Hear and put into practise … is building on rock. Hear and do not put into practise … is building on sand. Jesus is wrapping up the greatest sermon ever given—and that’s including Moses’ three crackers of talks recorded in Deuteronomy! This is the greatest moral teaching ever given in the history of humanity. Some will comply with obedient actions and others will not, and neither response will be without consequence. Those who obey will not only last through the challenges of this life, their obedience will be the proof of genuine inner transformation into eternal life. Those who do not obey, who build their lives on the sand, will suffer both in this life and in the life to come.

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Two thousand years on from Jesus’ sermon, it is commonplace in Western vernacular to refer to building your house on the sand, as a reference to doing something pretty stupid. Jesus meant what he said. When a person hears the pinnacle of truth from the one who is truth and life for that matter, yet wilfully decided to disobey, it is quite simply stupid.

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We should take note, Jesus said, “builds his house upon." This is not a shed in the backyard, this is not a risky little adventure, the stakes are higher than that. Jesus’ words cover the whole of life and to obey or disobey them is to put in jeopardy one’s whole life. The image of the house built on rock or sand, conveys this powerfully.

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What truth are you building your life on? What and who is the source of your worldview? Houses are typically by far the most expensive things we own, they contain our stuff, but more than that, they contain our people. If the house gets washed away, there are probably going to be people who get washed away with the house. What truth are you building your life upon?

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The Sermon on the Mount begins with those who can enter the kingdom of the heavens, the beatitudes, or the blessed ones. Happy is he, happy is she, no matter what their circumstances if they know the king of the kingdom and the life which comes from knowing Him.

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To live the blessed life, there is a will to surrender and new thinking to take on, contempt to be yielded and generosity to be embraced. There is love to be pursued, treasure to be treasured, and truth to be obeyed. There is life to be lived with the one who is life, a life is which is truly more than happy. Which of course is the good life, the blessed life, the life which is eternal to the glory of God.

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May Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount be a blessing to you as it has been to every believer before you.