Why Do You Call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and Not Do What I Tell You? (Luke 6:46) - Tim Conway

Let's open up our Bibles to Luke 6:46.

One thing we know
for certain on this night

when America holds its breath

about who's going to
be its next president,

there is One who is Lord,

and He's taken a seat on the throne

of His father David,

and He is going to rule over Jacob

and He is going to reign
forever and forever.

And they call Him, "Lord."

Lord of lords.

Luke 6:46

Probably most of you are
familiar with this verse.

But let's think about it.

"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,'

and not do what I tell you?"

Now, is that obvious to everybody -

what's going on in this verse?

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord," -

well, that's interesting.

"Lord, Lord," - we don't talk like that.

We don't say, "Kevin, Kevin."

Or "Glenn, Glenn."

"Lord, Lord."

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord?"

Anybody have any insights into

that kind of addressing of people?

That kind of usage?

Obviously, the original
here would be in Greek.

Obviously, Jesus is growing up

in a Hebrew context which was very much

influenced by Rome.

But 2,000 years ago in the Near East,

what's the significance
to talking like this?

"Lord, Lord."

What does He mean?

Emphatic. You do have
that idea of repetition.

And by the way, can you
think of any place else

where you get a double repetition?

You can probably think of other places

where we even get that same repetition,

"Lord, Lord."

Where's another common
place that shows up?

Matthew 7.

Can you think of anywhere else

where somebody is being addressed

and their name is said twice?

Martha, Martha.

Now, do we talk like that?

Is that the same?

Do you get the sense that's the same?

If somebody says, "Lord, Lord;"

if somebody says, "Martha, Martha,"

do you get the sense that it's implying

the same kind of stress?

Like, I could imagine
myself saying to my wife,

"Ruby, Ruby..."

See, I say we don't
address Kevin: "Kevin, Kevin."

But, in the right nuance of language,

saying it with a little
bit different inflection;

saying it with different emphasis,

depending on the context,

if Kevin said something and it seemed like

Kevin was speaking in a naive fashion

or he was speaking in a way where

he should really know,

and he's coming across maybe
as though he doesn't know,

if you said, "Kevin, Kevin..."

Now see, that we can understand.

That would not be foreign.

But what do you think here?

"Martha, Martha."

Familiarity?

Yeah, it does seem that way.

Put it in the context
of the text that it's in.

"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,'

and not do the things I say?"

I mean, you have to put it together

with not doing the things I say.

In other words, He's stressing

that you speak in a certain way,

but your actions don't reflect

what your lips say.

Or you think about the other
places where it's used.

Where else does the
"Lord, Lord," come at us?

We heard Matthew 7.

How's it used?

"Not everyone who says to Me,

'Lord, Lord...'"

And then it's used again, right?

How's it used the second time?

"In that day, many will
say to Me, 'Lord, Lord...'"

Now, maybe there's an emphasis there.

Obviously: "many will
say to Me in that day."

What day? Judgment day.

And what's happening to them?

They're being cast away.

This is kind of a frantic, emphatic:

"Lord! Lord!"

Can you think of anywhere else
where the "Lord, Lord," is used?

(from the room)

Even there, He says, "I never knew you."

Coming back to intimacy
like, "Martha, Martha."

Familiarity.

I didn't think of "Lord, Lord,"

but Jesus on the cross.

He said, "Eli, Eli..."
(My God, My God...)

Two times in a row.

"Why have You forsaken Me?"

Tim: Yeah, emphasis like
that we understand.

And what there is

is whether we want to connect it to

somebody implying by the way they talk,

there's a familiarity;

there's an intimacy;

there's some kind of emphasis.

That's what it seems like

that with your mouth,

you are actually acknowledging Me as Lord

in a way that is more
than just kind of passing.

You are actually speaking to Me

in a way that more than just slightly

seems verbally at least to be recognizing

My Lordship.

You call Me "Lord," and you do it

with a fair degree of significance.

You do it more than just in passing.

You do it more than just lightly.

Maybe you do it repetitiously.

"...And not do what I tell you."

It's a very simple concept.

(incomplete thought)

Somebody was bringing up

Jeff Peterson's message from Sunday.

He was dealing with
Charles Stanley's book.

This text just blows that whole idea

of you can be a true Christian

and just live any way you want.

You know, if you just had
one moment in your life

where you believed,

and now you can live any way you want.

This text just blows it
right out of the water.

Because if you couple this with Matthew 7,

you see, this by itself:

"Why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,'

and not do what I tell you?"

Well, the thing is that
the very same parable

that He ends up with over in Matthew 7,

He ends up with here.

And He doesn't simply say it's okay.

It's not: why do you do it?

I wish you wouldn't do it,

but after all, it will
turn out okay with you

if that's what you do.

That's not what He's saying.

He is basically saying here

that if you say one thing with your lips

that seems to say that
you're acknowledging Me...

We get people in the church
all the time like this.

