Living the Kingdom: A Firm Foundation

It matters

When I was a kid, my older brother used to yell “Earthquake test!” and shake the table, sending whatever I was building tumbling down. Frustrating, right? You put time and effort into something, only to see it collapse. But the more skilled I became, the more my buildings could withstand his tests. What you build matters—but what you build on matters even more.

Illustration: In 1692, Port Royal was one of the richest cities in the Caribbean. Known as the “wickedest city on Earth,” it was built partly on sand and reclaimed land. When a massive earthquake struck, the city literally slid into the sea. More than 2,000 people died in moments.

What you build on is just as important as what you build.

Heart and Life

I want to talk about building a life that lasts—a faith that stands firm in the storm. Jesus doesn't just call us to believe; He calls us to obey. That obedience forms a faith not just of the heart, but of habit. It’s not “just a relationship”—it’s a relationship lived out through true religion.

Let me begin with Jesus’ own question in Luke 6:46:

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

I also want to offer these words of Jesus Matthew 7:21 ““Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

Jesus is not interested in empty words.

He wants a life built on obedience, shaped by discipline, and rooted in practice.

He wants a faith that’s built to last.

That’s why He gives us this image of two builders.

One builds on rock. The other builds on sand.

What’s the difference?

Not just what they believed, but whether they practiced it. There was a bedrock and on it something was built.

You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Christianity isn’t a religion; it’s a relationship.” It sounds good, but here’s the problem: Jesus never offered a vague, structureless relationship. He offers a covenant—formed in love, but lived out in obedience. A relationship without discipline is just emotionalism. But a relationship rooted in holy habits? That’s faith built to last.

But Jesus never offered a vague, structureless relationship.

He offers a covenant—a commitment formed by love and lived out in obedience.

Let me say this clearly:

A relationship with Jesus that is not rooted in religion is not built to last.

Deconstruction Zone Ahead

We are caught between two extremes:

Those who do not want to take their faith too seriously.

Those who are consistently measuring their beliefs against a culture they want to engage in.

Christian Apathy or Deconstruction are considerable problems in the church world today. Those who say I want a relationship and not a religion, as well as those who ask what am I willing to believe.

The love is love crowd, the judge not, the who is to say what God believes. The don’t challenge me crowd. I want to live as I believe is best and I fill God with the rest. “The McJesus”— fully customized belief system built on selfish preference and rebellion.

The Postmodern relativism of skepticism of institutions and the growing tension between orthodoxy and modern western values (i.e. sex, gender, hell, the exclusivity of Christ, etc.)

Today, many are either disinterested in serious faith or actively deconstructing it. Some are disillusioned by church hurt. Others have embraced a buffet-style belief system—what I call “McJesus”: a customizable god made in our image.

In a world where truth is relative and faith is fluid, we must ask: What are we building on?

The result of spiritual apathy or aimless deconstruction? Weak disciples at best, apostates at worst. That’s not what Jesus died for— neither honor God or surrender to Jesus to be transformed for the Kingdom.

Proverbs 22:6 — Formation Is the Foundation

Jesus isn’t just interested in right answers—He wants right formation. That’s why Proverbs 22:6 matters...

Proverbs 22:6:

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

This is more than parenting advice—it’s wisdom for discipleship.

Training requires structure.

Formation requires consistency.

Faithfulness isn’t just inherited—it’s taught, practiced, and reinforced.

The same is true of our relationship with Jesus.

We cannot hand down “just a relationship.”

We hand down a way of life.

If we don’t root our faith in disciplined, lived religion, we raise spiritual orphans with no foundation when the storms come.

So how do we form people with faith that lasts? It starts with knowing who we are.

I am who God says I am : Eph. 1,

Chosen by God

Adopted as Sons and Daughters

Redeemed and Forgiven

Lavishly Graced

Enlighted to God’s Plan

Inheritors of a Glorious Future

Sealed with the Holy Spirit

These truths give believers a secure, Christ-centered identity grounded in God’s love, grace, and eternal purposes—not in performance, circumstances, or human approval.

Deuteronomy 6 — Love God with Your Whole Life

Quotes I remember

“Measure twice and cut once”

“A clean work area is a safe work area”

“If you have to ask the question then you likely know the answer”

“Don’t step over dollars to save dimes”

“You hit what you are looking at, so look at the nail”

“Leave the line, it will be just fine”

An apprenticeship raises up the tradesman. The responsibility of a mentor is not to get their pupil to learn and recognize terminology but to incorporate knowledge with practice to raise up the next generation of trade worker. A valuable teacher produces competent students.

