Sermon Central
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The Word, Love & Work Of God
Contributed by Rev. Matthew Parker on Jan 19, 2014 (message contributor)
Summary: Jesus is the Foundation of the Christian life. Upon that foundation there are three key pillars that enable to live the abundant life that Christ wants for us: God's Word, God's love and Grace, and our active engagement in doing the work of God.
Today we want to take an opportunity to think about strengthening and making firm the foundation of our lives.
The parable that was just read talks about the importance of building on a sure foundation. If life was always calm, if there were no storms, if troubles never came our way, then perhaps we could get by with a less sure foundation.
In regions of the US where there is rarely, if ever, any severe weather, they get away with building homes with pretty shallow foundations. Trailer parks do well in good climates. Not so well in tornados.
This is really the 3rd in a series on this, the 3rd Sunday of January, where we’ve been talking about beginning afresh, taking a new perspective on the freedom we have in Christ, and leaving behind the snares and burdens that rob our joy.
A few weeks ago we talked about remembering the goodness and faithfulness of God; we talked about forgetting the former things and not dwelling on the past.
Then we thought about what it means to have our hearts and eyes open to the good work that God is doing, and then being ready to proclaim to others the goodness that we experience from God’s hand.
Last week Pastor Lee talked about living out of the personality that God has given to us, one that is being continually shaped by God to be more like Jesus.
We've talked a lot at this church about Jesus Christ being the sure foundation for a life. And that is so. Jesus is the rock, the very Cornerstone, of our salvation.
1 Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Jesus is God in the flesh. He is the faithful high priest. He is the One through whom we come to God the Father. This much is talked about a lot here.
But I want to take the understanding that we have of Christ as our foundation, and go further into the Word of God to help us to understand 3 other essential elements that rest on the foundation of Jesus Christ.
In a building you have the foundation, without which you have nothing. But then the foundation needs to have supports - supporting structures that provide strength to the building.
There are three pillars of a life resting on a sure foundation, that foundation being Jesus Christ, our King, our Saviour and our Redeemer.
You know, if you follow any of the construction downtown over any period of time, you notice a few things.
One thing is that even as they are digging out the foundation of the building that they are about to build, you can get a clue as to how high that building is going to go by how deep the foundation that they are building is. In fact, the higher you go the deeper the foundation needed.
Likewise, it can be said that the higher and more effective we want our witness to be, our service to God to be; the more fruitful the impact that we want our lives to have, the deeper the foundation needs to be, and the strong our commitment to these pillars needs to be.
The First Pillar is the Word of God
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies... I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
I love the Word of God, the Bible. I think the beauty of the Bible is threefold: it keeps us grounded in the character of God, it keeps us wise about the follies of the human heart, and it keeps us personally connected to the story of God, WHEN we invest our time and heart into it.
A great deal of the Bible is a revelation of the character of God: who God is, how beautiful and worthy of adoration and praise He is, how He thinks and what He places value on. God is a person - a person who has chosen to reveal to us all that we are able to learn about Him.
