And with me in God's Word, in Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7, page 1500, and the I'm going to read in Matthew chapter 8, verse 4. Let's listen to God's Word. Matthew 7, verse 21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. 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. And the rains descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did not fall, for it was pointed on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended, floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell. And great was its fall. And so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings that the people were astonished at his teaching. For he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. And when he had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him. And before the leper came and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Then Jesus put out his hand and touched him, saying, I am willing to be cleansed. Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, see that you tell no one, but go your way. Show yourself to the priests and offer the gift that Moses commanded as a testimony to them. Amen. Just over two weeks ago, there was a microburst over Bloomington, an intense supercell storm that lasted maybe 20 minutes with 75 miles per hour winds and torrential rain. And the result of the storm was dying trees, structural damage to a number of buildings, and the loss of electricity for thousands of residents. And this storm revealed a large number of weak trees in the county, some of which you could see were rotten inside. And so when that wind came, it was impossible for these trees to withstand the storm. Their trunks simply snapped. In our passage today, we read of a storm, a storm that reveals the truth about your relationship to Christ. And so I want you to notice there is a storm coming. And only if you're trusting in Christ will the rock evident in your heart of sardish addition to him will you not fall. As I tell the children, I encourage you, please draw a picture of a small stone and a group of troops. And which trees are the ones that fall down, and which trees are the ones that stand tall? You can label that on your picture. So firstly, the Sermon on the Mount is divisive. So what side are you on? So we're coming to the final sermon on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. And I've mentioned this a number of times, that often the Sermon on the Mount is misunderstood, that it's simply various teachings of Jesus just compiled together about his value system. If we abide by these teachings, our world would be a better place. But that's a misunderstanding of the Sermon on the Mount. These final verses, this conclusion teaches us it's not a value system for us to pick and choose from. No, this is a way of life. And it's a way of life that divides humanity right down the middle. J.C. Ryle writes, the Lord Jesus winds up the Sermon on the Mount by a passage of heart-piercing application. Jesus has already been teaching us that you're either on the narrow road that leads to life or the broad road that leads to destruction. We heard that this morning, too. You're either clean or you're unclean. Well, again, in these final verses, we read of mankind being divided into two groups. And these two groups demonstrate two responses to Jesus' teaching. You can't sit on the fence here. There are those who are genuine in their belief, demonstrated by obedience to Jesus' teaching, and there are those who are not genuine, they're false. And rather than obey Jesus, they disobey. But it also shows, as John Stott says, that the issue of life and death on the day of judgment will be determined by our moral response to Christ and his teaching in this life. and how you respond to Jesus will not go unnoticed. We live in a time of deep fakes. Photos are taken, videos are taken, and it used to be the camera never lied. But now it does lie. With Photoshopping and editing, it's difficult to know what is real and what is false. It takes a careful look to realize where a photo has been manipulated. Often you have to depend on experts or on AI now to discover that the photo doesn't match up completely. Well, Christ does the same. He knows exactly those who are genuine in the faith in Him and those who are not. He's not surprised. We are often surprised. There are those who appear so committed to the Lord, but many years later, they turn out to be frauds, to be deep fakes. Well, the Sermon on the Mount closes asking, what side are you on? Even those who appear religious, they need to evaluate themselves and consider what are they trusting in? And this is certainly relevant in Jesus' day with the Pharisees. These were men who were deeply committed in their religion, and yet they had no relationship with God. They did not know God, and cannot be true of any here. You appear to be religious, and yet the truth is you're a fraud. You're a deepfake. You're not on the road to life, but on the road to destruction. And so secondly, beware of trusting in your outward profession, verses 21 to 23. So we read of this group of people who are quick to say that Jesus is Lord. These people have even prophesied in Jesus' name. They've cast out