Listen to Him

Pastor Stan Mons

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Sermon Transcription:

I have a word from the Lord for you this morning titled Listen to Him. Listen to Him. And I want to talk to you about, really, the power of God's word. But there's a purpose to the power of God's word in our life. And what Jesus would like to see in your life this morning—in my life—Jesus would like to see your life built up, not just on this side of eternity, but for all of eternity. He wants to see your life built up. The Father tells us that He wants us—He wants you—to listen to Jesus. Let me read to you Luke 9:35: A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him.” A cry from heaven that makes known God's will for your life.

If you've been struggling with that—What is God's will for my life?—He explains it in His word. This is not the only place that He explains it, but this is one of the places. He wants you and I to listen to Jesus. He wants you and I to give our attention to Jesus. Absolutely. But this word listening is a word that we don't really have in English. When you look in the original text, it is listening, but it is also actively obeying. As a child that needs to listen to their parents when they say something, it is a double-active word. It is an intellectual, if you will, listening—a hearing, giving your attention to what the Lord is speaking into your life through the Word, possibly at times through His Holy Spirit in prayer, sometimes through using another believer.

A listening—understanding the words—but then an instant yielding and saying, "Okay, I'm going to listen. I'm going to be a doer of the word that I have heard." That is what the Father says: Listen to Him. I sent my Son. He has something to do in this earth. He has something to share in this earth. Listen to Him. Follow after Him. Hear Him. The Word says it again. When Jesus is transfigured on the mountain, the Father is speaking in: Hear Him. Listen to Him.There's this desire on the heart of the Father that you and I would listen to Jesus. And it's clearly not automatically just going to happen. The miraculous Son of God comes into the world, has things to share, has accomplished things, and clearly it's not automatic that everybody's going to be impressed. And listen—God cries out from heaven: Listen to Him. Listen to Jesus.

Who is this Jesus? John 1:1 tells us very clearly: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Jesus is the Word of God. What does that mean? Jesus is the vehicle of everything the Father wanted to bring into this world—to you and I—for our salvation, for our life, for our godliness, for every aspect that will ever pertain to your life. God the Father sent everything He wanted to send you only through one way: through Jesus Christ. He was the Word. He was what the Father sent into this world for you and I. And He says, "Listen to Jesus. Listen to what I sent for you. Listen to who I sent for you. Listen to what He came to do." Jesus is the Word. What do we learn? The Father wants you to listen to Jesus. But you cannot do that without listening to the Word. You cannot listen to Jesus and not listen to the Bible. You cannot actively listen and follow and do the Word—you cannot listen to Jesus. You cannot be a listener of Jesus and not know what your Bible says.

You cannot be a listener to Jesus and not listen to the things that the Scriptures have already told you. Because God explains: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And the Word came into this world, and His own did not receive Him. Other translations say, “His own did not recognize Him.” Jesus made every single one of us. It says it later in John chapter 1: everything was made through Him. Nothing was made without Him. He made every single one of the people that would reject Him when He was born in the stable in Bethlehem and came into this world. And the Bible tells us that His own did not receive Him, did not recognize Him. And we have the Father crying out: Recognize Him. Hear Him. Listen to Him. You cannot listen to Jesus without listening to the Word. And remember, God wants to build your life—not just to give you some kind of a great, nice life here on earth. That’s not what God seeks to do. God doesn’t care as much about your happiness on earth as He cares about your happiness for eternity. That is far more important to Him.

Here's what the Apostle Paul was seeking to explain as well when he was talking about this concept of your life having to be built on that Word of God: Hear Him. 1 Corinthians 3:10 — According to the grace of God which was given to me (Paul speaking), as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. Every single one of our lives, multiple times throughout the Word of God, we are likened to trees that grow. We are likened to buildings that are supposed to grow and be built up into the final design of the Architect of our life. Paul explains it. But he begins to talk about the example of the foundation that needs to be under that building that each and every single one of us is building. Jesus, later on in this service we’ll see, uses the same example. But Paul says it as well. He says, “There is no other foundation anyone can lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

