WWUTT 2332 Why Do You Call Him Lord (Luke 6:46-47)

Jesus asked a very pointed question of his disciples, why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you? Hear the Spirit asking that same question of us now when we understand the text.

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe.

Thank you Becky. In our study of the Sermon on the Plain we're in Luke chapter 6, Jesus teaching his disciples and we have just a small bit to finish up of this sermon between today and tomorrow. These last few verses I'll read here verses 46 to 49.

Hear the word of the Lord. Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you? 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 his 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 his house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it immediately it fell and the ruin of that house was great.

Now we see the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 7 finish the same way. After Jesus goes through three chapters there Matthew 5, 6 and 7 with that great sermon at the conclusion he gives that parable about building your house on either the sand or on the rock.

We have the same sort of thing here at the end of the Sermon on the Plain. A little bit shorter sermon but Jesus concludes the same way. He finishes by saying Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you?

Now we have that same sort of thing in Matthew 7 but it's a little bit more expansive if you'll remember that. That many on that day will say to me Lord, Lord did we not do all these many mighty works in your name and I will say to them depart from me you workers of iniquity I never knew you.

And of course you have the illustration too of the narrow gate and the broad way which many many will take and lead to their destruction. And then at the conclusion Jesus gives that illustration of the wise man and the foolish man.

The one who builds his house on the rock versus the man who builds his house on the sand. So those two sections there in Matthew 7 are condensed here. Jesus makes the statement in verse 46 Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you?

Now remember as Jesus is delivering this sermon there are there's a multitude of people there. It's not just his disciples though that is who he is mainly talking to but the crowds are there as well. Many are there to see a miracle or hear some kind of wise teaching but it's to his disciples these things have been said.

Back in verse 20 he lifted up his eyes on his disciples and said blessed are you who are poor for yours is the kingdom of God. To his disciples, to those who hear because that's what disciple means. It means learner.

They are learning from the Savior. The rest of the crowds there are not learning from Jesus. His disciples are. So when he gives those beatitudes blessed are you, he's speaking specifically to those who hear and do.

And so therefore you have in verse 47 everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them. Here's what he is like. So it's a description of his true disciples. Not just the crowds, not just anybody who's come to him and has wanted to hear some teaching but the one who truly hears and truly does.

Remember even among the disciples there's one who doesn't hear and do. And I'm talking specifically about the 12. So who is it from among the 12 who is hearing but he doesn't do? That's Judas. Now many others are present that are hearing and not doing.

And so Jesus says he begins this portion as we come to the close of the Sermon on the Plain asking why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you. Now that although this is shorter than what Jesus lays out in Matthew chapter 7.

That section is three verses 21 22 and 23. Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of God but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. He says something very similar there and even though he goes on there and it's a harsh passage one of the harshest passages that we read in all of the Gospels.

One of the most challenging one of the most convicting that we would examine our hearts to see that we truly follow the Lord lest we end up before him on that day of judgment and he says to us I never knew you depart from me you worker of lawlessness.

So even though he says more there in Matthew 7 this is a lot more direct here in Luke 6 46. Because you can't really tell who he's talking to specifically doesn't seem like he's addressing the crowds.

If he's been talking to his disciples as said back in verse 20 then it's to his very disciples that he says why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you. That's an even more direct challenge than what we have in Matthew 7 21 where it's really more general not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven and here it's why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you.

A lot more convicting confrontation there. I'm sure you've been in church before and you've listened to the preacher and the preacher has said something you feel like the preacher's talking right at you pointing the finger at you and saying you know whatever it is that's convicting in the sermon that day maybe you've even gone up to the preacher afterward and you've said were you talking to me.

I would have people that would do that with me after I would preach a particularly direct sermon one full of all kinds of exhortation calls to repentance things like that and somebody would come up to me afterward after church and say were you talking to me were you talking directly to me.

I had this happen actually with a young man it just became very antagonistic toward me I don't know why but he he just decided that about every sermon that I was putting together I was underhandedly sneaking things in there that were talking about him and he got to a point where he confronted me with another guy because he decided you know as said in first timothy do not bring a charge against an elder except by the evidence of two or three witnesses so for him that meant I need to take somebody else along with me to confront the elders saying things in the sermon that are directed at me so he would come with another friend and he would approach me and he would say and now that stuff this thing this line that you said here in the sermon here was that directed at me and he's got a friend with.

I don't know if he had the friend with him to intimidate me I don't even know what the point of that was supposed to be. He thought that was with two or three witnesses for whatever reason even though the witness has no context to be able to say whatever it was I said in the sermon was directed specifically at him.

