Listening well to build better

Let's go to the message and close the Sermon on the Mount series. How many have taken advantage of this message, to be able to understand what Jesus asks of us? Not only what Jesus asks of us but rather He being able to communicate what the values of the Kingdom of God are, how those of us who are identified as disciples of Jesus should live, the Sermon on the Mount talks about precisely that, talks about what are the characteristics that a true son, a daughter of the Lord must have, and how we must live in light of those principles that He has communicated.

I started this series on April 25. Do you remember when I started talking about the two foundations, or the two builders who built on two foundations? Do you remember that we said that this word was the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount? And today I would like to return once again to that point from where I started, if I have gone all this way to return once more to that point from which I started, I have titled this message today, let's listen well to build better, that is the title from today.

Where did we stay last Wednesday, do you remember? Seek first the Kingdom of God and his justice and all other things will be added to you, how many live by those principles? How many can say that day after day, hour after hour, that is one of the things that defines all your behavior? If you can't say amen, that's fine, no problem, and I'm not going to blame you, because I know it's hard to live every day in light of that principle. There are times when we live like, aha, I know that God wants me to seek the Kingdom of God first but right now I need to look for milk in the grocery store, and those immediate needs are the first that come to mind, and they are almost always the ones that take much of our attention.

But the important thing, my brothers, is that in the depths of our being, in the depths of our hearts, that is where this principle is truly measured, in everything we do from the time the sun rises until it goes to bed once more, that everything we do what we are looking for is that God's purposes can be fulfilled in the midst of our lives and that we can live in light of those principles, of those desires of God's heart.

Now look how interesting, we had finished in chapter 6, verse 34 that says "Do not worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow there will be time to worry, each day is enough for its own concern." We had finished reading that. And look how chapter 7 begins: "Do not judge so that you will not be judged", what connection does this have with chapter 6 that we just read? I mean, in chapter 6 we were talking about not worrying, don't worry about what you're going to eat, what you're going to wear, or whether you're going to stretch another inch or two, don't worry about it, don't worry Therefore, because God is the one who provides all your needs, but then Jesus continues to say, now after having told you that, be careful that you do not judge others.

Why do you think Jesus was saying that? Today I began to think and meditate and he told me ok Jesus, what is the idea with which You say this? that you not be judged, because with the judgment with which you judge you will be judged and with the measure with which you measure they will measure you also. Why do you see the straw that is in your brother's eye and you do not see the cement beam that is in your eye? That part of cement was added by me. Or how are you going to tell your brother, look, let me take out that little hair that you have in your eye and here is that cement beam in yours.

Hypocrite, first remove the beam that is in your eye so that then you can see clearly and remove that straw that is in your brother's eye, listen, it is not for nothing but I think that Jesus was having a little sense of humor when he was saying that part there, I have to give it to him there, he was communicating a message, a truth, but I think he did it with a humorous tone. Because the point is that He was saying that, look, I know that in your eagerness to live daily, that eagerness for some reason or another will always cause you to be looking at what the other person has that you do not have, and When you are doing this, you are going to be judging that person based on what they have that you do not have, and in this way you are going to proceed with that other person, and just as you proceed with that person, that person will also proceed with you.

So this idea of what he is saying is not to judge, it is not that he is saying that you make a judgment of whether he did something right or something wrong, but rather to be careful that in your eagerness for your daily life you do not you are going to be judging other people for what you have or do not have. I also remember that last Sunday I was saying wow, how much I would like to have a family like so-and-so, and then we start to want what others have and we don't value what we have in our nest. And by doing that we strive for this idea that is already far from our reality, taking away and subtracting energy from what we have here, when what God really wants is for us to seek his Kingdom, here where He has us, where He has us. put, to see the blessing of God in the midst of that nucleus of people that He put to us.

It also happens with the pastors, oh, in this Church the pastors are very busy and I have to wait three months for them to give me an appointment, I'd better go to the Church on the corner than when I get there I'm sure the Pastor will go to receive without any problem. It may happen, as it may also take 3 months for that other Pastor to take care of him, or more, or less, or it may be that the advice they give him there will be different from the one they give him here, because here we treat it better, we treat it like family, perhaps they don't know you that much there and one can manipulate the story in such a way that they give you the advice that you want to hear.

