Matthew 7: Give Jesus Your Attention and Your Obedience

Introduction

"Following Jesus takes time." That is how Carl McManus, who has been part of Christian Fellowship Church (CFC) for nearly seven years, opens this message. In a culture of instant everything, he reminds us that there is no "same-day delivery" or "next-day delivery" option for transformation: following Jesus is a lifelong journey.

This message launches a series on the Sermon on the Mount, and the preacher chooses to start at the end: the parable of the two houses, in Matthew 7:24-29. One is built on the rock, the other on the sand. Both get hit by the storm, and only one is left standing.

Jesus says, "everyone who hears these words of mine and does them." For Carl McManus, everything hangs on those two verbs. The Sermon on the Mount is not first of all a list of moral rules; it is a matter of attention and obedience. The question put to each of us is simple: will you let Jesus be the foundation you build your life on?

Outline of the Message

1. 1. A Set Menu, Not a Buffet

   • Starting a series with the last verses may seem strange. But to understand the Sermon on the Mount, you have to take it as a whole: it is the conclusion of a single teaching, running from Matthew 5 to Matthew 7.
   • "It's a set menu. It's not a buffet." You don't walk past the dishes picking what suits you and leaving the rest. Jesus says: this is what I expect from those who call themselves my disciples.
   • It is not the sketch of a utopia for the day everyone gets on board, nor a behavior expected of all humanity. From Matthew 5:1-2, Jesus sees the crowd, sits down on the mountain, and his disciples come to him: it is to them that he teaches.
   • The promise is clear: if you make this teaching the foundation of your life, you will be able to stand when the inevitable storms arrive.

2. 2. Hearing and Doing: Attention and Obedience

   • These teachings don't chart a different path from the Old Testament. They align us with God's heart.
   • Jesus reserved his harshest words for the Pharisees, who treated God's commandments like boxes to tick. The commandments are to be followed: Jesus did not come to abolish the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17-18).
   • But settling for ticking the box is missing the point. The commandments give us a sense of what delights the Lord and what breaks his heart.
   • As you listen to his voice and respond to what he asks, you begin to taste the abundant life Jesus promises (John 10:10). What he gives in the Sermon on the Mount is the general direction in which he invites you to walk.

3. 3. Who Gets Your Attention?

   • If you don't give your attention to Jesus, other things shape your view of the world and dictate the story of what life should be.
   • The preacher invites us to ask what is influencing the blueprint for building your life: the people you spend time with, what you watch, what you read, what you listen to. He is not asking you to cancel every subscription: the night before, he was watching a TV show with his wife. But we need to be attentive.
   • His experience: every time he looks somewhere other than Jesus, it seems to satisfy at first, then the effect wears off, and he is left with the feeling: "I thought there was more." That is when he has to ask himself whether his eyes have left Jesus.
   • Jesus' invitation is the same in every situation: "Eyes on me." In the middle of the lights and distractions of a glittering world, just as in the heart of the storm when everything seems uncertain and dangerous.
   • What amazes the preacher: the God who created the universe, sovereign and almighty, desires your attention. He knows you by name, he knows the number of hairs on your head (Matthew 10:30). He wants to be in relationship with you, but he doesn't force it: he invites you.

4. 4. Three Practices for Keeping Your Eyes on Jesus

   • Jesus' eyes never turn away from you. But when ours drift, certain spiritual practices help us "refocus" on him. For about two years, the Lord has been teaching Carl McManus that he wants to meet with him at every moment of every day, not only on Sunday.
   • Abide with the Lord in Scripture. Not just opening your Bible, reading it, and closing it to move on to something else, but abiding with him, because he keeps speaking and revealing himself. You step into the story, you almost see how he approaches the lepers, heals the blind, teaches on the mountain.
   • Create a space every day where the noise of life turns down. As the father of three young children, he knows a noisy house, and he loves it. But "if we can't discern the Lord's voice in the quiet, how can we hope to discern it in the noise?" A walk without earbuds, a room in silence, without distraction.
   • Do it in community. Sometimes he hears right, sometimes he gets it wrong, and sometimes it's a gray area. He tests everything against Scripture, but he needs brothers he can say to: "Help me see clearly. Am I completely off, or is the Lord really inviting me to this?"

