All right, amen, praise the Lord. Well, let's turn in our Bibles today to Matthew chapter number seven. Matthew chapter number seven. Very excited to be in the house of God today. I'm very excited to be here, very excited that we have another day to serve the living God. We shouldn't take it lightly. Every day is an opportunity. If we're alive and well, we have the opportunity to serve our God. Amen, so Matthew chapter number seven. And when you get there, we're going to be looking, starting in verse number 24, Matthew chapter number 7 in the New Testament, verse number 24. I want to title this message today, Wise Men vs. Foolish. Wise Men vs. Foolish. And so if you look at verse number 24, the Bible says, Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell. And great was the fall of it." Very familiar passage. in this verse here. And the theme that I want to get across today is obedience to the Gospel. That's the theme of the message today and what that entails. So we're going to talk about that a little bit today. But as an introduction, in this passage I believe that the Lord Jesus concludes His discourse with the Sermon on the Mount and a very important statement showing the comparison between wise men and foolish men within the context of salvation. Jesus was speaking not only to His disciples, but men in general, as the multitudes were gathered as well as His disciples, aka His church. This includes they who openly profess Him, yet within their heart deny Him and want nothing to do with Christianity, as well as they who seek and believe in Him from a regenerate heart. So I do believe that the Lord is talking to both sides here. Now the word therefore in verse number 24 means because of or for this reason. as he continues the thought from the previous passages concerning fake professing Christians who say that they know the Lord but have never been born again. So we're going to read here in context, starting in verse number 21. The Bible says, Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works, then I, the Lord Jesus, will profess unto them, I never knew you, depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Very concerning statement by the Lord Jesus, wouldn't you say? I've used this passage many times evangelizing, and I'm sure that you're very familiar with it as well. But I have a few points to make today, and I'll try not to be long. The first point I'd like to make today is I'd like to differentiate the difference between the foolish man and the wise man today. The wise man whom Jesus I believe is speaking of here refers to the born-again, regenerate believer in Christ whose complete faith, trust, and dependence is in God's Word. I believe that's the context here. I believe the Lord Jesus is talking about that particular man. He is grounded deep and has his mind built, his heart fixed, and life's choices and unwavering devotion upon the Bible by hearing the Word of God and obeying what he hears from it. The wise man's heart has been circumcised, broken, and fears the Lord in all aspects of his life. With this reverent fear, his life is spent and devoted to obeying the Lord no matter the circumstances he faces, including the evils that pursue and molest him from the world, the flesh, and the devil. The rains descending like the Bible talks about here, the floods that beat and the winds that blow upon his house is an illustration of how a house with a foundation built strong and firm upon a rock will not be compromised or fall. An uncompromised house built on a solid rock will not be altered or be affected by severe forces and effects against it. But it will endure great trials and hardship. because it is sure and steadfast, similar to an anchor of the soul, as Hebrews 6.19 tells us. The point I want to make today, and a very important aspect of this, is it's crucial that we understand that the true believer in professing Christian is not only wise because he claims to be a Christian, okay? It's not only important that a believer say that he's a Christian, but because he is a Christian, he also is obedient to the will of God and the gospel. So I'm going to repeat that. It is very important to understand that the true believer and professing Christian is not only wise because he claims to be a Christian, but because he's a Christian, he also is obedient to the will of God and the gospel. If you look over here in verse number 24, Jesus says here, therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them. There's a call to action there. You must do the will of God. It's not enough just to claim that you're a Christian, right? But we must do the will of God. The wise man follows through with this profession of faith with evidence or good fruit by obedience to the Bible's call to action. Calls to action such as being baptized by immersion into a local church, daily Bible reading and devotion with God and His family, abstaining from fleshly lusts and worldly influences that lead to sin, loving his neighbor, serving others with singleness of heart, and preaching the gospel to all creatures as opportunity is given, and even making opportunities that are not given. Sometimes we need to make opportunities when they're not there. and et cetera, et cetera. His evaluation of himself, talking about the wise man still, his evaluation of himself is despicable and in desperate need of the spirit's leading and guidance. If you're born again, you know exactly what that means today. I know without a doubt that I am nothing, and I'm worth nothing, and I need the Spirit's leading day by day. As David said in Psalm chapter number 57, verse number seven, the wise man's heart is, quote, fixed, and he will give praise to the name of the Lord all his days. His life reflects that of a sacrificial holy life to the scriptures without wavering in all seasons of life. His life is evident of a soul who experiences victory over death, sin, and the temptation of the flesh and the devil. His joy is abundant and his countenance is as Moses' countenance when he came down from the mount from being with the Lord when he brought the tablets down. There should be something about us that shows people we've been with God. We know the Lord and we spend time with him. And Israel on that day when they saw Moses' face as it shined, they were in fear because of his countenance. And that should be the same