Founded Upon a Rock

Matthew 7, beginning with verse 13, we have
the closing words of our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. And in these closing words of
the Sermon on the Mount, our Master issues three No, four
warnings. The first one is found beginning
with verse 13, verse 13 and 14. There are four warnings set forth
by our Lord at the close of this message. He says in verse 13,
enter ye in at the straight gate. For wide is the gate and broad
is the way that leadeth to destruction. death, condemnation, separation
from God, and many, and many there be which go in thereat,
because straight is the gate and narrower
is the way that leadeth to life, and few, and few there be that
find it. Our Lord is warning here against
following the crowd. That's exactly what this is.
It's either popular opinion or public opinion or our own fleshly
opinion. It's not easy to stand alone.
It's not even easy to stand with the few who are despised and
hated for the sake of our Lord. It's not easy to be forsaken
by our friends and by our companions and by members of our families.
It's not easy to be faithful to doctrines that are hated.
It's not easy to be faithful to those teachings that are despised
and ridiculed by the majority and especially by religious leaders. It's not easy. Let a young man sit in my study
just two days ago, talking about his interest in Christ, how just in the past year he
had become interested in the gospel, in Christ. and how that
many of his so-called friends, he thought they were his friends,
had begun to desert him and to despise him. And yea, even those
in his family with whom he used to be very close, the closest
was there no more. It's not easy. But our Lord said
this, be thou faithful to death and I'll give thee a crown of
life. He warns against following the
crowd. And it's not easy to stand alone. It's not easy to be despised.
It's not easy to be hated. And then the second warning that
our Lord issues is in verse 15 and 16. Now, if you listen carefully,
I think we'll learn something here. I believe I have the right
interpretation here. Our Lord warns us first about
following the crowd, and then he warns us about false prophets,
false preachers. He says, beware false prophets.
They come to you in sheep's clothing. Now, the false prophet will not
identify himself as an enemy of the gospel or an enemy of
the Bible or an enemy of God or the enemy of the church. The
false prophet comes to you in sheep's clothing. He comes to
you as a minister of Christ, as a minister of God, as a minister
of good things. He'll come to you preaching righteousness,
not God's righteousness. but your righteousness. He'll
come to you exhorting you to righteousness, not to receive
God's righteousness, to walk in Christ's righteousness, but
he'll come to you exhorting you to walk in your righteousness.
Now turn, if you will, to the book of 2 Corinthians. Now this
you must be remembering. There are two marks of a false
prophet given in this warning here. 2 Corinthians 11, verse
13. Our Lord says, such are false
apostles. Such are false apostles. Deceitful
workers. Transforming themselves. God
didn't make them apostles. They made themselves apostles.
God didn't make them preachers. They made themselves preachers.
God didn't send them. They sent themselves. They transformed
themselves into apostles of Christ. And no marvel. for Satan himself
is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no
great thing if his ministers, no unusual thing, if his ministers
also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall
be according to their works. False preachers and false prophets
will come to you, not denying the word, not denying righteousness,
but as ministers of righteousness, but the kind of righteousness
which they minister is your righteousness, self-righteousness, flesh righteousness,
and not God's righteousness. Now, the second way that you
can identify false prophets, first of all, they will not preach
Christ's righteousness. And secondly, you'll know them
by their Now, this has been so misused. This scripture has been
so abused and misused. I've heard people all my life
say, well, talking about whether or not a person is saved, you
know, you think so-and-so is converted. Well, I don't believe
he is. You know what scripture says,
you'll know them by their fruits. No, the scripture doesn't say
that. That's not the application of this scripture at all. You
cannot single out an individual Christian and determine whether
or not he knows the Lord. Only one way you can determine
if he knows the Lord, and that's to have the eyes of God and see
his heart. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness." That's the only way that you'll be able
to identify whether or not your wife or your husband or your
children, your friends or your pastor or the deacons of your
church, whether or not they're saved. I hear people say, well,
we're fruit inspectors. We're not judging, we're fruit
inspectors. You ever heard that? That's pitiful. That's not good at all. Because
that's not what the Scripture says. Now, you look at it again. Our Lord said in verse 15, You
beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing,
but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You shall know them by
their fruits. You shall know them by their
fruits, these false prophets. Yes, you can know them by their
fruits. What are their fruits? Well,
the results of their labor. the product of their ministry,
their converts. That's how you know false prophets,
by their converts. Our Lord, one day they came to
him and they said, Are you preaching this, that and the other? He
said, Ask these that heard me, they'll tell you what I'm preaching.
