“Walk Like Jesus Taught: Walk and Don’t Fall”
August 19, 2007
8th in Sermon On The Mount series
This summer we’ve been looking at how we can learn to walk like Jesus taught. Jesus has taught us how to walk in His ways – how to be His people – how to follow in His footsteps – and we need to look at His words – His teachings – so we can walk as He taught us how to walk.
We need to learn to walk like Jesus taught.
We need to learn to walk like Jesus taught.
We’ve been looking at one of the places where Jesus taught us how to walk in His ways — the Sermon On The Mount – Matthew chapters 5-7. As we’ve looked at these chapters we’ve seen how Jesus taught us to walk – and we’ve been learning how to
Walk Like Jesus Taught
Walk Like Jesus Taught
Walk Like Jesus Taught – that’s been our theme for the summer.
We’ve seen how the Sermon On The Mount is an important piece of scripture. It’s the longest segment of scripture with just the teachings of Jesus – and it’s a piece of scripture where Jesus gives the guidelines for how His followers should live. Matthew places it at an important point in Jesus’ ministry. As Matthew records the story of Jesus, Jesus has been born – raised in Nazareth – has been baptized by John – has been tempted by Satan in the wilderness – and has now begun His ministry of teaching and healing. He has begun to attract crowds of people — and has even called some to be disciples.
But – the crowds – and especially the disciples – must have wondered how they were supposed to live – how they were supposed to act – what they were supposed to do. The disciples had given up their old lifestyles to follow Jesus – and they were probably wondering how they were supposed to live now that they were following Jesus.
Well – they were about to find out.
As Jesus climbed that mountainside – He began to teach His disciples how He wanted them to live.
And the disciples began their attempt to walk like Jesus taught.
Walk Like Jesus Taught
Walk Like Jesus Taught
We began this series in June looking at the first 12 verses of Matthew 5 – what we call The Beattitudes – and we saw how the first step to walking like Jesus taught is walking in God’s blessings by surrendering yourself to God, giving Him control of your life, and serving others with a heart of compassion.
Walk in God’s blessings.
That’s the first step.
We then looked at Matthew 5: 13-16 – and saw how we can be the light of Christ in the world as we live like Jesus lived – or – as I put it — walk like Jesus walked.
Walk Like Jesus Taught:
Walk in God’s blessings.
Walk Like Jesus Walked
These are the first 2 steeps we must take.
We then looked at Matthew 5:17-32 – and saw how the third step in walking like Jesus taught is walking in righteousness.
Walk Like Jesus Taught:
Walk in God’s blessing
Walk like Jesus walked
Walk in righteousness
We then added a fourth step as we looked at Matthew 5:33-43 – and saw that – if we are going to walk like Jesus taught – we are going to have to walk in love.
Walk Like Jesus Taught:
Walk in God’s blessing
Walk like Jesus walked
Walk in righteousness
Walk in love
We then looked at Matthew 6:1-18 and added another step – walking in true righteousness.
Walk Like Jesus Taught:
Walk in God’s blessing
Walk like Jesus walked
Walk in righteousness
Walk in love
Walk in true righteousness.
We then added a 6th step as we looked at Matthew 6:19-34 and saw how we need to walk in trust – trusting God for the things we need.
Walk Like Jesus Taught:
Walk in God’s blessing
Walk like Jesus walked
Walk in righteousness
Walk in love
Walk in true righteousness
Walk in trust
Last week we began chapter 7 as we looked at Mathew 7:1-12 and added a 7th step to what it means to wall like Jesus taught – this step being – walk like you want others to walk.
Walk Like Jesus Taught:
Walk in God’s blessing
Walk like Jesus walked
Walk in righteousness
Walk in love
Walk in true righteousness
Walk in trust
Walk like you want others to walk
Today we’re going to add an 8th step to walking like Jesus taught as we finish the Sermon On the Mount by looking at Matthew 7:13-29 – we’ll add one more step next week but it will come from another passage of scripture – not the Sermon On The Mount – but today as we look at Matthew 7:13-29 today we’ll see how we can learn to walk – and not fall.