But here as we know you well, (laughs), here as we know you well we are going to give you the medicine that you need, even if it is a little bitter but we are going to give it to you, because we know that in the end it will do you good, we hope so be it, Lord please help us.

But the issue is that my brothers, another of the characteristics of a person who is not there labeling everyone, oh look at that or that, or the other, and is not truly paying attention to what he has in himself , and how God is providing what he has in his life, look what he says: "If you are in need of something, ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock on the door" and what will happen? they are going to close it in your face, no, they are going to open the door for you, look at the logistics of Jesus, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and his justice, and all other things will be added to you", here Jesus follows you emphasizing the same idea, search, ask for what you need and you will find what you are looking for, they will not leave you hanging by a thread, if not you will find what you are looking for.

Look at the reference that Jesus makes: "What man is there of you who if his son asks for bread is going to give him a piece of stone, or if he asks for a fish is he going to give him a snake? In other words, being imperfect, we know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more is God, who is perfect, going to give us the things we need? No matter the context of life in which we find ourselves, in sadness or joy, in loss or gain, the Lord knows how to give us what we need.

So all the things you want men to do with you so you must do with them too. Ok, how do these two ideas connect? Do you wonder? Easy, if he is saying not to judge others, then he is already telling you there, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, if you do not want them to judge you then do not judge other people If there is something you want, ask, search, and the door will open for you, if you see that another person needs something, do for them what you would like them to do for you, help that person to find something , also. And this is not easy my brothers, remember that Jesus is saying this within a context where He has already challenged us to learn to love those who we cannot love easily, and it is usually those people that we have to treat ourselves to. them the way we would like to be treated.

Obviously here there is an aspect of courtesy that one shows to people, I want them to treat me with respect and courtesy, so I am going to seek to treat other people like this, that is the golden rule, but many times The reality is that even if you treat a person with respect and courtesy, the other side will not treat you the same, because that other person may not have learned what it means to treat someone with courtesy, with respect, with love, so It will be up to you that you, with your actions, with your courtesy, with your respect, teach that person what it means to treat someone with respect, with courtesy and with love.

Hey, I don't know about you, but it echoes big in my head, and I hope it's doing it with you too. I think that a rhetorical question that I can ask now is how do you think you treat your neighbor, how do you behave with the people around you? Are you one of those who always leads with an accusing finger saying, oh look, that happened to you, that cancer that got you was due to the years that you made life impossible for your husband, your wife? That money that you have there in the account is because you went to the bars and you spent it all on liquor, we quickly start judging people, although there may be some truth in what you are saying but hey, it is not up to you to judge to a person for that. Let God do it, let God take care of it, not you.

Now look at this, to conclude this message Jesus draws two illustrations. There are two paths, two kinds of outputs, two kinds of declarations, and two kinds of constructors. This is how Jesus ends his sermon. Two paths, two fruits, two declarations, two builders. Who are these? The two paths, Jesus begins by saying enter through the narrow gate, because broad is the path and spacious the path that leads to destruction and many enter through it, but narrow is the gate and narrow the path that leads to life, and few They are the ones who find it. Two paths.

Now, I do not believe that Jesus is trying to make things sound too difficult, but there are two aspects of life here, and that my brothers, that one learns to appreciate more what is hard to earn than what you can easily earn and What a puff, you don't give it the value it deserves. I don't know if that has happened to you, I imagine it has, that you are here for a long time, an example, you want to buy a computer or something, and you were there wow, I want the computer, I want the computer, and then when it has it, after a week or a month, it's like the air I had with the computer is like the computer is there, I already have it, let me look for something else. Heh, now I have the Ipad, and I'm going to look for the Ipad now.

