WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.600 Today's reading is taken from the Gospel according 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:09.800 to Matthew chapter 7 verses 13 to 29. Matthew 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:15.460 chapter 7 verses 13 to 29. Enter through the 00:00:15.460 --> 00:00:18.559 narrow gate, for wide is the gate, and broad 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:22.039 is the road that leads to destruction, and many 00:00:22.039 --> 00:00:26.579 enter through it. But small is the gate, and 00:00:26.579 --> 00:00:29.440 narrow is the road that leads to life. and only 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:33.520 a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. 00:00:33.820 --> 00:00:37.600 They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly, 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:40.780 they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit, you 00:00:40.780 --> 00:00:44.859 will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from 00:00:44.859 --> 00:00:48.780 thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:52.659 every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree 00:00:52.659 --> 00:00:57.039 bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad 00:00:57.039 --> 00:01:00.640 fruit. and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:04.920 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:08.980 down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their 00:01:08.980 --> 00:01:13.079 fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who 00:01:13.079 --> 00:01:15.780 says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom 00:01:15.780 --> 00:01:18.799 of heaven, but only the one who does the will 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:22.120 of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:26.140 to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy 00:01:26.140 --> 00:01:29.280 in your name? and in your name drive out demons, 00:01:29.599 --> 00:01:33.120 and in your name perform many miracles, then 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:36.239 I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away 00:01:36.239 --> 00:01:40.599 from me, you evildoers. Therefore, everyone who 00:01:40.599 --> 00:01:43.159 hears these words of mine and puts them into 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:46.239 practice is like a wise man who built his house 00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:49.340 on the rock. The rain came down, the streams 00:01:49.340 --> 00:01:52.760 rose, and the wind blew. and beat against that 00:01:52.760 --> 00:01:56.519 house, yet it did not fall because it had its 00:01:56.519 --> 00:02:00.900 foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears 00:02:00.900 --> 00:02:03.920 these words of mine and does not put them into 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:07.079 practice is like a foolish man who built his 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:11.180 house on sand. The rain came down, the streams 00:02:11.180 --> 00:02:13.759 rose, and the winds blew and beat against that 00:02:13.759 --> 00:02:17.930 house, and it fell with a great crash. When Jesus 00:02:17.930 --> 00:02:20.669 had finished saying these things, the crowds 00:02:20.669 --> 00:02:23.909 were amazed at his teaching because he taught 00:02:23.909 --> 00:02:27.729 as one who had authority and not as their teachers 00:02:27.729 --> 00:02:31.650 of the law. The word of the Lord. Good morning, 00:02:31.689 --> 00:02:37.229 church. How are you this morning? Good. Before 00:02:37.229 --> 00:02:39.509 I get into my sermon, I just want you to turn 00:02:39.509 --> 00:02:41.990 to your neighbor and answer this question. Where 00:02:41.990 --> 00:02:45.020 have you been amazed by God this week? Give yourself 00:02:45.020 --> 00:02:48.180 30 seconds. Where have you been amazed by God? 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:49.919 At the end of the passage, it said they were 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:53.060 amazed by his teaching. Where have you been amazed 00:02:53.060 --> 00:02:56.120 by God this week? All right, is anybody brave 00:02:56.120 --> 00:02:58.280 enough to tell me where they were amazed by God 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:04.639 this week? Anyone brave to? Yes. Having great 00:03:04.639 --> 00:03:10.460 sons and grandsons. A blessing, a blessing. And 00:03:10.460 --> 00:03:12.400 hopefully you even saw them this week, maybe. 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:15.409 You did. Okay, not only do you have them, but 00:03:15.409 --> 00:03:17.009 you actually physically were able to spend time 00:03:17.009 --> 00:03:19.090 with them. Anywhere else people were amazed by 00:03:19.090 --> 00:03:28.090 God this week? That may be a miracle. You should 00:03:28.090 --> 00:03:31.009 maybe think about that. It's been a tough road. 00:03:31.330 --> 00:03:33.650 That's been a tough road, yeah, or tough flight, 00:03:33.810 --> 00:03:37.150 yes. Any other ways people have been amazed by 00:03:37.150 --> 00:03:43.770 God this week? Yeah, over here. Having a moment 00:03:43.770 --> 00:03:46.050 with God among seniors, did you say? Wonderful. 00:03:46.409 --> 00:03:49.629 Yeah. You could see God at work in those conversations 00:03:49.629 --> 00:03:51.849 and with those people, with elders. Excellent. 