It’s amazing that we’re here right now. That could mean a number of things for any one of us here this morning—we’ve all got our stories. But what I have in mind is our location. It’s amazing that we’re here in this building right now. About 4.5 years ago, this building survived what may have been the worst flood our city has ever seen. On September 2, 2021, following Hurricane Ida, the waters of the Schuylkill River rose to a level that left the first floor of this building about seven feet underwater. Every single car parked below us right now would have been fully submerged. But even on the bank of the river, and after many floods that have come before it, this building still stands. This building has a strong foundation that has withstood even the most catastrophic flooding. This is the image Jesus uses in our passage this morning to demonstrate what his kingdom people are like—those who not only hear his words, but put them into practice: “Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.” (Luke 6:47–48)

How do we build our lives in a way that they will be unshaken when the floodwaters rise? It is a certainty of life that we will face trials, but how do we build our lives on a strong and sturdy foundation so that we can remain steadfast when those trials come? Over the course of the four weeks prior to Easter, we’ve been considering what has essentially been a series within a series in the Gospel of Luke: Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain.” It might be helpful to think of this morning’s passage as the season finale, in which Jesus brings together all that he’s been teaching. He begins this finale with a final injunction, in the form of a question: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” The implied imperative of our passage is our big idea: Jesus’ kingdom people do what he says. Jesus’ kingdom people do what he says.

Friends, I have to be honest with you. Essentially, we have here a one-point sermon—but we all know a pastor wasn’t going to let me get away with that. So here are two points, or two questions we need to consider:
What has Jesus said?
Will you do it?

The first question we need to consider is…

1. What has Jesus said?

When Jesus said, “everyone who hears my words and does them is like a house built on a rock,” the words he had in mind were the words he preached in the Sermon on the Plain. So what were these words? What did Jesus say in the Sermon on the Plain?

Starting in Luke 6:20, Jesus said that his kingdom people are blessed—divinely happy. They are blessed because they recognize that even in their poverty, spiritually and otherwise, theirs is the kingdom of God. They have an eternal inheritance in God’s kingdom that far outweighs any riches in this world. Jesus said that his kingdom people are blessed because, though they hunger now, they will be satisfied in God perfectly and forever in his final kingdom; because though they weep now over their sin and suffering, they will laugh in heaven forever; and though they are hated for the sake of Christ now, they will have a great reward in heaven. Alternatively, Jesus said that those who seek their best life now—whether through riches, comfort, or pleasure—will find that this life is as good as it will ever get.

Continuing in the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus also said that his kingdom people love their enemies, do good to those who hate them, bless those who curse them, and pray for those who abuse them, because our Father in heaven is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Jesus’ kingdom people love their enemies because they were once enemies of God, yet he loved us and saved us from our sins.

Additionally, Jesus’ kingdom people are generous in their mercy toward others. We don’t wish vengeance or pronounce eternal judgment on others. Instead, we desire good for them and even seek to share the gospel with them so that they can know Christ and receive the same mercy we have. And Jesus’ kingdom people are merciful toward one another, taking the log out of our own eye so that we can see clearly to take the speck out of our brother’s eye, because we love him. In all of this, our identity as Jesus’ kingdom people precedes our activity. A good tree (identity) bears good fruit (activity).

This all leads us to Jesus’ question to close his sermon: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). It seems that, as Jesus looked out on the crowds—over those who identified themselves as his disciples—he saw that there were a number of people whose activity did not align with how they identified themselves. The fruit of their lives didn’t seem to line up with the tree they claimed to be.

This morning, the same question comes to us: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” [Pause] Why do you call me “Lord, Lord,” and not do what I tell you?

It’s easy for us to look “out there” and see those who might even claim Christ but aren’t living out what Jesus taught. These characteristics of Jesus’ kingdom people are so countercultural, and you need not look any further than your workplace, your school, or what you see on social media or TV. These are not the things we see promoted in the world around us. World leaders rejoice in the deaths of their political enemies, and people get ahead at the expense of others.

But this isn’t just an “out there” problem. It’s also “in here,” in our own hearts. In what ways are you looking for the blessed life in places Jesus said it isn’t found? Are you seeking your best life now through riches, comfort, or pleasure? Or are you entrusting your life to Christ, believing that he is enough and that you will one day experience deeper satisfaction than you’ll ever find in this life? In what ways are you tempted to withhold mercy from others, feeling justified in harboring resentment against those who have wronged you? How quick are you to point out the speck in another’s eye while ignoring the log in your own?