So not only is He the Word, He’s also the foundation that God wants to bring into your life—that you can build on top of that Word, to build on God’s Word, to build your life on Jesus Christ. The Father says, “Hear Him. Listen to Him.” No one can lay another foundation, Paul says, but each builds. Let him take heed. Let him pay very close attention. Let him take seriously how and what he’s going to build on top of that foundation. Now, you need a foundation in order to build a decent building. And laying that solid foundation happens when you begin in your life—you begin to build for the first time on what Jesus says. When you first begin to build your life on Jesus Christ, when you first say, “I cannot do anything in this life. I cannot build this life—let alone anything for after my death. Nothing will work unless I first wholeheartedly come to Jesus Christ. And all I have is Him. And whatever comes next, He is going to have to be the foundation for everything I do, everything I am. I cannot live without having Jesus in my life. I can live without everything, and I can live without everyone else. But I cannot live without Jesus. I cannot build without Jesus. I cannot die without Jesus.”

Here is what Jesus says: John 14:2 — “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Now, that’s what Jesus has spoken over every sinner that has ever lived. And the Father is echoing, if you will, in the background: Hear Him. Listen to Him. I have sent the Redeemer. I have sent your salvation. I have sent the One that has already paid for your sins, already made a way, is already preparing a place for you so that your life is not only built on earth, but it is built in eternity. And you will have a foundation that cannot be shaken. Hear Him. Listen to Him. You are being on Jesus’ mind as He is preparing a place just for you—to have a place to come home to in heaven, eventually, on the new earth where no one says, “Oh, I didn’t know you were coming. Let me get a room ready.” Jesus Himself, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, still seeks to serve you. Even though He is glorified in all of His majesty, John himself, as he received the revelation of Christ, could not stand, could not look at Him, but fell—the Word said—at His feet as dead. Dead.

Jesus, in all of His majesty, is serving you, getting a place ready for you because He loves you. He paid for your sins, and He is calling out unto you by His Holy Spirit today: “Listen to Me,” as the Father said, “Hear Him. Listen to Him.” He’s preparing a place for you. Do you believe with all of your heart? Do you listen with all of your heart to the Son of God who says, “I have paid for you. I have loved you. I’m going to send My Spirit to you. And right now, I’m working for you. I’m preparing a place for you. I’m making sure that everything is going to be ready for you by the time that you come home. I am preparing for you.” Is your heart listening daily to what Jesus is doing for you? Is your heart open daily to listen to the truth of what your situation is really like? When your heart listens—and when your heart daily can see that Jesus is thinking about you, in awe of His glory and majesty—that He is preparing for you to come home, that He cares so much about the day that you come home to Him, that He is getting ready for you... If your heart—if the eyes of your heart—can see it, there’s not a trouble in this world that will ever look sizable to you. There’s not a challenge in this life that will ever cause you to panic or worry or be torn down or cause you to give up. Is your heart listening to what Jesus really said over your life?

Church, don’t listen to other voices—not of people, not of demons, not of the devil, not of your family. It doesn’t matter what other voices there are. You cannot build your life on other voices than on the Word of God. You cannot build your life and build a good life here—an eternally complete life. You cannot do it if you’re building on the words that are coming from other places than the One who says, “My word endures forever. My word cannot be shaken.” He has given you a foundation that can carry your life. He has given you a foundation that can carry your eternal life. He has given you a foundation that can handle what is coming your way in this life—the difficulty, the pain, sometimes unexpected tragedy. He’s given you a foundation that can handle it. But you can never build your life on other voices.

You can take counsel with other voices. You can seek some wisdom with other voices—but only with a heart’s attitude that says, “I’m looking to hear from Jesus through this person,” or “I’m looking to understand the Scriptures through this person.” The highest priority always has to be: “I’m looking here for Jesus. I’m looking for what Jesus wants. I’m looking to understand who Jesus is more every day. I’m looking to see what He is leading me into today.” And sometimes He’s going to do it through another person. Sometimes He’s going to do it through His Word as you open it at home. Sometimes He’s going to remind you of a Scripture as the Holy Spirit whispers it into your heart or brings back up a song in your heart. But in every case, it has to be a heart that says, “I’m looking for Jesus.”