00:03:52.169 --> 00:03:56.990 And one more, yeah? Your niece found a full -time 00:03:56.990 --> 00:04:02.169 job. Praise God for that. Amen. That can change 00:04:02.169 --> 00:04:04.629 a life right there. Getting a full -time job 00:04:04.629 --> 00:04:09.580 changes your life. Well, this morning... we are 00:04:09.580 --> 00:04:13.159 gathered to listen to the last section of the 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:16.139 Sermon on the Mount. And you're going to have 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:18.399 one more sermon on it next week, which is on 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:21.199 the Lord's Prayer. But this section that we heard 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:24.199 today kind of wraps up what people usually understand, 00:04:24.339 --> 00:04:27.720 sort of Matthew 5 to Matthew 7, as the Sermon 00:04:27.720 --> 00:04:32.060 on the Mount. And like any good wrap -up of a 00:04:32.060 --> 00:04:34.439 sermon, what we've got in this section is a call 00:04:34.439 --> 00:04:38.250 to action. And Jesus uses in this wrap -up and 00:04:38.250 --> 00:04:42.709 his call to action three classic images. They're 00:04:42.709 --> 00:04:44.769 images that we see in other parts of scripture. 00:04:45.110 --> 00:04:47.870 And we're going to walk through those three images. 00:04:48.670 --> 00:04:54.250 It's a gate, it's a tree, and it's a house. But 00:04:54.250 --> 00:04:57.129 we're going to look at that in the context of 00:04:57.129 --> 00:04:59.509 this title, which is Choosing the Jesus Way. 00:05:00.050 --> 00:05:02.810 And I want to just flag what you see on the screen 00:05:02.810 --> 00:05:05.589 here. You're going to see little drawings periodically. 00:05:05.790 --> 00:05:08.189 I did not make them. I did not get AI to make 00:05:08.189 --> 00:05:11.170 them. I did try AI. They were not as good. So 00:05:11.170 --> 00:05:13.569 what you see on the screen all comes from the 00:05:13.569 --> 00:05:16.970 Bible Project. They have a really excellent visual 00:05:16.970 --> 00:05:20.029 commentary on the Sermon on the Mount. So if 00:05:20.029 --> 00:05:21.829 you missed any of the sermons, if you want to 00:05:21.829 --> 00:05:24.089 go deeper on anything about Sermon on the Mount, 00:05:24.170 --> 00:05:26.889 I do recommend it. It's a free online resource 00:05:26.889 --> 00:05:29.970 from the Bible Commentary, and all the little 00:05:29.970 --> 00:05:33.290 drawings that you have on the screen today come 00:05:33.290 --> 00:05:37.259 from them. So my gratitude to them. Okay, there 00:05:37.259 --> 00:05:40.199 is a lot of content because it is a wrap -up, 00:05:40.199 --> 00:05:42.939 but Jesus, like, throws three very distinct images 00:05:42.939 --> 00:05:44.279 at us, so we're going to do that, and then I'll 00:05:44.279 --> 00:05:48.180 wrap with a story. So what is the first one? 00:05:48.220 --> 00:05:50.220 Let me just see if I can use this properly. I 00:05:50.220 --> 00:05:53.839 can, yay. Okay, so like I said, these are the 00:05:53.839 --> 00:05:56.740 sections. We've got the gate, the tree, and the 00:05:56.740 --> 00:06:00.040 house, and I look at those three things, and 00:06:00.040 --> 00:06:02.500 in addition to those images, what we have is 00:06:02.500 --> 00:06:05.319 that the gate is really asking us what are the 00:06:05.319 --> 00:06:08.339 choices that it takes in our following Jesus. 00:06:08.600 --> 00:06:11.720 The second is what is the impact if we follow 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:13.939 this new way, and then the third section is what 00:06:13.939 --> 00:06:18.149 is the outcome. So we've got, I did this this 00:06:18.149 --> 00:06:20.370 morning because there was no visuals, and so 00:06:20.370 --> 00:06:22.069 we had a very interactive sermon. So we're going 00:06:22.069 --> 00:06:24.730 to try it again. The first picture is, you've 00:06:24.730 --> 00:06:26.350 got a cheat sheet above you. So the first one 00:06:26.350 --> 00:06:30.110 is the? Gate. The second one is the? And the 00:06:30.110 --> 00:06:32.649 third one is the? Okay, so this is the only time 00:06:32.649 --> 00:06:34.009 you're going to see all three at the same time. 00:06:34.029 --> 00:06:36.129 So next time I ask you, one will be missing. 00:06:36.310 --> 00:06:40.509 Just so you know, stay awake. Okay, what is the 00:06:40.509 --> 00:06:43.709 choice? What is the choice, otherwise known as 00:06:43.709 --> 00:06:47.120 the gate? So up until now in the Sermon on the 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:50.019 Mount, what has been happening is that Jesus 00:06:50.019 --> 00:06:52.620 has been talking to his disciples who've been 00:06:52.620 --> 00:06:55.259 listening with lots of extra people, the crowds 00:06:55.259 --> 00:06:57.620 around there too, and they've been listening 00:06:57.620 --> 00:07:01.620 to how to be with God and how to be with neighbor 00:07:01.620 --> 00:07:04.800 in this new way of kingdom living. He's even 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:06.819 spent a whole section talking about religious 00:07:06.819 --> 00:07:11.189 practices, and he's sort of wrapped up. The Sermon 00:07:11.189 --> 00:07:13.430 on the Mount, before this section we hear, verse 00:07:13.430 --> 00:07:16.850 12, which precedes this one, is one that people 00:07:16.850 --> 00:07:19.050 are very familiar with, even if you're not in 00:07:19.050 --> 00:07:21.629 