Week 3 | Day 3 MORE TEACHINGS FROM THE MOUNT Matthew 7:1-27 | Luke 6:37-49

Jesus ends His famous sermon by drawing a line in the sand. After correcting the Law from God’s perspective, He shows us what real life with God looks like—humble discernment instead of harsh judgment, honest prayer instead of religious performance, a narrow way that leads to life, teachers and disciples known by their fruit, and a life built on His words rather than the shifting opinions of people and culture. These are more than “church ideas”—they’re God’s blueprint for a stable, honorable life. Even someone far from God who tried to live by these precepts and principles, they will experience the goodness of His wisdom. But for the believer, empowered by the Spirit, these words are not suggestions; they’re the foundation of a life that stands when the storms come.

We learn in this lesson that God loves us and wants the best for us, yet He will allow us to live outside of His will to our own demise when we choose a way that seems right to us, acceptable to culture, but is contrary to His Word. He will allow us to build our lives on the shifting sand of this world and it's fallen, cultural values—yet He pleads with us to build our lives on the sure foundation of the rock of His person, precepts, and principles.

Application

1. Discern without Destroying

Ask God to help you discern sin and error for the sake of restoration, not condemnation. Remember: don’t condemn (it only pushes people further away), don’t condone (it only gives permission to stay in sin), but do confront with truth in love—and leave the results with God.

2. Pray with Boldness and Surrendered Dependence

Jesus invites us to ask, seek, and knock—but with a heart yielded to His will. Pray persistently, trusting that your Father only gives what is truly good, even when it differs from what you asked for.

3. Stay on the Narrow Way

The narrow way is simply God’s way. The enemy doesn’t care if you veer into open rebellion or rigid religion—so long as you’re not walking in simple obedience to Jesus.

4. Test Fruit, not Appearances

Look at the fruit of teachers and disciples alike—their actions, appetites, ambitions, attitudes, and aim. If it doesn’t align with God’s Word, it doesn’t align with God’s will, no matter how spiritual it looks on the surface.

5. Build on the Rock, not the Shifting Sand

Don’t build your life on culture’s approval, your feelings, or human opinion, but on the solid rock of who Jesus is and what He has said. Or choices either reinforce a rock foundation or adds sand that won’t stand the storm.

Prayer

Jesus, thank You for loving me enough to tell me the truth. Forgive me for the times I’ve judged harshly, prayed selfishly, drifted from the narrow way, or trusted voices that don’t match Your Word. Today, I choose to build my life on You—Your person, Your precepts, and Your promises. Teach me to discern in love, to pray with trust, to walk Your path, and to bear fruit that reflects Your heart. When the storms come, let my life stand because it is founded on You. In Your name I pray, amen.