Behavior and the reaction that people have of us when we've had time with the Lord and they should see a difference in us We should have that holy living with God and it should change our countenance. It should change our attitude The wise man offends only in word of God and not of himself. He only offends when it's necessary from the Scriptures, but strives to behave himself circumspectly in all areas of his life. So as not to offend by his own fallen nature and flesh. That is something that we do on occasion. And it's something that we have to go to the word of God for and just seek the Lord for words to say to people. And sometimes our flesh can get in the way, but the wise man always strives to behave himself calmly with his neighbor and with his, with his brethren, with his friends. Especially in his tongue and what he says it's it's one thing to to give somebody the gospel But when we do it in a very abrasive way, that's not very commonly of a wise man The wise man has his house built upon a solid rock Where is safety and peace with God? however Just as a disclaimer, I want everyone to understand that this house the wise man has built isn't necessarily perfectly constructed and without flaws, but it has a foundation upon the solid rock that is. You understand that? There's this rock, I believe is Jesus Christ. Paul speaks also concerning the same principle of the believer being a wise master builder and Jesus Christ being the foundation or the chief cornerstone. We find that in 1 Corinthians 3, 9-13. The wise man is saved from his sin. not to continue therein, but to live the remainder of his life on earth to fulfill God's will and purpose for him and to lay up treasures in heaven, because his home is not here. He is no longer a citizen of this world when he's born again. and he seeks the remainder of his life as a new creature in Christ to glorify God in everything he does. And lastly, just for clarity, the wise man is not without sin or failures, and does not receive forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation through works or obedience to God. The wise man knows very well he is not wise without Christ and His word, and therefore places his foundational trust in the scriptures alone, which is perfect. I believe today that the scriptures are perfect. The King James Bible. The wise man is saved and seeks to obey Christ's sayings because he is saved. Amen. There is a new desire that comes to the man who trusts Christ as a savior to obey him. And he does it voluntarily and willingly with joy in his heart. So I believe there's some takeaways from what we could see in a wise man. Now let's talk about a little bit, the foolish man that Jesus speaks of here. In stark contrast, when we read Matthew chapter number seven, And we see what the Lord's talking about between the wise and the foolish. We see, in contrast to the wise man, whose profession of faith is followed by good fruit of obedience to the gospel's commission, sacrificial life and pleasing God and victory over sin, there is the foolish man, who I believe to be the make-believer. The foolish man I believe that's being talked about here isn't a saved Christian at all. Instead, he is disobedient, has never experienced true conversion or repentance from sin, and does not have a testimony of salvation, or at the very least, godly sorrow for breaking God's law. We talked to the gentleman yesterday over and over trying to nail down a testimony of salvation with him and he kept talking about his life experiences or conversations with his pastor about life lessons. But we can never nail down, me and Brother Jade, a testimony from him of when he converted and when the transaction took place in his life. He kept trying to reason with himself and reason with us and didn't know the words to say. And I finally told brother Jade, I said, I don't think that this guy has a testimony of salvation. And that's the reason why he's not giving it because he doesn't have it. But the foolish man's life is built upon the sand where there is much instability and unsecured ground. This ground is very soft. It shifts and constantly changes with the forces that come up against it. The foolish man that seeks, or excuse me, the foolish man that Jesus speaks of comes to church every week in what seems to as many as faithfulness. There's a lot of folks today that are coming to church faithfully every Sunday, but it doesn't mean they're wise. It doesn't mean they're behaving wisely. It doesn't mean they belong to God. There's plenty of examples in the scriptures for that, and I'm going to get into that in a minute. The foolish man listens and is attentive to the preaching in most cases, but inwardly, he could care less about the Bible's expressed duties and commandments written therein concerning the gospel. Mentally and perhaps emotionally, he's convinced himself he's a child of God based on what he's done or what he's doing. For example, works-based obedience. I have to do good things for God so He'll be pleased with my life. or I have to stop drinking so that I don't get in trouble. Worldly sorrow that leads to death. trying to fulfill God's law by the oldness of the letter, rather in the newness of the spirit, by faith, as expressed by Paul in Romans chapter nine, verse 31 and 32. This was Israel's issue. They were always trying to go after and obey God's law as according to the oldness of the letter, not the newness of the spirit. You still had to be regenerated. You still had to have a circumcised heart to serve God, or else the sacrifices meant nothing to God. Day to day, this foolish man allows himself to believe that he can be a member in a local church that accepts him while he gets away with harboring sin as long as he's not caught. And that is exactly my testimony. I went to a Baptist church many years of my life. I heard very hard doctrinal preaching. I mean, I was under some very harsh stuff, beating the pulpit, pointing at me, calling me a sinner. And I felt like that I knew Christ based on my good works. I went to church after I was faithful. I was friends with everybody there. I could sing in the worship service. you know, pray the prayers. I could do all those things. The problem though is I had never been converted. I was still a foolish man living in sin and arboring sin outside the naked eye of my friends and family. And so