The word "Lord" comes off their lips.

They read Scripture, they sing the songs,

they speak to other Christians,

they speak the Christian lingo.

And so the word "Lord"
comes off their lips

with a fair degree of familiarity.

More than the lost guy out there.

you get people in the church.

And it's coming off their lips.

But what's the problem?

You look at their life.

(incomplete thought)

What Jesus is saying is this:

It's right you call Me "Lord."

I am Lord.

But because I am Lord,

that means I have a right
to tell you what to do.

And if you call Me Lord

and don't do what I tell you to do,

you basically are denying what you say

by your lips with your life.

You're denying it.

And He doesn't say:

Oh, but in the end, it's eternal security,

and if you believed once, it's all okay,

so don't worry about it.

See, He doesn't go there.

Basically where He goes is to a parable

where He makes it crystal clear.

"Everyone who comes to
Me and hears My words

and does them, I will
show you what he is like."

See, this has everything
to do with His Lordship.

"He is like a man building
a house who dug deep,

laid the foundation on the rock,

and when a flood arose,
the stream broke against the house.

It could not shake it, because
it had been well built."

This is a man's religion.

Well built.

What does it look like?

He believes on the Lord.

He calls Him Lord.

He believes He is Lord.

And that belief doesn't
just come off of his lips,

it's reflected in a life.

"But the ones who hears..."

See, this is the person in v. 46.

"...he hears and does not do them."

He even admits Christ is Lord,

but then he lives contrary to what he

seems to say by his lips.

He doesn't do what Jesus says.

"The one who hears..." Jesus Christ

and does not do what Christ as Lord says,

"this man is like the man who built

a house on the ground without a foundation

and the stream broke against it.

Immediately it fell and the ruin
of the house was great."

Like I say, when you
compare this to Matthew 7,

what we see is Matthew 7

parks all this in the
context of judgment day.

So we see exactly what
storm He's talking about.

So, let's think for a second.

Can you think of any
other places in Scripture

that make that connection

between being a genuine child of God

and what Jesus says or what the Word says?

The absolute necessity of a life

that conforms to Christ's commandments

or Christ's Word or the Word of God

or the Scriptures,

if indeed we are genuinely Christians?

Can you think of other verses?

This is one. This is certainly one.

"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord?'"

And let that ring in your own ears.

Think with me.

You can change it a bit.

"You call Me, 'Lord, Lord.'"

I do. I call Him Lord.

I acknowledge Him as Lord.

I pray to Him as Lord.

That names comes off my lips

all the time now that I'm saved.

And I'm sure many of you in this room

would say the same.

That name comes off your lips.

But now, ask yourself,

do you live in light of that?

Do you really believe it?

See, that's the issue.

If you say it, you're seeming to indicate

you believe it.

But the real proof, Jesus is saying,

of whether you believe He's Lord

isn't by good talk.

It's by the walk.

And so, where are we at in that?

Where are we at?

"Lord..."

How am I in tune to that word?

How is it impacting my life right now?

I mean, today even thinking about this,

I remember - many of you may remember

Matt Haney preached.

More than once I remember
him telling the story.

I forget where he got it from.

Maybe it was a Ravenhill
story that he came across.

But you may remember,

the guy was in the service

and the preacher began to preach,

and he didn't get very
far into the message

and this guy got up and went out.

He was preaching a series of meetings.

And the next night,
the guy began preaching.

The guy got up and walked out.

Third night, began preaching,

the guy got up and walked out.

And finally the guy said to him,

"what's going on with you?"

And he said you would start preaching

and I would be convicted of something

that I needed to take care of in my life,

and I figured there's no reason
to sit here any longer.

I need to go take care of that.

And I always remember that,

because to my reckoning,

that was a true story.

Does the Word of God
impact us like that still?

Can you think of other verses

where we get that kind of emphasis

that the Word of God

is not just a matter of hearing?

James 1.

Yeah, let's look at that one.

(incomplete thought)

James 1:22 says,

"But be doers..." now notice this one,

"...be doers of the Word,

and not hearers only

deceiving yourselves."

That's the same truth.

These people that build
their house on the sand,

they're deceiving themselves.

Because they're building.

They're those people in Matthew 7.

They did many mighty works in His name.

They're deceiving themselves.

But what does Jesus call
those people in Matthew 7?

"Workers of lawlessness."

Which means, they were living their life

without any conformity to the spoken,

expressed will of God.

Now, in times past, God spoke to us

by way of the prophets,
but in these last days,

God has spoken to us by way of His Son.

It's His Son who has come to give us

the expressed will of God.

Can anybody think of any other verses

that seem to reflect this truth?

1 John 2:4.

"Whoever says, 'I know Him...'"

Now this is interesting
because it's again,

some of these compare hearing to doing.

And some of these compare

saying to doing.

Like, "you call Me, 'Lord, Lord;'

you don't do what I say."

