Every preacher knows that how a sermon is concluded can have a major impact on the listeners. Many books have been written that instruct the preacher how to "draw the net" so that the listener knows what to do with what they have heard. Jesus finishes up His most famous and longest sermon with a crystal-clear illustration that enables His audience to understand just how much is riding on their response to the Sermon on the Mount. Each one of us has the call to examine our own heart and to discern how our lives are presently aligned with what Jesus has said throughout this sermon. His final words serve as both an invitation and a warning to us, because storms are coming. It is no small matter what we decide. Jesus is telling us that how we respond is a matter of eternal life or eternal death. He brings the entire sermon on the mount to a pointed end when He calls us to examine the foundation upon which we are presently building our lives. He asks us if we are prepped for the storms.
