Foundation Series: BIBLE

Series Base text: Matthew 7:24-27 - 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.”

Foundation stones:

1. Prayer

2. Bible

3. Fasting

4. Tithing

5. Worship

6. Giving

One of my favourite kinds of books to read or programs to watch are autobiographies, especially Christians ones, or ones where the person has some kind of encounter with God. I like these because they are stories about real people who, through experiences, have learned something that they now share with me – who is reading the book. I then learn from these people and my life is richer for it.

Some examples:

· Ken Blanchard – Whale done: Leadership Lessons

· Always look up – Michael J Fox: Inspiration

· Next Generation Leader - Andy Stanley: Leadership Lessons

· Soul Obsession – Nicky Cruz: Inspiration

Each book hold gems of wisdom, through their life experiences, that have helped me in my life.

Now, today I want to about 66 other books that offer way more pearls of wisdom than today’s autobiographies and leadership books. All of these books have been collected and placed into one publication.

We know it as the Bible.

So what is so special about the Bible?

“It’s the most successful literary creation ever; more influential than Shakespeare or any of the other great texts. It’s completely international. Consider the translations of great literary works.

· Take the Greek philosopher Homer, for example. He has been translated into 40 languages.

· Shakespeare, the British playwright, has been translated into 60 languages

· The Harry Potter stories: 67 Languages

· The Bible has been translated into well over 2,233 languages! That’s ten times more than any other book. It’s every publisher’s dream. It’s the world’s bestseller — 44 million copies of the Bible sell every year.”

(Source: How and why should I read the Bible – The Alpha Course)

Quote: Ghandi said to the Christians of his day: ‘You look after a document containing enough dynamite to blow all civilisation to pieces, turn the world upside down and bring peace to a battle torn planet. But you treat it as though it were nothing more than a piece of literature.’

So lets compare what Ghandi said to you now:

· If you claim to be a Christian, do you read the Bible as the powerful word of God? Or do you simply read it now and then like an ordinary piece of literature?

I do not know how a person can grow as a Christian without reading the Bible. There is no other way. The only way to move from a beginner to a mature Christian is when you engage the Bible - when you read the Word of God.

What you are about to hear is probably one of the most important messages you will hear in your life. Why? Because you DO NOT have what it takes!

You do not have what it takes to be the kind of person you need to be or want to be. You have these aspirations to be the best father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, friend, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, etc. in your life, but you do not have what it takes to be the best.

Well, what is that makes you the best? Wisdom.

You do not naturally have the wisdom it takes to be the best friend, father, mother, etc… when you get started. We do not have wisdom as a default setting when we are born. No baby pops out of the womb and automatically councils the gynaecologist on the issues of life.

No, wisdom is a gift you acquire and grow as you experience life.

And for interest sake… God designed it like that.

How many of you would say you could use a little more wisdom?

Well, then how does a person get wisdom?

There are two ways:

1. Personal experience – Example: You run barefoot across the veld when you stand in a pile of devil-thorns. Ouch! You sit down to take them all out. You start thinking, maybe I should wear shoes next time when I run across a veld.

It took one painful incident to gain one lesson in wisdom.

The second way is a better way:

2. Other peoples experiences – Have you heard the saying, “Life is too short to make all the mistakes by yourself?” Well, life is too short to learn all the wisdom yourself.

Example: Your friend runs across the veld, he stands in thorns, his feet are bleeding as he sits there taking out the thorns. Then you ask his, “What did you learn?” Well, do not run into the veld barefoot.

If you’re smart, you then take that piece of wisdom that your friend gained and apply it to your own life.

Let me tell you why this is important:

You do not have enough feet to stand on all the thorny lessons of life to become wise. We have to learn from other peoples experiences. We do not have enough life in us to learn everything by our own experiences.

Now we are stuck with another question, “Where on earth are we going to do that?”

Well, let me show you. Raise your hand if you have ever gained a gem of wisdom from personal experience?

Now if I was to learn from all your gems of wisdom and apply them to my life… I would be a rich man!

I will have wisdom beyond my experience.

We hear Jesus saying the same thing in the base reading for this series;

24. “… everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house 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.”