demons in Jesus' name. They have done many wonders in Jesus' name. And yet Jesus says in conclusion, I never knew you. He describes them as practicing lawlessness, as not doing the will of his Father in heaven. Well, what's going on? Surely to profess the name of Jesus as Lord means you're saved. We even read of the name Lord repeated here. There is earnestness. There appears to be devotion. We read of how they ministered for Jesus, and they do it all in his name. It looks so genuine. It appears that they know Jesus, but Jesus says it as it really is. He declares that he never knew them. Jesus knows his sheep. John 10, 14, I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and I'm known by my own. A farmer knows his own animals. To everyone else, they look the same, but not to the farmer. My brother is a dairy farmer, and he knows each one of his cows. Those that don't belong to him, well, he can easily identify that. Likewise with Christ, he knows his sheep. Well, how can people be so deeply mistaken? How can they think they are one of Christ's sheep when they are not? Is that the case for you this evening? Are you mistaken? Well, who are you in private? It's easy to have a public persona. To everyone else, you appear to be Christian, maybe even to your own family. Possibly, you've even deceived yourself. But the real assessment, as Robert Murray McShane says, what a man is on his knees before God, that he is a nothing more. Who are you privately with the Lord? These supposable believers we read in verses 21 to 23 publicly declared that Jesus is Lord. Privately, they did not. How do we know that? Well, they continued practicing lawlessness. They're holding on to hidden sins they would not let go. Yes, they talked a good game, they said all the right things, but inside, they're holding on to sin. They had somehow decided that that sin is okay. They had excused their sin. Sin is rebellion against God. How can we say Lord, Lord, when at the same time we are in rebellion against Him? It's treasonous. probably one of the most high-profile Christians, who in the end appeared not to have been a Christian at all, was Ravi Sakharas. This man had this great ministry, teaching from the Bible, defending the truth, bringing thousands of people to know the Lord. But he also had a great secret. He was involved in immoral behavior with a countless number of women, paying them off to keep his secret. Last week we were hearing about Judas. He did all these things that we read of here. He preached, he performed miracles, he cast out demons, he followed Jesus for three years. But he did not know Jesus personally. And yet none of his fellow disciples suspected him. You cannot hold onto sin and at the same time call Jesus Lord. It's a contradiction. Paul says in 2 Timothy 2, nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal. The Lord knows those who are his, and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Doriani says it's easy to be fond of Jesus, even to revere him and call him Lord. But it is deadly then and now to claim to be a disciple while falling short of true discipleship. So how is your walk with Jesus? It's not that we never sin. Christians are not perfect. But when you do sin, what do you do? Do you repent of that sin or do you continue in that sin? And so thirdly, notice you are to be wholehearted in your submission to Christ, verses 24 to 27. So Jesus moves on to show what is to be evident, and it is to be this wholehearted submission to him. You're to hear his word, and you are to do it. And Jesus gives us this parable to teach this point. Interestingly, this is the only parable in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus uses parables to explain his points, to make it memorable so you don't forget it. And so Jesus is wanting to drive this point home here. We read of two houses, two houses that look exactly the same, but there's one major difference. One has a solid foundation that's built on the rock. The other has no foundation. It's built on the sand. Now having the right foundation is very important. And yet it is something that we rarely talk about. When you visit a home, a beautiful home, you don't ask about the foundations. No, you talk about the architecture, the decor, the grounds. We had a congregational meeting the other week about building an extension. I don't think there are any questions about the foundations of that extension. There are questions about the cost and the facade, the space, the car parking. No questions about the foundation. And yet it's the foundation that is crucial for the integrity of the building. Without foundations, the building collapses. Well, the foundation that you build your house on is crucial if you hope to sustain your life. And yet foundations are not seen. It's not obvious what people are basing their life on. But sadly, it's often superficial things. They live for their house, or they live for their sports, they live for their job, or for their yard. When they can no longer keep it, they're lost without it. Even people build foundations on more important things, like family or friends. But then we quickly find ourselves to be alone when they all leave for a variety of reasons. These foundations do not