The House on the Rock
Jesus was different.
He was the same as everyone else. He played with the other children. He learned how to make boats and hew beams with his carpenter father. He studied the torah at they synagogue with the other boys every week and he worshipped there on the Sabbath Day. Jesus was just like everyone else… but he was different.
The first real evidence of this in the scriptures besides the star plus a strange mix of shepherds and wise men at his birth was his visit to the temple in Jerusalem when he was just 12 years old.
At the temple everything was normal until he wandered into a session with scholars arguing about the law of God. Jesus listened for a bit before he got involved in the discussion. Before long the scholars were quizzing Jesus closely with many questions about the torah. Jesus responded for hours and the scholars, rabbis and teachers were amazed at his knowledge.
Luke 2:46-47 (NCV)
46 After three days they found Jesus sitting in the Temple with the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and answers.
For the first part of his life he quietly followed in the footsteps of his father. He took no wife and he concerned himself only with one thought – to be about his father’s business. His father’s business was not the carpentry of Joseph but the work of God as described in the torah.
Then at the age of 30 years he left his home and traveled to where his cousin John was preaching in the wilderness near the Jordan River. Thousands were coming to be baptized by him to show that they were repentant and hungry to learn the things of God.
He was baptized in the river because “to fulfill all righteousness” or in other words, “to do that which was right”. After a period of temptation in the wilderness his ministry began. It wasn’t long before John was becoming less and Jesus more. The crowds grew and Jesus taught them about God.
Then came what we know as the Sermon on the Mount. In this message Jesus taught truths which were both new and old. And he taught with great authority. Nothing like this had been heard before.
He began with a few short verses on being happy and blessed.
The Beatitudes introduce the message
Matthew 5:1-12 (NCV)
3 “Those people who know they have great spiritual needs are happy, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
4 Those who are sad now are happy, because God will comfort them.
5 Those who are humble are happy, because the earth will belong to them.
6 Those who want to do right more than anything else are happy, because God will fully satisfy them.
In these introductory verses Jesus laid out the way to real happiness. It’s not the way of the world. It’s the way of God. It comes through humility and service to others.
This past week Jack Whitaker won $314,900,000.00 dollars. What I really appreciated is his statement on television was his intention to tithe his winnings. But even more exciting was his response to the question, "Have you been lucky before?" He said, "I’m not lucky, I’m blessed. I’ve been blessed all my life."
Jack has it nailed. To be blessed is to be spoken well of by others. It is especially important to be spoken well of by God! This is where real happiness comes from - not money - but living in such a way that God is proud of you. Here is Jesus is talking about.
From the opening of the beautitudes Jesus gets down then to the nitty-gritty details of what this means...
He talks about us being "Salt and light", the "Importance of the law", and anger.
Matthew 5:21-22 (NCV)
21 “You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘You must not murder anyone. a Anyone who murders another will be judged.’ 22 But I tell you, if you are angry with a brother or sister, b you will be judged. If you say bad things to a brother or sister, you will be judged by the council. And if you call someone a fool, you will be in danger of the fire of hell.
He talks about Sexual Sin.
Matthew 5:27-29 (NCV)
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You must not be guilty of adultery.’ c 28 But I tell you that if anyone looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with her, in his mind he has already done that sin with the woman. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell.
Loving other people,
Matthew 5:43-47 (NCV)
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor g and hate your enemies.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. 45 If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong. 46 If you love only the people who love you, you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. 47 And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than other people. Even those who don’t know God are nice to their friends.
Jesus talked about prayer & worship and how God is more important than money,
Matthew 6:19-21 (NCV)
19 “Don’t store treasures for yourselves here on earth where moths and rust will destroy them and thieves can break in and steal them. 20 But store your treasures in heaven where they cannot be destroyed by moths or rust and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. 21 Your heart will be where your treasure is.
Trusting God
Jesus talked about the most important rule in life:
Matthew 7:12 (NCV)
12 “Do to others what you want them to do to you. This is the meaning of the law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets.
Then he closed with a discussion about two kinds of people: Those who Hear and do and Those who Hear and do not do.
Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Everyone who hears my words and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and hit that house. But it did not fall, because it was built on rock. 26 Everyone who hears my words and does not obey them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 It rained hard, the floods came, and the winds blew and hit that house, and it fell with a big crash.”
28 When Jesus finished saying these things, the people were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he did not teach like their teachers of the law. He taught like a person who had authority.
It is a simple thing to build your life as a House on the Rock.
Simple two step process
Step 1: You have to hear what Jesus said
Step 2: You have to do what Jesus said to do
For the next ten weeks I want to invite you to hear and do what Jesus says.
What that means exactly will depend on you.
If you are a believer and a disciple… you will need to study and apply these words carefully as the Spirit of God guides and leads you.
If you are searching and seeking…
I invite you to read Matt 5-7 and to begin doing what it says even if you don’t believe yet. Truth is truth and you’ll experience it’s results – happiness will be yours.
Finally I’d like to invite all of you to invite a friend to come to MCC this coming week. You’ll be inviting others to come meet this man named Jesus. Help others meet Jesus so they can hear and do what needs to be heard and done for a Blessed and Happy life - now and for eternity.
