Intro to Series

Last week I gave you a new years challenge… a challenge to choose… a challenge to be resolved in your belief and faith in God.

You have heard me ask the question - do you want what God wants for your life?

God has good things in store for you. But the only way for these things to become reality is when you get real in your faith. God will not force you into relationship - you must make the choice to follow Him.

And as we make that choice, we must begin rebuilding something very important… the foundation on which our life is built.

The decision to choose to follow God is a decision that leads to whole-life spiritual transformation.

Following Jesus is far more than behavioral change. What is behavioral change? It is simply changing our outward habits and displayed attitudes. It’s surface-level change. It’s change that does not make it to the heart.

If we want what God wants for our lives, the change doesn’t begin with the outside… it begins on the inside. And that change will impact what we do and say. And that is why we must allow the Word and Spirit of God to begin rebuilding the foundation our life is built upon.

A strong foundation in the Lord will result in a few amazing things.

One, it sets the stage for whole-life spiritual transformation.

Two, it helps us to discover the areas in our life that have yet to change.

Three, a foundation built on Christ brings stronger stability to our faith and daily walk in the Lord.

Paul gives this description of what a strong spiritual foundation in Christ looks like in our lives in Ephesians 4:14

Ephesians 4:14 NIV

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

This journey we begin is an opportunity to begin to examine, evaluate, and apply the Word of God to our lives.

What is a foundation? It is that which a structure is built upon. The strength and integrity of the foundation will determine the stability of what is placed or built upon it.

In construction, foundations play a huge role in how long a structure lasts. The leaning tower of Pisa, for instance, was built upon a foundation that was insufficient for the size of the tower being built. Immediately the tower began to lean. The foundation laid was not strong enough to support the weight of the tower.

Step stool illustration - have a step stool and a swivel chair and ask which one is safer to stand on.

With this in mind, the question of the series is simply this: what foundation is your life built upon?

The process must begin by examining where we are.

Working on my mother-in-law’s 56 Chevy helped me to realize the importance of going down as far as I could go in the restoration process.

This is what the car looked like when we got finished with the work a few years ago.

CAR SLIDE ONE - Finished

But this is NOT how it started.

Rust was evident on pats of the body of the car. Some of these areas would never be seen by anyone, but if the rust was left untouched, it risked the destruction of the entire restorative process. Yes, I can paint the outer panels and make the car look great! However, if the surface rust on the backside of the metal remained, the nice and expensive paint job would eventually be ruined as the rust made it through the metal.

This is what the car looked like when I started on it. This literally was the day I pulled it to our house in Emporia.

CAR SLIDE TWO - getting started

We had to take it to the bare metal. We had to get rid of the underlying issues before we could make it look pretty again.

Spiritually, foundational work might seem… mundane. It might seem, dare I use the word, boring. We want the flash, the bling, the finished product. But if we skip this step, we risk the unresolved underlying issues coming back to the surface if we only allow the Word of God to impact certain areas of our live but not all areas.

Jesus talks about the importance of having firm foundations in Matthew 7:24-27

Matthew 7:24–27 NIV

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

This passage comes at the close of Jesus’ Sermon on the mount.

His Sermon will become our road map through this series. As we prepare to look at His sermon in future weeks, we need to establish a very important truth regarding His words.

The Sermon on the Mount is NOT a recipe for behavior modification.

We cannot look at it as a checklist of things we are supposed to do and things we are supposed to stay away from.

Jesus’ words in this sermon help develop whole-life change. What He presents are characteristics of someone who has experienced this whole-life change. This need to be understood as we read His sermon.

In our passage, Jesus present two scenarios. He reveals what makes a foundation strong or weak.

As He wraps up His Sermon, Jesus presents an illustration to help the listeners understand the importance of what was just presented.

The man who built his house on the rock.

Jesus presents first the illustration that I believe most would want to experience in life. No one likes the idea of building anything on a compromised foundation. The choice to build on something solid would seem to be the logical and wise choice.

The man who built on the rock both heard the words of Jesus AND lived them out. He put them into practice. Jesus’ words became the foundation from which the man lived his life.

The results are amazing.

No matter what tried to come against what the man had built, the structure remained BECAUSE of the strong foundation.

How would you like to have the ability to stand… no matter what? I think everyone in here knows what it feels like to take a hit… to get knocked down. We know what comes with these kinds of situations. Jesus says we will experience storms and trouble - but when our foundation is built in Him, we will make it through the storm.

The man who built on sand.

Ever tried to use sand as a foundation? It might work for a moment, but it will not last in the long run! Sand will shift, sand will crumble. Sand will not hold up.

In the illustration, the man who built on the sand heard the words of Jesus but did not live them out. He knew what Jesus said, but did not apply the wisdom.

Go back to the car story, if I was aware of the rust problem, but chose to proceed without dealing with the rust, I have chosen to compromise the project.We would have been throwing money away.

Jesus makes clear in His illustration that hearing the words is important, but the strength comes from living them out. Strength comes from the application.

Why? BECAUSE APPLICATION BRINGS TRANSFORMATION.

What good is a treadmill for weight loss if it is never plugged in? What good is medicine for a wound if it is never applied? What good is good advice if it is never followed?

The same can be said of applying God’s Word to our lives.

A strong foundation comes through understanding two things.

We must KNOW the Word of God.

We must LIVE the Word of God.

Knowing comes through hearing. Living comes through application. BOTH come through choosing to follow Jesus, FIRST.

Application

Making the choice to follow is step one… a choice I pray we have all made… and a choice I want to give you an opportunity to make.

This evening, if you’ve never made this choice before, I want to give you an opportunity to do so.

Making a choice to follow Jesus is simple.

First, we realize our need for a Savior. Jesus gave His life so that you and I can be forgiven of our sin. All have sinned meaning all need a Savior.

Second, we confess our sin to the Lord. We repent. We turn from that sin and turn to Jesus.

Third, we call on the name of the Lord for salvation. We open our hearts to receive Him as we place our faith and trust in Him.

Romans 10:9 NIV

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

PRAYER - Salvation

Next, I want to make sure everyone has access to a Bible. Again, we cannot live the Word if we do not know the Word.

And I want to give this challenge: Begin reading the book of John in the New Testament. Don’t rush or blitz your way through it. Take it a section or a chapter at a time. Make a point to start building a foundation based on God’s truth and way for your life.