But, but, when you come across something that is a little more difficult to achieve, if I give you an example, you fight for your son or your daughter, and those children who are like that, we are going to speak in Spanish which is how everyone understands, those children who are half-headed, that you are there fighting with them and they keep falling into the same banana peel, and you go on and on, and fight so that they graduate from high school, and can at least get a degree that allows them to get a profession, and that they can get married and start a family on their own, and you suffered there, you have wrinkles, warts, gray hair that you didn't have, they came out because of those boys, in the end when you see those guys come true you say wow, it was worth it, and you value this whole process no matter how painful it was, you value it and there is no one who can take it away from you, that does not go out of style in any way, that does not go fashion, the material yes, a new watch well I bought it I bought it and I already have it there, there are times that I even leave it collecting dust.

Sometimes it even happens to us with the Bible, oh I want that Bible, and then you buy it, and it is on your table, collecting dust and you never use it again. Oh, I wanted it because it's the same one that the Pastor has, yes, you got that trophy, you have it on display, collecting dust, but when we're talking about things that have more value, and that's what Jesus is talking about here, that door is a door narrow that points towards a path of eternity, that has an endless value, a long, difficult path, but what is achieved in the end as it says here is eternal life, the rest is temporary and almost everyone goes for the easiest. Remember that we live in a society where almost everything is to enter the card, you put the PIN, the money comes out and you follow it, but with God it is not necessarily so, with God wow, they do a study of your credit history and they go with you step by step, step by step until you reach eternal life.

The two fruits, second example, the two fruits, says Jesus: "You will know them by their fruits. Do you gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? Thus every good tree bears good fruit, but every bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire, so that you will know them by their fruit." What kind of fruit are we producing? Are we producing good fruit or are we producing bad, bitter fruit that is not in line with everything Jesus is saying? And for the record, this is not affirming that one has to live by actions, that one has to earn salvation, that is not what Jesus is saying, but what Jesus is saying is that if you say you call yourself a son, a daughter of God, your life has to reflect what it is to be a son, a daughter of God.

You can fool me here in the Church, but you can't fool God. Look how verse 21 says: "You can come here and say ah Lord Lord" but not necessarily because you say Lord Lord means that you are going to enter the Kingdom of heaven, but what Jesus is saying is that he who does the will of Jesus that yes will enter. There are these two statements, the third illustration of Jesus, two statements, Lord Lord from the lips outward, versus saying that and doing the will of God, that my life, that my fruit reflect that I am living for the Lord and that I am looking for his will to be fulfilled in my life.

Do you see how these ideas are combined to bring these ideas to an end, and then tell us all there are two types of builders? "And he who hears my words will be like that builder who built his house on the stone, the storms of life came and his house remained" but if you hear the words that I say and you do not do them, if you seek to do not the will of God and you are only living from your mouth to the outside and you are saying Lord Lord and nothing else, then I am going to compare you to a builder who built his house in the sand, and when the circumstances of life arrived, his house fell apart. it went under.

Listening well to build better. That is the idea of everything that Jesus is wanting to say through all this message. Jesus knew that he shared many things in each of those words, but in the end what he is saying is if you hear even one of these words and put them into practice, your life will be fine. Look my brothers, I am going to share a secret and with this we finish. We all need the trials of life. Nobody, none of us can go through life without tests, we need the tests that life brings, because only in this way will the type of quality of the foundation on which we have made our lives be validated, only in this way are the tests of life the ones that will know if your faith is solid or not, the tests of life are the ones that will truly verify if what you say with your mouth is truly there in your heart.

And not that when situations come you cower and back down, but that whatever the situation, you can always raise your eyes and say that my help is coming from you, and I'm going to cling to you, in you I I will trust, because my strength comes from you, even if my father leaves me, even if my mother leaves me, even if my girlfriend leaves me, even if my husband or wife leaves me, even if my boss leaves me jobless, even if the train leaves me. I left in the corner I'm going to hold on to you Lord. Those are the ones who can truly say, yes, I have heard, I have listened to Your Word and I have decided to live, I have decided to do what You command, what You ask of me. Those are the true disciples of the Lord, those who put their hand to the plow and do not look back but look forward, there is the proof.

