Sermon Tone Analysis

\\ 1 COR.

3:10-11

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Finding Your Spiritual Base

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IX.         Intro:

!! A.   On Oct. 17, 1989 a massive earthquake struck t~/San Francisco area & t~/people there gave a lot of thought to t~/foundation they were built on.

Buildings built on solid ground sustained much less damage than those built on "filled in" areas.

T~/south pier of t~/Golden Gate Bridge sits directly on top of t~/San &reas fault!

Yet it was undamaged in that quake because t~/weight of t~/bridge rests on t~/two towers deeply embedded into t~/rock beneath t~/sea.

Remember that double-decker freeway in Oakl& that collapsed?

It was built on l& that had been filled in.

It all looked t~/same until t~/time of testing!

!! B.   Don’t have to live long to know life will shake U.  Is your foundation up to it?

Is that important?

How can U make sure?

GOT 2 FIND YOUR SPIRITUAL BASE

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X. Scripture: 1Co 3:10-11 <<READ>>

· Alaska quakes required additional strength in t~/building we built.

Know where?

Why?

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XI.         T~/foundation for what?

· T~/foundation of what?!  Yall believers as God’s building.

· *Temple* /in which God’s Spirit lives./

Jesus’ physical body as a temple (John 2:19-22).

Christ’s spiritual body, t~/universal church (Eph.

2:21).

T~/body of each individual Christian a temple (1 Cor.

6:19).

In this passage, t~/local church a temple (3:16).

· Primary ref. may be to t~/local church, but as each 1 is also a temple of HS, & all Kingdom work is based on using gifts to edify t~/church, then this is about BOTH local church & t~/individual.

· Just as individual success in sports that undermines team success is not real success.

· Context before & after refer to extending t~/work after t~/foundation is laid.

What it means to build a spiritual life.

But here in t~/middle, in vs.10-11, it refers to t~/foundation that must first be laid.

· So today we talk of “Finding Your Spiritual Base”

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XII.

What is t~/foundation?

· Why does t~/Leaning Tower of Pisa lean?

Bad foundation.

& nothing could fix it.

!! A.   Paul’s

· Who laid t~/foundation?

Paul, not t~/individuals themselves.

But he is not t~/foundation, he did not create t~/foundation either.

He just laid it.

(lay, lay down, put, place)  He did not “build” it, using t~/word he does choose in t~/rest of t~/passage.

· What foundation?  Jesus Christ.

· No one made t~/foundation.

It is eternal.

Jn1:1

· Jesus Christ alone was t~/foundation, t~/basis of salvation (Acts 4:12).

· & this is not Jesus as described, or Jesus as a cultic figure head of t~/Christian religion, nor t~/teaching about him, but Jesus Christ t~/living Lord, crucified & resurrected!

· T~/Wise & Foolish Builders Matthew 7:24-27 \\ Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine & puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on t~/rock.

25 T~/rain came down, t~/streams rose, & t~/winds blew & beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on t~/rock.

26 But everyone who hears these words of mine & does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on s&.  27 T~/rain came down, t~/streams rose, & t~/winds blew & beat against that house, & it fell with a great crash.”

!! B.   Others

· In */truth/*, there is only */one real/* foundation.

All others are false pretenders.

Choosing them as foundations, does not actually make them secure foundations.

I can smooth out & level t~/dirt on my lot exquisitely, raise on t~/perfectly level foundation a beautiful home, but when it rains, t~/false foundation will wash away.

· Not religion, not good works, not law, not social justice, not even love for others.

Jesus Christ.

T~/solid rock.

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XIII.

choosing your foundation

!! A.   Foundation First

· If my foundation is 20x20, what is my building going to look like?

How many stories of 20x20 high can I build it?

Why?

· T~/foundation must come first or all building is foolish.

· T~/building will never be stronger than t~/foundation in t~/long run.

!! o       Foundation Choosing

· We don’t make our foundation, we choose it.

& while our choice is individual & free, & seem best to us at t~/time, not all choices are equally right & true.

· Foundation choosing questions: is there a god (yes – nature), is he personal (yes – revelation & salvation history), how is he known (revelation).

· Now, t~/man who built his house on t~/s& did a lot of things right.

For instance, he was evidently diligent, energetic, a hard worker.

It’s no easy thing to put up a house, & especially not in those days, with no power tools or Home Depot.

He had to carry stone, & cut wood, & form bricks out of clay.

It probably took him weeks & months of backbreaking labor.

He didn’t quit; he persevered until t~/structure was complete.

Yet in t~/end, all his hard work was for nothing.

o       I point that out because we often confuse activity with godliness.

We assume that if someone is hard-working & energetic, they must be a sincere Christian.

· How did this man differ from t~/foolish man?

Did he work harder?

No. Did he use better materials?

Not necessarily.

T~/only difference was in t~/foundation he chose to build on.

But that made all t~/difference

· Taking organized religion as your foundation, rather than Jesus is s&.

Don’t build on that.

People have tried & pull up empty every time.

· Having Jesus as foundation, is following Him in obedience, not just to make him t~/figurehead of your homegrown religion.

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XIV.

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