Week 13 | Build a life that lasts

All right, good morning, Willow. How we doing this morning? Great to see you here. Welcome all of you joining us online. Big shout out to our Willow locations. Big shout out to Willow Huntley and Crystal Lake, South Lake, North Shore, our friends at Wheaton. Great to have you. And also want to welcome our friends who joined us through our partnership with God Behind Bars at the Jefferson City Correctional Center. We're grateful to have you a part of this week. We recently just started uploading our weekend messages to what's called the Pando app that actually makes our weekends available to lots of people who are incarcerated across lots of facilities all across America. So if you're joining us in that way, welcome to you as well. We're here and we're together. We're excited to be here in week 13 of a series. Now before we go there, I just want to lend my voice a little bit to what's happening this week as we prepare for Holy Week, leading up to the greatest celebration of the greatest event that ever happened in human history. And so on Friday night, we're actually bringing all of our locations together to the South Brampton campus for a good Friday service, 630. So if you're at Huntley or Crystal Lake or North Shore or Salt Lake or Wheaton, come and join us, 630 on Friday night. It is going to be a family-friendly experience, but a really meaningful one as we really look at the journey to the cross, the lens of what we're calling some B-lister characters in the Easter story. And so it's going to be a really moving and meaningful experience. Make sure you're with us on Friday at 630. And then at your campuses, we start Easter services some places on Saturday and some

on Sunday. So make sure you check your local listings for your times. But Easter celebration is going to be an amazing, amazing celebration. Our team has worked so hard. It's so creative. It's so powerful. We've been talking a lot about inviting somebody. I invited the guy that cut my hair on Friday. So he's going to be joining us here for Easter, but I would encourage you, be praying about that invitation. Be inviting people to join you. I believe this with everything in my hand. If you can get people here for Easter, I believe that God will really work in their hearts in a powerful way. And so let's be praying about that. Let's be extending those invitations and can't wait to see you back next weekend for really what will be a meaningful time together as a church. But I guess I mentioned before, we are in week 13, people, of a series we've been calling The Jesus Way. I don't know about you. I've loved this series. We've been journeying through the entire Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter five and six and seven, just tracking verse by verse and what we're calling The Jesus Way. And the reason this is so important is we got to know The Jesus Way. So I want to kick off the day by really talking about two different truths. Here's the first truth. I would say this, we cannot apply what we do not know. Feels pretty obvious, right? And that's a part of the reason why we got to know The Jesus Way because if we don't know it, we can't apply it.

I think about that's true in every sphere of life. Many of you know that I like to run. I'm a distance runner and so I really enjoy that. Now what's interesting is early on in my marathon journeys, there was so much that I didn't know. I didn't know how to pace it well. I didn't know how to fuel it well. I didn't know how to prevent blisters. So unfortunately, I paid the price far too many times because there were just things I didn't know. Fast forward, I've learned a lot almost the hard way. I've got a really good friend from Vegas, real good friend of Lindsay and I named Veronica. She ran her first marathon yesterday. And so I was on the phone with her all week, giving her everything that I could possibly give her about how to pace it well, how to fuel it well, how to rehydrate well, like all the things. And at some point in the conversation, she goes, how do you know all this stuff? I was like, well, I know this stuff because I learned them all the hard way. I paid the dummy tax. So hopefully you don't have to pay the dummy tax because the reality of it is you cannot apply what you do not know. It's a part of the reason we've gone verse by verse for the last 13 weeks in this series called The Jesus Way is you've got to know the Jesus Way because our culture has their own way. Sometimes our instincts has a totally different way. And so we cannot apply what we do not know. We have to know the Jesus Way. But there's another truth that I want us to wrestle with. And that is I would say oftentimes we are educated far beyond our level of obedience. In other words, sometimes knowledge is not our issue.