You can tell a true minister of Christ by his converts. A true minister of Christ's converts
will not be looking to the minister, they'll be looking to Christ.
They'll not be claiming their own righteousness, they'll be
claiming His righteousness. They'll not be resting in church
membership, they'll be resting in the Christ of the cross. They'll
not be resting in their works and the deeds of the law, they'll
be resting in His person and His work and His sacrifice and
His substitutionary work and His atonement. But the false
prophets, converts, will be resting in the same thing that their
leader is resting in, his righteousness. False prophets cannot produce
true sons. I've had people ask me this before.
They say, Brother Man, do you believe that a false prophet
can produce a true believer? No, sir. I'll show you that in the next
two verses. Look at it. Do men gather verse 16, grapes
of thorns? Figs or thistles, now don't be
impatient, let's read what the scripture says. Even so, every
good tree will bring forth good fruit. A corrupt tree will bring
forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot, cannot, a
true minister of Christ cannot produce evil fruit. And a false
prophet cannot, a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit.
It cannot do it. It cannot do it. A man is not
converted under the ministry of a false prophet. Every tree that bringeth forth
not good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. That's the
reason we must try the spirits. It's no small thing to get up
here. Bruce, I told you that when we talked one day. It's
no small thing to be standing here. Take heed what you preach,
true, but it's no small thing to sit out there either. Take
heed what you hear and who you hear. If you're under the ministry
of a false prophet, you'll perish. That's what this says. You'll
be his product, you'll be his fruit, you'll be his produce.
He produces his product. He produces his likeness. He
has led himself into the ditch, and the blind lead the blind
into the ditch. That's the reason Christ said
in verse 15, Beware of a false prophet. It's dangerous to listen to a
false prophet. False prophets do not identify
themselves. They come disguised. They're
imitators. They're counterfeit. Nothing worse than counterfeit
money. Nothing worse than counterfeit preachers. And their fruit is always bad.
It's always bad. And then the third warning our
Lord issues. You see, that's the reason the
prophet spoke of the burden of the Word of God. If God doesn't
call a man, he better not go. And if God hadn't called your
pastor, you better not go listen to him. And verse 20, he warns thirdly,
verse 22, he warns about building our hope for eternal life on
our own Now, he warns about this, he says in verse 21, it's not
everyone that say it, Lord, Lord. It's not every religious professor
that's going to enter the kingdom of heaven. Not everybody that
says, Lord, Lord, is going to enter the kingdom of heaven.
He that doeth the will of my Father. They came to him one
day and they said, well, what shall we do that we might work
the works of God? He said, this is the work of
God, that you believe on him whom God hath sent. That's the
work of God. That's the will of God. This
is the will of God that everyone that seeth the Son and believeth
on him might have eternal life. That's the will of God. That's
the work of God. And it's not everyone that runs
around crying, Lord, Lord, Jesus, Jesus, religion, religion, church,
church, cross, cross, who's going to enter the kingdom of God.
It's he that doeth, doeth, doeth that which God hath commanded.
Believe on Christ. Why, many will say to me in that
day, Why, Lord, we prophesied in your name, and in your name we cast out devils,
and in your name we have done many wonderful works, and then
will I profess unto them, Depart, I never knew you. Ye that work,
not good works, not wonderful works, iniquity. There are so many scriptures,
and this is so, right here, is so delicate. There are so many
scriptures exhorting us to charity. There are so many scriptures
exhorting us to mercy. There are so many scriptures
exhorting us to works of righteousness. God says, love your neighbor
as yourself. God said, give to them that asketh of thee. Pray
for them that despitefully use you. Man compels you to go one
and I'll go two. He takes your coat, give him
your cloak also. All of these things, doing works
of charity, labor of love, works of faith. There's so many scriptures
exhorting this, that it's so difficult not to get works, good
works, out of place. It's difficult. It's very difficult
not to try to find acceptance with God on the basis of what
we do or what we've done. It's difficult. I know that it
is. Because the Scripture continually exhorts us to these things. I'm
doing the best I can. That's what you hear people saying.
