ASTONISHED

Mathew 7:28-29

Sermon of the Week #200833 – August 17, 2008

At the conclusion of the Lord’s famous Sermon on the Mount, the multitudes were astonished at His doctrine; for He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

The authority of Jesus was evident as He said several times in that message, “Ye have heard that it was said unto them of old time, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ but I say unto you. Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery,’ but I say unto you. Again, ye have heard that it was said, ‘Thou shalt not forswear thy self, but shall perform unto the Lord thine oaths,’ but I say unto you. Ye have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,’ but I say unto you. Ye have heard that it was said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy,’ but I say unto you. And they were astonished at His doctrine for He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.” Many would still be astonished today if they ever read His doctrine, or ever heard it preached.

NOT EVERYONE WHO SAITH UNTO ME LORD, LORD

Nominal Christians will be astonished on the Day of Judgment, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

A missionary in Europe told me someone asked him how many members were in his church. He told him sixty. How many attend services? And he told him sixty. Then the man said, “My pastor would love to have that many in attendance in our church.” The missionary asked, “How many attend?” He said, “Six.” “How many members do you have in your church?” The man replied, “Four thousand.” Four thousand members and only six attend services. When he said only six he explained why. He said, “The important thing in our church is to be a member so that when you die you may be buried in the church cemetery.” Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

However, we have many nominal members of the church also. Is there any congregation that does not have members who attend services only on Easter and Christmas, or several times during the year, or about half time? Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doest the will of my Father who is in heaven.

A good portrait of the nominal Christian is the treatment of Jesus when He was tried before Pilate in Matthew 27, “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered unto Him the whole band. And they stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet robe. They platted a crown of thorns and put it upon His head, a reed in His right hand and they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ And they took a reed and smote Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they put on Him His garments and led Him away to crucify Him.”

Worship of the nominal Christian is an even greater mockery than the mockery of the soldiers of Pilate. Regarding this same incident in Luke 6:46 Jesus said, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” In Matthew He gives His answer, “Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.” It is with astonishment they may hear the words of Jesus on that day, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

MANY WHO PREACHED THE GOSPEL WILL BE ASTONISHED

Another astonishment will be in reference to some who will say, “Did we not prophesy in Thy name, and by Thy name cast out demons, and by Thy name do many mighty works? Depart from me, I never knew you.” Who are these famous prophets who were told to depart? How about that famous prophet Balaam in Numbers twenty-two? He was a great prophet, and when he blessed others they were blessed, and when he cursed them they were cursed. Balak the king of Moab tried to hire him to curse Israel. Balaam consulted the Lord and was told he could not curse those whom God blessed. Balaam refused to curse Israel and told them if they would give him a house full of gold he would not go beyond the Word of God to do more or less. Balak sent back more distinguished messengers with a bigger offer, and then God told Balaam to go with the men.

There are many who believe the Word, but then they find out what the Lord says does not fit into their plans. They consult the Lord again thinking what they heard was not a good translation. Perhaps a scholar told them the scripture does not say what they thought it says. It really means something else. When this happens the Lord will say, “Go with the men.” The Lord will always tell you to do as you please if you don’t want to do as His Word says.

Balaam was a great prophet; one time he prophesied the coming of Jesus in Numbers 24:17, “I shall behold him, but not nigh. There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Scepter shall arise out of Israel.” Balaam said in Numbers 23:10 “Let me die the death of the righteous.” But then in Numbers 31:8, “He died in battle fighting against Israel.” Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by Thy name and by Thy name do many mighty works? Then I will say unto them in that day: I never knew you, depart from me ye workers of iniquity.”

Peter gives us the real reason for the fall of Balaam as well as many others today in 2nd Peter 2:15, “Forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the example of Balaam who loved the hire of wrong doing.” These are they of whom the Lord will say, “Depart from me ye workers of iniquity, I never knew you.”

Another one of these great reluctant prophets was the High Priest Caiaphas. After the resurrection of Lazarus, the chief priests had a council and came to the conclusion that Jesus must be stopped before all the people will believe Him, and the Romans will come and take away their place and nation. But the arrogant Caiaphas told them, “Ye know nothing at all, nor do you take account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.” Caiaphas said more than he thought he said. It was God’s will that Jesus die for the whole world that all might not perish. John adds this explanation, “Now this he said not of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation; and not for the nation only, but that He might gather into one all the children of God that are scattered abroad.” Unknowingly Caiaphas preached a great gospel message, and then condemned the Lord to die on the cross.

Then how about Judas Iscariot? In Matthew chapter ten the Lord Jesus sent out the twelve apostles to preach to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. He told them to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons, freely ye have received, freely give. Judas was one of them; he had the same charge to preach as the others; and yet in Matthew 26:15 we hear him bargain with the chief priests, “What are you willing to give me and I will deliver Him unto you?”