the church, because it goes like this. Do unto 00:07:21.629 --> 00:07:25.810 others as you would have them do to you. That's 00:07:25.810 --> 00:07:27.649 right. So that's what comes just before this. 00:07:27.709 --> 00:07:30.449 He's summarized the law and the prophets with 00:07:30.449 --> 00:07:33.420 that statement, and then he goes into this. section 00:07:33.420 --> 00:07:35.939 that we read as chapter 7, which is why people 00:07:35.939 --> 00:07:38.000 call this kind of the wrap -up, because that 00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:40.399 was sort of a summary statement of kind of everything, 00:07:40.540 --> 00:07:42.680 and now there's three little pictures to help 00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:47.459 us. So what is the first picture? It is of a 00:07:47.459 --> 00:07:56.459 gate or door and a road or way. And this imagery 00:07:56.459 --> 00:08:00.939 of a road going through a door or a way going 00:08:00.939 --> 00:08:02.980 through a gate, those are the different words 00:08:02.980 --> 00:08:05.720 saying the same thing, is all about the choices 00:08:05.720 --> 00:08:10.040 that need to be made. Following me, Jesus is 00:08:10.040 --> 00:08:14.040 saying, following the way is going to be an intentional 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:19.180 act. You have got to choose to enter through 00:08:19.180 --> 00:08:22.990 the narrow gate. You have to choose to enter 00:08:22.990 --> 00:08:24.529 through the narrow gate. It just doesn't happen 00:08:24.529 --> 00:08:28.370 automatically. It is not the path of least resistance. 00:08:29.709 --> 00:08:33.129 As one commentator writes, the many and the few 00:08:33.129 --> 00:08:38.029 are not... They are oratory. They function not 00:08:38.029 --> 00:08:40.590 to give a doctrinal statement about how many 00:08:40.590 --> 00:08:44.649 will be saved, but rather to exhort and admonish 00:08:44.649 --> 00:08:48.529 the lagging disciples of the urgency of the decision 00:08:48.529 --> 00:08:52.470 which must be made new every day. I'm going to 00:08:52.470 --> 00:08:54.049 read that last part again because I really like 00:08:54.049 --> 00:08:56.470 it. The urgency of the decision that must be 00:08:56.470 --> 00:09:01.929 made new every day. Now some of you who are sitting 00:09:01.929 --> 00:09:05.179 here, may recall the time when you made a decision 00:09:05.179 --> 00:09:08.279 that you would follow Jesus. Some of you may 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:10.059 not remember that time because your eye just 00:09:10.059 --> 00:09:12.879 grew up this way. And I embraced it. I didn't 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:16.840 have a moment. What this passage is saying is 00:09:16.840 --> 00:09:19.720 that it is not just a moment. It is something 00:09:19.720 --> 00:09:22.200 that must be ongoing. That's why I love how he 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:25.360 blends the gate and the road. There is a decision 00:09:25.360 --> 00:09:28.360 of a moment. You walk through the gate. But you 00:09:28.360 --> 00:09:31.269 are walking on a... road or away, because you 00:09:31.269 --> 00:09:34.610 have to keep making the decision to follow Jesus 00:09:34.610 --> 00:09:38.990 every day. The urgency of the decision, which 00:09:38.990 --> 00:09:44.950 must be made new every day. Now, I wonder how 00:09:44.950 --> 00:09:47.289 many of you have ever walked on a cobbled stone 00:09:47.289 --> 00:09:50.309 road where it had one of these big gates. They're 00:09:50.309 --> 00:09:52.399 not... common. In fact, I'm not sure I know of 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:54.960 a place in Toronto, but a couple years ago, I 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:57.799 did go to Quebec City, and it's an old fortified 00:09:57.799 --> 00:10:00.299 city, so there's several places where you can 00:10:00.299 --> 00:10:03.799 walk through what I imagine these sort of gates 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:06.799 might have looked like in the cities of old. 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:10.840 And on those gates and around them, there's the 00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:13.100 cobblestone street, and there's usually fortifications, 00:10:13.159 --> 00:10:16.059 and so you just kind of have to follow the path. 00:10:16.440 --> 00:10:18.960 Like, if you go with the crowd, you are going 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:22.100 to go through the wide You are not going to find 00:10:22.100 --> 00:10:24.980 the small door on the side. You're not going 00:10:24.980 --> 00:10:29.080 to know the entrance that is more narrow unless 00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:32.720 you are deliberate and looking for it. And Jesus 00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:36.019 says that's what we actually have to do. In our 00:10:36.019 --> 00:10:39.600 life of following him, we need to take that intentional 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:43.519 pause and not follow with the crowd, not go to 00:10:43.519 --> 00:10:46.220 the widest gate, the most open door, but make 00:10:46.220 --> 00:10:49.929 that deliberate choice. And sometimes it makes 00:10:49.929 --> 00:10:54.289 you feel constricted and narrow. You might notice 00:10:54.289 --> 00:10:56.289 that there are fewer people going the way you're 00:10:56.289 --> 00:10:59.669 choosing. And Jesus says, don't worry about all 00:10:59.669 --> 00:11:02.230 that. Don't worry if there's fewer people or 00:11:02.230 --> 00:11:05.610 it's a narrow road. Because ultimately, that 00:11:05.610 --> 00:11:09.970 pathway is going to lead you to life. Now, life 00:11:09.970 --> 00:11:13.629 here in Greek... is the word zoe, which is, there's 00:11:13.629 --> 00:11:15.269 sort of two words that are most commonly used, 00:11:15.350 --> 00:11:18.289 bios, which is just physical life, and zoe, which 00:11:18.289 --> 00:11:21.590 is like a full life, or abundant life, or like 00:11:21.590 --> 00:11:24.970 soul life. And it actually means life that includes 00:11:24.970 --> 00:11:29.090 and starts with salvation, right? So the wholeness 00:11:29.090 --> 00:11:35.490 of life is zoe in here. Now when I said that 00:11:35.490 --> 00:11:38.230 this is a very common imagery, this image of 00:11:38.230 --> 00:11:43.210 the gate, This image of the way. I want to compare 00:11:43.210 --> 00:11:46.149 what we heard this morning in Matthew, which 00:11:46.149 --> 00:11:48.690 you see on the screen, with what we hear in John's 00:11:48.690 --> 00:11:50.769 Gospel. So John's another writer who tells the 00:11:50.769 --> 00:11:54.529 life of Jesus. And this is how John quotes Jesus, 00:11:54.610 --> 00:11:58.330 using these same images. In John's Gospel, we 00:11:58.330 --> 00:12:03.169 hear Jesus say, I am the way, the truth, and 00:12:03.169 --> 00:12:07.950 the life. John 14. We also hear Jesus say, I 00:12:07.950 --> 00:12:12.679 am. The gate. So here we have that we're supposed 00:12:12.679 --> 00:12:15.100 to go through the gate and walk the narrow path, 00:12:15.320 --> 00:12:17.639 and there we have Jesus as both the gate and 00:12:17.639 --> 00:12:21.220 the path. These are not conflicting. They are 00:12:21.220 --> 00:12:25.139 to be merged as one big image. In other words, 00:12:25.139 --> 00:12:28.960 Jesus is saying, I am your gate and I am your 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:33.820 way. The life you seek is possible through me 00:12:33.820 --> 00:12:39.009 and in me, and I will be with you. That just 00:12:39.009 --> 00:12:41.690 takes it up a notch. Just takes it up a notch. 00:12:43.950 --> 00:12:46.710 Now, I'm not sure how you were feeling this morning 00:12:46.710 --> 00:12:50.090 when you walked into this space. Perhaps you 00:12:50.090 --> 00:12:53.049 were feeling that you were on a narrow way. Narrow, 00:12:53.049 --> 00:12:55.129 maybe constricted. Maybe there was a struggle. 00:12:55.289 --> 00:12:57.809 And if that's you this morning, then this word 00:12:57.809 --> 00:13:01.330 is an encouragement to you. This word is an encouragement 00:13:01.330 --> 00:13:03.690 to you because Jesus does not promise that the 00:13:03.690 --> 00:13:08.379 narrow way will be easy to walk on. He just promises 00:13:08.379 --> 00:13:11.080 that it brings life. And there's a difference. 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:13.659 So this is an encouragement if you've come in 00:13:13.659 --> 00:13:16.019 feeling the struggle or the narrowness this morning. 00:13:16.399 --> 00:13:18.399 If you came in this morning and you're like, 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:22.639 I am good. Maybe it's the grandchildren. Maybe 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:24.759 it's just that your life is full and you had 00:13:24.759 --> 00:13:27.379 a wonderful devotional moment this morning. So 00:13:27.379 --> 00:13:29.840 you're like, I got this Zoe life. I'm experiencing 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:33.360 that. Then praise be. My question to you is, 00:13:33.419 --> 00:13:36.730 how are you sharing that with others? If that's 00:13:36.730 --> 00:13:39.549 where you are, then how is it overflowing into 00:13:39.549 --> 00:13:43.769 others around you? And maybe, maybe you came 00:13:43.769 --> 00:13:46.309 this morning and you're not even sure what path 00:13:46.309 --> 00:13:50.090 your feet are on. And if that's you, then let's 00:13:50.090 --> 00:13:51.789 just keep listening as we go through the other 00:13:51.789 --> 00:13:55.750 images that we've got here. And Jesus keeps drawing 00:13:55.750 --> 00:13:58.990 us and inviting us into what it means to live 00:13:58.990 --> 00:14:01.809 this new kingdom way and calls us into action. 00:14:01.830 --> 00:14:04.659 So from the choice, He starts to show us what 00:14:04.659 --> 00:14:07.820 the impact is. Some know of this as the tree, 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:13.659 but what is the impact of following Jesus? What 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:16.320 Jesus says, and this one's a two -parter because 00:14:16.320 --> 00:14:18.559 there's quite a lot. So there'll be two screens. 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:21.340 You can read if you want. I'm not going to actually 00:14:21.340 --> 00:14:23.120 read the text, but I know some people like to 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:25.879 listen and see the text and see how it aligns. 