These are hard things that Jesus said, but the lingering question is this: Will you not only hear these things that Jesus has said, but do them?

This leads us to the second question we need to consider:

2. Will you do it?

I once heard a pastor tell a story about telling his daughter to go clean her room. He imagines coming back later to find her sitting in her uncleaned room, and she says, “Dad, I really appreciate what you said earlier, so I’ve been sitting here memorizing your words.” She goes on to tell him that she even learned how to write it in Greek, texted her friends to pray for her about cleaning her room, and suggested that they meet up later to talk about what it would look like if she were to clean her room. You get the point. When he told his daughter to go clean her room, what did he want? He wanted her to clean her room!

That gets us to the heart of this morning’s passage. As we considered Luke 6 over the course of March, we heard Jesus teach one powerful truth after another, presenting a completely countercultural way of living. We’ve taken in these words on Sunday mornings, discussed them and prayed for one another in our Citygroups, and perhaps even shared resources with one another—things we’ve read or heard that support what we’re learning. But as Darrell Bock has written, “A biblical text or an exhortation from Jesus is not really understood until it is applied” (Darrell Bock). If you hear what Jesus says and don’t do it, you don’t actually understand it.

We see something similar expressed in James 1:22–25: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” Again, we see the connection between our identity and our activity. When we don’t do what Jesus says, it’s as though we forget who we are. Obedience to Jesus necessarily follows true belief, because our new identity in Christ results in new activity that follows his teaching.

“Lord, Lord”

This is what makes this appeal to Jesus with “Lord, Lord” so stark. Again, New Testament scholar Darrell Bock writes, “The double invocation of ‘Lord’ is emotive and emphatic, but the life that makes the confession without obedience is without substance, despite the emotional appeal. Such an approach is foolish at best and hypocritical at worst.” You can imagine a crowd of people hanging on every word Jesus speaks, marveling at his authority, discussing it among themselves, and telling their families about it when they get home—but it doesn’t actually lead to any change in their lives. They love the teaching, but they’re not living it out. At best this is foolish, but at worst it’s utterly hypocritical.

Likewise, we may see this on any given Sunday. You come and sing loudly, pouring your heart out in praise to the Lord. As the pastor preaches, you’re taking notes and perhaps even letting out an “amen” here and there. Maybe you even ask someone to pray for you about the sermon or talk about it over lunch. The person who emotionally pleads, “Lord, Lord,” would be someone who is religiously engaged—checking all the boxes on the connect card—involved in a Citygroup, serving, giving… but all this has little to no effect on his day-to-day life from Monday to Saturday or on his ultimate priorities. Monday comes, and you’re still gossiping about your coworkers or someone else’s parenting style, harboring bitterness in your heart toward someone who has wronged you, and prioritizing worldly riches and a comfortable life over satisfaction in the Lord. Jesus is merely the garnish on the plate of your life, not the main dish. This is what it looks like to say to him, “Lord, Lord,” and not do what he says.

Do you see yourself among those Jesus is addressing? Let that conviction come, but don’t let that conviction lead you to despair; let it lead you to repentance. Decide today that you won’t just be a Sunday Christian, but an everyday Christian—seeking to trust the Lord and, depending on the Holy Spirit’s help, put his teachings into regular practice in your life. Don’t just attend Citygroup as a box to check in your week and a social connection; open up your life to the accountability of others in these areas so that you might actually live the life Jesus has called you to. As J.C. Ryle has written, “Obedience is the only sound evidence of saving faith.”

However, as I think about who was there for Jesus’ sermon, there was a large crowd of disciples and a great number of others—but there were also the apostles he had just called, who left everything to follow him. Church, I’ve been here long enough to know that many of you are not just “Sunday Christians.” Many of you are mature in your faith, regularly putting into practice what you’re learning from God’s Word. What it might mean for you to apply this is to start discipling someone. Especially since moving into this new facility, there are many new and young Christians who are hungry to be discipled, or perhaps some who would identify themselves as “Sunday Christians” but are right now feeling the conviction of Jesus’ warning. What might it look like for you to start meeting with someone regularly—perhaps someone from your Citygroup—even if you’re just a little further along, to study God’s Word together and pray for one another, that you both might become more like Christ?

