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Glen

D3 concludes our Understand The Sermon On The Mount series. By focusing on the main points of His sermon, we can found our life on Jesus without getting involved in petty controversies. 

Understand The Sermon On The Mount-D3

Continued from Understand Sermon On The Mount-D2

3. Starting Level: vs 12 "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets. If a foundation is off level, the whole building is in serious risk of falling down. The taller the building, the worse the risk. Our life is the same. Jesus taught this lesson in many ways. I was taught this verse in public elementary school as 'The Golden Rule'. People who expect to be treated better than they treat others are more than a half-bubble off level. We can't escape the consequences of our behavior. A life that's founded on treating others poorly will eventually fall. On the other hand, if our efforts were focused on being level, treating others as we wish to be treated, eventually, it will come back. What goes around comes around! Someone once told me, no matter how I felt or how other people acted, I should smile at them and be polite. Even if they don't deserve it, we're kind to others because God deserves it and promises to reward it.

Now we have a square, strong, level foundation…it's time for the uprights.

Wolf In Sheep's Clothing Means...

4. Staying Plumb: vs 15-20 "Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. "You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? "So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. "A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. "So then, you will know them by their fruits. One of the fastest ways to have a house fall down is to set the support walls (uprights) out of plumb. Plumb is straight up and down, not leaning in any direction. When a building is out of plumb, the weight is shifted and the cross-supports are weakened, making it likely to fall from wind, rain, settling and shaking of the ground. The foundation can be prefect in every respect, but if the support walls are not plumb, the building will have problems. It's the same with our lives. We can have the best of foundations, but if we accept a false Spiritual leader, we end up out of plumb, tilting off center and vulnerable to the elements.

This is important! Spiritual leaders are the people who plumb us up. If we have a bad leader he could take us down with him when he falls or just keep us out of balance so we can't stand on our own. Jesus placed the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of His followers to assess Spiritual leaders. The term was 'Prophet' back then, but you can use preacher, pastor, priest, minister… anyone who proclaims the Word of the Lord. He said the false ones would come to His followers "in sheep's clothing" but were "ravenous wolves". Jesus called them wolves on purpose. They're only acting "holy" so they can devour us, our money, our children, our freedom in Christ…they want it all! This may seem too strong, but Jesus didn't use these words by accident. He said beware!

Jesus said we could tell them "by their fruit." Most of us, today, choose Spiritual leaders by worldly standards. Is he entertaining when he speaks? Is he thin? Is his doctrine the same as mine? Does he have hair? Is he cute? Of course, this all rules me out. Is he educated? Is she friendly? Does he have a large congregation? Is she the right denomination? Am I comfortable when he speaks? Do I like the music? None of this has anything to do with fruit. Read the last sentence again! We must be cautious when considering our Spiritual leaders. We must be fruit inspectors. If we find rotten fruit there's a rotten tree. We should mentally keep them 'on probation' until we really know them. We should verify what they say in the Word, interview them, look at their character and the character of those they're leading. How do they treat their family? How do their children act? Are they willing to have their fruit inspected? If they're a good tree, their fruit will be good. If you're listening to this teaching, I expect you to check me, too. Don't just accept me. If I'm to be a Spiritual leader in your life, you need to check my fruit. That way, your life will be plumb and you can carry the stresses of life without falling.

Wise and Foolish Builders Lesson:

In this last part of his sermon, Jesus taught us to work on ourselves, lean on the Father, be kind to others and be cautious of our leaders.

If we keep our life founded on the Rock, we'll weather any storm.

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock."

Dear Lord, We ask you to support our lives. We know we've judged others too harshly and let ourselves off-the-hook. Help us to get the log out of our own eye. We haven't relied on you and rested our lives on you. Help us to go to you as our loving Father. Lord, we've treated others worse than we want to be treated. Help us change and be level. God, we haven't lived up to our responsibility to inspect the fruit of our Spiritual leaders and we've been so hurt by false leaders. Give us the discernment we need to not follow false prophets and to put our faith only in you. Thank you, Lord, for being the Rock we can found our life upon.

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