00:14:25.879 --> 00:14:28.200 So that's up there for you, for those who want 00:14:28.200 --> 00:14:32.460 to do that. But what he says here is the impact 00:14:32.460 --> 00:14:35.279 of following me and making that daily choice 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:39.360 is that there will be alignment with your outer 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:43.460 and your inner life. You are going to be an integrated 00:14:43.460 --> 00:14:48.360 person if you are following the way. So what 00:14:48.360 --> 00:14:50.700 does that look like? It means that if you were 00:14:50.700 --> 00:14:53.659 a tree, you would have good fruit. That's the 00:14:53.659 --> 00:14:57.740 picture he's giving us. But what that means is 00:14:57.740 --> 00:15:01.450 you can't... always know right away. And if you're 00:15:01.450 --> 00:15:04.529 looking at someone else, you can't tell right 00:15:04.529 --> 00:15:08.570 away because it takes a while for fruit to ripen. 00:15:09.629 --> 00:15:12.789 And because of that, and using this image, there's 00:15:12.789 --> 00:15:15.230 actually warnings embedded here. You can see 00:15:15.230 --> 00:15:17.950 it in the first line on the screen. Watch out, 00:15:18.029 --> 00:15:20.929 Jesus says. Watch out. Because if you're choosing 00:15:20.929 --> 00:15:23.129 to walk the way and there's other people around 00:15:23.129 --> 00:15:26.450 you, there's going to be some things where they 00:15:26.450 --> 00:15:29.059 are not aligned. There's going to be some places 00:15:29.059 --> 00:15:31.679 where the outer and the inner is not aligning, 00:15:31.700 --> 00:15:34.000 and the only way you're going to know that is 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:36.179 by looking at the fruit. So he gives us three 00:15:36.179 --> 00:15:38.259 warnings. He says, watch out for the sharply 00:15:38.259 --> 00:15:40.379 dressed person who also has a sharp cutting tongue. 00:15:40.759 --> 00:15:43.600 That's the wolves in sheep's clothing, right? 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:47.639 The wolves in sheep's clothing. He says, watch 00:15:47.639 --> 00:15:50.039 out for the public speakers, or we could say 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:53.639 faith influencers, whose screen life may be as 00:15:53.639 --> 00:15:57.000 sweet as grapes. but whose life off the screen 00:15:57.000 --> 00:16:01.519 is more like a thorn bush. And watch out. Watch 00:16:01.519 --> 00:16:05.399 out for the charismatic, name -dropping leader 00:16:05.399 --> 00:16:08.720 who has power, maybe power to bring about change, 00:16:08.820 --> 00:16:11.019 maybe even performing miracles. But if their 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:14.820 impact does not align with my teachings, they 00:16:14.820 --> 00:16:21.279 aren't with me. They aren't with me. Now this 00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:24.360 is a tricky one. Because sometimes we think if 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:27.179 somebody says Lord, Lord, then they must be with 00:16:27.179 --> 00:16:31.240 Jesus. And he calls to our attention that we 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:35.460 need to look at the fruit. Need to look at the 00:16:35.460 --> 00:16:38.600 fruit. And so when it says that in this passage, 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:40.740 it would be easy to say it's always in someone 00:16:40.740 --> 00:16:43.220 else's court. But I wouldn't be a good preacher 00:16:43.220 --> 00:16:45.320 if I let you just look at this in someone else's 00:16:45.320 --> 00:16:48.399 court. Because the word for others is the word 00:16:48.399 --> 00:16:52.340 for us. And so I want you to take a moment now 00:16:52.340 --> 00:16:55.779 and think about what your screen time was like 00:16:55.779 --> 00:16:59.240 last week. Maybe your phone tells you, mine does. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:01.779 If you look hard enough, it'll tell you how many 00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:04.579 hours a day, how many texts you touched, what 00:17:04.579 --> 00:17:08.680 platforms you looked at. Maybe you watch on TV. 00:17:10.539 --> 00:17:13.740 Were any of those three warning groups, those 00:17:13.740 --> 00:17:15.960 three watch out groups, was any of that in the 00:17:15.960 --> 00:17:18.700 content that you saw last week? And did you keep 00:17:18.700 --> 00:17:23.519 watching? This hits all of us. This is a word 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:26.279 from 2 ,000 years ago, and I'm telling you, this 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:30.160 is a solid word for today. It is a timely word 00:17:30.160 --> 00:17:32.640 for today. When we live in a culture where we 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:36.579 have single perspective news channels, we have 00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:39.140 misinformation and disinformation campaigns, 00:17:39.420 --> 00:17:42.160 doesn't matter what political aisle you sit on, 00:17:42.319 --> 00:17:44.779 where we have influencers who are thought to 00:17:44.779 --> 00:17:51.039 be more trustworthy than institutions, God says, 00:17:51.059 --> 00:17:57.299 look at the fruit. Look at the fruit. How do 00:17:57.299 --> 00:17:59.900 we know who we can trust? We look at the fruit. 00:18:00.039 --> 00:18:03.259 And how do we become people who others can trust? 00:18:03.740 --> 00:18:06.940 We must bear fruit. Because they're going to 00:18:06.940 --> 00:18:09.500 look at our fruit, too. And the fruit we're talking 00:18:09.500 --> 00:18:11.619 about here is the fruit of the Spirit, right? 