Here it's the familiarity is "I know Him."

But then you don't keep His commandments.

"Whoever says 'I know Him'

but does not keep His commandments

is a liar and the truth is not in him."

Can I give you one that is definitely

open for discussion and debate

at another time,

but a text that I personally believe

expresses exactly the same truth,

and when taken in context,

I think you can see that
I'm speaking the truth.

And I'm speaking namely of Romans 2:13.

Look at it.

I know that there are some

theological voices out there

that basically would say

that there are actually
no doers of the law.

And so, this is basically saying,

like the Old Testament commandments:

do this and live.

I don't believe at all that this
is what is being said here.

I believe that what we have here

is exactly the same thing

that is being spoken about -

let's put this in context (verse 13).

Notice v. 6,

"God is going to render to each one

according to his works."

I want you to see what's
actually in context here.

It's the judgment.

And we're being judged
according to our works.

It's not talking about justification.

This is not speaking about

an imputed righteousness

apart from our works.

It's not speaking about that.

Notice what it's speaking about.

It's speaking about judgment day

and the fact that we're going to be
judged according to our works.

"To those who by patience..."

Now, it's not talking about just those

who rest in Christ by faith.

You see, faith always works through love,

and that's the issue.

Judgment day is always based on works.

Why? Because works show

whether the faith was true or not.

And basically what you see here is that.

Patience in well-doing;

they're seeking for glory,

honor, immortality.

And to those people who are seeking that,

He gives eternal life.

Those who are self-seeking,

do not obey the truth,
obey unrighteousness -

there's wrath and fury.

Tribulation, distress for
every human being

who does evil - the
Jew first, also the Greek.

Glory, honor, and peace for everyone

who does good - the Jew
first, and also the Greek.

They do good.

He's not speaking hypothetically

about somebody could get to heaven

if they kept the law perfectly.

That's not what he's talking about.

He's talking about the righteous life

of true Christians.

God shows no partiality.

And see, v. 12, "For..."

It starts with a conjunction.

He's not changing topic here.

He's not going in a different direction.

"All who have sinned without the law,

also perish without the law."

Anyways, you get to v. 13,

"It's not the hearers of the law

who are righteous before God,

but the doers of the law

who will be justified."

And I believe that that's the same way.

Scripture uses that term "justified"

in that way concerning judgment day.

Think of our words, right?

The words that we speak?

What does Scripture say about

how we're going to be
justified by our words?

What is it? Matthew 12?

Basically, we're told that.

We're going to be justified by our words.

What you find in Matthew 25

is although the term
"justified" is not there,

clearly we are justified by our works

when we come to stand before God

on judgment day.

Because the books are opened

and it's our works that are examined,

and it's on that basis

that we are justified or condemned.

We're not speaking about

the imputed merits of Christ.

Obviously we recognize
the doctrine of justification,

the importance of that.

But this appears to be in the context

of people who are
actually keeping the law.

In fact, if you continue to go down

through Romans 2 and you get to the end,

you see that he actually begins

to talk about the nature of a true Jew

and what true circumcision is.

And in v. 26, he says,
"if a man who is uncircumcised

keeps the precepts of the law,

will not his uncircumcision

be regarded as circumcision?"

Again, he's not being hypothetical.

He actually is going to tell us here.

He's speaking about a true Jew.

One who is a true Jew inwardly

as circumcision is a matter of the heart.

And so he's speaking very
practically through these verses.

But, anyway, another
place I was thinking of.

Look at John 8.

John 8:31.

If you go back to 8:30,

Jesus has been speaking here

and it says, "As He was
saying these things,

many believed in Him."

(incomplete thought)

People can believe that He's Lord.

And so much so, they
call Him, "Lord, Lord."

But see, He goes further. He says this,

"Jesus said to the Jews
who had believed in Him,

'If you abide in My Word,

you are truly My disciples.'"

To abide in His Word,

that means to stay there; to live in them.

They characterize your life.

It's only then that you prove

to truly be His disciple

and you will know the truth,

and the truth will set you free.

So we see this reality.

Now listen,

"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,'

and not do the things I say?"

Jesus is our Redeemer.

He's our Savior.

He's our Sacrifice.

But Jesus is our Teacher,

our Master,

our Rabbi.

He's our Lord.

And He came to teach us, to instruct us,

to command us...

and I want to ask you this.

I want you to tell me.

Think about Jesus' words -

the words that He spoke to us.

"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,'

and do not do the things I say?"

Ok, let's think about the things He says.

Think about the things He says.

What's He implying?

That the things He says

are things that we have
a responsibility to do.

And that as true Christians,

one of the chief characteristics

is how we respond to what He says.

It has impact. It has power.

It used to not.

We used to be at enmity with God,

and the commandments of God

were something that we chafed against.

But the true characteristic
of the Christian

is that our lives become impacted

by what He says.

We don't live any longer

as though those things don't matter.

As though I can just blow those off.

