THE FOOTER or the fall

At last we've arrived ... the end of the Sermon on the Mount. And as Jesus has us look back at his message, he presents his final contrast. Matthew 7:24-27 looks at the difference between a standing house and a pile of rubble.Despite the differences, let's read and then see what's similar.

MATTHEW 7:24-27

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.’"

SIMILARITIES

• REPETITION - Jesus's words here almost have a meter and pitch to them. What words or phrases are repeated in these 4 verses?

• CONCLUSION - While there are two types of people, what are some conclusions we can make about what Jesus says happens to all people?

IT'S STANDING - v 24-25

• THE HOUSE - What happened to this house during the storm? Why did that happen?

• THE MAN - What does Jesus call the man this house represents? What does he do that earns him that title?

IT'S RUINED - v 26-27

• THE HOUSE - What happened to this house during the storm? Why did that happen?

• THE MAN - What does Jesus call the man this house represents? What does he do that earns him that title?

THE APPLICATION - Matthew 5-7 contains Jesus' sermon to his followers. And now, he invites us to look back over what we've heard and see if we're DOING anything about it. Read the sections below, and ask yourself one question: "What have I done about what I've heard?" Then, notice a pattern of "hearing Jesus words" but avoiding real change, maybe find one bit of truth and apply it to one bit of life.

• Mt 5:1-12, "Blessed is..." - __________________

• Mt 5:13-16, "Salt & Light" - __________________

• Mt 5:17-20, "Law Fulfilled" - _________________

• Mt 5:21-30, "Anger & Lust" - _________________

• Mt 5:31-37, "Divorce & Oaths" - ______________

• Mt 5:38-48, "Love & Revenge" - ______________

• Mt 6:1-18, "Acting It Out" - __________________

• Mt 6:9-15, "The Lord's Prayer" - ______________

• Mt 6:19-24, "Treasure, Eye, Master" - _________

• Mt 6:25-34, "Tomorrow's Troubles" - __________

• Mt 7:1-6, "Don't sinfully judge" - _____________

• Mt 7:7-11, "A.S.K. God again" - ______________

• Mt 7:12-14, "Gates & Golden Rule" - _________

• Mt 7:15-23, "Who's Teaching You?" - _________

THE MIRROR - Echoing the Sermon on the Mount, James reminds us of this concept with these words: "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 who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing." James 1:22-25

Let's be blessed in our doing,

Pastor Darren