Foundation of the Family

Celebrate the Family Month

The Foundation of the Family

Matthew 7:24-27

Theme: Families need to build their homes on the right foundation.

Welcome to Mountain View Baptist Church! We are excited to have you here today as we Celebrate the Family. While some in our world is celebrating an alternative family, we choose here to celebrate the family. By the family, I mean the traditional, Biblical family as outlined in God’s Word. We are pleased to have you in attendance.

If you are a first-time guest, welcome! We would love to connect with you.

The Psalmist warns us of not having a right foundation.“If the foundations be destroyed, What can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3) When you take away a foundation of a home, it will collapse. Families are collapsing around us and I believe it is because we don’t have solid foundation.

This message is not an attack on a person or people but against an unbiblical attack on the home and the future of our families. We must defend our Biblical values.

A home ie: family needs a proper foundation. It is because the entire society is built on the foundation of the home. There is no government without the family, there are no schools without the family, there are no churches without the families, there are no sports programs, no court systems without the family, there are no police officers, fire fighters, nurses, doctors, or leaders without the family. There are no teachers, no judges, no nurses, no doctors, no lawyers, no restaurants, no scientists, no engineers, no lineman to climb the power poles, no utility workers, no cars, and no roads.

A society cannot build and exist without the family. It is the foundation of our civilization.

Just as the family is the foundation to society, water is the foundation of life. Since man cannot live more than three days without water, there is a passage where Hezekiah blocked the II Chron 32:1-4 blocked the aqueduct against Sennacherib king of Assyria who was coming to attack Judah. Brilliant military defense because they could not exist without water.

Jesus here is teaching about the foundation of the home. Certainly, this message applies to individual lives as the primary meaning and we can also apply this to the home.

If homes are the foundation to society, what is the foundation to the home? Homes need the right foundation.

What foundation are you building your family upon? Many have elected to let come what may. Some let the children run the home. We need to let Jesus run the home.

When a society’s foundation of the home is attacked and destroyed, you have destroyed that society. Karl Marx said in the Communist Manifesto of 1848 he called for the abolition of the family. He wrote he would “rescue education from the influence of the ruling class.” He stated communism would ensure that children would be educated by the state and not by their parents. Marx said his intention is to remove the authority of the parents over their children. The religion of a woke culture is a direct attack on the family and a call for the disintegration of its order and structure.

Never before have we seen a greater and direct attack on our families than we are seeing today. This destruction is being propagated through network news, political leaders, public schools, through woke churches, sports entertainment, major retailers, and social media.

It is time believers stand on the truth. Stand on what is right and not give up our foundations. We must know what our foundation is and what Jesus is teaching us here. There is an effort to replace the traditional family with a fabricated family without God.

A foundation is a solid or firm unalterable truth. It is likened to a rock which in Israel there are many. King Herod was known as the great builder in the who lived 72 BC to 4 AD. There is an attempt on his part to restore the temple and there is one stone in its foundation that archaeologist have not able to explain how it was moved in place.

They believe the stone may weigh as much as 50 tons. This cornerstone is 33 feet long, 7 feet wide, and 3 feet tall. Jesus spoke to those who were most familiar with the temple and the mystery is how did they get this cornerstone in place without modern equipment. It is virtually immovable.

Jesus is teaching us here there is a foundation that should not be moved, it is the cornerstone of our spiritual life. Notice Jesus uses two different materials in which we choose for our foundations.

Jesus gives a command and two lessons here.

The command is given twice in the passage. Verse 24: hear and do and in verse 26 hear and do not. Hear means to listen with the intent to obey. Do you open Bible to listen with the intent to obey? It is possible to hear but ignore the message.

How many of you have been guilty of hearing but not listening? Jesus knew some would hear and not listen

Obedience is wisdom. Disobedience is foolishness. Jesus is teaching a man who is wise is one whose foundation is on rock. That which is solid.

Paul teaches this truth in I Corinthians. “According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 3:10–11)

If you are Christian, your only solid foundation is Jesus Christ. He is the one who came to this earth, who died on the cross for your sins, who became your sin bearer and He arose from the dead. This is foundational and it will not change. If you are here today building your life on a religion or on church membership, you are not on the right foundation. The gospel places us on the right foundation.