00:18:11.680 --> 00:18:17.059 Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:22.420 faithfulness. gentleness and self -control. Galatians 00:18:22.420 --> 00:18:26.119 5 tells us that against such things there is 00:18:26.119 --> 00:18:31.980 no law. So at the end of this Sermon on the Mount, 00:18:32.059 --> 00:18:34.480 Jesus tells us first there's going to be a choice 00:18:34.480 --> 00:18:37.480 and you have to choose the gate and the narrow 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:41.200 path. And then he says the impact of that choice 00:18:41.200 --> 00:18:43.039 is that over time we're going to see this good 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:45.779 fruit, right? Over time good fruit is going to 00:18:45.779 --> 00:18:48.660 come. So what happens after that? Well, then 00:18:48.660 --> 00:18:52.460 we get to the outcome, which is the house. This 00:18:52.460 --> 00:18:58.420 is probably the most familiar of the three little 00:18:58.420 --> 00:19:01.839 parables. It's a micro parable. Two houses are 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:06.160 built. They look the same until the storm, but 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:08.460 because they have different foundations, the 00:19:08.460 --> 00:19:11.319 one on the rock survives, the one on the sand 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:15.779 collapses. Now, interpretation seems to be built 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:19.640 into the story, right? Right there in the words, 00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:22.000 he's like, well, the wise one built it on the 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:24.599 rock, the foolish one built it on the sand. The 00:19:24.599 --> 00:19:27.619 moral interpretation is very clear, right? Like 00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:30.700 it's right there in the scriptures. And that 00:19:30.700 --> 00:19:33.279 why I think this is a very favorite Sunday school 00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:36.839 story because kids can kind of picture it. We 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:40.700 might even know songs about it. And probably 00:19:40.700 --> 00:19:43.970 you think of Jesus as the rock. And none of that 00:19:43.970 --> 00:19:50.069 is wrong. But what Sunday school didn't explore 00:19:50.069 --> 00:19:55.049 is that there are, in every parable, but in this 00:19:55.049 --> 00:19:57.349 one specifically, there's some symbolic meanings 00:19:57.349 --> 00:20:00.509 around the scriptures connected to the phrase, 00:20:00.609 --> 00:20:04.029 the house, that I'm pretty sure didn't get touched 00:20:04.029 --> 00:20:05.809 on in Sunday school. Certainly didn't when I 00:20:05.809 --> 00:20:07.829 went through, and I haven't seen it in any Sunday 00:20:07.829 --> 00:20:13.089 school curriculum. See, the house, In scripture, 00:20:13.329 --> 00:20:18.490 that phrase often denotes the dwelling place 00:20:18.490 --> 00:20:25.289 of God. The dwelling place of God. So when it 00:20:25.289 --> 00:20:29.210 says to build our house on the rock, and the 00:20:29.210 --> 00:20:31.710 rock we think of as Jesus, it's not just that 00:20:31.710 --> 00:20:36.049 Jesus is under us. But if the house itself is 00:20:36.049 --> 00:20:38.390 the dwelling place of God, that means that God 00:20:38.390 --> 00:20:42.599 is present. in the house with us, not just under 00:20:42.599 --> 00:20:46.039 us, but with us. So in the Old Testament, the 00:20:46.039 --> 00:20:50.160 most common way of describing the temple, you 00:20:50.160 --> 00:20:53.079 know, the one that sits on the rocky hill in 00:20:53.079 --> 00:20:57.220 Jerusalem, house of the Lord, the house of the 00:20:57.220 --> 00:20:59.980 Lord. And then after this time, this imagery 00:20:59.980 --> 00:21:03.039 keeps going. We see in the New Testament that 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:05.940 the church is described as the household of God. 00:21:07.369 --> 00:21:10.009 1 Timothy, and that our own bodies are called 00:21:10.009 --> 00:21:14.329 the dwelling or the house of the Holy Spirit. 00:21:16.490 --> 00:21:21.809 So in this passage, if we assume that the house 00:21:21.809 --> 00:21:26.569 being referred to that is being built on which 00:21:26.569 --> 00:21:31.069 the rock stands is a little bit broader than 00:21:31.069 --> 00:21:34.509 our individualistic Western culture might hear 00:21:34.509 --> 00:21:37.680 it. So I want to push our interpretation of this 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:40.700 passage just a little bit. This isn't just about 00:21:40.700 --> 00:21:46.839 me and my stuff or me and my life. If this is 00:21:46.839 --> 00:21:49.359 the dwelling place of God, the dwelling place 00:21:49.359 --> 00:21:52.539 of God is a place of community. It is not an 00:21:52.539 --> 00:22:00.640 individual, lone place. Here's how the Bible 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:05.579 Project Visual Commentary puts it. Jesus is describing 00:22:05.579 --> 00:22:08.599 a new humanity who lives together with God's 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:11.700 wisdom and love, creating communities of peace 00:22:11.700 --> 00:22:14.940 and justice even while violence and death surround 00:22:14.940 --> 00:22:18.380 us. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives us 00:22:18.380 --> 00:22:22.420 a bold vision for what this can look like. And 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:24.960 his life and ministry on earth carry out this 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:28.619 vision. He continues to offer his followers the 00:22:28.619 --> 00:22:32.259 choice to do the same. And now that choice is 00:22:32.259 --> 00:22:41.329 ours. So if your house on the rock and your house 00:22:41.329 --> 00:22:43.970 on the rock and your house on the rock, if we 00:22:43.970 --> 00:22:46.670 put all those together, what does it become? 00:22:47.349 --> 00:22:51.509 The dwelling place of God or the city on a hill? 00:22:52.369 --> 00:22:55.650 Back right at the beginning of the Sermon on 00:22:55.650 --> 00:22:59.849 the Mount, chapter 5, verse 14. This is what 00:22:59.849 --> 00:23:02.529 Jesus, near the beginning of his sermon, says. 00:23:07.710 --> 00:23:11.630 be hidden. You are the light of the world. Let 00:23:11.630 --> 00:23:14.549 your light shine before others that they may 00:23:14.549 --> 00:23:18.029 see your good deeds and glorify your Father in 00:23:18.029 --> 00:23:21.829 heaven. He's wrapping it up, right? What do you 00:23:21.829 --> 00:23:24.269 do as a good wrap -up? You give a call to action 00:23:24.269 --> 00:23:27.569 and you echo what you started with, right? We 00:23:27.569 --> 00:23:32.569 are being called to become houses of God on rocks, 00:23:32.710 --> 00:23:36.339 but not just with Jesus supporting us with Jesus 00:23:36.339 --> 00:23:39.599 in us so that our light can shine. In other words, 00:23:39.619 --> 00:23:43.220 what this is a promise of presence for a missional 00:23:43.220 --> 00:23:47.700 purpose. A promise of presence for a missional 00:23:47.700 --> 00:23:51.579 purpose. All right. I'm going to close with a 00:23:51.579 --> 00:23:55.900 story that puts a little bit of these things 00:23:55.900 --> 00:24:00.480 in context, I hope. Take it out of our heads 00:24:00.480 --> 00:24:02.230 and into our hearts. if you want to put it that 00:24:02.230 --> 00:24:06.250 way. On Friday, I was invited to a bridal shower. 00:24:06.650 --> 00:24:09.029 Now, I don't get to attend those too often, just 00:24:09.029 --> 00:24:10.829 given my current demographic, so it's kind of 00:24:10.829 --> 00:24:14.910 exciting. It was a super fun and happy occasion, 00:24:14.930 --> 00:24:16.769 despite the fact it took me two and a half hours 00:24:16.769 --> 00:24:19.990 to get there because of Toronto traffic. But 00:24:19.990 --> 00:24:22.730 there were 100 people present, and they were 00:24:22.730 --> 00:24:26.130 all women. And there were little girls in those 00:24:26.130 --> 00:24:28.690 like A -line dresses with like covered in flowers 00:24:28.690 --> 00:24:31.309 and pastel colors with running shoes running 00:24:31.309 --> 00:24:34.369 around like crazy. And then there were grandmothers 00:24:34.369 --> 00:24:36.930 who were wearing their very practical shoes but 00:24:36.930 --> 00:24:40.190 still there and present. And then everything 00:24:40.190 --> 00:24:43.940 in between. And except for about 15 minutes of 00:24:43.940 --> 00:24:47.259 this occasion, the only males present were babies. 00:24:48.339 --> 00:24:50.599 They couldn't walk or talk. I realized there 00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:54.299 were no even little boys there. And the only 00:24:54.299 --> 00:24:57.019 male that we saw for the whole event was the 00:24:57.019 --> 00:25:00.319 groom. And he dropped off the bride -to -be, 00:25:00.420 --> 00:25:04.880 and he dropped her off and also gifted her signs 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:08.680 of the engagement as sort of the one sort of 00:25:08.680 --> 00:25:11.920 ceremonial ritual part of this event. So she 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:14.079 was given a necklace and rings and bracelets 00:25:14.079 --> 00:25:18.490 as a token of this engagement. And that is actually 00:25:18.490 --> 00:25:22.049 my connection to this family because I know the 00:25:22.049 --> 00:25:23.670 mother of the groom. I know the mother of the 00:25:23.670 --> 00:25:25.430 groom. And I'm going to call her Rachel. I've 00:25:25.430 --> 00:25:28.009 known her on and off for about nine years. I 00:25:28.009 --> 00:25:30.049 haven't seen her much in the last three years 00:25:30.049 --> 00:25:33.009 because they moved out to Oshawa. They started 00:25:33.009 --> 00:25:36.329 in Toronto. But she is the matriarch of a family 00:25:36.329 --> 00:25:38.650 that was sponsored through St. Paul's Bloor Street, 00:25:38.829 --> 00:25:41.650 Church's refugee program, when all the Syrian 00:25:41.650 --> 00:25:45.970 families arrived in the 2015 -2016 time period. 00:25:46.629 --> 00:25:49.589 So a shout out, if you are part of the sponsorship 00:25:49.589 --> 00:25:52.069 or refugee sponsorship here at this church, I'm 00:25:52.069 --> 00:25:53.710 going to give a shout out to you. It is great 00:25:53.710 --> 00:25:55.710 work. And this is a family though that I've now 00:25:55.710 --> 00:25:58.630 known for nine years. So there I am invited to 00:25:58.630 --> 00:26:00.950 this beautiful bridal shower and I found myself 00:26:00.950 --> 00:26:05.650 as one of only three non -Syrian Canadians present. 00:26:06.109 --> 00:26:08.349 And none of us had ever been to an event like 00:26:08.349 --> 00:26:10.789 this before, so we did not know what to expect. 