We actually know exactly what Jesus says. we just choose to go about it in a totally different way. Like I may know what Jesus says about worry, but yet be crippled in fear by what's unknown ahead. Or maybe I know what Jesus says about sacrificial generosity, but I have a hard time letting go. Or maybe I know what Jesus says about loving our enemy, but I have a hard time not having animosity toward the person who just sees life very different than me. Or I know what Jesus says about forgiveness, but man, sometimes bitterness really has a hold on me. And sometimes for us, it's actually not a knowledge gap, it's an obedience gap. And that's what Jesus gets to when he closes out the Sermon on the Mount in the last kind of few words of the sermon. And so here's the last few words of the sermon. Matthew chapter seven, we're gonna start at verse 24. Jesus says this, he says, therefore, now I had this Bible college professor, he would say, anytime you see in scripture the word therefore, you should ask yourself the question, what is the therefore? Therefore, kind of cheesy, but I remembered it all these years later. And so it's actually a connecting word. So when you see the word therefore, what basically is connecting to everything that Jesus had previously said to what he's about to say.

He says, what I'm about to say is really, really important, but I want you to have in your mind everything that I have said, like in the entire sermon. I want you to call to mind Matthew chapter five, chapter six, chapter seven, I want you to have it all in mind, because therefore, here's what I want to say, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. Is what Jesus is about to do, he's about to set up a picture of two different builders. You could argue their house probably looks very similar to one another. They've got the same curb appeal, they got the same architectural design. They walk inside, they're furnished the same, they got fine finishes, they're both beautiful houses on the outside. But what's most important is not what you see, what is most important is what you cannot see. And what is the foundation that house is actually sitting on? And the reason he gives us this illustration is the reality is that you and I are also building. We may or may not be in construction building homes, but you and I are building lives. We're building families, we're building marriages, we're building companies, we're building careers, we're building financial portfolios,

we're building legacies, you and I are building lives. Now, what's interesting for many of us is the Instagram version of our life looks amazing. But the question is, what about the things that nobody can see? What's the foundation that our marriage is built on? What's the foundation that our business is built on? What's the foundation our portfolio is built on? Jesus says, what matters most is not what you see, it's actually what you don't see, because you and I both know it can be an incredibly beautiful structure, but if the foundation's compromised, eventually it will come crumbling down. And so Jesus says, but anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice, that person builds on the foundation which is God's word. You want a solid foundation for your life? He says, build it on the foundation of God's word. Build it on the Jesus way. Because what he says next is this, he says, then the rain came down, the streams rose, the wind blew and beat against the house, but it did not fall. Why? Because its foundation was built on a rock. So basically what Jesus is getting at is, my friends, the storms of life are coming. You know, sometimes we buy into the myth

that if we're a devout follower of Jesus, or if we really do a lot of good, that somehow we avoid the storms of life. That maybe if we do good enough, that God would be kind to us and somehow we can navigate around the storms. That's not the teaching of scripture. A teaching of scripture is that we will all face the storms of life. We will all face them. It doesn't matter how good of a person we are, we will all endure it. There will be moments that we will face storms of disappointment, storms of failure, and storms of broken relationship, and forms of grief, and storms of loss. We will face storms. And so the question is not whether we face a storm or not. The question is, do we have a strong enough foundation to weather the storm whenever it comes? And Jesus says, the lives that are built on the foundation which is God's word. The lives that are built on the Jesus way. There's a faith that gives strength that allows you to weather anything that life. can throw your way. And again, I mentioned he contrasts two builders. He goes on to say, but if anyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice, it's like a foolish man who builds their house on sand.

Notice, the same storm comes. The rain came down. The streams rose. The wind blew and beat against the house. But this time, it fell with a great crash. That's how the sermon ends, by the way. You know, a lot of times when you're taught preaching, you're like, well, end with something inspirational. Jesus' final words were the warning of the crash and crumbling of a life that is not built in the foundation, which is the Word of God. Have you ever noticed the contrast of two people who go through both really, really difficult things but come out on the other side in very different ways? I mean, have you ever known somebody who went through something, I mean, just horrible, like terrible, and on the other side of it, they became angry and bitter, and their pain just created more pain, and oftentimes, they bring pain to other people around them. And then there's another person that also went through something so difficult, so terrible, so horrible, but yet they came out on the other side of it, and they were so kind, and they were so compassionate, and they were so generous. They're so grace-filled, particularly toward others who are walking through the same journey that they just walked. What's the difference?