The Parable

Following this warning, to help illustrate his point, Jesus shares a parable of two houses to show us what it looks like to either hear his words and do them or, alternatively, to hear but not do them. Let’s read it again:

“Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:47–49)

While the main point of this parable—and what’s most obvious—is the difference between these houses, one thing that stands out is how similar these houses might look to the average passerby. They may be indistinguishable—or, for all we know, the house without a foundation might even look nicer. At the very least, they may have the same curb appeal.

Another similarity is that the flood comes upon both houses. We will all go through trials in this life. Some of us will suffer more deeply than others, but we will all experience suffering. Whether your life is well built on a strong foundation or built without one, none of us is immune from trials and suffering.

Both houses may look similar on the outside, and the flood of trials comes upon both of them—but it’s the difference between these two houses that is the main point Jesus is making. In verse 48, we see a well-built house on a strong foundation. The text says the man who built it dug down deep and laid the foundation on the rock. It took time, planning, and a lot of hard labor. It’s far more difficult and requires much more work to build a house with a strong foundation like this. Meanwhile, the house built on the ground likely went up much faster. It required less planning and less labor. Again, both houses may have been fine for a time, but the floodwaters rose on both and exposed the key difference. When the flood came, it didn’t even shake the well-built house. But the house built on the ground, without a foundation, immediately fell—and the ruin was great. It came crashing down.

The point of this parable is that trials expose where your confidence was in the first place. On what—or on whom—are you placing your trust? Ultimately, the difference here is whether your life is fully submitted to the Lord, trusting that his way is better, no matter what the world around us says. It’s a life where love for the Lord and love for others supersede your own desires and preferences. It’s the person who knows that the way of Christ is better, even in the face of temptation toward worldly comforts and success. To borrow an illustration from last week’s sermon, it’s not enough to agree that a chair will hold you up—real trust involves sitting in the chair, putting all your weight on it. Jesus asks, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I say?” If you truly trust in Jesus, you will take what you’ve heard and do it.

The one who hears the words of Christ and does them is the one whose life will not be shaken when the floodwaters eventually rise. This way is harder, but ultimately more joyful. Building a life on the foundation of Christ’s teachings will almost certainly be more difficult, but it is also a life that will be richer, deeper, and more satisfying. And while this is certainly a reality for the age to come—what Psalm 16 describes as “fullness of joy” and “pleasures forevermore”—it is still true for those who are in Christ in this age, even amid the trials of this life.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his outstanding book The Cost of Discipleship, paints this picture when writing about Jesus’ calling of his first disciples—which Luke records just before the Sermon on the Plain. Seasoned fishermen drop their nets and follow Jesus, as does a tax collector who leaves his booth—both leaving their livelihoods behind. Bonhoeffer writes:

“The disciple is dragged out of his relative security into a life of absolute insecurity (that is, in truth, into the absolute security and safety of the fellowship of Jesus), from a life which is observable and calculable (it is, in fact, quite incalculable) into a life where everything is unobservable and fortuitous (that is, into one which is necessary and calculable), out of the realm of the finite (which is in truth the infinite) into the realm of infinite possibilities (which is the one liberating reality).”

The life that Christ has called us to may seem counterintuitive—even upside down—but hard-fought trust in Christ—a life that not only hears what he says, but does it—marks the life of the one whose life will not be shaken when the floodwaters eventually rise. Trials and suffering will come into your life, and they will test your foundation.

One significant way a family in our church has experienced this is through their journey of adoption. While they planned to adopt even before they were married, they envisioned having biological children first, not expecting to struggle with infertility. After a season of grieving their inability to have children biologically, and after many twists and turns along the way, they ultimately set their hearts on adoption. After a year and a half of waiting on the Lord—and over a decade of trying to grow their family—the Lord opened the door for them to adopt a child.

They were connected with a woman who was pregnant and already in her third trimester. It was a volatile situation, as she was in jail awaiting trial for a serious crime. Her options were limited: either find an adoptive family or place her child in the foster system. In what seemed like a clear answer to prayer, they were able to meet her face to face, and she decided that she wanted to place her child with them for adoption. They were thrilled. Not long after, she went into labor, and they were called to the hospital.

