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FOUNDATIONS FIRM
SERIES
Looseleaf
Format
Book 1, Lesson 1 Page 1
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The
Vital Importance of a
Firm
Foundation
Solid
buildings
have firm foundations built tothe master architect’s specifications.
The
more solid the foundation, theless likely the building is to suffer
damage
from storms, earthquakes,or the settling of the earth with the passage
of time. To be able to withstandthe storms of adversity that are sure
to
come, a Christian must build hislife on a firm foundation of true Bible
Doctrine.
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GOLDEN TEXT:
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them,I
will liken to a wise man which built his house upon a
rock.
Matthew 7:24
SCRIPTURE TEXTS:
Matthew 7:22-27; Luke 6:46-49; Hebrews 6:1,2.
MATTHEW 7:22-27
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesiedin
thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name
donemany
wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart fromme,
ye that work iniquity.
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them,I
will
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liken him unto a wise man,
which built his
house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
windsblew,
and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them
not,shall
be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew,
andbeat
upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
LUKE 6:46-49
46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
47 Whosoever cometh to me and heareth my sayings and doeth them, Iwill
shew you to whom he is like:
48 He is like a man which built an house and digged deep, and
laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the
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stream beat vehemently upon that
house, and could
not shake it; for it was founded upon a rock.
49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without
afoundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream
didbeat
vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house
wasgreat.
HEBREWS 6:1,2
1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let usgo
on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance
fromdead
works, and of faith toward God,
2 Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of
resurrectionof
the dead, and of eternal judgment.
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INTRODUCTION:
We MUST understand
the importance of establishing our lives
ona sure foundation. If a building is to be useful, sturdy and
permanent,
it must be built on a solid base. Whenever men erect buildings, they
must
pay close attention to the proper preparation of the foundation. Since
this is a fact which every good builder understands, God used it
to teach us Divine truth. Every part of a building depends upon the
foundation
for support. The Bible speaks of our lives as buildings and tells us
the
kind of foundation upon which we must build if we are to build sound
Christian
lives.
I. WHAT DID THE LORD JESUS TEACH ABOUT OUR PERSONAL FOUNDATION?
In our scripture texts the wise builder was likened to the person who
listens to and acts upon the word of God while the foolish man pays no
attention to God or His Word.. Let us study the
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qualities of the wise man first.
A) The wise man built on a solid foundation. What constitutes a
sound foundation? (Luke 6:47).
1. “Whosoever cometh to Me…” The very first step is to come to the
Lord by either going to hear someone talk about the Lord or picking up
a Bible or piece of Bible literature and reading it.
2. “Heareth my sayings…” One may sit in the presence of someone who
is talking and never truly hear a
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| FOUNDATIONS
FIRM
SERIES
Looseleaf
Format
Book 1, Lesson 1 Page 2 |
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single
word. This may be because the listener’s
mind is on other subjects and the speaker is “tuned out”. Or because
his
knowledge of the language is too limited to grasp the meaning of the
speaker’s
words. But the wise man makes SURE he hears the message because
“ignorance
of the law is no excuse.”
3. “…doeth them…”
Hearing a command does no good if it is not obeyed. The wise builder
acts upon the directions given him by the master architect, knowing
that
the architect has determined the requirements and limitations of the
building
and knows the strengths and weaknesses of the materials to be used. We
know that Jesus is the Master Architect, so, if we are wise, we act
upon
His word and the word of His foremen, the Apostles.
B) Can one hear and not do?
(Luke 6:46).
1. “Ye call me Lord, Lord…” Many people give “lip service” to the Lord,
making a big thing of calling Jesus their Lord; they celebrate His
birth,
His death, His resurrection (usually on the wrong days); sing songs of
praise to him, even have great “healing crusades” in His name. But…
2. “Ye… do not the things which I say.” We will study what His
commandments
are in later lessons. This, is knowing to do and not doing it.
“Therefore,
to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James4:17).
C) What is a man like who
hears and does the Word? (Luke6:48a).
1. “Like a man which built an house…” Each and every one of us is
buildinginto
our lives the character which is the house in which we live. But all
are
not wise builders. What is the first thing that distinguishes the wise
from the foolish builder?
