“Foundational Truths”

(Matthew 7:24-29)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

February 24, 2019

The Passage

Read Matthew 7:24-29

24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”

28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.

Introductory Comments

Today we are concluding Jesus’ Sermon on the Mountainside. This passage is very appropriate for the conclusion of His sermon. 

In this passage, Jesus is going to challenge His hearers to make a decision regarding His words. 

Virtually all religions around the world claim that Jesus was a good teacher. However, Jesus challenges the idea that He is merely a good teacher. Jesus wants us to put into action what He has said. 

So, let’s hear what He has to say from Matthew 7:24-29.

Before we do so, let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to speak to us. 

(Prayer)

One of the most important parts of any home is its foundation. 

Illustration: When we lived in Kentucky, we lived in a very old house. The house was built in 1900. The house had a brick foundation. When you went into the basement, you could see the brick foundation. One day when we were down there with someone who knew something of old homes we noticed that the mortar between a lot of the bricks had turned into powder. You could simply touch it and the mortar would fall to the ground. So, my handy wife tuck-pointed those brick foundations. Tuck-pointing is when you replace the mortar on a brick structure. She did a great job. It’s basically like decorating a cake! By doing that, she saved us a lot of money, and she may have very well saved the future of that home. You see, the foundation is very important!

In our study of Matthew 7:24-29 we’re going to hear about three foundations. So, let’s look at these foundations and learn what God has for us. 

First, . . .

I. The wiseman’s foundation (24-25) [on screen]

Look at verses 24 and 25. 

24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock.

Remember, this is Jesus speaking at the end of His sermon. When Jesus says, “these words of mine,” He’s talking about all of His words from the Sermon on the Mountainside; everything that’s been said in Matthew chapters 5 though 7. 

It’s so crucial that we catch the fact that Jesus doesn’t say that we are wise if we merely hear His words. He doesn’t say we are wise if we read His words. He doesn’t say that we are wise if we study His words. He doesn’t say we are wise if we have advanced degrees which research His words. He doesn’t say we are wise if we preach His words. 

What does He say? He says the person is wise, “who hears these words of mine and acts on them.”

We must be obedient to what Jesus has told us!

He then gives us a metaphor of what this obedience is like. This obedience is like a wise man who built his house on a solid rock foundation. 

The rock foundation is what you want. The rock foundation is safe, secure, and strong. 

In ancient Palestine, homes were not made with poured concrete foundations. So, people who built homes would try to find solid pieces of ground,

“The Roads of Faithfulness and Fruitlessness”

(Matthew 7:13-23)

Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]

Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD

First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida

February 17, 2019

The Passage

Matthew 7:13-23

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

15 “Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves. 16 You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.

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, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’ 23 Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!’

Introductory Comments:

Illustration: I have a confession to make, church. When I was a teenager, my friends and I used to try and see if we could sneak into certain places where we weren’t supposed to be. We were usually at a concert or something (for which we had a ticket) but we would try to get to the VIP section, or backstage, or to the snack room, or somewhere where we were not supposed to be. The key to this strategy was to find the weak link in the chain in terms of security guards or whatever. One of my friends actually wrote a college paper on how to do this. It was totally wrong for us to do this, so don’t try this at home. However, if we kept trying hard enough we could usually fake our way into something. 

In today’s passage, Jesus is continuing His sermon on the mountainside and He is continuing to address this idea of what it takes to be a true follower of the Father. He is basically saying you cannot fake your way into the kingdom of God. You cannot slip past security to come into God’s presence. There is no weak link in the chain who you can trick into letting you into eternal life. There is only one way, and it’s through faithfulness to God and His ways, as found in Jesus!

Today we will discover three truths regarding those who are faithful followers and those who are fakers. 

Let’s pray together as we look at God’s Word. 

(prayer)

As we look at this passage, let’s remember the context of Jesus’ sermon. He is speaking to mostly Jewish people. As they listen to Him, most would assume that they are good with God simply because of the fact that they are Jewish. 

In the same manner, many self-proclaimed Christians today think that they are good with God simply because they attend church, their names are on a church roll, or because their family has “always” been Christian.  

Jesus makes it clear in this passage that there is no automatic entrance into God’s presence.  

Let’s discover these three truths together now. 

First, . . .

I. Few take the faithfulpath (13-14) [on screen]

Look at verses 13 and 14 again. 

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

Jesus is making it very clear here that the sheer volume of people that are headed to destruction is much greater than the volume of people that are going into life. 

Sometimes we like to think that most people in the world will go to eternal life. We like to think that the only people that wil