You know my brothers, this message does not have a condemnatory cut, to make you feel like that but ah, if I read again from chapter 5 to 7 I will realize that perhaps I have failed in many of those things that Jesus says that it is something that I have always communicated, we are all in the process, some are ahead of others, others are slower than others, or faster than others, but the point is that we are all in the same race, and the idea is that Jesus is there to support us along the way, He has water stations, He has oases every mile to make sure that you can stay well hydrated along the way, so that you can get to the goal He has for you.

Many times these oases come when you least expect it. Being a Pastor, he administered it to me in a way that I did not expect, I didn't even get here and it's like one more Sunday, here, do you want one more Sunday? Look what I have for you. And I am glad that this has happened because it confirms something in the heart, it confirms prayers that one is making, before the Lord, and it may be that these are the most beautiful oases, the most beautiful that the Lord brings along the way. In addition to those others that are already marked there, you know that you can get there at any time and you will find the water you need to move on.

But all this comes my brothers when we manage to build our lives only on the foundation that is Christ. These are words that He spoke thousands of years ago, but they are words that are still effective today, they are words that are still relevant to our nature today. Check it out, don't all the things we've talked about make sense to you today? Doesn't it make sense to you today what it means to live in love and harmony with other people around us? In being able to discover that mystery that when one first seeks the things of God it is like suddenly everything else falls into order and everything falls into place, at God's precise time? Everything is falling into place, and one is seeing how one's life is growing, one is seeing how wow, You took me Lord from that hole in which I was, look at me where I am now, I thought that I was a vineyard like that all malnourished, that was not going to bear any kind of fruit, and look now, not only am I seeing fruit but also that others are benefiting from that fruit as well, and that is something that only God makes possible.

One can look and say look Lord, I have not yet seen X, Y thing come true, but I am confident that You are going to take care of doing it, and that You are going to help me to be able to continue walking along that path. which You have drawn for me. And look, one looks at oneself and says I have a cut here, I have another cut here, I'm dirty here, the stains on the road, but we get up like that, clean ourselves, a bandage, iodine to stop the blood, and we go on. That is all possible with God, when our foundation is in Him. I encourage you my brother, I encourage you my sister tonight, there will be times when I can throw parties, towns and castles and they won't smell you the lilies, just as the lilies will not smell to me and you will be in towns and Castillas, but with you and me, whatever the situation, the Lord is there, He is there, teaching you the path by which you should walk. Let's stand up my brothers and let's pray.

Father, I thank you once again for the opportunity that you grant us to be able to reflect on this last part that you shared so many years ago, however it continues to be so relevant today, and Jesus I recognize once again that many of these words are very difficult to live in light of them today, there are so many things that can pull our attention in different directions, but we believe and trust Lord that when we focus on you, when we seek your Kingdom, that Your Will be done here on earth as it is in heaven, we can see that You become that provider of bread at all times, in that necessary portion for each day, we can see that You are that sustenance that lifts us up, encourages us to move forward, we can see how You are putting different relationships around us, you are putting them in harmony, in peace.

We can see how You are adding or taking away, we can see how our way of thinking is changing from a totally selfish to a totally generous one. We can see how our personal ambitions to leave an origin of mere whim, is turning into the whim of being able to satisfy You, and to bring a smile to Your face. Jesus be with us, I ask that these words continue to affirm our hearts, continue to bring conviction to our lives, my God, so that in every step that we take, Lord, that it be You directing us, that it be You convicting us and teaching us the type of man or woman that You want us to be, and that we can see you Lord working in our lives in a way that nothing and no one can contradict it, if we do not recognize that You are the King, the Lord of our lives, and that in you we find victory and power.

Bless your sons and daughters tonight, Lord, as we leave here and arrive at our homes, take us well and with Your protection, grant us a deep, restful sleep tonight, Lord, and tomorrow if You allow it. we can get up with new strength and energy to face what tomorrow brings, we thank you Jesus, amen and amen. God bless you my brothers, sisters, greet each other, we will see you next Sunday, blessings.