When you’re looking for Jesus, when your heart is looking for the Word—remember, He is the Word—when your heart is hungry after the Word of God, what God gives from heave. When your heart is hungry for the Word, it is safe to go to church. I’m telling you now: if your heart is not looking for Jesus, church is a dangerous place. You can start to worship worship. You can start to worship spiritual family. You can start to worship all kinds of things—your pastor, whoever it may be or whatever it may be. Any place can become a place of idolatry when your heart is looking for other things or other voices, other persons than Jesus Christ. There has to come a moment in your life where you answer the Father’s call as He cries over your life:

“Listen to Him. I’ve chosen Him. I’ve sent Him. There is no other name under heaven through whom all men must be saved. Hear Him. Listen to Him.” Our heart needs to be completely turned to Jesus Christ.

Maybe you say this morning, Pastor, I have laid that foundation. Jesus is the foundation of my life. If I believed that with all my heart, Pastor, I—I really believe that I have turned to Jesus.

Now, how do I start building? How do I build on top of that? How do I listen to Jesus and build on top of that foundation a life that—as you continue reading that passage—you will see that the Word says that anything that anyone builds on that foundation is going to be tested as by fire. And everything that stands the test of fire, people will receive reward for in heaven. Everything that is burned up by the fire, people will suffer loss for in heaven. You're still saved because you had the foundation. But there are rewards, and this is how it works. Only God will be able to explain that to you when you stand before Him. But you can suffer loss even though you are saved. You're going to heaven, but you can suffer loss when you stand before the Father—based, the Word says, on what you really built after that foundation was laid. Did it stand God's test?

Remember what does never pass away? The Word. What can never be burned away? The Word.

Whatever we build—if we build it on the Word—it will stand the test of fire. But let me take you to Luke chapter 6. I'm going to read verses 32 to 38 with you. Jesus sharing: "But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies. Do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return. And your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. For He is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. Therefore—or because of this, since this is the truth—therefore, be merciful just as your Father is merciful.

Judge not, and you shall not be judged." That's not talking about things, right? The Bible says, "We who are spiritual judge all things." But we don't tell people they cannot go to heaven. Only God can tell them that. We can tell people, "If Jesus does not live in your heart, you're going to hell." That's not judging. That's not what the Bible calls judging. What the Bible calls judging a person is saying, "With everything you have done, you could never be saved." That's casting judgment before its time. But we who are spiritual judge all things. But that's not what we're talking about here. You're going to see in a moment what the Scripture here is speaking to you—that the Father is inviting you to listen to Jesus. Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put in your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

What do we get out of all of this? Because there's so much here. Where do I start, pastor? How do I start building on that foundation today? What do I do? How do I build on this word? How do I build on the words of Jesus?

I want to give you three key things if you're taking notes this morning. Three key things that, if you say, "I already have a foundation—Jesus Christ is the Lord of my life," will build a good and fruitful, fulfilling life. Not an easy one—don’t mistake those words for an easy life—but a good or godlike life, and a fruitful, fulfilling life. Three things we get out of this Scripture: Forgive. Forgive all offenses. When you don't forgive, you become what? You become judgmental. What does the Bible say? Don't judge. Don't condemn. Forgive. He's telling you to never take offense.

You can get offended. Offensive things may happen to you. Now you have the opportunity to either take a hold of that offense or to give out forgiveness. Your choice. Jesus says, "Don't fall into judging. Don't fall into condemning. Forgive." And the Father says, "Listen to Him." Build your life on what Jesus says. Build your life. Use everything you can find in the Word of God to build your life. It's placed all there so that you would have something to build with. Forgive. No matter the situation, no matter how grievous the sin, no matter how unapologetic the offender may be—they may even continue the behavior. They may not have any remorse. Jesus tells you and I: forgive.

Be merciful. Give out the forgiveness that I so freely gave to you. Become a little bit of an imitator of Me. And forgive when you are treated wrong. Forgive when you are being hurt. Forgive when people don't notice you or don't see you. Forgive. Listen to Him. How do I build my life on that, Pastor? It's the same for me as it is for you. If you're alive, you're going to get hurt. If you're alive, you're going to get disappointed. If you're alive, your expectations are sometimes not going to be met. And you may have had reasonable expectations. And it's going to hurt. Every time you find yourself in that situation, instead of climbing on the judgment seat and saying, "You did wrong," instead of getting on the judgment seat, you go on the cross and you say, "Lord, I'm picking up my cross today. And just like You did, I'm going to choose forgiveness for this person—not judgment. I'm gonna choose mercy for this person. I don't have to be right. I crucify myself daily, Lord. I'm gonna forgive." To build your life on always seeking forgiveness for other people—it will have a consequence in your life. You're going to see it in the Word in just a little bit. Another thing we get out of this Scripture portion is give. Give cheerfully and without condition.