They hold weight. They hold sway.

But I want to ask you this:

"The things I say" -

think about that - "the things I say."

What things did He say?

In all the things that Jesus taught us

and He expects us to conform our lives to,

what things did He speak to broadly?

In our lives, what did Jesus speak to?

What did He tell us about?

What did He command us about?

What did He give us instruction about?

Direction about?

What did He say to us?

In what areas of life?

I want to be specific.

General, but generally specific.

(from the room) Sin.

Tim: Sin?

If you're going to say it,

you've got to be able to tell
me what He said about it.

(from the room)
To forsake it and follow Him.

Tim: How did He say that?

Now think about this.

He told different people:

"Go and sin no more."

Does He tell us that?

Would He tell those people that

and that doesn't apply to us?

Or does that apply to us?

I mean, you would hardly think

that it's something He's requiring of them

and not of us.

How do you read that when
He says that to people?

"Go and sin no more,

lest a worse thing happen to you."

How do you read that?

What do you make out of that?

Is that the way He talks to Christians?

Is that the way He talks to lost people?

Is that the way He talks to

somebody He's just healed

that may not be regenerated?

Is that His word to everybody?

I'll tell you my personal thought on that

is that it's basically like
what He says in Luke 6.

"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,'

and do not do the things I say?"

In other words, go forth

and do the things I say.

And the things I say never include sin.

You depart from sin.

If you say you know Him,

you keep His commandments.

That doesn't mean that we don't have

an Advocate with the Father.

(incomplete thought)

I think the idea there

when He talks about going forth

and sinning no more

is much like John speaks.

How does John speak?

It sounds very dogmatic.

It sounds very absolute
when it comes to sin.

(from the room)

Well, the woman, when
she's caught in adultery,

that's an example.

Tim: I'm talking about 1 John.

See, in our ESV, it talks
about practicing sin,

but if you go back and you read

the King James Version,

it's like what?

(unintelligible)

Right.

It's like, "if you're born of God,

you don't commit sin."

And you read that and it's "what?"

Well, the ESV puts "practice sin,"

and I think we all feel
really comfortable with that

because the reality is
1 John is the very letter

where John concedes that
if we do fall into sin,

it's not a hopeless situation.

There's a place for confession

and we have an Advocate.

But I think what He's doing

is He's basically pressing these people

to a characterization of life.

Why? Well, think with me.

He speaks in that great

Sermon on the Mount.

He starts it out by talking about

the character of the people

that make up His kingdom.

(incomplete thought)

He ends it up with basically

a parallel passage to what
we're finding here in Luke 6.

And He ends it up with that parable

about building the house on a rock

versus the sand.

And not everybody that says to me,

"Lord, Lord," is going
to inherit the kingdom.

Those that do the will of My Father.

Even there - those that
do the will of My Father.

Do they do the will of
the Father all the time?

I think the thing that's very encouraging

about Scripture - several things

very encouraging -

if you think about those disciples,

John 17 is very encouraging.

"They have kept Your Word."

I look at these guys.

Look, you might think, oh boy,

if He said that 24 hours after Pentecost

when these guys are shining, glowing,

they've got the flames
of fire on their heads,

they've spoken and 3,000 are saved

and you think wow,
the church is so glorious,

and Peter's been transformed.

No. Jesus says this

right before Peter denies Him.

After these guys have been arguing

about who is going to be the greatest.

And He says, "they've kept Your Word."

And then when you come to
that 11th chapter of Hebrews,

and you read about:
"by faith," "by faith," "by faith..."

And if you go back and look at the
accounts of some of these people,

they had a lot of blemishes in their life.

What's so encouraging is

our sin is under the blood.

You get these different accounts.

Yes, it's true. God's people

have their sins revealed in Scripture.

But you get these certain accounts

where it says though God
just covers them over.

But, okay, so He speaks
to sin in our life.

That's real broad.

What else does He speak to?

Our possessions.

He speaks to our money.

He speaks to how we give.

What else does He speak to?

Our relations.

(incomplete thought)

Luke 9, you've got these two

very specific incidents of apparently

young men who want to be His disciples

and one wants to go home and say goodbye.

One wants to go home and bury his father.

He talks about He didn't come

to bring peace, but a sword,

and He's talking very specifically

about the family.

He talks there in Matthew 10

and Luke 14 about loving

mother or father, husband or wife,

son or daughter.

He talks about our relationships.

He talks about the necessity

of loving Him more than anybody else.

What else does He speak to?

Well, I think about Matthew 15.

He speaks about the fact

that He expects that we would

honor our parents.

Even though there's going to
be a sword in the family.

He speaks as though He would have us

honor our parents.

What else does He speak to?

He talks about prayer.

"Lord, teach us to pray."

And He did.

You think even in the Sermon on the Mount,

He talks about prayer.

He doesn't want us like the hypocrites.

He talks about even
some of the basic makeup

of what's important in prayer.

"Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come...

Thy will be done."

He's giving us aspects of what

He considers to be essential components

of prayer.

He talks about how to do it.

He talks about the importunity of it.

He talks about the promise -

think about the promises that are given us

concerning prayer in John 14, 15, 16.

"If you abide in Me, and
My Word abides in you."

Now that comes back to this.

Right?

If My Word abides in you,

you shall ask what you will

and it shall be done unto you.

He talks about the fact

that He wouldn't need to
ask the Father for us,

because the Father loves us.

He talks about praying in His name.

He talks about praying

so that the Father be
glorified in the Son.

He talks about praying
that our joy be full.

What else does He speak to in our life?

Loving others.

He definitely speaks about love.

He speaks about loving the brethren.

He speaks about loving our enemies.

He speaks about giving and lending.

He speaks about not being like lost people

who love their relatives,

but actually loving those

who are unrighteous and unthankful.

What else does He speak to?

Acknowleding Him before men.

Yeah.

How we identify Him

in the face of the public;

in the face of family;

in the face of the onlooking world.

How do we speak for Him?

Do we own Him?

Do we declare Him?

What else does He speak to?

(from the room) Evangelization,
the Great Commission.

Tim: The Great Commission.

He told us what one of the key

responsibilities of the
church is going to be.

And tells us - commands us to go.

Promises us He'll be with us.

What else does He speak to?

Forgiveness.

That's a huge thing.

Right there in the prayer

where He's teaching us how to pray.

He's teaching us to forgive men

their trespasses (incomplete thought).

He's teaching us to ask

that our trespasses be forgiven us

even as we forgive those
who trespass against us.

And of course, you remember Matthew 18.

You have the parable there.

Matthew 18 so often known

for how we deal with sin in the church,

but there you have that parable

about the necessity to forgive.

(from the room)

Keep oneself unstained from the world.

Tim: Keep oneself
unstained from the world.

What text specifically
do you have in mind?

I'm thinking about Jesus' specific words.

I obviously know James and Paul.

We don't want to downplay those guys,

but let's try to think of

where He specifically spoke to.

Fasting.

He spoke not only to prayer,

He spoke to fasting.

How you do it - not like
the hypocrites do it.

He wants us to wash our faces.

In other words, He wants us to have

a private walk with the Lord,

with the Father.

Just between us and Him.

What else did He speak to?

Abiding. Abiding in Him.

(from the room) Spiritual realities?

Tim: How so?

(from the room)

Parable of the Sowers

Tim: He definitely spoke to

the different responses that would be

had to the Gospel.

He takes us behind the scenes.

He shows us the kingdom.

He shows us the outworking.

He shows us the devil sowing seed

in the midst of all the wheat.

He shows us these pictures.

He takes us behind the veil so to speak.

And He shows us what is unfolding.

He shows us that not everybody
that starts out real

finishes well.

He shows us that there are pleasures

and entanglements and thorns in this world

that cause us to not become fruitful.

He speaks to our words, does He not?

Matthew 12?

(incomplete thought)

We are going to stand

and have to give an account

for every idle word we've spoken.

He speaks to marriage.

He says don't let man separate

what God has joined together.

He speaks to lust.

He says gouge out eyes

and chop off hands.

He speaks to life.

What we give our lives to.

He speaks about seeking first the kingdom.

He speaks to the heart.

How often did He deal with the heart?

Their heart is not with Me.

The heart - where the treasure is.

That is where the heart is.

He speaks to what's going on inside a man.

Don't be a hypocrite.

Don't act like the hypocrites.

Your righteousness needs to exceed

that of the hypocrites.

That is all external.

He's looking for the reality.

He goes inside.

He gives us those beatitudes.

And He says this is what
characterizes My kingdom;

My people. What are they like?

Blessed are the poor in spirit.

What's next?

What does He say next?

In the beatitudes.

Blessed are the mourners.

Blessed are the meek.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst

after righteousness.

He goes inside.

And He says you're salt and you're light.

He speaks to persecution.

Blessed are the persecuted.

For His name's sake.

For the Gospel's sake.

What else does He speak to?

He speaks to the Holy Spirit.

Promises concerning the Holy Spirit.

The promised Holy Spirit.

The Comforter is coming.
He's not going to leave us orphans.

What else did He speak to?

He spoke to how the
world's going to treat us.

And He spoke to them about the fact

that they're going to be
put out of the synagogues

and people are going to kill them
thinking that they're doing God's service.

What else did He speak to?

Judgment.

Well, He does. He gives us
those pictures of judgment

and what it's going
to be like on that day.

Repeated parables concerning the judgment

and what it's like.

Picture after picture.

You've got this net.

You've got pictures of these servants.

You've got pictures of when the King

takes His seat and all the nations

are gathered together.

He gives us all these pictures

and these parables and these accounts

where He shows this great coming

day of judgment.

"Well done, good and faithful servant.