lead to stability. Christians also need to test their foundations. Are you trusting in Christ, evident in submission to his word? Or are you trusting in the busyness of Christianity? And it can be hard to tell the difference, or often looks the same. We all go to church faithfully. We all tithe. We all pray and read the Bible. We memorize scripture. We know our Reformed theology. We're ready to help out when a need arises. We go on mission teams. We sign up for meal trains. Just like the two houses in the parable, we all look the same. But the foundations. may be different. For some, it's all superficial. It's doing what's expected of them. It's keeping up with tradition. It feels good to do it, or it's an intellectual challenge. We read in 1 Corinthians 13, this well-known passage, although I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, although I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. Although I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, although I give my body to be burned, but have not love. it profits me nothing. So Paul is given two extremes within the church that we often find in the church. Those who are all about head knowledge, wanting to learn more and more. But then the other extreme are those who simply want to use their hands. They want to be busy serving. They don't like to sit down. Well, Paul is condemning both, saying, without love, you are nothing. A love for others comes from a love for God. And that is the right foundation. And a love for God will be evident in a love for his word. Not simply for knowledge's sake, but a wholehearted submission to him, and so be transformed into his likeness. James 1 says this, therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. So what do you do when you hear the word of God? When you hear the Scriptures preached, what are you thinking? Oh, he's a good preacher. He gives great insights. He uses illustrations. He has a funny accent. Well, instead, consider how does the Word affect you? Are you willing to submit to this Word? Does it cause you to change your thinking? We consider this in Sunday school this morning. When you recognize Christ as your King, You will listen to Him. You will obey Him. You will conform your will to His will. You're willing to forgive, for that is what He calls for, even when it's difficult. He helps you see your sin, and so you put that to death. He encourages you and emboldens you in your faith. He enables you to see the need to be more patient or more self-controlled with others. And so when you see Christ as your King, you submit yourself wholeheartedly to Him. but it's easy to obey and submit to him and his word when you agree with it. It's much harder to submit when you disagree, when it's not what you want, when it hurts, when it asks for more than you want to give. That is the test of your wholehearted submission. The other thing that we often do with God's word is we too easily forget it. Like the man that James describes who looks in the mirror but immediately forgets. How often do we do our quiet time and then an hour later we have completely forgotten what we've read? Or we forget what we hear in the sermon. We're too busy trying to catch someone or plan something. rather than contemplate the word of God. Now take the time, meditate on what God's word is saying, so you then apply it to your life. John Stott has this great quote. He says, in applying this teaching to ourselves, we need to consider that the Bible is a dangerous book to read, and that the church is a dangerous society to join. For in reading the Bible, we hear the words of Christ, and in joining the church, we say we believe in Christ. As a result, we belong to the company described by Jesus as both hearing his teaching and calling him Lord. Our membership, therefore, lays upon us the serious responsibility of ensuring that what we know and what we say is translated into what we do. So you are to wholeheartedly submit to God. Well, fourthly, notice a storm is coming. You are to be on the rock. That is Jesus Christ. Now, you might be thinking that surely this passage is teaching salvation by good works. If you do what Jesus tells you to do, that you're then saved. That it's all about obedience. That's not what Jesus is saying at all. Rather, if you are trusting in Christ, when you have him as your foundation, then you will express your faith in him by your works, by your obedience, by your submission. And so there's no separation. That's why ongoing hidden sins are so dangerous. They demonstrate that Christ is not your foundation. They speak of pride in yourself and a rebellion against God rather than submission to him. 1 John 2, we read, now by this we know that we know him if we keep his commandments. He who says I know him and does not keep his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. You're like that house built on the sand. And when the storms come into your life, whether it's a loss of a job, a bereavement, a disappointment, a betrayal, well, you will be exposed for your lack of trust in Christ. You fall in on yourself. You collapse. You're not strong enough to withstand the pressures. Trials and storms reveal what you are trusting in. David Pauleson has this