Give. Do all things prayerfully. There's going to be—I will tell you a story. There was a time that a friend of mine had a financial difficulty. And before I ever prayed, I was willing to give. And I knew the need in his life. And I had enough resources to fulfill that entire need. And so my heart was already to do it, and I was already moving into doing it—ready to go and tell him, "Don't worry, I'm going to help you with this." And the moment I walked into the room ready to say that, the Holy Spirit stopped me and said, "No." There's going to be times that the Lord is teaching somebody something. There's going to be times that giving financially to an individual is actually not helping them. It may be enabling them. So do all things prayerfully, but God is looking for you to be very willing. And if you are willing, you will always have direction. If you are willing and the Lord wants you to give away everything to your last dollar, He may ask that of you. He's done it with us a few times.

You may be very willing, and the Lord may say, "I don't need your money today. You don't need to give money. You need to go and pray for this person today." When we give cheerfully, we are giving in a way that says, "I believe Jesus, and I believe that giving away from my life, as Jesus says, is better than to receive. I believe—I listen to Jesus. It's better for me to give away than to receive. It's better for the body of Christ for me to give than to receive. I listen to Jesus."

If you have a willing heart, God will always give you direction. And He will steer you and order your steps and lead you. But He also says, "Do it without condition." In other words, don't go and say, "Lord, I'm willing to give this person this money, but they better use it for this." If you have prayed and the Lord leads you to give, then trust Him to handle it. Then trust Him to set the amount in your heart. Then trust Him to tell you go, and to tell you no when you need to hear it. But give cheerfully. Cheerfully—you can't really choose. Amen. You can't just choose to be cheerful. You can choose passion. If you struggle being passionate, passion you can just choose. Passion you can muster up. You can fan that into flame yourself. But being cheerful—that comes from the inside.

When you give cheerfully, you're saying, "I rejoice more over somebody receiving something than that I'm sad about something leaving my life." When you love others and you get more excited about stuff entering into their life than that you are sad about stuff leaving your life—that's in that place you become a cheerful giver. If you don't have it, ask Jesus. He gives willfully to those who ask. Give cheerfully and without condition.Forgive all offenses.Give cheerfully without conditions. Even if you're like, they're probably—they're asking for a loan, but there's a good chance this is going to end up being a gift. Give cheerfully. Pray and then give cheerfully.

And then the third one—love your enemies. Don't just have a good time with your friends. Don't just have a good time with people that are kind of like you and they fit in so easy. It's easy. It's easy to hang out with these people. It's comfortable to hang out with these people. They're just nice to me, so it's easy to have them around. Love your enemies.The word explains what that means. God is kind to the unthankful and the evil. In my flesh, I don't think there's a more difficult person to love than the unthankful one. Amen.

I don't know if anybody is on my boat, but that is the one where I need Jesus—because when I've given everything and people just seem to just step over it or wash over it or not notice it and move on like this. And I couldn't give that time to my kids because I was there helping them. I couldn't give it to my wife because I was there helping them. I wasn't even necessarily building the church 'cause I was there helping them. And they kind of move on as if it was nothing, without a word of "thank you." That is the moment that somebody, kind of in a small way, starts to feel a little bit like an enemy. And all of a sudden, I have an opportunity to listen to Jesus and to say, "I'm going to love this person. I'm going to pray for them. I'm going to bless them. I'm going to pray the best things on their life. I'm going to help them again. I'm going to love my enemies." Now, that's a very tiny enemy. They haven't done anything really wrong to you. They're just a little bit more difficult than maybe other people. But the word tells us that God is kind to the unthankful and the evil.