If you are struggling with same sex attraction, Jesus will give you the help to overcome this struggle. The gospel changes our lives.

There is no other way to be forgiven than to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior. Will trust Him today? Will turn to Him?

The command Jesus gives is to hear His Word with the intention to obey. This is where wisdom lies. A wise man will obey when God speaks. A wise man will yield to God when God speaks.

Lesson 1

Build on the Rock

Jesus Christ is the written Word and the living Word. His Word is always truth and His ways are always right.

The effort to re-write what God says about the home is moving the landmarks. A landmark is a boundary and the world is trying to get us to move our boundaries or landmarks. A woke culture wants to re-write God’s design. “Remove not the ancient landmark, Which thy fathers have set.” (Proverbs 22:28)

The landmark of husband and wife is set by God. The gender is determined by God and the traditional family is a landmark set by God.

Jesus is teaching us this Rock is not going to change even though man may try to change it.

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Jesus is saying we don’t need to re-examine what He says, we don’t need to alter what He says, we don’t need to water down what He says. We need to hear and obey what He says.

Jesus says in the course of building our lives the rains will come. The rain will not test the material but actually reveal the material it is made of. It will reveal whether we are wise or whether we are foolish.

Families will have storms and the foundation we have chosen will stand the test of time. In our world today, there is an attack on your home and mine. We must articulate we stand on the Word of God and stand with Jesus Christ. We are not bowing to the twisted values of a perverted society.

Have you ever wondered why some families seem to go through the storms and weather them so well, while others don’t do so well?

It is unfortunate how we are losing our children to this world. We must stand for our families. We must lovingly lead our families into the truth of God’s Word. We must get our families back in church and stay in church.

I read this week about a high school graduate mentioned Jesus in his speech and the school withheld his diploma.

Think about this way: we are in church 2 hours a week, or if you attend PM and Thursday, 3 more hours. Five hours and the rest of the time we are in the world being bombarded with so many things beating on our homes and our families.

Let me encourage you and challenge you to keep your families in church. Don’t miss the opportunity to make a difference in their lives. I read this week that Walmart is now worshiping at the altar of Wokism and LGBTQ which is the new religion in our world. Young children are being programed to accept this unbiblical lifestyle.

If you are struggling with same sex attraction, we want to help you find help. The help is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Lesson 2

Disobedience guarantees destruction

There is coming a time when the rains will come. Sand is guaranteed to weaken and fall apart. Sand offers no foundation or solidity when the storms of life come. Any other foundation than Jesus Christ is like sand. In the beginning it may look good on the outside, but on the inside there is no foundation when storms will descend.

There will be rains of financial pressure or job loss or medical issues or family disagreements or a host of other storms that come in life. Remember the storms reveal what you are building your life upon.

Disobedience to God’s Word and what God says is foolishness Jesus says here. We must not turn from God’s Word or God’s truths.

Dr. John R Rice used to say, “all of Satan’s apples have worms.” How true that is because while the world makes disobedience look glamorous, inside are major problems and difficulties in the end.

Our nation has not just disregarded what God says but has disobeyed what God says. The foundation of the family should be built upon Jesus Christ. “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,” (1 Peter 2:6–7)

Let me be very direct with you. Please build your family on the Rock: the Lord Jesus Christ. Anything that conflicts with the Bible is sinking sand. Be wise in building your family on God’s truth. Teach them by example and by God’s Word. Guard your family from sinking sand philosophies: social media drama, corrupt music, internet, movies, and places we go.

When is the last time you got your family together for family devotions? For prayer? If you are a new Christian, read your Bible with the intention of obeying what God says. If you are here today and have not receive Jesus as your Savior, will you call on Him today?

The verse may be very familiar but it still holds true. “Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: Except the Lordkeep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

When the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River to go into the Promised Land. They were told to place 12 stones as a reminder of what God had done for them. When their children would see the stones, God says they would ask, “what meaneth these stones?” Today, fathers, when your children ask what meaneth these stones?, you can point them to Rock of Jesus Christ.