They may be doing the best they can. The Bible exhorts us to
be faithful in these things, and it's so difficult not to
get works of righteousness and charity and faith and worship
and these things out of its proper place. Turn to Romans 10. This
is what the Jew did. He stumbled at the stumbling
stone. His table became a snare, and the ceremony became a stumbling
block. Because there's so much Scripture
about these things, and he was so devoted and consecrated to
them, he was so busy doing them, he didn't see Christ. He didn't
recognize Christ. He was too involved in trying
to find acceptance with God by what he was doing. I've got to
read, I've got to study, I've got to pray, I've got to worship,
I've got to give, I've got to forgive, I've got to be kind,
I've got to do these things. That's right. In Romans 10, verse 1, brethren,
my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they
might be saved. I bear them record. They have
a zeal of God. It's not according to knowledge.
for they being ignorant, ignorant, ignorant of God's righteousness.
are going about to establish their own righteousness, and
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
For Christ is the goal, the end, the consummation, the object
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes. Christ
is the end. He's the goal. He's the object
of righteousness for everyone that believes. It's so difficult
not to get bogged down in these works of the flesh and find some
satisfaction in ourselves and in our deeds and in our works
and in our charity. We begin to grow a little bit
in the grace of God and get lifted up and proud of our humility.
We get to loving people a little more and get Proud of our love. We get to forgiving and get proud
because we did. Wasn't that good of me? I really
did good on that, didn't I? You notice I didn't get mad.
Get proud, you know. Well, I'll tell you, it's a fine
line. And our Lord said here, it's
not, I warn you, He said, I warn you against building your hope,
building your confidence. of eternal life on what you have
done, or what you have given, or what you have in any way contributed. Salvation is of the Lord, it's
in Christ, in Christ. Not in what I've done, but what
he's done. And if, no matter how charitable my works are,
if Christ is not my hope, those charitable works become, now
this is hard to take, but this is what our Lord said, works
of iniquity. That's what he said, these people
said, Lord, we preached in your name, we cast out devils in your
name, and we did many wonderful works in your name, and he said,
I never knew, you depart from me, ye are workers of iniquity. That which does not glorify God,
that which does not glorify Christ, that which does not bring honor
to Christ, that which does not look to Christ, no matter how
righteous it might appear to be, is iniquity. That's what
he said. Because everything in this universe
is supposed to bring glory to Christ. Everything in this universe
is supposed to bring praise to Christ. Now, the fourth warning
he issues, and these are important. He said, don't follow the crowd.
The crowd's going the broad road to destruction. Don't follow
the crowd. There's a few that are going
the narrow way to life. Don't follow the crowd. And you
beware of false preachers. Now, they're going to come disguised.
You'll have a hard time recognizing them, because they're going to
claim to be ministers of righteousness. But I'll tell you, he said, how
you can recognize them. You can recognize them by their
fruit, by the fruit of their ministry, by the products of
their ministry. What do the people believe who hear them? What do the people believe that
hear them? And thirdly, he said, you better
be careful about building your hope for eternity on what you're
doing. Because you'll get right up to
the judgment, hanging on to what you've done for God, and find
out that what you thought you had done for God was nothing
in the world but iniquity. And then the fourth warning,
he warns against laying a false foundation. He says, therefore,
verse 24, Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,
I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house on
a rock. Now here are two builders, the
man, you know the story, I don't need to read the next verse.
Here are two builders who felt a need for a refuge. They were,
to some degree, aware of a storm that might come. The rain, the
winds, the awful winds, and the flood. They were evidently aware
of some impending storm. So they both felt the need of
a house. And both of these men built a
house. One of them didn't take him too
long. It didn't take him too long.