Love your enemies. Don't gossip about them no matter how they vote. Don't say anything bad about them no matter how they vote. Don't say anything wrong about them. Don't repeat the wrongs that they have done so that you can keep on judging all their wrong actions and sit on the judgment seat. Love your enemies. Forgive. Give of your time. Give of your resources.Let God have it all and let Him distribute it in the body however He sees fit. And love your enemies.

The Father cried out, "Listen to Him."Listen to my Son. Jesus really is just, in a moment right here in the Scriptures, teaching you and I what it looks like to love others as yourself. And if you just take away these three things and you say,"I'm going to build my life on what Jesus says. I'm going to build my life on the concept that I am always choosing forgiveness. No matter the offense, I'm choosing. I've been set free, so I can freely choose. And I'm choosing forgiveness. I've been redeemed. And I'm choosing a giving life.I'm not going to protect." Have you ever noticed? I have. I've made that mistake.

The moment you start to protect your finances, 'cause they dwindle down. The moment you start to protect your time, 'cause people take so much. Even though you're protecting it, it feels like you have even less. And what you have, you can hardly enjoy. And when you freely give, it seems like there's always enough. And somehow, even though I may only have 10 minutes of talking with my wife before we go to bed 'cause we had such a busy day, somehow the Lord can turn that 10 minutes into a deepening of the relationship that we couldn't have had by talking 3 hours if we kept all the time to ourselves. Jesus will build your life when you build your life on what He says. He'll build it up.The Father says, "Listen to Him." In verse 31, He shows us that He is simply talking about loving others as you love yourself. I'll read to you verse 31 right before He goes into this: "And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise." In other words, the way you would love to be loved, begin first loving others that way. Love others the way you would like to be loved. Give to others the way maybe you would like to be helped when you're in trouble. Forgive others the way you would like forgiveness.

'Cause trust me, you're going to make mistakes. You're going to need people to make that choice towards you.But you start first. That's what Jesus says. He's calling you to start first.

And after all of this introduction Jesus gives—all of these Scriptures—that's where the famous parable rests that is so often heard without all of that introduction that goes right ahead of it.

But Jesus gives it in one breath. Here it comes: Luke 6:46–49. "But why do you call me Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to me and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock." Let's stop right there. Here Jesus is using the exact same example as Paul, who says, "This is the kind of man that began listening to me, began listening when I said, 'I have paid for your forgiveness. I have paid for your life. I'm going to send you my Spirit. I'm preparing a home for you.'" That man that heard me, listened to me, and believed on what I said and what I did, and began to build their life on me, on the words that I spoke over them that I sent into their life—and they can read it every single day of their life—that man is like a man that dug a foundation and laid it.

Remember what Paul said: no other foundation can be laid but Christ Jesus the Word.

And here Jesus says, "If you hear and do my words, what you're doing is laying a foundation, digging out the stuff that needs to go, that would make you shift and fall and crumble, and it makes room for a foundation that can be founded on the rock." He is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat heavily against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat heavily and immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great. You see that Jesus points out that in this parable both men hear—both men hear—but not both are listening. Both men heard the same message. Both men heard it from the same mouth. Both men heard it with the anointing of heaven on it, with the intention of heaven building a good life—both a life that can sustain difficulty here and now and will not fail into eternity. It will stand. It will be unmovable.

God intends for you to be built up. But He's crying out, "Listen to Him." He is speaking over your life. He is speaking into your life so that you have a building that cannot be shaken—a building that can stand the test of the fire without you suffering loss because you were too focused on this earth, or you were too focused on all your relationships, or your finances and managing them, and your career, and all of these things that in themselves are not bad. But your heart began to listen to other voices. Your heart began to trust in finances. So you gave all of your time to work for finances, to bring them into your life. Your heart began to listen to the message that you need to make the most out of the life you have here on earth. And so you did all of that studying, all of that pursuing that career—which again, in itself, is not bad. But there's a point where the person that has come to Jesus cannot listen to two voices. You can't listen to the message that you have to make the best out of this life and at the same time invest all of this life into eternal life and make that the best life.