Oftentimes, it's not what you see. It's actually what you don't see. The question is, what's the foundation of what they built their life on? The foundation actually changes everything, because you cannot apply what you do not know, but what you do know, when it's applied, when you live full obedience to the Word of God and Jesus, it gives you this foundation that no matter what life throws our way, we can stand because of what we built in Christ. After the sermon wraps up, it just simply says these words in the final verse of the passage. It says, when Jesus finished saying all these things, it says that the people were amazed at his teaching, because he was one who taught with such authority, not like the teachers of the law. It's kind of interesting, as you wrap up the verse, it says that people were amazed at his teaching, and rightly so. Jesus was an amazing, amazing communicator. He taught with such incredible authority, but it kind of reminds me that we can be amazed with Jesus and still not be obedient to Jesus. We can be inspired by Jesus and still choose to walk our own way. And so it's not enough to know the Jesus way, it's not enough to even talk about the Jesus way, the Jesus way has to be lived. That's what gives us the firm foundation

that all of us need to build our lives on. Now, if you remember, some 13 weeks ago, we started this series and I gave you a couple of challenges. One of those challenges was, I challenged you to memorize the Sermon on the Mount. And I remember a few hallway conversations after, people were like, are you kidding me? Like, do you know that's three different chapters in the Bible? And I'm like, yeah, I know that. But here's why I made that challenge to you, because my hope is over 13 weeks, if you thought about it over and over and over again, it wouldn't just be something you read on a page, it'd become a little bit more a part of who you are, so that knowledge is no longer our issue. We know the Jesus way. And then we're empowered as we face situations every day, that we can recall what we know so that we can live it out in a powerful way. Now, I know that a lot of people worked on it, some of us are further than others, and that's totally fine, no shame or judgment. I would encourage you to continue to lean in and really learn the Jesus way. Now, there's a few people who did take the journey and they memorized it. And as I was thinking about it, talking about some of the people who memorized it,

I don't know if you've ever had this experience. For me, it's one thing to read the Sermon on the Mount, it's another thing to hear it talked about, it's another thing to hear it preached. And so I've asked a few people who've memorized the Sermon on the Mount to just preach for us Matthew 5, 6, and 7. And I would encourage you to let this hit you, allow it to challenge you, allow it to speak to your spirit as the very words of Christ was preached some 2,000 years ago from a mountainside. It goes a little something like this. When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him and he began to teach them. And he said, blessed are the poor in spirit. for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure at heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

And blessed are you. Like when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me, rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets that were before you. You were the salt of the earth. If the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It's no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town and a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand so it gets light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets, for I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you that until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the law until everything is accomplished. Therefore, any one of you who sets aside one of the least of these commands

and teaches others accordingly will be considered least in the kingdom of heaven. But anyone who practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter into the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, you shall not murder. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister or a ka is answerable to the court. And anyone who says you fool is in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there, remember that a brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there. First go and be reconciled to them. Then come and offer your gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you're still together on the way or your adversary may hand you over to the judge and the judge may hand you over to the officer and you may be thrown into prison. Truly, I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid the last penny. You have heard that it was said,

you shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. It has been said, anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce. But I tell you, anyone who divorces his wife except for sexual immorality makes her the victim of adultery. Anyone who marries a divorced woman. and commits adultery. Again, you have heard it said to the people long ago, do not break your oaths, but fulfill to the law the vows you have made to the Lord. But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is God's throne, or by earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair black or white. All you need to say is simply yes or no. Anything beyond that comes from the evil one. You have heard it said, an eye for an eye

and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to them the other one as well. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat also. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them too. Give to the one who asks from you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard it said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what more are you doing for others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. For if you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, don't announce it with trumpets as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and the streets to be seen by men.