there is a way that we can have members in a church that have never been converted. So day to day he allows himself to be believed that he is a member of a local church and that's a good reason why he's a wise man and that's not gonna add up to God. The foolish man's house is shaky and the fall of it is inevitable because he's subject to his own temporary movable self will rather than to God's solid and eternal word. His decisions and choices in life lead to vanity and ultimately end up unprofitable. In many cases, he plays the victim of his circumstances rather than desires to seek wisdom and counsel from wise men of God. You probably have seen many people come to church over and over and they're talked to about some situations in their life that they want to get better and they want to get help and they want to get aided. And they ask for advice and then the advice is given to them by men who understand the scriptures and who've been through some life experiences through the gospel. But they don't take heed to what they hear and they go off and ignore it. As James chapter number four, verse two says, This foolish man lusts and desires to have and cannot obtain. He fights and wars, yet he has not because he asks not. This means that his prayer life is mostly just flattery, not sincere or with a pattern that is regular communication with the Lord day by day for all of his needs and directions. Most foolish men today are just flattering the Lord. Maybe they'll have prayer at supper time with their family just to flatter their family and flatter God. But they don't have a genuine relationship with Him and open communication day by day through their prayer life. And that's why they fight and war and they don't ever get what they need because they don't have a Father in heaven because they're not seeking the wise counsel of God. They're not communicating with Him. He also asks because He intends to consume whatever vain thing He seeks solely to consume it upon His own fleshly lusts, which as 1 Peter 2, verse 11 states, wars against His own soul. Our fleshly lusts war against our soul, as the Bible says there. The foolish man, as Jesus speaks of, will endure great loss as he rejects to follow through with obedience to the truth given him. As a religious proselyte who has simply turned over a new leaf from one vain religion and way to another, his purpose will never be fulfilled in life. When persecution, temptations, and trials come, he has no foundation to resist their stronghold, similar to the seed that fell on stony ground. So he falls, and Jesus said, the great is the fall thereof, even unto death and hell. hard sayings from the Word of God offend Him, and in some cases may cause Him to turn away His ears completely from the truth, as those disciples did in John 6, verse 66. By the way, 666, think about that. The Word of God will offend them as it did them when they turned away, when they were confronted with Jesus being the only sustenance they needed and believed not and turned back from following their Lord. The foolish man's testimony of salvation is all but scriptural. And when confronted by the preaching and teaching of what true salvation entails from the Word of God, the foolish man attempts within himself to rest upon his experiences or personal definition of how he came to salvation. void of any biblical authority. The foolish man isn't saved from his sin at all, and in a desperate endeavor to protect his insecurity of being an unbeliever, he abuses Bible definitions such as love and grace to mean God understands I'm not perfect, which ultimately gives him a license to sin. He is without a wedding garment and will be rejected by the king on that wedding day. The king will bind him hand and foot. He will be cast into outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth because he did not obey the gospel as prescribed in 2 Thessalonians 1. and 1st Peter 4.17. We're going to go through those here in a minute. Now what is obeying the gospel? What is that? So I described a little bit about the wise and the foolish. What is obeying the gospel? Well, the difference between the wise man with his house on the rock and the foolish man with his house on the sand is determined by whether one will obey the gospel or not. That's as simple as that. So I'm going to go over here to 1st Peter chapter number four. 1 Peter chapter number 4. In verse number 17, the Bible says, For the time has come that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it first begin at us, what shall the end of them be that obey not the gospel of God? And if it first began with us, at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?" What is their end? Those that don't obey the gospel. Well, let's go over to 2 Thessalonians, right before Timothy. 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 8. What is the end of them that obey not the gospel of God? The Bible says in verse number 7, And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power." Very concerning verses there for those who do not obey the gospel. So what does it mean to obey the Gospel? Well, to summarize it, I believe to obey the Gospel is to hear the Scriptures being taught, understanding the sacrificial offering that Christ became for us because of our sin, believing in His death, burial, and resurrection, and obeying His teachings and commandments to glorify Him the remainder of one's life according to the Scriptures. This includes repenting from our sin and dead works, placing our faith in the shed blood of Christ and His cross for our atonement, and following the Lord in believer's baptism with good works to follow the remainder of one's life as identified from the Scriptures, which, in summary, is loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourself. According to Matthew 22.37-40. Obeying the gospel. is from the voluntary joyful heart that has been changed by God and not the believer himself. I want you to understand that obeying the gospel comes from the heart that God gives him. It's a change of mind and a change of action and it is all from the Lord. It is a gift from God. The Bible says that God opened the heart of Lydia, the seller of purple. We find that in Acts chapter 16. Verse 14, the Bible says, And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us, whose heart the Lord opened, you see there, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. Now look at this. And when she was baptized, following through, and her household, she besought us, saying, if we have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and abide there. And she constrained us. You see the fruits that come after salvation. It's not just accepting Jesus like a lot of people want to talk about today. I accept Jesus and then live a life that's contrary to the scriptures. She followed through, she was baptized, and she became a part of the family of God. God grants also repentance to us. It's not something we do in and of ourselves. Acts 11, verse 17, the Bible says, for as much then as God gave them the like gift as He did unto us. Talking about gifts here. Who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ? What was I that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." You see, God grants repentance. It's not something we do within and of ourselves. I was speaking to a gentleman some time ago on the side of the corner of the street, and he was holding up a cross, and it said, repent. So I got out, and I asked him what he meant by repent, and he said, well, I changed my ways, and I stopped drinking. And I did and I did and that's all I could hear from him was what I did and and this is what I've done And it was all about what he had done not what God had given him. It was not godly sorrow over his sin He just said I turned over a new leaf basically but God grants us repentance. The Bible says faith belongs to Christ. We do not produce faith of ourselves. The Bible says in Romans 3.20, therefore by the deeds of the laws, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight. For by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested being witnessed by the law and the prophets. Even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, And to all and upon all them that believe for there is no difference And we also find that faith belongs to Christ in Galatians chapters 2 verse 16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ It's his faith even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." And I want you to know today that God has always looked for fruit. It's always about the fruit afterward. People can confess and profess Christianity, but how do they follow through with that? And this is the exact message that John the Baptist preached during the time of the Lord Jesus, before He baptized them, those Pharisees and Jews came to the baptism. And what was John the Baptist's response? Bring ye therefore fruits, meat for repentance. That's what he demanded the whole time. And so we were not wise If we don't follow through in obedience to the gospel, and there's so many today that are trapped into this mindset of, as long as I profess Christianity, I'll be okay. As long as I belong to a local church, I'm okay. I can hide out and still harbor my sin as long as I don't get caught. And I'm telling you, that's exactly my thought process before God saved me. I remember living in sin and as long as I was okay in the eyes of all my fellow men and my family and friends, I was good to go until God smoked me in my heart and showed me that I was a fool and I needed Christ Jesus to save me. And it was all the gift of God. It's nothing that I did on my own. And I wanted to obey God when God saved me. I wanted to be a part of a local church. I wanted to have the fellowship of the brethren. I wanted to understand what it meant to love the Lord God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I wanted to know what the Bible said about me, what the Bible says about God, how His character is, what His doctrines are. And that's what I wanted to know when God saved me. My life was changed. I began to seek godly counsel and wisdom. And still today, I still do, because I'm not perfect. And I want to live for Him. So, as a summary, are you the wise man who has built his house upon a rock? Who has peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ with a new heart and a changed life? Or are you a foolish man who cannot cease from sin, have no victory over sin, and live day to day without hope on sandy ground without a foundation? Have you obeyed the gospel of Christ today? Check your salvation today, and I encourage that. Check your salvation. You don't have to be embarrassed. It's nothing to be embarrassed about, and it's very important that we understand where we stand with God, because we're not promised tomorrow. Check your salvation according to 2 Corinthians 13.5. Remember, obedience is out of the voluntary will from a saved individual. We cannot obey to be saved. We should understand that we cannot obey to be saved. Going to church faithfully isn't the only fruit of a Christian. And I'll remind you about Judas. Judas was in the best church with the best men chosen by the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. And Judas himself still died and went to hell. So it's not enough to belong to it. There's a lot of people that are today believe that as long as I belong to a local church that I can agree on some things, like a lot of sensational truth and social issues that are going on today. As long as I be a part of that church and I agree with them on most things, I don't have to necessarily be a Christian or obey God's word. I can get by. And that is gonna, you're gonna find yourself in trouble with God one day when you die and end up at hell. Don't be a foolish man today. Put your faith and your trust on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. Be a wise man and set your affections on things above and on things of the earth. Obey God and give him glory before it's too late for you today. And that, my friend, is how we're going to fulfill God's purpose in our life, to be wise concerning the things of the kingdom of God. And so in closing, I encourage you today It wasn't very long, but I encourage you today. Trust Christ as your savior today and don't go another minute living a foolish life. If you're not saved, put your faith in him, put your pride away and obey him and see what he has for your life and for you to do. And so I encourage you today, trust in him and not your own works and God will call you a wise man built upon the foundation of the solid rock man. All right, well let's um, any, any comments, questions? That's pretty much the message. Huh.