You cannot live your best life here on earth if you're going to follow Jesus. He promised there will be trials, tribulation. If they hated me, they will hate you. That is what Jesus said. If you want to live your best life on earth, don't follow Jesus. But if you want your best life eternally, begin to build this very short and frail earthly life. Begin to build it on the Word, and your life will never be shaken. Streams will rise. Storms will come. Pain will come. The unexpected will come. Trials will come. But nothing will knock you off your feet. Nothing will shake your life. Nothing will cause you to run and panic. Because Jesus said, "You watch the man that says, 'I'm going to build on what Jesus said. I'm going to trust my forgiveness comes from Him. I'm going to trust that my strategy for how to use finances in this short life—I'm going to trust it's going to have to come from Him. I'm going to listen to Him. I'm going to trust on Him for how to spend this life. I'm going to trust on Him for how to invest my time. I'm going to listen to Him.'"

He says, "I'll show you what that man is like."

Both men heard. Both build a house. For a season, it looked the exact same until the trouble arose. Until the storms came. Until the one house crashed down. Until that moment, it looked like all of that digging and making room for that foundation was all for nothing. You don't really have to. I got a home, too. I build it, too. It's standing. God says, "I'm going to give you my opinion of that man that hears, that listens actively, and that responds to my Son."

That man that responds to the words of my Son—I'm going to give you my opinion on what he will be like. And God shows us, Jesus Himself shows us, that man will go through difficulty. That's not exempt, but it won't get him down. I will carry him. He can lean on me, the Rock, whatever he needs to lean on. Nothing is going to move me. Nothing is going to be shaken. Nothing is going to fall apart. Terrible fear that is sweeping around in our generation—it won't touch that man. His house won't be shaken. His kids won't be affected in the same way. The stream will go down again, and the house will stand.

Church, I'm begging you: build your life on the Word. Build your life on what Jesus said. Many of you know I only began to listen to Jesus when I was 22 years old. And my life was a ruin by that time. There was no foundation. I could build all I want. I couldn't get ahead of the streams and the storms. That would just time and again sweep me off my feet. Prove that there was no strength. Prove that there was no lasting peace. Prove that there was no lasting foundation. But when I first, with all of my heart, listened to Jesus who said, "I have already paid for your forgiveness. I have already loved you. I'm not waiting for you to prove yourself. I'm not waiting for you to first work all the sin out of your life. I'm not waiting for you to pick up a Bible. I'm not waiting for you to start a prayer life. I've done everything it's going to take for you to come home. Will you come?" And when I first listened to Jesus, I can testify, church, ever since the day that I began listening, my life has never been shaken.

I didn't do the digging. He did. I didn't pour the foundation. Somehow He laid it. But this miracle happens for those that say," I can afford to lose every voice and everything in my life, but I need Jesus. I'm going to listen to Him." I had to learn to listen to Jesus for my baptism.

Now, baptism in itself—going into the water here, that water flushes—is nothing special. But listening to Jesus who commands us to be baptized, who says if you're going to follow Me, I want you to show the believers—they're going to keep you accountable—but I also want you to show the spiritual world and testify to the spiritual world of what I have done for you. Heaven rejoices over one sinner that gets saved. A party starts in heaven the moment a person says, "I am persuaded. I'm going to start listening to Jesus." And when we become baptized, we're saying, "I now am going to follow all of Jesus's teachings. I'm going to share Jesus's teachings. I'm going to live by Jesus's teachings. I'm going to become now a follower of Jesus. The old me has been washed away by the miracle of the cross. And Jesus has given me a new life, and I'm going to follow Him into it."

I had to obey Jesus. I wasn't baptized for quite a while. I was actually baptized as an infant in a reformed church. And I was terrified of how my family would respond if I would listen to Jesus and choose baptism as a simple act of following Him. I got baptized here in Portland when I was visiting from Summit International School of Ministry where I was studying. And I got so convicted. We were in a swimming pool, Bonneville. And I was just visiting here, and I was with two friends from the Bible school, and the Holy Spirit just convicted me and showed me, Jesus has saved you. Why? Why haven't you said yes to just publicly get baptized? Here I’m sitting in the swimming pool all with unbelievers and strangers everywhere and two of my friends. I said, "Okay, Lord." So I got up, and I said to one of my friends—both of them Spirit-filled believers—I said, "Can you baptize me? Just pray. It doesn't matter that people are here. Just—just pray and would you baptize me?" And right there, publicly in the pool, completely unplanned, I had to take that little step of obedience.

