Pastor’s Musings
What’s Under You?
What foundation we put under our house is of immense importance, as is making sure it is plumb and level. Unless it is firmly fixed and immovable, you may find your house collapsing or drifting away in a flood or minor tremor.
Jesus uses this example of a builder building his house in Matthew 7:24-27.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24–27, ESV)
And the Apostle Paul takes the analogy a little further and adds to this thought in Ephesians 2:19-22.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2:19–22, ESV)
There are four things that we see noted in these two texts that tie into us building our foundations spiritually strong.
- The foundation is the teachings of the apostles (New Testament) and the prophets (Old Testament). The cornerstone is Jesus because all of Scripture points to Him. So in order to have a true foundation, we must first commit to building our lives on Jesus and the Word of God. Have you committed your life to following Jesus? How you committed to studying the Bible to learn more about Jesus? If you have, then you’ll have a firm foundation underneath you to weather the storms of life. If not, you’ll struggle and stumble and collapse under the weight and pressures of the three “S’s”: Society, Satan, and even our own Selves.
- We are being built into a holy temple, the church, for the Lord to dwell within. And that church is built on the foundation mentioned in the previous point. Not only are we individually to have our foundation based upon Jesus and His Word, our churches must build themselves upon that as well. Unfortunately, many churches today are straying off that firm foundation.
- The church is made up of individuals who have made Jesus and His Word their foundation. The Bible tells us that we are being joined together one upon another. What happens if you decide not to go to church anymore? Well, then, that stone is pulled out and there is a hole in the wall. Enough holes in the wall and the wall collapses and then eventually the church collapses. People who have pledged to follow Christ should be committed to a local church and committed to attending that church. There are no qualifiers to this. No excuses. No rationalizing or justifying it away. If you are not here, you are hurting the structure. You are hurting the church. You are hurting the other stones in the wall, the people. And ultimately, you are hurting the body of Jesus Christ.
- Finally, Jesus got really specific in regards to the foundation, though. He says the firm foundation is more than just hearing and studying about Jesus and the Bible. It is putting His and the Bible’s Words to practice. “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock…” You can’t get around the truth that it’s the practical application of doing what Jesus says that is indeed a major component to having a sure foundation underneath us. But you can’t do what you don’t know. Hence the necessity of studying the Word of God and coming for corporate teaching in Sunday School, Church, and Bible Studies.
The final thing I wanted to touch on is another practical piece to this puzzle. Peter gives us an additional benefit to knowing and holding on to the Words of Jesus and Scripture.
May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:2–4, ESV)
Remember the three enemies I mentioned earlier: Society, Satan, and Self? Peter helps us see how we are able to continue to combat those resting on the foundation mentioned earlier. He tells us that in God’s Word there are precious and very great promises that help us defeat the enemies. Building our lives upon the Word of God, putting into practice the teachings of Jesus, and holding onto His promises, while gathering together to worship and learn more about Him are the key ingredients to building our lives upon a firm foundation that will weather the storms of life. Over the course of the next several months I will be preaching a sermon series based upon Max Lucado’s book, “Unshakeable Hope: Building Our Lives On The Promises Of God.” Which I think is much needed in today’s world. So much shook our lives over the course of the last year, I think we need to be reminded and encouraged by those promises on which we can stand and build our lives.
How did 2020 shake your life? Join us as we study together how we can have a firm foundation underneath us as we learn to trust in the promises of God. Sunday School starts at 9:15 and church at 10:30. We’ll also be studying them in small groups a little further on Wednesday evenings beginning at 7pm, except for the 6 weeks during Lent (February 24th through April 1st)
I really hope you decide to join us on this incredible journey of studying the promises of God.
Until next time, I think, therefore I have thought and I share those musings with you (Psm. 77:11-14, NASB).
Pastor Jon Hayashi