00:26:11.230 --> 00:26:14.210 And it really felt like I was stepping into a 00:26:14.210 --> 00:26:17.759 way of life. That was completely foreign to me. 00:26:18.079 --> 00:26:20.539 A way of life that was completely foreign to 00:26:20.539 --> 00:26:22.599 me. The language was not the language that I 00:26:22.599 --> 00:26:25.339 speak. English was not spoken in the room other 00:26:25.339 --> 00:26:28.900 than between the three of us. The food was different. 00:26:29.180 --> 00:26:32.319 The music was different. Couldn't tell you any 00:26:32.319 --> 00:26:34.460 of the artists. So it was completely new. It 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:37.000 was like invited into glimpse a different way 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:40.410 of life. And what became quickly apparent after 00:26:40.410 --> 00:26:44.829 the small ritual around the gold was that music 00:26:44.829 --> 00:26:46.769 and dancing were the main activities of the evening. 00:26:47.289 --> 00:26:50.529 And much of it was communal. And there was a 00:26:50.529 --> 00:26:53.029 circle of women that would form and reform and 00:26:53.029 --> 00:26:54.970 they would hold hands and they were dancing around 00:26:54.970 --> 00:26:57.670 the bride. But it wasn't really obvious to any, 00:26:57.769 --> 00:27:00.470 the three of us who were not familiar with this 00:27:00.470 --> 00:27:03.329 world, whether or not we were allowed to join 00:27:03.329 --> 00:27:06.549 in. It wasn't really clear. So we were sort of 00:27:06.549 --> 00:27:09.970 sitting on the side just observing and waiting, 00:27:10.089 --> 00:27:13.609 wondering about what this way of life might be, 00:27:13.650 --> 00:27:17.009 what this party might be. And then a beautiful 00:27:17.009 --> 00:27:19.890 moment happened about 45 minutes into the event 00:27:19.890 --> 00:27:23.970 when despite our outsider status and the dancing 00:27:23.970 --> 00:27:27.710 is going on, Rachel, the mother of the groom, 00:27:27.890 --> 00:27:33.470 walks over to us and she extends her hand. She 00:27:33.470 --> 00:27:37.109 extends her hand and she drew us to the dance 00:27:37.109 --> 00:27:41.069 floor. And as she drew us to the dance floor, 00:27:41.170 --> 00:27:44.569 she then handed my hand to the woman who was 00:27:44.569 --> 00:27:48.309 next to her. And my other hand to another person. 00:27:48.390 --> 00:27:50.829 And then she did the same to the other two women 00:27:50.829 --> 00:27:53.970 that were there who were outsiders. And the circle 00:27:53.970 --> 00:27:58.680 got bigger. The circle got bigger. And next to 00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:01.099 each one of us was somebody who knew the steps. 00:28:01.480 --> 00:28:03.400 And next to each one of us, they were trying 00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:05.680 to teach us the steps so that we wouldn't wreck 00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:08.200 the circle, right? Like, I got to tell you, I'm 00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:11.000 a beginner dancer at best. And in this context, 00:28:11.180 --> 00:28:13.099 I was about as successful as the 10 -year -olds. 00:28:13.259 --> 00:28:16.200 So there was a lot of patience on those women's 00:28:16.200 --> 00:28:21.019 part to include me in the circle even while I 00:28:21.019 --> 00:28:26.480 was learning what it meant to dance. Friends, 00:28:26.500 --> 00:28:30.799 I'd like us to think about the Sermon on the 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:33.539 Mount, and particularly this section that we've 00:28:33.539 --> 00:28:37.660 heard at the end, as an invitation to a new way 00:28:37.660 --> 00:28:42.019 of living. A new dance, if you will, with God 00:28:42.019 --> 00:28:47.460 and with neighbor. A way of living in right relationships 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:50.000 with neighbors where we are hand in hand with 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.539 them, where God takes priority as we walk, and 00:28:54.539 --> 00:28:56.940 learn together what it means to walk and dance 00:28:56.940 --> 00:29:00.400 the narrow path and bear good fruit and build 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:02.980 houses that stand as a witness of God's presence. 00:29:06.799 --> 00:29:09.279 And if you are already in the dance, which I 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:14.059 know many of you are, I wonder if you are helping 00:29:14.059 --> 00:29:20.559 other people to learn the steps. And if you are 00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:23.829 already in the dance, As you are dancing, are 00:29:23.829 --> 00:29:26.309 you making sure that the circle gets bigger and 00:29:26.309 --> 00:29:28.390 there is space for people who want to join in? 00:29:30.490 --> 00:29:32.829 If you are still finding yourself sitting by 00:29:32.829 --> 00:29:35.650 the side of the dance floor, Jesus is holding 00:29:35.650 --> 00:29:39.650 out his hand. He's inviting you to choose to 00:29:39.650 --> 00:29:44.430 join the dance and then choose to learn the dance. 00:29:45.150 --> 00:29:47.430 And not because you have the right clothes or 00:29:47.430 --> 00:29:49.430 the language or the lineage or the bank account 00:29:49.430 --> 00:29:52.470 or the brand or whatever the outside thing is. 00:29:53.029 --> 00:29:59.109 But because Jesus. Jesus is the way into this 00:29:59.109 --> 00:30:03.369 dance and he is the way of the dance. And he 00:30:03.369 --> 00:30:08.490 invites us all to join in. Will you take his 00:30:08.490 --> 00:30:11.690 hand today? Amen.