Now I would I was young at that particular time younger than I am now more than 10 years ago. I guess it was about 10 years ago and so I tried to back off and would say you know I was not thinking about you.

This was not hey what can I say about you in the sermon this Sunday and would you know write those things into the sermon that wasn't what I was thinking about as I was writing this out. So it was it was annoying it was annoying that he would come and he would make that kind of confrontation but then I would back off of it.

I wanted him to be convicted over what I said. I did want him to be convicted over it. It wasn't that I'm writing you into the sermon but if you're convicted over something that I said I also don't want to like soften the blow that you obviously feel because of something that I said in the sermon.

So as immature as I was at that time I'm I'm trying to kind of pull back because I don't want the accusation of yes I was maliciously sticking you into the sermon and calling you out from the pulpit. I won't say that I haven't done that before.

You know I've absolutely had something in mind so a particular person in mind when I was preaching something in a specific sermon it wasn't that I was like attacking the person it just had to do with the text that we were looking at that particular week.

And that person happens to go through whatever it was we were reading in the text. So I have thought about those things. But I can't ever think of a time where I was maliciously fitting those things into the text as if I was trying to come after a person.

I'm gonna use my bully pulpit to come after somebody. So with this guy again I'm I'm kind of trying to pull back and still in my mind thinking I want you to be convicted over this but you're making a false accusation here and I don't want to be guilty of the false accusation.

So instead I'm pulling back. My reaction to those things now is different than what it was. So I might have been willing to qualify the statement back then. No it was not about you. But if you are convicted about it then you need to think about that.

You need to think about such things now I'll just straight-up say it. So now if somebody comes to me was that about me. Yeah it was yeah. I was speaking exactly about you. Now how do you feel about that.

You are convicted about it. And you need to know it was about you whether or not I had your name in mind or your particular situation or circumstance in mind. I'm not gonna sit here and take away the conviction that you're feeling because of what the spirit said through the text not because of what I said directed at you.

You heard this preached. You're feeling convicted. You need to go home and think about that. And then later if you want to come back and talk to me about it then we can talk about it. But I'm not. I'm not gonna take away what the spirit is obviously doing in a person's heart to convict them and bring them to an understanding of their sin an understanding of the truth of the direction that they need to go.

And so Jesus here seems to very pointedly be saying this even to his own disciples. Now it's not the only place that he does something like this. Remember in the Sermon on the Mount he had said in Matthew 7 11.

If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him. So right there he calls his own disciples evil.

You're evil. And even with evil hearts you know how to give good things to your children. God has a good heart and does he not know how to give good things to his children. Does he not want to give good things to his children.

So Jesus has made pointed statements like that to his disciples many times. And we've seen other occasions where he's exasperated fed up with his disciples because they're not listening or they misunderstood or they're straight-up disobeying.

Or Peter just lies just says I will never I will never leave you. Even if they should all fall away. I will never fall away. And then what does he do. Just a matter of hours later that's exactly what Peter does.

Even denies Jesus three times denies that he even knew him. And yet Jesus is patient with them all. And it's still this group of men that he had called specifically to himself he sends out into the world to fulfill the Great Commission.

They become the first preachers of the gospel the first church planters of whom Jesus said I will build my church. And the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And so they didn't. The gates of hell did not prevail against the mission that those disciples went out and did for the cause of Christ as he directed them to do.

Jesus will say pointed things even to his own disciples. And so we have such a statement that is being made here. Well of course the most pointed statement I guess was Jesus saying to Peter get behind me Satan isn't it.

It was it was anything more direct than that one. So he says here why do you call me Lord Lord and not do what I tell you. And that is as direct a statement as we need to be hearing coming from the Savior himself.

We also need to hear him say to each and every one of us why do you call me Lord and not do what I tell you to do. How many times have you failed to follow the instruction of Christ. And you've gone your own way.

I've talked about this. I can't remember if I talked about on the podcast. I know I mentioned in the sermon on Sunday which you'll hear on the podcast this coming Sunday. But how many times have I fallen into sin.

And I feel like a complete hypocrite because I didn't hate my sin enough that I ended up I ended up doing it. You know I've even fallen into sin before where I feel myself going that direction. The temptation is there and I feel myself going that way.

And I'm thinking of myself in my head don't do it. Gabe you know it's in you know you're going the wrong way. And I do it anyway. Sometimes it's just getting mad. Might even be getting mad while I'm driving.

But I can feel it before I get mad. I feel the tug on my conscience saying there's no reason to get mad here there's no reason to lose it. And then I do anyway and nobody sees me do anything. I'm not making any gestures at anyone but I I lose it and the privacy of my own automobile.

I'm getting mad because traffic lights and cars in front of me are not going as I need them to so that I can get to my destination on time. Even things like this getting frustrated with stuff like this.