I tell you the truth, their reward has been received in full. But when you give to the needy, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret, and your Father who sees what's done in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not be as the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and the street corners to be honored by men. For I tell you the truth, their reward has been received in full. But when you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is unseen, and your Father who sees what's done in secret will reward you. And don't keep praying like the pagans do, for they think they're gonna be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father already knows what you need before you even ask Him. So when you pray, you should pray like this. Join me in praying the Lord's Prayer. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our debts,

as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. And when you forgive others their sins against you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. If you do not forgive others their sins against you, your Father will not forgive you. And so when you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, their reward has been received in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head, wash your face, so it's not obvious to others that you're fasting, except for your Father in heaven, who sees what's done in secret and will reward you. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves cannot break in and steal. For wherever your treasure is, your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, then how great is that darkness? No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your

body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and your body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air. They do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you, by worrying, add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow? They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon, in all his splendor, dressed like one of these. And if that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or what shall we wear? For the pagans run after all of these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, let me take this speck out of your eye, when all the time there's a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the plank out of your eye, and then you'll see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Do not give dogs for the sacred. Do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces. Asking will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. The one who seeks, finds. And to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fist, will give him a snake? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him? So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you. For this sums up the law and the prophets.

Enter through the narrow gate. As wide as the gate, and broad as the road that leads to destruction. And many people enter into it. But small is the gate, and narrow is the path that leads to life. And only a few find it. Watch out for false prophets. They'll come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit, you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, and every bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them. I mean, not everybody who comes to me and says, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father in Heaven. And many will come to me on that day, and they will say, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? And in your name, like, drive out demons and do many miracles? But I will say to them, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers. Therefore, if anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice, is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, the wind blew and beat against the house, but it did not fall, because its foundation was built on the rock. But anyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice, is like a foolish man who builds his house on the sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, the wind blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash. After Jesus finished saying these things, the people were amazed at his teaching

because he had taught with such authority, unlike the religious leaders. My friends, that is the greatest sermon that this world has ever heard. If you can once again just put your hands together to my friends. Thanks for committing the Sermon on the Mount to memory and to share it with us today. For me, when it comes to the sermon, I mean, I've read it so many times, I've obviously talked about it a lot. For me, when I hear the words of Jesus spoken, it just hits different. It just stirs something in us. It just makes us feel like we're in a different place. It makes us feel like we're in a different place. It makes us feel like we're in a different place. It makes us feel like we're in a different place. It just stirs something in us. It's just so defining of what Jesus' way is that stands really in direct contrast to the way of our world. And so again, we cannot apply what we don't know. But when we know, the compelling call is that you and I, we walk the Jesus way. We don't just hear it. We don't just read it. We don't just talk about it, but we truly walk the Jesus way. So let me talk to two people,

two groups of people really quick. For some of us, we've been doing everything we know how to do to try to walk obediently to the way of Jesus. Keep building your life on the foundation that is God's word. Just so you know, we never arrive in it. We never get it 100% right. God's not asking for perfection. But I think what he is asking is for committed obedience to the ways of Jesus. And the more we walk in that way, the more strength our faith gets, the more strength our faith gets, the more we can stand when life throws us the storms that we face. Walk the Jesus way. Build your marriage, your family, your business, your profession, build it on the foundation which is God's word. Let me talk to those of us who maybe have built things in life, but if you take a deep look within, you feel like the foundation may be a little bit shaky. Maybe you feel like you're one storm away from your marriage crumbling, or one storm away from the business falling apart, or one storm away from our reputation being completely wiped out. Here's what I want you to know. It is never too late to sure up the foundation. It's never too far gone.

And so there's no shame if it's feeling a little shaky right now, but it is worth rebuilding your marriage on that foundation. It's worth rebuilding your profession on that foundation. It's worth rebuilding everything in life on the foundation that is God's word. It is never too late to sure up the foundation and be somebody who chooses to walk the Jesus way. So this weekend, the series wraps up, but I would encourage you, continue to dive in, continue to learn, continue to wrestle with, continue to reflect on, continue to walk in the Jesus way. Because when you do so, it's the rock foundation of which your life will stand. Let me pray for you. God, we love you. We say thanks for who you are. We say thanks to what you've done in and through our church. God, we're so grateful for the sermon on the mount that came to us through the lips of Jesus through the lips of Jesus some 2000 years ago, that's still shaping our life, shaping our perspective, shaping our understanding, that everything we built in life can stand solid because it's built on this rock of faith and the foundation that we find in you. God, we love you. We just ask you to continue to bless us as we continue to be committed to walk the Jesus way. God, we love you.

We say thanks in his name we pray, amen.