He built it pretty quickly because he didn't lay a foundation. He built it on the sand. The
other man digged deep, it says. It took him a while. He spent
more time under the ground than he did on top of the ground.
He spent longer laying the foundation than he did building the house,
for he digged deep. He digged deep, and he found
a rock, and he built his house on a rock. The other man built
his house, and they both completed them. This is a religious profession.
This is a refuge. And both of them moved into their
houses and evidently lived there for a while in rest. And really, a person
passing by couldn't tell a lot of difference in those houses.
I guess they both looked very similar. They both looked substantial. The difference was out of sight.
That's the reason you're not a fruit inspector. That's the
reason you can't measure a man's salary. You can't see his foundation.
You can see his profession. Man looks on the outward countenance.
That's what the Lord said to Samuel. God looks on the heart. God looks on the heart. And as
you pass by and look at those two houses, they both looked
sufficient. They both looked capable. They both looked all
right. But then the test came, that awful, awful day came, the
flood of judgment, God's overflowing scourge passed through, the awful
storm and rain from heaven. And that awful wind, the wind
began to blow, that terrible wind began to blow. And one of
those houses fell, and the scripture says, great was the fall of it. And I'll tell you this, if all
you've got falls, that's great. I'll tell you, if a man, his
whole hope of in the day of death and in the day of judgment and
in the day of eternity, if his whole hope is laid in all his
possessions, all his eggs in one basket, and that thing hadn't
got a bottom in it. That's an awful thing. And to
stand before God some day and hear him say, I never knew you,
I never knew you, I never knew you. We're not playing games. One house fell, and the man fell
with it, and everything fell with it, and there was no rebuilding.
But the other house stood, the scripture said. It stood. Verse
25, And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the wind
blew, and beat, beat, beat on that house, and it did not fall. Why? One reason. It was founded
on a rock. found it on a rock. The wise
builder had digged deep, he had searched, he had found the rock,
and he had laid his hope on the rock. He had built his house
on the rock. I'll tell you this, it's far
less trouble to eat a wafer than to feed on the living bread.
It's far less trouble to receive water on the bow than to drink
at the fountain and to wash at the river. It's far easier to
walk an hour than to seek the Lord. It really is. It's a lot easier. You sit there
and some high-pressure, evangelistic, popular preacher comes through
town and preaches a good sermon and then exhorts you to walk
the hour. It's a whole lot easier to do that. than to seek the
Lord with all your heart. It's a lot easier to shake a
preacher's hand than to reach out. and cling to the hand of
omnipotence as a sinking sinner. Isn't it? A preacher's hand is
a lot easier to reach out and take and shake than it is to,
Lord, where art thou? Be merciful to me, a sinner,
like Peter sinking beneath the waves. Lord, save me, I perish.
Don't let me go. While on others thou art calling,
don't pass me by. Reach out and touch the Lord. It's a lot easier to tell a priest
that you've sinned while he holds his ear up next to the cloth.
It's a lot easier to do that than to go into your closet and
shut the door and plead for mercy through the blood of Christ.