Enter into the joy..."

And these are on the outside.

What were they saying?

Did they say, "Lord, Lord," there too?

They're going to say we ate
and drank in your streets.

What else did He speak to?

(from the room)

He said to watch and
be ready for His return.

Tim: Oh, He warned that.

He warned: you don't know when I'm coming.

He warned that we need
to be ready all the time.

He warned that if you're the servant

who gets lazy,

and you begin to slack off,

He's going to come and
He's going to catch you.

He's going to come like a thief

and He's going to catch you unawares.

And He said what I
say to you, I say to all:

you watch.

Be watchful.

Be ready.

Listen, Jonathan Edwards,

when he was putting
together his whole list

of the things that he
wanted to make certain

that he gave himself to in his life,

when he talks about not wanting to do

anything that he would not want to do

if he knew that Christ was going to return

one hour from now or 24 hours from now.

Listen, he wasn't the one that invented

that kind of thinking.

Jesus was the one that told His people:

you need to be ready.

And you need to live like
I can come anytime

because the reality is you
don't know when I'm coming.

What else did He address?

The Lord's Supper.

He definitely introduced that to us

and He said that we are to do that

until He comes.

We're to do that in remembrance of Him.

He definitely spoke to that.

What else does He speak to?

The what?

He did speak to rewards.

How so?

(unintelligible)

Tim: He spoke about laying
up treasure in heaven.

I mean, think, think.

"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,'
and do not do the things I say?"

What does He say?

Chop off hands. Cut off feet.

Honor your parents.

Love Me more than your parents.

Love Me more than husband, wife,

girlfriend, boyfriend, sons, or daughters.

Store up treasure in heaven.

Don't lay up your treasure here.

He spoke to having dinners.

Don't take the chief seat.

Take the least seat and get moved up.

When you have a dinner,

don't invite all your family and friends.

Invite those who can't pay you back.

He spoke to money.

Widow comes along,

throws in her last two coins.

She put in more than all the rest.

He watched people give.

He was standing there
watching the way people give.

He watched how people took seats.

He watched people.

He watched how people spoke.

Speaking to some He said:

you can't speak well.

Why? Because again, it
comes back to the heart.

The heart shows where your treasure is.

Or where your treasure is shows

the matter of the heart.

What your words say

show what's going on in the heart.

What basically is coming on the outside

is an expression of the heart.

Jesus said, "Why do
you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,'

and do not do...?

How much are we being
impressed by what He says to do?

Listen, He speaks to
so many different aspects

of our life.

Possessions.

Luke 12? He tells us
to sell your possessions

and give to the poor.

He took the towel and girded Himself

and He washed their feet.

And He said, "I've given you an example."

He spoke to fear.

"Fear not."

Or, "I'll tell you who to fear."

Fear not them. Fear Him.

Don't fear those who can kill the body.

Fear Him who can throw you into hell.

Really? As children of God,
that's what we should fear?

That's what Jesus said to fear.

That's a fearful thing.

And a lot of people,
according to Matthew 7,

are going to be thrown into hell

who don't think God would
throw them into hell.

But see, it comes back to this very thing.

How much are Jesus' words
impacting your life?

You know what?

A lot of people like to
explain those words away.

They're going to explain them away

and they're going to
wake up in hell one day.

I'm not saying that all
the things that Jesus said

don't have to be thought about

in how they impact our life.

Look, when Jesus says
when you have a dinner,

don't invite these folks;
invite these folks -

does that mean that I can
never invite my family?

Well, even Jesus, when
He went to dinners -

He went to a wedding with His disciples.

He attended dinners with His disciples.

(incomplete thought)

He's going to throw one in the end,

and He's going to have
all of His people there.

You see times when

undoubtedly where He and His disciples

were fed at the house of
Lazarus and Mary and Martha.

And we need to recognize that if
we're going to love our parents,

we certainly aren't going
to keep them away

at Thanksgiving or whatever.

But who are you going to
invite over at Thanksgiving?

The reality is Jesus' words should be

impacting our lives.

What are you doing with your money?

Do His words impact your life?

What are you doing with your possessions?

Do His words impact your life?

Have you ever sold anything so that

you could give to those in need?

Do His words impact your life?

Is there some way to wash feet today?

Is that impacting your life?

We should be asking ourselves.

We should not just be
going along through life

not wanting to proactively sin.

Scripture isn't just about
what we don't do.

(incomplete thought)

If you think about Matthew 25.

When Jesus gets to separating the nations,

He doesn't look to those on His right

and say guys, I am so
glad you didn't steal.

I am so glad you didn't commit adultery

with the lady down the street.

I'm so glad that you didn't...

That's not what He does.

He says I was hungry and you fed Me.

See, we need to be proactive.

Christ's commandments
are not, by and large,

what you don't do.

Yes, there is some of that undoubtedly.

But so much of His commands -

think about the commands concerning

the Gospel, the Great Commission.