The volatility of the situation continued, as she began to waver in her decision. She considered that if she placed her child in the foster system and were acquitted—though unlikely—she might eventually regain custody. While the couple was holding this baby girl and receiving discharge instructions from the hospital, they were informed that the mother had decided to place her daughter in foster care instead. Their greatest fear in the adoption process was realized, and they walked out of the hospital with an empty car seat.

For them, this was the moment when the floodwaters rose higher than they ever had before, testing their foundation. It had the power to reveal where their confidence truly was. Would the house of their lives remain unshaken, or would it collapse into ruin? By the grace of God, they were able to believe that, even in this, Jesus was worthy of their trust. Their lives were built on the foundation of believing what Jesus says and building their lives upon it.

As many of you know, this story has a happy ending. About four months later, they were matched again and ultimately adopted twin girls. But it is in these critical moments, when the floodwaters rise, that the strength of your foundation is revealed. When you receive a cancer diagnosis, when you lose a loved one, when your child suffers, when your life doesn’t turn out the way you expected, or when your dreams are shattered—this is when you discover whether your life is built on a firm foundation. Are you digging down deep and building your house on the rock—not just hearing the words of Christ, but doing them, demonstrating real trust in him by obeying what he says?

Jesus closes his Sermon on the Plain with a warning, ending with the negative example as the climax. There were people in the crowd who needed that warning, and there are people here this morning who need it as well.

J.C. Ryle puts it this way: “Are we upon the rock or are we upon the sand? We love perhaps to hear the gospel. We approve of all its leading doctrines. We assent to all its statements of truth about Christ and the Holy Spirit, about justification and sanctification, about repentance and faith, about conversion and holiness, about the Bible and prayer. But what are we doing? … Can it be said of us that we not only hear Christ’s sayings but that we also practice them? … The day of sorrow and bereavement, of sickness and death, will make it plain whether we are on the rock or on the sand.”

Friends, as foolish as it is to build a house without a foundation, how much more foolish is it to hear Jesus’ words and not do them? Eternity is at stake. If you are here this morning and know that you are among those Jesus is describing—you hear his words, yet do not do them—recognize how vulnerable you are, because a flood is coming. It comes upon us all. Will your life remain steadfast on a firm foundation, or will it crumble and fall?

Conclusion/Gospel

Friends, if we’re honest, we all need to admit that we’ve failed to do what Christ has called us to. Every single one of us fails to cultivate the characteristics that Jesus calls blessed. We all fail to love our enemies. We all make ungodly judgments of others and bear bad fruit. What are we to do?

The truth is, no amount of doing will ever be enough. We can strive and strive and strive to not only hear what Jesus says but to do it—but it will never be perfect. The good news is that every “do” of the Christian life flows from the “done” of the gospel. A week ago, we celebrated the death and resurrection of our Savior who, in his final words before his death on the cross, declared, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) It is Jesus who has lived perfectly in our place. It is Jesus who endured poverty, hunger, weeping, and persecution perfectly. Jesus not only loved his enemies, but he died in their place, saying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Because Jesus died for us, we are now free to live for him. When we believe in him, he takes our heart of stone and gives us a heart of flesh that is soft toward him. He gives us the Holy Spirit to help us as we seek to follow him more and more. And he promises that even when we fail, if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

In the gospel, our identity precedes our activity—but our activity reveals our identity. Friends, dig down deep and build your house on the rock. Do not only hear what Jesus has said, but do it, so that you may endure whatever trials life brings, stand firm, and enjoy fullness of joy and, at God’s right hand, pleasures forevermore.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, we can only do what you say because of your grace at work within us and by the power of your Holy Spirit. I pray for any here this morning who have not yet trusted in you for salvation, that you would draw them to yourself, fill them with your Spirit, and empower them to walk faithfully with you. And for those of us who do believe—who in Christ call you “Lord”—help us to believe what you say and to do it. Help us to live each day for you, increasing in Christlikeness from one degree of glory to another, until we meet you face to face. Please continue to minister to us as we continue in this gathering of your people, and may the name of Christ be lifted high among us. In the matchless name of Jesus, we pray, amen.