Listen to God’s word:
READ SCRIPTURE
Walk Like Jesus Taught:
Walk in God’s blessing
Walk like Jesus walked
Walk in righteousness
Walk in love
Walk in true righteousness
Walk in trust
Walk like you want others to walk
Walk and don’t fall.
Most of us try to avoid falls. They can be painful – they can be harmful as we can break bones – they can even be deadly. Of course, they can also be embarrassing.
My nephew had several falls growing up that resulted in broken arms. The first time he fell and broke his arm his dog had “stolen” a squash from their garden. He picked up a stick and began chasing the dog – trying to get the squash. The dog stopped in front of him, but he didn’t realize the dog had stopped and tripped over the dog – breaking his arm. That was painful – and looking back on it – probably
pretty embarrassing. The second time was a few years later when he was jumping
from a swing in mid-air and grabbing a tree branch – then jumping to the ground. He succeeded several times, then missed the branch. He put his arms out to break the fall, but instead of breaking the fall he broke both wrists when he hit the ground. He was not happy for several weeks with casts on both arms from the wrist to the elbow. He also got tired of people laughing when the story of how he broke his writs was told.
Falls can be painful – harmful – even deadly – and embarrassing.
Yea – most of us try to avoid falls.
But – falls are a part of life.
From babies learning to walk all the way adulthood – at one time of another we are going to fall.
But – how do we keep from falling in our spiritual walk with God? How do we keep from falling in our attempt to walk like Jesus taught?
Jesus gives us some advice here in Matthew 7:13-29.
The key point that Jesus gives in his advice on how to walk and not fall is to have a firm foundation for our walk with Him – a firm foundation for our lives – that firm foundation being a life that is built around doing His will. If we can build our lives on the firm foundation of doing His will, we can walk – and not fall.
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
In Matthew 7:13-29, Jesus is telling us how to have a life built on a firm foundation – a life where we walk in His ways and don’t fall. There are 2 main points Jesus makes about how to build our lives on the firm foundation of doing His will – and how to walk – and not fall.
He tells us to live a life that truly contains the things He wants us to have in our lives – and let obeying Christ be the foundation of your life.
First — Jesus says to live a life that truly contains the things He wants us to have in our lives – and does not just look good on the outside.
He says in verses 13-23:
13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
It’s one thing to act like you have the things Jesus wants you to have in your life – to look like you are truly following Jesus – truly walking like Jesus taught and giving your life to God, loving and serving others, living a truly righteous life, trusting God, and walking like you want others to walk. It’s one thing to act the part – but many times it is much harder to actually live in the ways you are acting like you are living. And Jesus assures us that God is not impressed with even the best actors or actresses when it comes to living the Christian life.
I remember when I was growing up that there was a family in my home Church that looked like they had everything. They looked to be the perfect family. Beautiful house, charming children. I would see them come to church and sit together as a family. I would see them around town – and admire them. When I thought about them, I would say to myself: “That’s what I want for my family.”
I said this once to his son, who was in my class at school, and his son replied, “You don’t want your family to be like my family.” “Why not?” I asked. He said, “My dad yells all the time. He’s never in a good mood, and nothing is ever good enough for him. You see us coming to church together, but you don’t see how Dad made Mom cry on the way to church.” I couldn’t believe what he was saying about his father, but apparently it was true—eventually their marriage ended in divorce.
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
The first point Jesus makes is to live a life that truly contains the things He wants us to have in our lives – things like giving your life to God, loving and serving others, living a truly righteous life, trusting God, and walking like you want others to walk – and not just look like you have these things in your life.
But – how do we make sure we are truly living a life that contains what Jesus wants us to have in our lives?
First of all, Jesus tells us to look for it.
Look for it.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Jesus says.
Jesus is stating a sad fact here. The sad truth is that not everyone finds the true way to life as God wants it lived.
Why do only a few find the way to life as God wants it lived?
I don’t think the problem is that a lot of people look for the way but never find it – I think the problem is that not many bother to look. The Greek word here that we translate “find” does not imply something that is hidden – but something that can be found if you seek it out. The problem is that not many really seek out the way to live life as God wants it lived.
To live the life that contains what Jesus wants you to have in your life, the first step is to look for it – go to the trouble of seeking – looking for – how Jesus wants you to live.