What’s the difference between wise and foolish?

The application!

Both hear, but both do not put it into practice.

Also, how can you put words into practice if you don’t know them?

It’s best we get to know them.

What are his words?

They are not only literally his words that are written in red in some Bibles, but also the words used throughout the whole Bible that is inspired by God. Different Characters, different situations, different contexts, different lessons – all of which we can learn from. We need to learn from all of their experiences.

The way to do this, it to not only learn from Jesus, but also learn from the other characters in the Bible who had a first-hand experience of God.

The Bible has 66 books to learn from.

66 unedited accounts of men and women who made mistakes – that are not hidden - but shown to us so that we have 66 books giving us a wealth of wisdom to learn from.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (Read the underlined out loud with me)

“ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.”

Do you know what Inspired means?

God is wants us to know that the same wisdom God gave all these great people in the Bible, is the same Wisdom He will give us! So that we will be fully qualified and equipped.

Think about it this way;

These 66 accounts are here to mentor us in this life so that we are able to become the best we can be.

Some of my great mentors have come from the Bible:

· Job – Gave me understanding in my two years of illness and how to be honest with God.

· Gideon – Allowed me to believe in myself and what God could do through me when others didn’t.

· Esther – giving me courage to do the right thing.

· Nehemiah – How to be a good leader.

God specifically designed the Bible to tutor you in this life. He knew you would need it.

But some might say, “Isn’t the Bible just a historical account of God?”

No no!

1 Corinthians 10:11

“1Co 10:11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”

Roman 15:4

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Do you get it? All this is for us to learn from.

Picture all the Bible characters alive at once.

Picture them all seated in a huge auditorium and every time you had a questions about something or needed advice, all you had to do was walk into that room and ask them your question. Imagine the answers you would get from all the collective wealth of wisdom from them… all for you! Can you imagine what your life would be like if you could do that?

Well that’s the point of the Bible! You can have an audience with them any time you like! The Bible is the powerful word of God, not a simple piece of literature.

King David got this, so he wrote this:

Psalms 119:98-100

98) Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.

99) I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.

100) I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts.

Do you get this?

You can get wisdom beyond your lifetime because of these people in the Bible who have learned from the throny issues of life, who now can impart their wisdom onto us.

And you know what else… ITS FREE!!!

I have often had many questions where I found answers in the Bible - From personal battles to direction in leading this church.

The Bible hold nothing back as it give freely to you, through these people who have gone before us.

I want to challenge you today, to begin to feed yourself on the word of God. Because everything you need to be the best father, mother, aunt, uncle, grandparent, business person, etc. is found in this book. But you’ve got to feed yourself!

Imagine this with me:

What would look like if you only ate once a month? You’d be scrawny and weak; you won’t have stamina and strength – it wouldn’t be long before you are dead.

Not because you had no food but because you just didn’t want to eat.

If you want to become stronger – you MUST eat!

Now imagine this same analogy for your spiritual life. If we do not feed it, we won’t have any stamina and strength. We’d become scrawny and weak and fade away. No wonder Satan has his way with us and makes our lives miserable. Without feeding on the word of God we won’t have the power to fight him.

We may have the knowledge, but not the strength.

If you want your soul to be strong and powerful – you MUST eat!

How many of you literally still get fed by your mothers? None of you!

Why? Because you know its up to you. The same goes for feeding our spirits.

We need to begin to feed ourselves!

Jesus lets us know this:

Mat 4:4 But he answered, "It is written, "'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

I want to challenge you to the most important thing you can do in this life – READ YOUR BIBLE!

You may say, “This is not for me because I have read the Bible from cover to cover, I know the stories, so I'm ok.” No, you’re not. You are missing the point.

You see, your daily devotion, as a Christian, is the foundation for your whole life.

When you read your Bible, it’s more than reading, it’s a time when you sit at the feet of God let Him teach you.

When you read the Bible, you’re not studying the Bible, you are allowing the Bible to studying you. Its great to have the knowledge of the stories but it’s a different story when you are opening up your heart to the word of God. You are saying “Lord search me and take out those things that shouldn’t be there.”