There was no guilt. There was no condemnation. But there was a still small voice leading, "Okay, it's time now to build your life on listening to Jesus in the way you handle finances."

The Word will teach you. The Word will teach you how to respond to the needs of your neighbor. The Word will teach you how to pray and how to be wise in those things. But if you seek to listen to Jesus in order to have direction for how you're going to handle finances as a tool in your life—not something that possesses you, but something you have and you're in control of and you can use it—if you listen to Jesus, he'll give you direction. Building your life on what Jesus says. As far as you raise your kids, you can build it on the Word. How you parent, how you chastise, how you correct, how you encourage. There's a great pressure on fathers throughout the Bible, direction for how fathers should be raising their kids. And here we so easily leave all of that pressure in the woman's corner.

Even though God gives us direction on how we should be involved and what parts should be carried by us and initiated by us. If you listen to Jesus, God says, "Let me show you what that man will end up like. That house, it'll never vibrate. It will never be shaken. It will never fall."

Build your career on the Word of Jesus. Build your life on the Word of Jesus. And God tells you and I, you watch. You look around and you're going to begin to notice those. You're going to begin to notice the man I have empowered by my Spirit, by my provision, by my Word to build a good life, a godlike life. Even though he lives in an evil environment, even though life itself and this world is still affected by sin and difficulty and pain and hurt—all of that, I'm going to say it again—it will be a part of your life, but it will never shake that man who has built his life, or that woman who has built her life, on the words of Jesus.

The brokenness of sin will never make your house fall. The struggle with sin—whatever you may still be going through—it will never make the house fall. When you are building your life on the words of Jesus, the pain and the hurts of all of the trials that life can throw at you, it will never make your house crumble. It cannot. It does not have the authority or the power to touch your foundation. This man's life will never fall apart. Not in this life or in the next life. That's the promise. Do you understand now the Father's cry? Listen to Him. Hear Him. The Father is not just seeking to give you a foundation for this life. He's seeking to give you an eternal foundation.

The Word never ends. The Word never fails. The Word will endure always. When the Word has become your foundation, neither in this life nor the next will you be shaken. That's what it will be like for a man who builds his life on the words of Jesus. Luke 9:35, a voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son whom I have chosen. Listen to Him."

Today, the Spirit of God is calling to your heart—a very simple call. Listen to Him. And for every single one of us in this room, and for everyone that is with us online, He may be pointing out a different area for every single one of us, but the call is the same: Begin to listen to Him. Maybe you used to listen to Jesus in a certain area of your life, and He's bringing it up today. That area is not being built up. That area has become kind of shaky, and He's bringing it up to your mind.

Would you begin listening again so I can lead you back to that unshakable foundation? Maybe He is inviting you for the very first time to take a step of faith and to say, "I'm going to believe that Jesus is preparing a place for me. I'm going to believe that I am forgiven. I'm going to believe that I am wanted in the presence of the Father. I am wanted in heaven. The cross is enough. I'm going to listen to Jesus." And if you want to say to God today, "Lord, I'm going to listen," whatever that may mean for your life, the Lord will make it clear in your heart. But if you want to say to Him, "I'm going to listen to You now, Lord. I'm going to listen to the way You tell me to forgive. I'm going to listen to the way that You tell me to give. I'm going to listen to the way You tell me to love my enemies."

If any of those are true for you, I want to invite you to come forward as a simple step of faith, saying to the Lord, "Lord, I'm going to listen now. I hear You, and I'm going to start listening."

If that is you, I want to invite you to come forward to pray together. And especially if you are making that decision to say, "I believe Jesus. I'm going to listen to Him. I believe He's preparing a place for me," for the first time or again, you are very welcome to come forward as well.

But if you feel strongly in your heart, you need to say, "Lord, I'm listening. You are preparing a place for me. I can hear it in my heart, and I'm listening now." I'm telling you now, when you say, "Lord, I'm listening now," the next word He's going to speak into your life is not far off.

He's ready. And He seeks to build you up to such extent that even for eternity, you cannot be shaken. He's going to do it through His Word. It's going to be a miraculous work. He's going to be the one to do it. All we say is, "Lord, I'll listen to You. I'm listening now, and I will listen to You."

-Pastor Stan Mons