Luke 6, 46-49 is the text, but look at Luke 6 in your Bible. The title is, Which of Jesus' Words? So we'll be looking at his words, you see, that he just preached in the Sermon on the Plain. We read the text, Luke 6, 46-49. Let's pray. Gracious God, you ask why do we not do what you say? May your spirit propel us, empower us, and drive us to do the things that you say. We'll read them today, I think. May your spirit empower the words. In Jesus' name, amen. So he says, now why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? This big crowd comes. He's been preaching to this. Remember at the very beginning of this section, I said, there's several levels of disciples. There's the 12, then there's some close that were around when he was choosing the 12 from a group. up there on the mountain where they were praying. He was praying that night and he chose 12. He called some to himself. He chose 12. Then they come down to the plain and there's another third level of disciples. So there's the apostles, there's the close disciples, there's the disciples there that have followed him. because maybe they want to eat something, okay? And then there's also, so that's four. Then there's another group of people there too, the people who want to check him out and pull him down, okay? And so there's five groups of people there, four of which are some level of disciple, okay? Just because he says a disciple doesn't mean they're saved, not at all, okay? And just because they're there, they're not safe. So he says, why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say? Wow. I mean, I can't say that, right? I've started to do it a little bit. It says, you know, you should obey the elders who had the rule over you. It says in the Bible, you know, that would be me. You're supposed to obey me, okay? In a sense, okay? It says that one place in the Bible. So I don't bring that out and brandish this about obey me. But the point is, if I'm speaking God's word, you should listen to that. And when a church has made a decision, we should as a group follow it or why? Why are we not doing what we've decided to do? If there's something like that, which is not from the word of God, but we've made a wise decision about something and why aren't we doing it, right? Whatever it is we decided. Those would apply. So I'm not gonna get up here and say, why aren't you doing what I said to do? But Jesus can say that, right? And just a minute ago, Jesus said, you gotta pull that log out of your eye before you start leading someone and trying to get that little grain of speck out of somebody's eye. And when you train someone, they're gonna be like you. So if you have a log, they're not gonna be much better. they're going to be worse or up to your level. So if you have a log, how, how good can they be? So I'm going to point you to Jesus. Okay. Cause I've got some specks and some logs and bristling all over me, but pointing you to Jesus, you know, Jesus is the one we really need to follow. So Jesus says, do, do what he says. Okay. He also said, do what the, Pharisees say, but don't do what they do, do what they say, okay, because those are hypocrites. But you need to listen to them. They say some good things. So anyway, why do you say, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord? You're the Lord. What is the Lord? Somebody who has rulership over you. And then when you say, Lord, Lord, what you're saying is I'm going to do what you want and what you say. You're my Lord. You're my King. You're my boss, Lord, Lord, and Lord, Lord, do this for me. And Lord, Lord, do that for me. Maybe, you know, we say, Lord, Lord, please, Lord, Lord, please. Right. Uh, also, but then we don't do what Jesus says. Okay, so he says, everyone who comes to me and hears my words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like. Okay? That's the right category to be in. He comes to Jesus, he hears the words of Jesus, and he or she acts on those words. Okay, this is what Jesus says that person is like. He's like, a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on a rock, and when there was a flood, the river burst against that house, and yet it could not shake it, because it had been well built. You wanna have a foundation that isn't changing, that can't be moved, and that's the words of Jesus that are, the word of God is forever established in heaven, and isn't changing, it's unchanging, perfect, Word of God that is God breathed it is It is the only standard for our life for our faith and practice and It is sufficient It's we don't need anything else. Okay, that doesn't mean there aren't some things that God commands us to make use of to help us but that's the only standard and It's sufficient, and that's the main thing there. And so the words of Jesus, including all that God has spoken in His word, is what we need to turn to to determine our actions. We're going to act on the Word of God. Just the Word of God being on the shelf doesn't help you. Just reading the Word of God isn't enough. You gotta act on it, okay, and put it into practice. And then you've built your house on that foundation. But look at verse 49, but the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. So you've heard it and you didn't do it. You can look at the code for