It's a whole lot easier. It's a whole lot easier to be
identified with a church. Pick out your denomination. Go
to the one your parents went to. Go to the one that your friends
go to. Go to the one that has the best
social program. Go to the one that has the doctrine
that's easier for you to follow. Pick out your denomination. It's
a lot easier to be identified with a church than to be identified
with a despised, hated Lord. It's a whole lot easier. I know it is. It's a whole lot
easier to quit a few habits than to bow to the living sovereign
master. This man digged deep, found the
rock, and built his house. And the flood of judgment and
the rain of God Almighty's destruction and the wind of God's wrath visited
that house, and it stood, and it stood. It stood for one reason. founded on a rock. Turn to Isaiah
chapter 28, and here's that rock. Isaiah chapter 28, and here's
that rock. Our Lord said in verse 14, you
hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men that rule this people
which is in Jerusalem. He said in verse 15, you've made
a covenant with death and with hell, are you at agreement? You've
got a refuge. When the overflowing scourge
shall pass through, it won't come to us. We've made lies our
refuge, under falsehood have we hid ourselves. Therefore thus
saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion, I lay in Zion. This
foundation, this rock, is laid by God himself. I lay in Zion
a foundation, a stone. In the salvation of sinners,
Christ is all. He is that stone. He is that
rock. My friends, there was a time
when this world had no being. Things as they are now were unknown. Neither sun nor moon nor stars
did shine. There was no valley, there were
no rivers, there were no mountains, there were no deserts, there
was no world. There was a time when man was
an unknown creature. There was a time when God dwelt
alone. If Christ Jesus is all, and that's what the Scripture
says in Colossians 3.11, Christ is all. If he's all, where was
he then? Well, the Scripture says, in
the beginning was the Word, The Word was with God, and he was
God. The Scripture says, Our Lord
was praying, he said, Glorify me, Father, with the glory which
I had with thee before the world was. That's where he was, he
was with the Father. He was equal with the Father.
He was a lamb slain before the foundations of the world were
ever laid. Well, there was a time when this
world was created, as we know it. There was a time when that
moon was put out in place, and the stars, each one of them in
their particular positions, and the sun was put there, and the
planets and the earth was made, and the valleys and the hills
and the morning stars sang together, and the sons of God shouted for
joy. If Christ is all, if he's all, where was he then? Well,
the Scripture says he was with God, he was God, and all things
were made by him. And without him was not anything
made that was made. All things were made by him,
and for him, and through him, and in him all things consist. Is it any wonder that he should
illustrate his sermons with the lily of the field? He made that
lily. Is it any wonder that he should
illustrate his sermons with a sparrow that lights on the brow? He made
that sparrow. Is it any wonder that he should
talk about lifting up your eyes and look on the fields they're
white already to harvest? I am the water of life. He made that first spring that
ever came forth on the earth. There was a time, though, when
sin entered this world, Adam and Eve sinned and fell, and
darkness and death and devil worship entered God's creation. What a terrible day that was.
When the earth that had been created out of darkness, by the
word of our Lord, the light of this world, darkness came again. Worse than physical darkness,
it was spiritual darkness. Something came on this earth
that the earth had never seen, death, disease, blight. If Christ is all, where was he
then? In that very moment, he was revealed by the Father to
be the light of a world plunged into darkness, to be the Savior
of sinners. For in that day, our Lord spoke
and said, the woman see. shall bruise the serpent's head.
The woman's seed shall be victorious, for he shall bring into this
world a ransom, a redemption." Yes, sir, Christ was all. And
then all the way from that promise in Eden's garden to the day he
came into this world, every type and picture and symbol and sacrifice
and ceremony and ritual pointed to him, to his coming. After
4,000 years of sin and darkness and death, the world was buried
in the worst kind of religious superstition, ignorance, religious
darkness. God's house had become a place
where they sold animals and birds, and the priests had become false
priests, the prophets false prophets. True worship was hardly discernible
or found anywhere in the whole world. It was a terrible hour. If Christ is all, where was he
then? Right here on this earth. He who made the world was in
the world, and the world knew him not. The Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us and walked Judea's hills and walked beside
Galilee's sea and by the river Jordan.
He was in the world. And the world knew him not. There's a day coming, a day coming. It has not come yet. It is coming. And there's going to be a new
heaven and a new earth. Sin is going to be cast out. All wickedness
is going to be destroyed. All rebels are going to be cast
away from God. Satan is going to be imprisoned.
There's going to be a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness. The righteousness of God shall
cover the world. The morning stars are going to
sing again, and the sons of God are going to shout for joy. If
Christ is all, where will He be then? Well, the Scripture
says, God hath exalted him and given him a name which is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow
in heaven, in earth, and under the earth. And every voice in
unison shall proclaim, He is Lord. He is Lord. He hath all
preeminence. That's our rock. God says, I
lay in Zion. From eternity past, clear to
eternity future. I lay in Zion, a rock, a stone,
a foundation. That's the foundation, that person.