Knowledge and discipline are intertwined to produce a great example.

Proverbs 22 echoes Deuteronomy 6:4–9, where Moses says:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength… Impress these commandments on your children…”

Again—love and obedience go hand in hand.

This is relationship through religion.

Daily practices. Sacred rhythms. Family worship. Symbols and reminders.

If you want to pass on faith that sticks, you don’t just say “Love Jesus”—

You teach prayer.

You open the Scriptures.

You gather in worship.

You build a house that won’t fall.

Why we need to reclaim RELIGION

The answer to bad religion is not no religion but TRUE RELIGION

Psalm 119:97 says:

“Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.”

This is the cry of a heart in love with God and His ways.

This isn’t dead legalism—it’s delight.

Religion, in its true sense, is not a burden.

It’s a form of love.

It’s how we express our love for God with consistency.

The psalmist’s relationship with God isn’t spontaneous; it’s sustained by holy habits.

Just like any real relationship.

Jesus addresses this in Matthew 5:17–20:

“Do not think I’ve come to abolish the Law… I have not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

Jesus doesn’t cancel religion—He completes it.

He calls out hypocrisy, not the structures themselves.

Jesus:

Attended synagogue

Kept the feasts

Read Scripture publicly

Prayed regularly

Instituted communion

Taught about fasting, giving, and prayer

So following Jesus isn’t escaping religion—it’s walking faithfully in the religion that He Himself established.

Our Relationship Is Priestly and Covenantal

Hebrews 4:14–16 paints a beautiful picture of Jesus as our Great High Priest.

Yes, we can “approach the throne of grace with confidence.”

Yes, we have a relationship with a living Savior.

But what’s the imagery? Temple, priesthood, sacrifice—all religious in nature.

The relationship we have with Jesus is covenantal.

That means it has form, structure, expectations, and practices.

This is the heart of biblical religion.

The source of relationship and deconstruction

It’s often a reaction:

Against cold formalism.

Against churches that focused on rules but lacked love.

Against rituals without heart.

And yes—Jesus spoke against that too.

But the answer to bad religion isn’t no religion.

It’s true religion.

James 1:27 says:

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows… and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

That’s not vague spirituality.

That’s formed, lived, embodied faith.

That’s religion rooted in love.

Don’t Call Him ‘Lord’ If You Won’t Live Like It

Jesus said in Luke 6:

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

To say “I love Jesus” but reject the practices He gave us—

That’s calling Him Lord with our lips but not with our lives.

If we want to build a life, a home, a church that stands—

We must root our relationship in a living religion:

A rhythm of prayer, worship, and sacrament.

A commitment to community, Scripture, and obedience.

A faith that is passed on to the next generation not just through words, but through practice.

It is a faith that is lived out. It takes practice, surrender, humility, grace, love, and forgiveness. There is no shortcut to the Spiritual Fruits of the characteristics of God. WE are called to bring heaven down “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

“Give me the old time religion where the love for God brought us to church and not the needs at home. Give me the old time religion where Christians were living saints and not hypocrites. I want the old time religion where purity was celebrated and sin detested.” —J.W.

“Lord, I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will, rank me with whom You will. Let be employed by You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low by You. Let me have all things, let me have nothing, I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are mine and I am Yours. So be it. Amen.”- J.W.

Application Points: Include 3–4 takeaways such as:

Cultivate daily spiritual rhythms (Scripture, prayer, worship).

Teach your children habits, not just concepts.

Reclaim your spiritual identity in Christ (Ephesians 1).

Don’t deconstruct—reconstruct with Scripture, community, and discipline.

Conclusion

In Luke 6, Jesus tells the story of two builders. One hears His words and puts them into practice—he builds on rock. The other hears, but doesn’t act. That’s a house on sand. Both face the same storm. Only one stands. The difference isn’t belief—it’s obedience.

Church, a vague relationship won’t hold up when life hits hard— Nor a customized value faith.

But a faith rooted in the Word, formed by practice, and shaped by Christ—that’s built to last.

So let’s stop tearing apart what God joined together.

Let’s teach our children to know both Jesus and the practices that form their hearts.

Let’s love Jesus with our hearts and our habits.

Let’s be hearers and doers.

Let’s build on the Rock.

Church, storms will come. Culture will shift. Doubt will creep in. But faith rooted in Christ, formed by practice, and passed down with intention—that faith will stand. Let’s build on the rock. Let’s raise up the next generation not just to know about Jesus, but to walk with Him—in word, in worship, in witness. Don’t just call Him “Lord.” Live like it. Build what lasts.