You think about the commands
concerning salt and light.

What we're told is we're to do our works,

good works, before the onlooking world.

To the glory of our Father.

We're to seek first the kingdom.

We're to lay up treasure in heaven.

We're to live lives not just where

we're constantly trying to not do.

That's not the life we're called to.

It's, okay, how can I wash feet today?

Even though culturally that's not a thing.

We don't walk around in bare feet

in sandals on dusty roads.

We don't typically have
dirt floors in our house.

Our feet stay relatively clean.

But the whole idea was

that was a menial task

that a slave would have done.

And our Lord did it.

And He said I'm leaving you an example.

So, you call Me "Lord, Lord,"

do you do what I say?

I gave you instruction

that encompasses a life.

He who doesn't forsake all that He has

is not worthy of Me.

He can't be My disciple.

He who loves somebody else more than Me,

He can't be My disciple.

He who doesn't take up his cross daily

and die can't be My disciple.

I mean, are we dying?

Think about it. What's dying?

Dying isn't physical death there.

What is dying?

It could lead to that,

but dying is basically when my wants,

wishes, agendas, goals

come face to face with those

that I know that He wants from me.

That's where we die.

Where we lay down our own ambitions

and where there's a
submission to His will.

And see, so often, brethren,

so often we want mystical leadership.

We can feel like: Oh, Lord, we want You

to tell us what to do over here.

I'll tell you, if we
would concern ourselves

with the myriad of things
that He has spoken to,

and we would apply ourselves there,

we would be well on our way

to doing the will of God.

So often we want God to subjectively

lead us or point us or guide us,

and the reality is Jesus doesn't say:

get frozen, get locked up,

because you don't have some kind of

mysterious, subjective leadership.

He basically speaks
very plainly repeatedly

about His commandments,

His Word;

about what He's speaking;

about the fact He's Lord.

Why do you not do what I say?

So, the whole point of tonight is:

think about what He says.

Why do you not do them?

Okay, let's be about them.

Let's do them.

Let's proactively set ourselves

about striving to do it.

So many people like to sit back and argue.

Luke 6. What a place to say:

Oh, but I don't know what this means?

Luke 6:27, "I say to you who hear,

love your enemies,

do good to those who hate you,

bless those who curse you,

pray for those who abuse you.

To one who strikes you on the cheek,

offer the other also."

What does that mean?

Does that mean I be like the Amish

and let the people come in my house

and steal all my furniture?

Does that mean I let the people come in

and rape my wife if that's
what they want to do?

So often people get into arguments

about these things where
they're so concerned

about what they don't mean.

Why?

Because they just feel like

these things are almost absurd.

"Give to everyone who begs from you,

and from one who takes away your goods,

do not demand them back." Really?

Don't demand them back?

Somebody takes away my goods?

I shouldn't call the police on the thief?

"As you wish that others would do to you,

do so to them.

If you love those who love you,

what benefit is that to you?

For even sinners love those who love them.

If you do good to those
who do good to you,

what benefit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.

If you lend to those from
whom you expect to receive,

what credit is that to you?

Even sinners lend to sinners
to get back the same amount.

Love your enemies.

Do good and lend
expecting nothing in return.

Your reward will be great."

Oh yeah, we could spend all day long

arguing about what it doesn't mean,

what it doesn't mean,
what it doesn't mean...

You know, there's a lot of people

who want to argue about
what it doesn't mean

who don't do anything
that even resembles it.

The best thing to do is to be striving

to reach further and further and further,

and as we're willing to delve into these,

we can pray:

Father, if there are boundaries;

if there are exceptions;

if like Scripture often does
speak extremely dogmatic

when there's obviously times when

we have to apply wisdom

and other biblical principals -

(incomplete thought)

There is a time when
there are certain people

who are not willing to work,

that they shouldn't eat.

And so, if you've got a brother

who's not willing to work

and he asks - there's a time

when somebody asks for something

that you shouldn't give something

because it's actually more loving.

There is a place to let love dictate.

But usually people don't want to argue

about these things because they're

trying to figure out how to love more.

They typically want to
argue about these things

because they're stingy, covetous,

and they want excuses
for continuing to be so.

If Jesus said, "love your enemies,"

then you know what?

We as people ought to be thinking about

the people that we're persecuted most by;

that create the greatest
difficulties in our life,

and we ought to be
actively praying for them.

We ought to be actively seeking
to do good for them.

(incomplete thought)

Doesn't that reflect
what the truth is here?

Rather than getting in our debates

about what it doesn't mean.

In all these things,

we ought to hear Him,

because listen, He's Lord.

He's wise.

He's given us the things

that are going to make us like Him,

and that are going to please the Father.

He's given us the
standard of righteousness.

And so, we ought to be venturing out.

Here Thanksgiving's coming up.

The holiday's are coming up.

