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A Coming Storm from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

The Sermon on the Mount is the longest continuous teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ that we have a record of. It was very in-depth, and Jesus taught a lot about common things people deal with every day.

He covered topics like anger, adultery, divorce, oaths, love, charitable deeds, prayer, fasting, giving, greed, wealth, judging others, the fires of hell, and the golden rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Jesus' sermon spans three chapters, Matthew, 5 through 7. It is the core of Christian discipleship taught by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. When He was done teaching, He ended with these two paragraphs:

(Matthew 7:21–23 NKJV)  "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!'"

Our words mean little unless our actions line up with them. Jesus said, "not everyone who says - but he who does." These were people who called Him Lord, but practiced lawlessness. People can speak like angels, but live like devils. If preaching alone could ever save a man, then Judas Iscariot would not have been lost. He listened to Jesus preach for years and was an anointed Apostle, yet because of his choices, he was lost.

Jesus speaks of a future time: Judgment Day. Apparently, it won't be Saint Peter standing at heaven's pearly gates to greet us. It will be the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and with eyes like fire, He will instantly see right through our thinly veiled excuses. "In that day," when all the things of Earth have melted into nothing, will what is most important to you right now be as important then? What value does it have when viewed in the light of eternity?

These poor souls who were saying, Lord, Lord, didn't lose their salvation. They never had it. To clarify what He was saying, even more, Jesus continued on:

(Matthew 7:24–27 NKJV)  "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 rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded 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, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

A mentor of mine used to say, when you see a "therefore," you should see what it's there for. In this case, Jesus is still talking about what will happen to people who speak like angels but live like devils. "Whoever hears these sayings and does them." The "sayings" are the three-chapter sermon He just taught on anger, adultery, divorce, love, prayer, fasting, giving, greed, etcetera.

The one who hears these teachings and obeys them will be like someone who built their house on a solid rock foundation that will not be shaken. While the one who merely hears but does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on a pile of sand. It will easily be blown away by wind and rain. 

That shouldn't be that difficult for us to believe. After all, Jesus said:

(John 14:15 NKJV)  “If you love Me, keep My commandments."

On that foundation, here is the message for today: 

There is a storm coming. Prepare yourself now by keeping His commandments, for no one else can do that for you. Once it arrives, it will be too late to get ready. Meaning to do something, only means you haven't done it. Veneered excuses will not be enough to save the house during the storm, or on "that day" Jesus spoke of.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please help me understand Your word and live it. Give me the grace and wisdom to keep Your commandments. Help me recognize the traps of the enemy and to build my house on the Rock. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!