very helpful illustration, I've given it before, about how we respond to suffering, how that reveals what's going on inside. So in the classroom, I remember him taking the cap off a bottle of water and checking it until water spilled out onto the floor. And he would then ask, why is there water on the floor? And one of the students responded, well, it's because you shook the bottle. And Dr. Powlison would reply, there's water on the floor because there's water in the bottle. If there was orange juice in the bottle, there would be orange juice on the floor. And so our response to suffering is a reflection of what's going on in our hearts. Suffering, the storms, it helps expose our foundations. And so are you trusting in yourself, in your own abilities, in your good works, your reputation, or your commitment? Or are you trusting in Christ? No wonder the first beatitude is, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. There is a recognition that in ourselves we are poor, we are impoverished. But it isn't Christ, we are blessed. He gives us the kingdom. And that's why Jesus is the rock. And the house on the rock stood firm. Scrivener writes, he is the rock, all other ground is sinking sand. And so it is in him you are secure. Whatever storm you face, he will enable you to endure. The ultimate storm is the day of judgment. And on that day, if you're not trusting in Christ, you will be told to depart from me. Jesus will tell you, I do not know you. Such tragic words, especially for those who are confident that they are saved, but saved only because of their works. And Jesus sends those evildoers away, those who have no interest in repentance, but have pride in themselves. Those who are trusting in Christ, they are the ones who are secure. They're just like Peter. In Matthew 16, we read of Peter's confession about Jesus. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And how did Jesus answer? And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." Now, this is being misinterpreted that Peter is a rock. No, it's Peter's confession in Jesus. It's his confidence in Christ. He is the rock. That is the basis for security. It's not that Peter was a perfect man. We saw that this morning. He certainly didn't always obey. But he kept coming back, coming back to the rock that is Christ, for it is in him that he is secure. We see the reaction of the people. They were simply astonished. The Sermon on the Mount amazed them. They could see Jesus had authority. We read of them following Jesus. But there's one man's reaction that is genuine, and that's the leper. He needed a rock to rely on. There was nothing in this world that could help him. There was nothing that could remove him off this leprosy. This was the storm that was going on in his life. Well, he looked to Christ, his rock, for security. Only Christ could cleanse him, and so in Christ he found his refuge in the storm. This is what you have in Christ the rock, too. There is a storm coming, and only if you're trusting in Christ, evident in your wholehearted submission to him, you will not fall. And so the Sermon on the Mount is not a cozy value system that makes you feel good. No, it divides. There are those who are trusting in Christ. There are those who are not. And the storms of life reveal that only those who are trusting in Christ the rock will stand secure and not fall. Well, we've been hearing a lot about the Covenanters in our Sunday school class. And I have a friend, an Episcopal, who was visiting Scotland. And he was surprised to come across so much Covenanter history. And one of the places he visited was a church in Soren in Ayrshire. And here he found the grave of George Wood. George Wood is known as the last Covenanter martyr. He didn't set out to be a martyr. He was simply found to be reading his Bible. And he was known as a Covenanter. And so he was shot and killed. What's most remarkable is that George is only 16 years old. The storms of life came into George's life by the evident persecution against those who had signed the covenant. But George remained wholehearted in his submission to Christ. This would cost him his life. But George did not fall, for Christ is his rock. And so in Christ, George Wood is secure in him. So remember, this storm is coming, and only if you're trusting in Christ, evident in your wholehearted submission to him, you will not fall. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do thank you for the Sermon on the Mount. We thank you for how it reveals who we are. Either we are on the road to life or the road to destruction. Lord, forgive us when we have been lawless, when we have not obeyed you but held on to our hidden sins. Instead, help us to wholeheartedly submit ourselves to you, that we would conform our will to you. At times, this is hard. At times, this is uncomfortable. And so, Lord, we pray for your strength to do so. Remind us that it's only in you that we are secure when the storms of life come. And so, we thank you for Christ the rock. Help us to build our life on him. We ask this in his name. Amen. Well, please turn your Sandbook to Psalm 62b. Psalm 62b, this psalm speaks of God being our rock and Him we are unshaken. And so let's sing this psalm expressing our