Listen, even in the church,

whether you want to observe Thanksgiving

or observe Christmas or observe New Years,

you know this,

it's typically a time
when people get together,

family and friends get together.

And especially, if we're to do good

especially to the household of God,

but to all people, we really
need to be thinking.

Here's a time when especially those

who are single,

it can be a real time of loneliness.

But see, a lot of you are single.

The last thing you want to do is say,

oh, woe is me.

I need other people to love me.

But you ought to be just as proactive

in figuring out how to be creative

in ways to love other people.

It can be so easy to say,

oh, well, I'm the guy or I'm the girl

that's in the position that really needs

other people to reach out to me.

You ought to be in a position

where you're seeking to
reach out to others.

That doesn't mean that other people

should not be in turn
seeking to reach out,

but there's all manner of opportunity.

Look, the truth is

that, like the Leiter's just sent me

a link to a documentary that they did

on the Dutch Underground
during World War II.

And the 120,000 or so - what's that?

(from the room) 200,000 Dutch.

It was about a hundred thousand Jews,

and then a hundred thousand
of the underground.

So it was 200,000 who were killed.

And I watched this documentary last night.

There's so much evil in this world.

There's so much hate in this world.

There's so much cruelty in this world.

And here you have Jesus telling us:

Don't lay up treasure in heaven.

Sell your possessions. Give.

Love. Love those who hate.

Do good. Bless, don't curse.

Go into this world. Be light.

Don't deny Me.

Love Me more than anything else.

Honor your parents, yes.

Endure the sword.

Endure to the end.

But you go out in this world,

and you love like I loved you.

Resemble your Father.

He's merciful to the unjust

and to the unthankful.

You go imitate that.

You imitate Him in that
in this dark world;

in this domain of Satan out here.

You go out and be light.

You go out and take the Gospel.

You go out and reach the nations.

Last thing we want to do

is hide that candlestick
under a bushel basket.

Our time is short.

We are the light. We are the salt.

There's nobody else that is.

There's nobody else that has

the transformed hearts.

There's nobody else that has Christ

being inscribed into the very nature

and fabric of their being than us.

There's nobody else who calls Him Lord,

and then follows what He does

and what He says, but us.

There's nobody else who's
empowered to do that;

empowered by His Spirit to do that but us.

And He expects us

not to shrug off His words.

He expects us to take His words

as the most important

guiding light for our life.

That's obvious.

"Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord?'

and do not do the things I say?"

I just want to impress upon us.

Just laying our lives on the altar,

that's really what it's all about.

We use that kind of figure -

being in submission,

or being in subjection to Him.

This is what it comes down to.

Does His Word hold sway in my life?

And we should be often in the Gospels,

and we should be hearing those words.

And we should never read over them

in some careless fashion

without actually hearing them.

(incomplete thought)

Obviously, Paul is just as
much the Word of God.

All of Scripture is equally inspired.

I'm not calling out His
words in any special way

other than this:

you recognize that the epistles basically

draw off the truth that we have

in those four Gospels.

Those four Gospels are the life of Christ

set before us.

We hear from His own voice,

our Lord giving us His words.

We ought to be often there

in one of those Gospels.

We need to be hearing those words.

We need to be testing our lives by them

all the time.

Coming back.

Confessing where we fall short.

Asking for grace.

And really, being like the guy

that came to the services.

The preacher began to preach

and he got up and went out.

I mean, when we go to reading

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,

we ought to read

and there ought to be
ever increasing conformity.

And if something's not right,

it ought to stop us in our tracks

and we ought to deal with it.

Every time we're reading
in the Word of God,

we should be reading so as to see

God's glory;

to see our Lord Jesus Christ.

We should read so that we can believe.

We should read for the sake of conformity

to the standard that's
being set before us

and where my life is.

None of our lives are perfectly where

they ought to be in
conformity to this Word.

Okay, brethren.

Let's pray.

We do call you, "Lord, Lord."

And I trust that many in this room

do Your will.

Lord, we hear what You tell us.

We hear what You say.

Lord, I pray that we would
truly have ears to hear,

grace to help.

I think of the KJV rendering there

in the Song of Solomon:

Lord, draw us and we will run after Thee.

But Lord, You gave much promise.

You promised that You
wouldn't leave us orphans.

You promised You'd come to us.

Lord, I pray, help us,

convict us, give us ears to hear.

Lord, we pray that the Word

would resound in our ears,

tug at our hearts,

work in our consciences,

be ever a guide, move us,

impact us, bend us,

provoke us to greater
and greater good works.

Lord, may it be like a great gust of wind,

like a tidal surge in the water.

May it pull; may it draw;

may it move; may it be like the things

that You say: like a sword,

like a hammer,

living.

Lord, I pray that it would be

like the thunder

and like a still, small voice.

But however it comes,

that Lord, it would sway us.

It would cause reaction.

It would cause conformity.

Lord, we pray that we
would see this increasingly.

I pray in Christ's name,

Amen.