Everything was made for him, everything was made because of
him, and everything shall someday praise him. Look at the next
line here quickly. He said, I lay in Zion for a
foundation of stone, a tried stone. A preacher, you exhort
me to believe on Jesus Christ and to trust in him for salvation
and to build on this rock. How do I know that this rock
will stand? Well, let me tell you this, you
don't have to wait for death to find out. You don't have to
wait for judgment to find out. You don't have to wait for hell
to come your way to find out how this foundation of God will
fare. Scripture says here he's already been tried. First of
all, he was tried by the law. Now, stay with me. Scripture
says he was tempted in all points, yet without sin. He was tried
by the law. My foundation, my refuge, my
ransom, my redeemer, my rock, my Lord, has been tried by the
law. And he passed the test. Now,
this flood of judgment which is coming, that's where we're
going to be tried. It's the law that will try us. And he's already
been tried. Secondly, he was tried by Satan.
Now I want you to turn to a scripture, John 14, 30. This is a tremendous
scripture, John 14, 30. Look at it. Now listen to our
Lord speak, John 14, 30. He says, Hereafter I'll not talk
much with you, for the prince of this world cometh. Who is
that? The prince of this world? That's Satan. That's Satan. And he hath nothing in me. He's
tried by Satan. Satan can find nothing in him,
nothing in him. Now, brother, I tell you, Satan
can hurl charges at us that will be effective. He's the accuser
of the brethren, and he's bringing some real accusations that are
true and have true foundation. But he can't find anything in
Christ. He hath nothing in me. No way. If your hope is in yourself,
you're in for a terrible experience. But if your hope is in Christ,
he's already been tried. He's tried by the law, tried
by Satan, he's tried by men. What's that scripture you read
a while ago? Which of you, he said, convinces me of sin? Pilate
said, I find no fault in him. He was tried by the Father, too.
tried by the Father. Turn to Hebrews 5. Let me show
you that. Hebrews 5, verses 8 and 9. Listen to it. Verse 8, verse
9, "...though he were a son, yet learned he obedience by the
things which he suffered, tried by the Father, put to the test."
Now, let me tell you This profession of religion which
you have, this profession of faith, this hope, everything
will be all right in death, preacher, everything will be all right
at judgment, everything will be all right with me in eternity. You better
be able, Peter said, to give a reason for that hope. And I'll
tell you why I believe everything's going to be all right with me
in death and the judgment and facing God in eternity is because
my confidence and hope is in my representative, the Lord Jesus
Christ, and he's already been tried by the law and passed the
test. He's already been tried by Satan
and no fault found in him. He's already been tried by men
and no fault found in him. He's already been tried by the
Father and buried and rose again and accepted by the Father. That's
where he is. He's on God's right hand. Now,
you turn to the book of Ephesians. The book of Ephesians. And I'll
say this. Now, if you come up with your
best you can and your religious works and your denominationalism
and your doctrine and all of these decisions and all this
religion, and let's see if it will stand the test of God's
law. Let's see if he'll stand the trial of Satan. Let's see
if old Satan, with all of his power and with all of his strength,
can find anything in you. Reckon he could? I'm sure of
it. Well, what about the salt wind
piercing, holy, discerning eyes of the Heavenly Father? Reckon
he can look down in your imagination and find one stain? Reckon? Or
one flaw? Or one flaw? Reckon? That flaw is not discernible
by the eyes of men, but God knows it. You reckon? All right, Ephesians
chapter 1 said, verse 5, "...having predestinated us to the adoption
of children by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good
pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace,
wherein he hath made us accepted." Accepted where? in the beloved. That's the only place. And Ephesians
2, listen, you have be quickened who were dead in trespasses and
sin. But look at verse 4, God who
is rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he loved us, even
when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace are you saved. And he
hath raised us up together, us and Christ, and made us sit together,
us and Christ, in heavenly places, us and Christ. that in the ages
to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness
toward us. Where is it? Through Christ Jesus. Not because of your works, and
your religion, and your dedication, your decision, your profession,
and doing the best you can. He's going to show that he was
kind to the unlovely, to the guilty, to sinners, through Christ
Jesus. He's been tried. And he's entered
into the holiest. Now turn to Psalm 24 quickly.