If you want to live a life that truly includes the things Jesus wants you to have in your life – things like giving your life to God, loving and serving others, living a truly righteous life, trusting God, and walking like you want others to walk – you can live it. All you have to do is look for it – look for ways to be closer to God, to love and serve others, to trust God, to walk in God’s ways. Look to God for help – and he’ll help you.
If you want to build something beyond the surface – the things that look good – you have to look beyond the surface of your life. It takes some effort to develop a life that truly has in it the things Jesus wants us to have — that’s why it’s the harder and less traveled road Jesus talks about – but God will guide you if you make the effort. The easy way in life is to merely pretend to be religious; the hard way is to seek to become spiritual. Most people don’t bother to look for the harder, narrow, more spiritual way, but those who do look for it find it.
To live the life that contains what Jesus wants you to have in your life, the first step is to look for it – go to the trouble of seeking – looking for – how Jesus wants you to live. Look for it – and He’ll show you.
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
Live a life that truly contains the things He wants you to have in your life.
Look for how to do this – and He will show you.
The second step to living a life that truly contains the things Jesus wants you to have in your life is to examine the contents of your life. Look at what is in your life.
Examine the contents of your life.
Jesus said in verses 15-18:
“Watch out for false prophets. They 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, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and bad tree cannot bear good fruit.”
Of course, Jesus is speaking in generalities here. A good apple tree may occasionally turn out a bad apple, but that doesn’t mean the tree is worthless. However, if an apple tree turns out a lot of bad apples, it’s an indication that something is wrong with the tree.
Jesus is talking about how we can know false prophets—but I believe He’s also talking about how we can know ourselves.
He gives us the test in verse 20:
“…by their fruit you will recognize them.”
What is the fruit Jesus is referring to here? It’s not religious work, because in the next few verses he uses an example of people who performed amazing works yet never knew him. So, what is it? It is personal holiness. It is Christ-likeness. It is the very same fruits that Paul spelled out in Galatians 5…
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
These are the fruits by which Jesus’ followers are known. These are the fruits we must look for in our own lives
A minister once said to me, “I have a graduate degree in divinity and many theology books on the shelves of my office, yet nothing in my personal life indicates the presence of Christ. I have no love, no joy, and no peace.”
Recognizing that, and admitting it, was his first step in developing a life that contains what Jesus wants us to have in our lives. Each one of us needs to take a long, hard look at the fruit our lives are producing. Do you treat others with love? Do you have a sense of joy about life? Do you experience God’s peace? Are you patient when things don’t go your way? Do you treat others with kindness? Do you do good when you have the opportunity? Are you faithful to God, to your friends, to your boss, and to your spouse? When you have to correct someone, do you do it with gentleness? When things don’t go your way, do you practice self-control?
If your examination turns up nothing but rotten fruit, something needs to be fixed. You might need to come to God and say,
“The content of my life isn’t what it should be. Take away the anger and fill my heart with love. Take away the bitterness and fill my heart with joy. Take away the inner turmoil and fill my heart with peace…Take away everything about me that isn’t like Jesus.”
Examining the fruit of your life can be painful, but it’s also rewarding. It’s the only way to ensure you will have in your life what Jesus wants you to have in your life, rather than perfecting your image.
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
Live a life that truly contains the things He wants you to have in your life.
Examine the fruit of your life.
There’s a third step –
3. Get to know Him and do His will.
Jesus said in verse 21:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
Three phrases in this passage jump out at me.
- “he who does the will of my father…”
The person who enters the kingdom of heaven is the person who does God’s will. That’s what it comes down to: not doing what you want, but doing what God wants. Surrendering your will to God’s will. Letting God call the shots in your life.
Another phrase that jumps out at me is…
- “Away from me, you evildoers.”
Jesus speaks these words to people who have prophesied and cast out demons and performed miracles — all in His name. And yet, he calls them evildoers.
Maybe the problem was that these things they list are all flashy, high-profile aspects of the ministry. Maybe Jesus called them evildoers because every religious thing they did was for show, and it never went beyond that. We see this attitude today. Some people only want to serve in the “glamorous” ministries, such as playing in the band or performing dramas, or teaching a class…but they’re not willing to rake leaves, or clean bathrooms, or change dirty diapers. Jesus is saying that if your spiritual life consists only of what you do in front of others, then you have no spiritual life. It’s not that the things that are noticed are wrong – but doing them just to be noticed is.