One of the cool things about the Bible is that it’ll search you. It’ll help you find things in your life that shouldn’t be there that will potentially wreck you. It’ll start pointing those things out so you can start dealing with them.

Let me ask you something… Do you think the Holy Spirit will know what you are going to face next week? Next Month? Next year? Of course! But you don’t!

God knows what will trip you up in the future and he WANTS to give you the wisdom to not trip. He knows you are going to need the wisdom you learn today, tomorrow. He wants to equip you but if you don’t take the time to feed yourself and allow God to pour wisdom into your heart, you won’t have it.

You may think, well the Bible takes time to read! No No! By having the wisdom you need for your future challenge, you will save time. Because the Holy Spirit knows exactly what we need before you do. So it’ll save you from digging out of the pit.

I want to learn to play guitar. Imagine if I signed up with a guitar teacher for 1 one hour session a week. I would play ok in a years time.

But how different would my playing be if a master like Jimmy Hendriks or Eric Clapton came up to me and told me they would personally mentor me one hour a day for a year. I would play BRILLIANTLY!

You would be able to tell I had been taught by the master.

That’s what the Bible does for you on a daily basis.

You are learning from the Master about your marriage, your addictions, your soul, your future, your problems, etc. as the Master pours His wisdom into your heart every day.

And it wont be long before someone will recognise that you have been spending time with the master, by the way you will naturally live your life.

That’s the kind of wisdom people need to see in the Church of the Living God.

Where do I begin?

Develop a habit: Last week we spoke about prayer.

I said; “When you pray, give God the best time of your day when you will talk to Him.”

So, begin there. Use the best part of your day to pray and read the Word of God.

You want to give the Holy Spirit your best, so that when these mentors walk through your life, you will not miss a thing.

Earlier this year, I told the church my God Goal was to read the Bible in Chronological order (Read it as it happens). I set time aside each morning and read a few chapters. In the beginning it was difficult because my old habit was to sleep later. But now that I have been doing this for a few week, I find myself excited to read my Bible. I can’t wait. I am LOVING IT! I am learning SO much.

I have developed a good habit of feeding my spirit with the word of God.

Bring 5 things to bring to your devotions:

1. Bible (Devotions are great but bring the BIBLE) – learn how to use the Bible. There is only one book in the universe God promises to inspire. And that’s the Bible.

2. PEN! Underline pieces of scripture. Make notes! The book isn’t holy – ink on paper. What’s Holy is what God teaches you that you place in your heart. Highlight what the Holy Spirit is teaching you. Its not a magical book that will chase the devil out your house. It becomes alive when you engage with it.

3. Reading plan! Else you’ll only read what you know. Do you know who the loneliest people in the Bible are? The Minor Prophets. They are always neglected. I have placed a reading plan on our website for you that you can access to help you. It’s the one I'm busy with.

4. Journal – Write what God is telling you. Remember the wisdom he is giving you. By writing it down, you can always go back and read it. Its like having a cheat sheet for your life. The Bible saves you time.

5. SOAP (acrostic)

· S – Scripture

· O - Observation

· A - Application

· P - Prayer

God almighty has made sure that every word we read is there for a reason.

He has protected the Bible for 2000 years so that YOU can read it today.

So will you?

Friends, read you Bible – Feed your Soul!

*sermon adapted from ‘Read’ – Wayne Cardero

Foundation Series: PRAY

Series Base Verse: Matthew 7:24-27   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.”
Foundation stones:
1. Prayer
2. Bible
3. Fasting
4. Worship
5. Tithing
6. Giving
Story:
There is a story about two guys who were the only two survivors of a shipwreck. These two men were marooned on an island. Not being a very big Island with limited resources, these two men decided to split island and half. One guy went one way and the other guy went the other way. The deal was that under no circumstances were there to cross the dividing line of the island as the survival depended on it.

Months and months passed by, and on the one side of the island, the one man was flourishing. He had built a hut, he had a gushing stream pouring out freshwater, and all the free trees had more than enough fruit.

The other man was experiencing the opposite. He lived in a hollowed out tree, he had no fruit, and is water had dried up. He lived like that, until he passed away.