Psalm 24, let me show you this. In Psalm 24, I want you to listen
to this. In Psalm 24, verse 3, Who shall
ascend into the hill of the Lord? That's my ambition. That's my
ambition. Who shall stand in His holy place? That's my ambition. He that hath
clean hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul
into vanity, nor sworn deceitfully, he shall receive the blessings
from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is a generation of them
that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob, Selah." Uh-oh,
verse 7, here he comes. Here's the one who shall ascend
into the hill of the Lord. Here's the one. Lift up your
heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors,
and the King of glory shall come in. And the King of Glory shall
come in to the hill of the Lord, into the holy praise, into the
presence of God. Well, who is this King of Glory? It's the Lord, capital L-O-R-D,
Lord, strong and mighty. The Lord, mighty in battle. Lift
up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting
doors, and the King of Glory. And if you come in, you better
come with him, because he's the only one that's coming in. That's
right, John. He's the only one. Because nobody
else can fill this bill here. Nobody else has clean hands and
a pure heart. Nobody else has not lifted up
his soul into vanity. Nobody else has not sworn deceitfully. Everybody else has tried by the
law and falls, tried by Satan and perishes, tried by the Father,
and found wanting, weighed in the balances, and found wanting.
Christ was weighed, and he filled the bill. And so they said, lift
up your heads, O ye gates of glory, and let him in. Here he
comes. And he's going to take us with him. He's going to take
us with him. That's our rock. He's tried.
He's a tried stone. God said, I lay that stone in
Zion, and he's a tried stone. He's been tried. In verse, the
next line says he's a precious cornerstone. He's precious to
the Father. He said, this is my son in whom
I'm well pleased. Well pleased. And he's precious
to the Old Testament saints. Abraham said, I saw his day and
I was glad. And he's precious to every believer.
Paul said, I know him and he's able to keep that which I've
committed to him. Now look at the next line I close.
He's a sure foundation. He's a sure founder. I want something
sure. Now, we'll take a chance on financial
things, and we'll take a risk. You build a building, it might
burn down tomorrow, who knows? We just have to take that risk.
And you may build a business and this whole thing go into
depression tomorrow and you lose everything you've got, but you've
got to take a risk. I don't want to take any risk where my soul's
concerned. I want a sure foundation. I want
a sure foundation. I don't want a hope-so deal.
I want a sure foundation. Let me give you three reasons
why he's a sure foundation. He's a sure foundation because
of who he is. He said, I and my Father are
one. He's a sure foundation, secondly, because of where he
is. He's at the right hand of the Father. That's why he's a
sure foundation. And thirdly, he's a sure foundation
because of what he can do. what he can do. He can save,
he says, to the uttermost, completely to the uttermost, infinity, them
that come to God by him. That's what he can do. He says
he is able to keep us from falling. He can do that. Your church can't
do that. You can't do it. Your preacher can't do it. Your
decision. But Christ can keep you from
falling. And then next of all, and last, and turn to Philippians
3, shows you something else only he can do. And this is pretty,
though you think those other things are difficult, who can
save to the uttermost and who can keep you from falling, try
this one on. See if your preacher can do this,
or your denomination or your doctrine. Verse 21, who can change
our vile bodies, that they may be fashioned like unto his glorious
body. That's going to be something,
isn't it? But he can do that. He can do that. That's why he's
a sure foundation. That's your foundation. Now, you see, the reason that
a false prophet cannot produce a true convert is he cannot turn
the eyes of men to this Christ. You can't tell something you
don't know. That's right. And a man can't trust an unrevealed
Christ. They can't believe on him of
whom they've not heard. But a true prophet of God will
turn men to Christ, and they'll find in him a stone, a tried
stone, a precious stone, and a sure foundation.

Founded Upon a Rock

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Founded Upon a Rock

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