In all three cases, Balaam, Caiaphas, and Judas, the faithful preaching of the message of God was compromised by the love of money, or the pride of high position. Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will say unto me in that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Thy name, and by Thy name cast out demons, and by Thy name do many mighty works?” And then will I profess unto them, “I never knew you, depart from me ye workers of iniquity.”

MANY WHO HAVE HEARD HIS DOCTRINE ARE ASTONISHED

The multitudes that were astonished that day were not the only ones in the Word of God who were astonished at His doctrine. Alien sinners will also be astonished according to Daniel 5, “Belshazzar the king of Babylon was astonished at His doctrine. Belshazzar made a great feast to a thousand of his lords and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, while his heart was merry called for the golden and silver cups that his father, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the temple at Jerusalem; that the king, and his wives, his concubines, and his lords might drink there from. At that time the fingers of a man’s hand appeared, and wrote over against the candlestick on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace. Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thought troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, his knees smote one against another. Both he and his lords were astonished when they saw the handwriting on the wall even though they did not understand what it said at that moment.”

Sergius Paulus was astonished on Paul’s first missionary tour in Acts thirteen. Many today would be just as astonished as the audience that day when they heard Elymas a sorcerer withstands the preaching of Paul. What a shock it was when Paul fastened his eyes on him and said, “O thou full of all wicked villany, and guile, thou son of the Devil, how long wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now thou shalt be blind not seeing the sun for a season,” and straightway there fell upon him a mist and darkness, and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the governor saw what was done believed, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

A similar thing happens today as Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 4:4, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ should dawn on them.” They were astonished at His doctrine then, and they would be astonished today if they ever hear it. Actually every alien sinner will be astonished at His doctrine on the Judgment Day, because Jesus tells us in John 12:48, “He that rejecteth Me hath one that judges him, even the Word that I spake, the same shall judge him in the last day.” Every alien sinner on that day will be astonished that Jesus really did mean what He said in Mark 16:15-16, “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned.” And when Jesus had finished these words, they were astonished at His doctrine, for He taught them as one having authority and not as their scribes.

CONCLUSION

“Everyone therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them is likened unto a wise man, who dug deep and built his house upon the 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 the rock. And everyone that heareth these words of mine and doeth them not, is likened unto a foolish man, who 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 thereof.”

King David tells of that rock in Psalms 40:2, “He brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock and established my goings.” And then Jesus puts further emphasis on his words when He says in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.”

The house built on that rock is in place when the rain descends, and the floods come. King David gives us a good description of the floods that come in Psalms 18:4 when he tells us, “The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.” David was referring to the time when King Saul was determined to kill him in 1st Samuel 24:2, “Then Saul took three thousand men out of all Israel, and went out to seek David and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats.” Three thousand men seeking to kill anyone would make them afraid. The floods of ungodly men are still trying to inundate the Church today. Read, or look at the news today; the flood of ungodly men is everywhere like a tidal wave.

Then not only did the rain descend and the floods come, but the winds blew. These words may be more than a metaphor of hard times. Paul speaks of the winds that blow in Ephesians 4:4, “Be no longer children tossed to and fro, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error.” Doctrine today is decided by whichever way the wind is blowing. Jesus mentioned that wind of false doctrine when He asked the multitudes that went out to hear John in the wilderness, “What went ye out to see, a reed shaken by the wind?” John was not shaken by the prevailing winds of false doctrine. Those who do are building their house on the foundation of sand, and great will be the fall thereof.

When Jesus comes again He will be looking for the wise man who built his house on the rock. He said as much in the final words of Matthew 24, “Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his lord has set over his household to render them their food in due season? Blessed is that man whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, my lord tarrieth, and shall begin to beat his servants and shall begin to eat and drink with the drunken, the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he knoweth not, and in an hour when he knoweth not and shall cut him asunder, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.”

My God I mark with fear, how many hopes decay,

And like foolish builders house fall in the trials day.

Perhaps amidst this throng, thou dost a soul espy

Whose towering hopes are built on sand, I ask Lord, is it I?

A thousand doubts arise, I bring them all to thee

Am I unconsciously deceived, Lord, search my heart and see.

Oh teach me deep to dig, down to the solid rock

That when tornadoes ‘round be sweep, my soul shall bare the shock.

Jesus Thou only art the firm foundation stone

Firm as the eternal hills art Thou, I build on Thee alone.

Cemented fast to Thee, no stone is laid in vain

My hope defies the assaults of hell, the floods, the winds, the rain.

And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were astonished at His doctrine: for He taught them as one having authority: and not as their scribes.