Shortly after that a ship was sailing by and noticed the survivors signal fire. The ship rescued the man and he lived out his days back in civilisation.

At a ripe old age, this man passed away, and he found himself standing before God. He said to God, "wow God, thank you for keeping me alive on the island. Without you, I would have died like the other man. You answered all my prayers. But tell me God, why did you not answer the prayers of the other man like you answered mine?" God answered, "I did. When you prayed for food, I gave you food. When you pray for water, I gave you water. When you pray for a shelter, I gave you a shelter. And when you pray for rescue, I rescued you. You prayed many prayers, and I answered. But your friend only prayed one prayer, and that was for me to answer all your prayers."
Today we're talking about one of the most important foundation stones in our Christian lives. And that is the gift of prayer.
Many of us take pray for granted. We only pray when we find ourselves in trouble. We don't use prayer as a time to communicate with God, to learn from God, to gain wisdom, to find peace, or to simply just talk to God. Prayer is treated like a get out of jail free card.
Especially in this crazy busy world where time is a rare commodity - that we do not manage well - when it comes to a relationship with God. God is given what time is left at the end of the day, and maybe not even that much.
Life is busy, noisy, invasive, and relentless. When do you speak to God? Do we speak to God?
And then we ask the question, "where is God? Why can I not hear him? Does God still speak today?"
There was a guy in the old Testament by the name of Elijah, who will help us answer that question. Maybe you remember him, or at least remember one of his stories; HE had a show down with 850 false prophets (1 Kings 18:19) to see whose God is real. They made two altars and prayed to their Gods. Elijah beat them with the power of God. Then He killed them all.
After that, he was on the run and found himself in a cave…
1 Kings 19:
9. There he went into a cave and spent the night.
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10. He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11. The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
12. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
13. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Did you notice something very profound in this reading?
God was not in the hustle bustle, and craziness of that story. He was not in the powerful acts of the world. He wasn't in the earthquake, the wind, or the fire. He was in a gentle whisper.
To look for God in only big things like rallies, churches, conferences, highly visible leaders, will often cause us to miss him. God is most often found gently whispering in the quietness of a humble heart. Are you listening for God?
There was another person who knew how to pray very well. His name is Jesus. This time in the new Testament, and in the life of his ministry, we often find Jesus, leaving the people behind to escape to a mountainside where he would quietly spend time with God. Because he knew that he would find God, and be able to hear God's voice, in created moments of quiet. Jesus himself did this. We also read that he would get up early in the morning, just so that he could spend time with God, before the world got crazy.
Now it might be safe to say, that our world is a lot more crazy than the world that Jesus lived in. We have loads of distractions that pull us in every direction. But the principle remains the same; if Jesus made time for quiet prayer, then so should we.
Jesus was faithful in this prayer life, so much so, that the disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. And this is what he answered them;
Matthew 6
5. “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
6. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
7. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
8. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9. “This, then, is how you should pray:
(vs9-13)
Pray specifically. – If we look at the Lord's prayer, we will notice how specific he teaches us to pray:
· our father – God is your father (thought Jesus).
· Who art in heaven – God is sovereign above all, and is able to do anything.
· hallowed be thy name – praise God when you pray to him.
· Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven – submit your will to God's will. (Job, body, money, etc).
· Give us this day our daily bread – layout all your concerns with a big or small. If you need a miracle, ask for it without shrinking back.
· Forgive us our trespassers, as we forgive those who trespass against us – make sure there is no obstacle between you and God. Confess your sins, receive forgiveness and live.
· Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil – pray for your protection against evil and victory over temptation.
· For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever – end your prayer with worshipping God. Acknowledge that everything belongs to God and that he is in control.
· Amen – let it be so.
What lessons to be take from this?
1. Get away from distractions. – In the beginning of answering the question, Jesus told his disciples to Get Away from distractions, “Go into your room.” If you are like me, you find distractions deadly in making your connection with God. The secret I have found is this: don't bother fighting distractions, you will lose. Avoid them completely. Find a quiet place, where you can pray without interruption.