5. 5. Attention Is Not Obedience

   • Anyone who has spent time with young children knows it. The preacher shows a scene from the film Finding Nemo: Nemo wants to go touch a boat, his father catches up with him and tells him not to touch it. Nemo looks at his father, gives him his full attention... and goes and touches the boat.
   • "Attention does not equal obedience." Solid foundations need both.
   • The word "obedience" can be uncomfortable. But obedience to Jesus is never oppressive or restrictive: it always leads to freedom.
   • When he feels obedience as a constraint, Carl McManus sees it as a sign of a heart problem: his attention has drifted, either toward comfort ("this makes me uncomfortable, I don't want to do it") or toward the thrill ("I would love to do this, I'm diving in").
   • The mystery is that by walking in step with Jesus and following his instructions, we find both comfort and thrill, in freedom.

6. 6. The Storms Will Come, and Peter on the Water

   • The storm hits both houses, the one built on the rock and the one built on the sand. It is part of life.
   • It comes from everywhere: the rain falls from above, the torrents rise from below, the winds blow from the side. And a storm does not mean the Lord is absent, even if it can feel that way.
   • If you have exercised these muscles of attention and obedience, you will stand. You will see, hear, and feel the storm, but you will remain standing.
   • The reverse is true too: obedience is not attention. The disciples are in the boat in the middle of the storm and see Jesus walking on the water. Peter, who often speaks before he thinks, asks him to call him. Jesus tells him to come (Matthew 14:22-33).
   • Peter walks, eyes fixed on Jesus, steps of obedience on the water. Then, in the middle of that obedience, he takes his eyes off Jesus, and everything starts to go wrong. Obedience to Jesus will sometimes lead us to do things that seem impossible: if our eyes stay on him, it will be fine.
   • Friends who are paramedics, police officers, or work in finance, or parents in the middle of family chaos, hear: "I don't know how you do it." Often we don't know ourselves, but we do it and we love doing it, because the Lord gives grace for what he calls us to do.

7. 7. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

   • You can't build in a hurry. Digging foundations takes time, and so does cultivating a life with Jesus. Jesus can change everything in an instant, but nobody drifts by accident into intimacy with him: it takes intention.
   • The muscles may feel weak at first. But as you exercise the one for Scripture, the one for solitude and silence, the one for community, they grow stronger. The same goes for the muscle of obedience.
   • The preacher picks up Eugene Peterson's phrase: "a long obedience in the same direction." There is no quick fix: it is a walk, year after year, week after week, day after day, moment after moment.
   • Worship is born from attention and obedience. As you look at Jesus, you will be captivated by him, "because there is no one like him." As you walk in obedience, you will see his goodness and faithfulness even more clearly, and you will taste the life he promised.
   • Before the worship time, he invites us not to head out too quickly and to ask the Lord whether he wants to light something up right now. Then he prays: "Jesus, you have my attention."

Key Takeaways

• The Sermon on the Mount is a set menu, not a buffet: it is what Jesus expects from those who call themselves his disciples.
• Hearing and doing: building on the rock takes both attention and obedience to Jesus.
• What you give your attention to shapes your life. Jesus, who never takes his eyes off you, says to you: "Eyes on me."
• Storms hit every house and come from everywhere, but they do not mean God is absent.
• Obedience to Jesus leads to freedom, and it is built over time, as a long obedience in the same direction.

Personal Application

• What is influencing the blueprint for building your life right now: the people you spend time with, what you watch, read, or listen to?
• Have your eyes drifted away from Jesus, and is he inviting you once again to fix them on him?
• Are you giving Jesus your attention without your obedience? Is there a step of obedience you know he is asking of you that you have been holding back so far?
• Are you obeying without really giving him your attention? Do you need to ask him whether this is still what he is inviting you to?
• Which practice do you want to start this week: abiding with him in Scripture, turning down the noise each day, or looking for brothers to help you discern his voice?

Verses Cited

• Matthew 7:24-29
• Matthew 5:1-2
• Matthew 5:17-18
• John 10:10
• Matthew 10:30
• Matthew 14:22-33

Frequently Asked Questions

Why start a series on the Sermon on the Mount with Matthew 7:24-29?

For Carl McManus, these verses are the conclusion of a single teaching that runs from Matthew 5 to Matthew 7. They remind us that we don't get to pick the passages we like: the Sermon on the Mount is a "set menu," not a buffet. It is what Jesus expects from those who call themselves his disciples.

What is the difference between giving Jesus your attention and obeying him?

The preacher uses the example of Nemo: he looks at his father, who tells him not to touch the boat, and then he goes and touches it. Attention is not obedience. Conversely, Peter walks on the water in obedience, then takes his eyes off Jesus and begins to sink. You need to give Jesus both.

Does building your life on the rock protect you from storms?

No. In the parable, the storm hits both houses, and it comes from everywhere: rain from above, torrents from below, winds from the side. A storm does not mean God is absent. The one who gives Jesus attention and obedience will be hit, but will remain standing.