January 7, 2018 Sermon Outline - Our Foundation is Sure - Ephesians 2:18-22
Talk today about foundations and superstructures.
001 New Evergreen Foundation Issue;
Many of you have heard about our Evergreen Centre for at-risk youth.
Close to my heart
Forced to move ourselves from current location or be expropriated
we bought land and a building for ministry to at risk youth;- a 3 story ministry centre; drop in, health centre, dental office, employment centre, creative art space, meeting rooms, nursery, housing referrals and more (4 shots of new Evergreen design
then discovered the lack of a foundation for what we wanted to build there. This lack created a big problem and a delay and extra costs.
002 Scripture talks about Foundations
003 Just talked about healing between Jew and Gentile. Gentiles now grafted in to people of God
004 No longer foreigners, strangers, but fellow citizens
005 Foundation of apostles and prophets; prophets of the OT who spoke of coming Incarnation (Isaiah 9:6), Suffering (Is 53)
Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 53
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
...4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering...
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
...10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,
...by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities...he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
006 Apostle’s teachings - the friends of Jesus who relate the Jesus story with authority; can be trusted because they were eyewitnesses, or as in Luke the doctors case, a committed historian
007 Sense is really that the foundation is most accurately Jesus, of whom the apostles testify, to Whom they gave their lives for their faithful service to Christ
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 3:11
008 New Evergreen foundation not good enough; future couldn’t rest on it; vision for ministry not sustainable by existing clay
009 Had to strengthen foundation; lots of additional effort and money
010 Plus steel superstructure to sit upon foundation
011 Above needed to build a future
012 We need a foundation and a superstructure to build our future. This year of 2018 and onward
013 Sometimes we examine and find we have faulty foundation. We either find this out at an early age, as I did, or sometimes later on in life when we have been committed for some time to a particular philosophy or way of living, and we discovered through trial and error that the way we have a living is indeed faulty. It provides the foundation for a living, or for weathering the storms as they come.
014 Atheism of my youth was a shallow, empty foundation. No future, no life; tried to end it all; failed. Sometimes failure is a good thing
015 I exhausted what atheism had to offer and found it wanting. It’s ultimate message is that nothing really matters, but you just try to make the best life you can before you die and become worm food.
016 Learned about Jesus. Moved that He died for me. Didn’t realize at first that He would be that great foundation. At first it was enough to be loved.
017 Then learned the teachings of Jesus. It’s the person of Jesus and the teachings of Jesus that sustain us and provide a great foundation.
018 The Wise and Foolish Builders 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.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
019 It’s the person of Jesus who loves you that provides that foundation. You exist knowing that you are loved. Knowing that Jesus gave His life for you so that you can be reconciled to God/barriers removed/access gained through the blood of the Lamb.
020 And it’s the teachings of Jesus that Instruct us. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Ps 119:105
021 When we accept Jesus as Lord, we begin to follow His teachings - which speak of the kingdom of God, holiness, honesty before God, loving God and loving our neighbour, obeying the will of God among many other things.
022 Jesus tells us we’re in trouble if we ignore His teachings in pretty stark terms.
021 “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 who is in heaven.
022 Being a Christian means living as a Christian. Thank God that doesn’t mean being perfect, but it does mean ‘aim high’. Jesus says: Matthew 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
023 So we need to search our hearts, even as 2018 begins, to see if we’re kidding ourselves by on the one hand trusting Jesus and on the other hand doing whatever we please. We’re trusting Jesus, but we are knowingly living in sin.
024 We’re trusting Jesus, but we are not actively listening to the Holy Spirit as God refines us to make us more like Jesus, as he and parts to us the gifts of the spirit and develops in us the character of Jesus, which the Bible calls the fruit of the Spirit.
024 So we learn about Jesus - the person of Jesus, and the teachings of Jesus through the apostles teaching, and both our relationship with Jesus and His teachings are the foundation of our life.
025 What might be the superstructure of our lives? [Photo of superstructure] What are those things that we are putting in place, upon the solid foundation of Jesus, that will enable us to really build our lives. So that when the rains come, the streams rise etc. our lives are still intact?
026 Fellowship - it’s gathering together with other believers for worship and teaching; it’s having the positive influence in our lives of other committed Christians. It’s building into our lives the practice of being in relationship with others. This is not easy. But it’s necessary to do so with God and with His people.
027 Spiritual Disciplines - A part of ‘feeding ourselves’ is developing spiritual disciplines. What are some spiritual disciplines?
Communion with God: time with God as a regular part of your day. Read Scripture, reflect on it. I suggest reading at least one, perhaps a few chapters of the Bible every day. It’s also good to focussing on just one passage each day to reflect on it and to talk to God about what it means and what it stirs in you.
Pray. It’s really important to not just ask God for stuff. Some people use AC TS, which stands for Adoration, confession Thanksgiving and Supplication. Start with Worship, coming clean, giving thanks, and praying for others, the world and yourself.
There are many resources. Mention my favourite devotional book. There are online resources such as Bible Gateway.com and apps like U version that I have the Bible read to you.
There is also the app “Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals”. This takes you through a bit of a more structured time of prayer that includes scripture reading, intercession, Worship and reflection.
028 Feed ourselves - Does an infant know how to feed itself? No. So someone else has to feed it. What if once an infant can feed itself, it demands that others feed it? Would that be a healthy person? Of course not. Likewise, in addition to being with other believers for worship and teaching, we need to feed ourselves. We need to read good books, we need to search out opportunities to grow in our understanding of who God is and of what the Christian faith is and what a godly life looks like.
029 Serve God and others. It is absolutely critical, if we genuinely want to continue to grow in a relationship with God, that we find ways to actively serve God. This is most commonly through serving people. We love God by communing with him both intentionally and our devotions and throughout the day. And we love God as we love our neighbor.
So you should ask yourself, how am I serving God by serving people? And if you’re not sure, you can talk to myself, you can talk to one of the elders, talk to each other and as the Scripture says encourage one another to do good works.
The foundation of the new Evergreen is being built. The superstructure that will enable that ministry to thrive and grow and impact tens of thousands of lives, is being built as we speak. It should be open in April of this year.
May we, too, be serious and intentional about living our lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the chief cornerstone. That means he, as the chief cornerstone, both sets the place and peace and beginning and design of our lives, he and his teachings are the foundation of our lives, and by his grace he enables the superstructure our lives to grow and be able to strengthen us so that we can withstand the inevitable storms that will come in our lives.
May we simply love him with all of our beings, maybe spur one another on to good works as we gather together to worship and fellowship, may we seek to be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect, and maybe, relying on his grace, have an excellent year of our Lord 2018.