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2. He “…digged deep…” The wise man
dug through the
shifting sand and the slippery, miry clay and laid his foundation upon
a rock. Our Rock isJesus Christ, the Anointed One the Messiah. We must
dig through all the attitudes of self-indulgence, the doubts and fears
natural to all mankind and false doctrines of men, all of which are
shifting
sands or treacherous clay. By faith, we dig down to our Great Rock, the
unshakable foundation Christ Jesus.
3. “…laid the foundation upon a rock…”
When we lay our foundation upon Jesus, His commandments, His teachings
and His promises, we are on the sure foundation. “Other foundation can
no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1
Corinthians3:11).
D) The necessity of building on the Rock.
1. “…the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house,” (Luke
6:48b). Life is full of problems and like the old saying,“When it
rains,
it pours,” problems seem to come all at once. Watch. If you lose your
job,
it seems like immediately there is a serious illness or a death in the
family, or a wreck, or disastrous fire, or the finance company
repossesses
your car or furniture. If you are not secure “on the rock,” the flood
of
problems may overflow you and “wash you away.:" Even“righteous Job”
lost
his oxen and donkeys and the servants that kept them,his sheep and the
servants that kept them, his camels and the servants that kept them,
and
finally, his children all apparently in less than one hour. (See
Job
1:13-22.)
Only his unshakable faith in God kept him going. In his
day,
the Holy Spirit was not yet given as the Comforter, but today we can
“…know
that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them
who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
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| FOUNDATIONS
FIRM
SERIES
Looseleaf
Format
Book 1, Lesson 1 Page 3
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E) What happened to the house on the
rock?” (Luke
6:48b).1. The storm “could not shake it….” Why could the storm not
shake
it?“
…it was founded upon a rock.” Of course there will be storms in your
Christianlife, but if you are hearing and doing the Word of God, you
are
foundedupon the rock and the storm cannot shake you.
F) What happens to the house without foundation?
1. “…the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately, it fell; andthe
ruin of that house was great.” (Luke 6:49). We have all
seenpictures
of places hit by flash floods. Did you notice that most of thedamaged
houses
were built on the earth and when the flood waters washedthe soil away,
the houses crumbled and fell? But here and there a housewithstood the
storm.
The ones that stood had a foundation that could notbe washed away. It
does
not matter that it is cheaper to build on the soiland the builder
thinks
he can not afford the extra expense of the betterfoundation. Nor does
it
matter if the builder doesn’t know any better.What counts is whether or
not the foundation is on a sure rock or not.The flood is not interested
in excuses nor even reasons. The waters rushimpartially down the valley
and sweep away everything alike - except thatwhich is solidly built
upon
a rock. This is an indisputable fact of life.It is equally true in the
spiritual sense. We dare not build our spiritualhouses on “hope-so” or
“it’s good enough” salvation. We MUST build on thesure foundation of
Jesus
Christ and the doctrines His first Apostles taught.
G) What is the danger in building our lives? (Luke 6:49).
1. “He that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a
foundationbuilt
an house upon the earth…” |
You are already a “hearer” of the
Word. (See
Romans 2:13; James1:22,23.) The result of our failure
to
build on a firmfoundation is the same regardless of the reason; whether
we simply didnot understand the message, deliberately disobeyed or
because
a trustedreligious leader told us that it made no difference so long as
we “believed”.
H) What did the Apostles teach about our personal foundation?
1. The Christian’s foundation is described in Hebrews 6:1 and 2:
“Thereforelaying
aside the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on
untoperfection
[a better translation says, “let us grow into maturity;"]: notlaying
again
the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faithtoward God,
of
the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands…” Thisis NOT saying
that we do not need the foundation, but that once it is laidand in
place,
we go on to build upon that foundation, as can be seenfrom the
context
of these verses. The entire 5th chapter explains the necessityof our
growing
into maturity, outgrowing milk and learning to eat realmeat. The
foundation
described consisted of:
1. “…repentance from dead works,”
2. “…faith toward God…“
3. “…the doctrine of baptisms…”
4. “…laying on of hands…”
5. “…resurrection of the dead…”
6. “…eternal Judgment.”
It is impossible for us to “go on unto perfection…” unless
we first lay our foundation right. This is why so many church-goersdo
not
grow and mature into soldiers of the cross. Their foundation wasnever
properly
laid. After the foundation is laid, then we must “…go on.”
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| FOUNDATIONS
FIRM
SERIES
Looseleaf
Format
Book 1, Lesson 13 Page 4 |
NOTES:
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