building a house the U.S. or the local codes for the standards for building a building. But if you don't follow the code, your house can still fall down. Reading the code doesn't make your house not fall down. Building it according to the code will prevent fires. prevent termite infestation, prevent being blown down. If you're in Florida, they got metal straps that you put on that hold the roof onto the wall and bolts that hold the wall onto the ground and straps that go from the top to the bottom in some fashion. So the whole thing is held onto the foundation which is sturdy and so when a hurricane comes below a certain level, the house will stay and Florida has that kind of code for building the house. Straps, metal straps with nails or screws that hold all the pieces together. You don't just rest the roof and then knock a few nails in there and think the roof's going to stay on. You know, 150 mile an hour wind is gonna suck that roof right off your house, right Pam? That happened to your house. Okay. So you gotta follow the code and actually do it. Then it won't happen like this second man who, he didn't do it. He built his house on the ground without a foundation and the river burst against it and it immediately collapsed and the ruin of that house was great. They've said, you know, when there's a water force against a house, it's much more strong than a wind force. And if you have a flood, it will knock almost any house down. This has got to be a strong house to stand up to a flood. Because just a flood water of 20 miles an hour, the water is so dense, will push that house off the foundation. It will knock those walls down. It will smash through windows and doors. It doesn't need to be 150 miles an hour. Just a current that's as big as the house, it will wash it away. It needs to be built right. Well, let's look at the words. This is the end of his sermon. Well, what were the words that he was saying? Looking at Luke 6, he said in verse 20, Luke 6, 20, blessed are you who are poor, happy are you who are poor. So the first thing he starts out with is, if you're poor, be happy. That's the way to have a strong foundation and to be able to withstand terrible storms and not be crushed or washed away. Be happy if you're poor. Oh, I thought that if I built my house on you, Jesus, that you'd make me rich. No, no, I'm gonna give you a strong life. This is the key, be happy when you're poor. Not be rich. Be happy. I'm not gonna make you strong by making you rich. I'm gonna make you strong by telling you to be happy when you're poor. Can we say, yes, I've built my life on your words, Jesus. Okay. But why? Because yours is the kingdom of God. We have more important things, okay, to be concerned with. So we should be happy because of the kingdom of God, even though we may be poor. Can we all be happy about the kingdom of God and not poorness or richness? Build your house on that foundation, Jesus says. Next, you're hungry now. Blessed are you? Happy are you? who are hungry, oh no, who hunger, but that's the same as being hungry, who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. There's coming a time when you will be satisfied. It might be in this life, but most likely, he's talking about the future. You gotta look forward. You look forward. If you will look forward like Jesus is telling you to do, then you're building your house properly of your life. Look forward instead of to just what's happening now. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. There are things to be sorrowful about. We read, we talked about the Bun family and the sorrows of that family, right? But you can be happy in your sadness because you shall laugh. You are happy if you weep now. That's what he's saying. Blessed means happy, okay? You're happy in spite of weeping now, in spite of having sorrows now, because of looking forward to the laughing. Blessed, happy are you when men hate you. You want to have a strong foundation? Be happy when people hate you. Boy, it's so hard. You want to be hateful, you want to be angry, you want to be sad. But he says, be happy when people ostracize you, insult you, so they keep you out of their group, or they reject you, or they scorn your name as evil. That person, they spit on the ground when they mention your name. for the sake of the son of man, okay? So the point is, hopefully you're suffering because of Jesus, not because you did something wrong, okay? Don't be happy because you're suffering because you did something wrong. Be sad about that and then confess it and be forgiven for it and then be happy for your forgiveness and move on. But if you're suffering because of doing good and for the sake of man, son of man, Jesus, then be happy. Be glad, verse 23, in that day and leap for joy when people hate you and spit and insult you and scorn your name for the sake of Jesus. Okay. Leap for joy for your reward is great in heaven. We need to look forward. If we're gonna be building our foundation, then we need to be looking forward. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets, But woe to you who are rich." So if we're rich, we need to realize that Jesus is pronouncing woes on us. You who are rich, you have received your comfort in full. Are you looking forward or are you just pleasuring in this life, right? Happy about this life? I hope you're looking forward to, and then doing the right thing with your riches. Okay? Woe to you who are well fed now, for you shall be hungry. If you're not living according to Jesus's ideas here of looking forward and not being focused on the now and, oh, I'm rich, I can take it easy, the rich, A ruler, one person was happy about all the barns he built and then his life was required of him. Now who will have your riches, Jesus said. Another person was rich and said, what do I have to do to enter the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus said, he said, I've done everything, I'm perfect. So what else do I have to do? Well, give up your riches. Well, obviously he was not doing everything he was supposed to do, because he couldn't even respond to that. He just went away sad. So don't trust in your riches. Woe to you who are well fed now, you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now. We were laughing a lot lately, and I'm glad to laugh. But man, we need to take into account that there are reasons to be sad right now for other people, if not ourselves. Are we not concerned with them? Let's be sad about other people. If we can't be sad about our situation, we have a good situation, well, let's suffer with them. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way. But I say to you who hear, love your enemies. Okay, if you want a foundation, love your enemies. You wanna build your life securely, love your enemies. So which of these words, the title of the sermon is, which of Jesus' words? So far I haven't heard any I wanna do. Be happy in all these strange situations and not enjoy my riches either. Instead, I've got Jesus pronouncing woes on me for my riches. If you're poor, he's saying be happy about it. And if you have enemies, be glad for that. Because you're like the prophets who had enemies. Okay, I want to build my house on all that. Okay, let's see what else. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. This is the way to secure the foundation of your life. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also. So we're just going through the sermon here that Jesus just preached to us, reminding ourselves all the stuff that he said were his words. And he says, you say, Lord, Lord, and here, well, these are the words reminding you what they were. Okay, these were the words. Which of these words are we building our life on, our house, our life? Okay, whoever takes away your coat, don't withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And I interpret that to mean every category, not necessarily every time someone asks you, you have to give to them. I don't think so. That's hyperbolic, but, but you know, we, we, we judge people and we say, well, I'm not going to give to them. I'm not going to get, get to everyone who asks of you and whoever takes away what is yours. Do not demand it back. Wow. Jesus is asking a lot with these words of his that he says, we don't, we're supposed to act on these words. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. We say that, but then we just use that as a reflection and say, why aren't you treating me nice? If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? And I harp on this one is. If you're loving your family, what credit is that to you, Jesus says? Everyone loves their family. All the worst people in the world love their own families. What about loving somebody else? In another place, he says, love your neighbor as yourself. Who's my neighbor? Well, that would be like what this guy did, the guy who was mistreated by a whole group of people, and yet he loved them back. The Samaritan, the Samaritan loved the Jews, even though the Jews mistreated him. So that's, that's, that would give a credit to you. Even sinners love those who love them. Jesus says, if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to whom, from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount, but love your enemies and do good and lend expect nothing in return. and your reward will be great, and you'll be sons of the Most High. For He Himself is kind to ungrateful, that's me, and evil men, that's me. He was kind to me, I'm evil and ungrateful. And so I need to do the same for others. Be merciful just as your Father is merciful. Let's stop there. Enough said. That's the foundation. You think, yeah, I'm standing on the promises of God, the promise that I should be happy when I'm poor, the promise I should not trust in my riches and give it away and help people that are my enemies. Standing on the promises. That's why we didn't sing standing on the promises of God. Standing, yeah, standing. Lord, Lord, standing. Standing on the promises of God, my Savior. I'm standing on the promises of God. I'm being happy when I'm poor. I'm praying for my enemies. It doesn't say that, does it? All right. Enough said. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, your words cut to the quick of our hearts. We know that you are our example and you loved your enemies and you suffered for them. And so Lord, we just ask your power to truly build our house of our life on these words. And so we may stand in a day of judgment before you because we're truly your followers in Jesus name, amen.