children of God.

Often in relationships in faith, one becomes separated from fellowship with Christ and into religion no longer receiving from Christ.

In this position religious advancement becomes a situation of works apart from Christ and often create harm and devestation for others in the name of Christ but apart from the relationship and fellowship of Christ.

This is what Christ must have seen in so many proffessing the authority position of God yet failing to recognize and submit to the evidence and ministry of Christ...the Son of God.

Matthew

*Hearers and Doers*

24 "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.

\\ 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock

Luke

46 "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you? \\ 47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them.

\\ 48 That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.

\\ \\

*HYPOTHESIS :  *It is our personal intimate relationship with Christ that will stand the test of time.

*Conclusion*

 

            1) Christ wants us to recognize our need  for Him…to be poor in spirit.

2) Many will be led astray into the ministry of self perhaps even achieving ministry success but not recognizing their own poverty apart from Christ.