A third phrase that jumps out at me…
3. “I never knew you.”
This phrase tells us what Jesus really wants. He wants to be able to say, “Yes, I know you.” It’s a personal relationship that He seeks with us, and that we must seek with Him.
I have a friend who worked for a large manufacturing company, and had hundreds of people working for him—the vast majority he did not know. He left that job and began working for a small company with less than 50 employees. He said, “The thing I like best is that I know each one of my workers personally. We’re like a family here.”
I know a minister who served a large church. It was a high profile job – he was a very important man at a very important church. But – he didn’t really know his members. He left that church and settled in a smaller town – and a smaller church. He is now loving his members – and serving God with joy.
That’s the relationship Jesus wants to have with you. He wants to know you personally, and for you to know him personally. Developing a where you truly have the things Jesus wants you to have in your life means having a relationship with Jesus that extends beyond your public life, into your private life. It’s a personal relationship. So get to know Him. Spend time with Him. Talk to Him. Seek to do His will. Seek to serve Him regardless of how much or how little recognition is involved. That’s the way you make sure you have the things in your life Jesus wants you to have in your life.
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
Live a life that truly contains the things He wants you to have in your life.
Examine the fruit of your life.
Get to know Him and do His will
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
The first step is — Live a life that truly contains the things Jesus wants you to have in our life.
Live a life that truly contains the things Jesus wants you to have in our life.
But – there’s a second step.
The second step is –
Let obeying Christ be the foundation of your life
Jesus ends the Sermon On The Mount with an illustration:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash.”
These two men had several things in common:
• They heard the same message.
• They built the same house.
• They faced the same storms of life.
The difference was that one of them put into practice the words of Jesus and the other didn’t. The one who did what Jesus said—his house remained strong. The one who heard Jesus but did nothing about it—his house came crashing to the ground.
The difference here is not in the house.
When I was kid I must have gotten this story mixed up with the story of the three little pigs (since, in that story, the wolf couldn’t destroy the house made of brick.) So, when I would think about this parable I would picture the wise man’s house as a huge mansion made of stone, and the foolish man’s house as a little shack made of sticks. But the difference in this story is not in the houses themselves, but in where they were built. One man built on rock, the other built on sand.
Jesus said, “If you put my words into practice, you are building your life on a rock. If you ignore my words, you are building your life on sand.”
He’s saying that your life is built either on obedience or disobedience. The more you obey Jesus, the stronger the foundation of your life becomes, and the more able you become to walk like Jesus taught.
If you have your life founded upon obeying Christ, you can weather the inevitable storms of life – and you can walk like Jesus taught – and not fall.
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
Walk like Jesus taught: Walk and don’t fall
Live a life that truly contains the things Jesus wants you to have in our life.
Let obeying Christ be the foundation of your life
You can’t walk like Jesus taught unless your life truly contains the things Jesus wants you to have – and you are obeying Christ.
In the Sermon On The Mount Jesus teaches us how to walk in His ways. He teaches us how to be His people. This is His advice for how to live life on earth in His ways – so we can live life in heaven in His presense.
Basically He’s saying:
1. Surrender your life to God. (that’s what I’ve called walking in God’s blessings)
2. Strive to be God’s light to the world (that’s what I’ve called walking as Jesus walked)
3. Take drastic steps to eradicate sin from your life. (that’s what I’ve called walking in righteousness)
4. Treat all people with lovingkindness (that’s what I’ve called walking in love)
5. Let your religious acts be for God and not for show (that’s what I’ve called walking in true righteousness)
6. Trust God for your needs and seek His will for your life (that’s what I’ve called walking in trust)
7. Stop judging others (that’s what I’ve called walking like you want others to live) .
8. Strive to do God’s will. (that’s what I’ve called walking and not falling)
Let’s all strive to be the people God would have us be.
Let’s have our obedience to Christ as the main goal of our lives.
Let’s strive to live lives that truly have in them what God would have us to have in our lives.
Let’s strive to truly walk like Jesus taught – and with God’s strength – to walk in His ways – and not fall. Amen.
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