I feel it welling up and I know that I should not lose control. And then I do anyway. And then I feel guilty even though nobody heard me do it. I'm just right there by myself but I but it's the fact that I got so angry at a circumstance that I cannot control that I'm realizing I'm not trusting God.

I'm not giving thanks to him. I'm mad and displeased like Jonah not seeing Nineveh get consumed. It's not like I'm wanting everybody around me to get to get consumed under the wrath and judgment of God.

But Jonah gets mad about the vine. Remember the vine that God caused to grow up around him to provide him shade while he's sitting there sulking. And then God causes a worm to eat into that vine and it withers away.

And now Jonah so mad about the withering of the vine that he wishes he was dead. I've not gotten that mad before to the point that I wish I had I was just dead. But it's been that silly. Sometimes the things I get mad about will just be that silly.

And why. Why am I getting so mad. Why am I distrusting God. Why am I losing my emotions. Why do I lack such self-control. And I and I feel the warnings of my own conscience coming even before I do the sin.

Even before I get closer to the sin. It could be something else could be greed it could be jealousy over someone else. It's even been a matter of lust before. And I feel the sin coming. I feel the temptation there the sin coming.

And I've got the conscience speaking don't do it don't do it. And then I do it anyway. And I feel so hypocritical for not hating my sin enough that I end up crossing the line. Or even that I did not love Jesus enough.

I felt like I needed sin in that moment. And it's for moments like that that the Savior would say even to me why do you call me Lord Lord and not do what I tell you. It is a convicting enough question.

And it's a question that all of us need to ponder. All of us need to think about. If we call him Lord shouldn't we be doing what he says in John 14 15. Jesus says to his disciples you will show me that you love me when you obey my commandments.

And if I love God then I'm gonna obey his word. Now praise God whenever I I do sin that I have an advocate before the father. I'm not losing my salvation. Jesus is still speaking favorably of me on my behalf before God has said in first John 2 1.

Little children I've written these things to you that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin he has an advocate before the father Jesus Christ the righteous one. I'm not righteous. I do not have a good enough standing to go and stand before God and try to plead my case.

I can't even go before God and beg him not to destroy me. I'm not even worthy enough to go in front of him and beg. But Jesus is there on my behalf speaking favorably of me before his father. Even though when there's nothing favorable about me Jesus is speaking in my favor before God.

So yeah I've disobeyed. I've gone after my own sin. I've fallen time and time again. Why do I call him Lord. And I don't do what he says. That's convicting for me. That's where I need to come back to the Lord and be forgiven my sins cleansed of all unrighteousness first.

John 1 9 talks about that. But thankfully I haven't lost my standing with God because the one standing with God is the righteous one is Jesus who has reconciled me to the father and brought me into the kingdom of God by his blood.

And now him being my Lord him being my Savior my King my God shouldn't I desire to want to do whatever he asks of me. He's given way more than I am ever gonna give back to him. I could have all eternity.

And I will never even I will never even be able to give a fraction of what it is that he has given for me his own life. God himself leaving his throne in heaven taking on flesh living a perfect life on my behalf dying in my place rising again for my justification so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Jesus did this for me. So what's a simple thing it should be. What a much smaller thing it should be anyway for me to do what he says. I've been purchased by his blood. I belong to him. So if I call him Lord I should show it by doing what my Lord says.

And so my friends let it be said of each and every one of us. If we call him Lord do what he says. Everyone who comes to me and hears my words Jesus said in verse 47. I will show you what he is like. He's like a man who built his house on the firm foundation on the rock.

That's the illustration we're gonna come back to tomorrow. Heavenly Father as we as we finish this up I pray it's something we're we're truly thinking about and meditating upon. Why do we call you God.

Why do we call you Lord. Do we mean it when we call you Savior that you have saved us. And we belong to you. Do we mean it when we say that we love you. How do we show this. How do we demonstrate it. How do we.

How do we show you are our Lord. And we believe you are Lord. Because we will do what you ask us to do just as Jesus said to his disciples. You'll show me you love me if you obey my commandments. Let that be the demonstration of our love for God because you have loved us and sent your son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Therefore let us demonstrate the righteousness of Christ that we've been given by obeying what it is that Jesus has asked us to do. Living in obedience to God loving God and loving one another. And doing so to the praise of your glorious grace it's in Jesus name.

We.

Pray amen. Pastor Gabe keeps a regular blog sharing personal thoughts alerting readers to false teachers and offering commentary on the church and social issues. You can find a link to the blog through our website www .tt .com.

Thank you for listening and join us again tomorrow as we continue our study in God's Word when we understand the text.