John Wesley's mother, was a mother of 19 children. The ways she would get away from distractions was to sit in the kitchen put her apron over her head and pray to God. All the children knew that when mom had the apron over her head , she was not to be disturbed.
Creating a place will become for you what the garden of Gethsemane became for Jesus – a holy place, the place with God meets with you.
2. Create a special atmosphere. – Many of us have a favourite holiday destination, or restaurant, or some kind of place they would like to be. The reason being is because it has the kind of atmosphere we like.
The atmosphere I create for myself happens in the morning is this: I wake up, I make coffee and breakfast and then I go sit on my favourite chair and spend time with God. This is the best part of the day for me. – Give God the BEST part of your day!
3. Mean what you say. – Not only did Jesus tell his disciples to pray secretly; but he told them to pray sincerely. Don't keep on babbling and be careful of cliches. Don't fall into the habit of using meaningless repetition. Speak from your heart.
4. Pray from the heart. – Psalm 62:8 says, "pour out your hearts to him." Talk to God. Telling how you feel. Say "Lord, this is how I feel today. I've been thinking about this recently. I'm worried about this. I'm depressed about that. I'm happy about this." Talk from your heart. That's what God wants.
5. Reflect on your time with God. – The reason why many Christians don't grow is because they don't evaluate the lives. In this busy world, it is important to force yourself to slow down. When it comes to my prayer life, I reflect on my time with God by journalling in a prayer journal. When Journalling my prayers slow down in my head and I actually think about what I'm saying. The advantage is, I can always go back and reflect on my life.
6. Above all, pray! – Jesus said, “WHEN you pray” x3. Do what ever it takes. (Under the ever tree; on the beach; in my room with earplugs (find peace in chaos); in a quiet room).
If we want to develop in any other area like – piano, fitness, any sport – we practice regularly. People who are serious about something always make room in the schedules. The more you do this, the better you will become.
Why is it important to pray? As selfish people we can even ask the question, "what do I get out of praying?"
The answer is this, and it is simple:
when we work, we work;
but when we pray, God works.
God, loves to hear your voice. After all, he invented prayer so we could chat. He wants to know about your life, he wants to know about your troubles and your victories, and you wants to make things workout for you.
God wants to bless you, but you have to cooperate. Cooperate? In what areas?
2 ways:
1. Obedience:
In following God's teachings:
· Lev 26:3 "If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them,
· Lev 26:4 then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
Obeying God when he speaks:
· Deu 28:2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God.
Have you noticed what happens if you are obedient to God? You get rewarded, your prayers will be answered! I'm not talking about praying for a 100 bedroom house, but all your needs WILL be met.
But how do we hear God's voice? Now we're making a full circle…
By creating spaces of quiet to speak to God and listen.
Yes, God does love hearing your voice, but he also wants you to you his voice. God wants to speak to us. One way is through reading the Bible. (Next weekly talking about the Bible).
2. Stillness.
· Psa 37:7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…”
· Psa 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"
In my Christian existence God has always strengthened me in my times of quiet. I have found wisdom and power in those moments. And I know many of you have too. So why then do we starve ourselves of this power and wisdom and strength, everyday? And why do we starve ourselves of the intimate communication, we can have with God for free, everyday? It doesn't seem right, does it?
Prayer is a place where we hear God's voice.
Rev. Ian Francis Quote, “Prayer is the life-line of the Soul like oxygen is the life-line to living.”
Lauren Scholtz once likened prayer to a telephone conversation. It takes two people. Each one gets a turn to speak and to listen.
If you're new to prayer... There is a simple method that can help you start:
Start your prayer with "You are…" - This is we worship God.
Followed by "I am…" – This is where you unpack your heart to God.
Ending with "Please…" – This is where you ask God to help you.
Then, before you say ‘Amen’ keep quiet for 5 to 10 min and just listen. Maybe you want to write down what you hear.
Note: It takes time to get it right! Hang in there!
For the first two weeks, I never heard a thing. I was thinking about all kinds of different things – like laundry.
Get a focus point. I use a small cross that when I get side tracked I open my eyes and look at the cross for a few seconds and that helps me to refocus.
Life is Busy and we need to connect with God. We need to talk to God. God wants to talk to us. So, Step back – MAKE TIME - from the noise and activity of your busy life and listen humbly and quietly for God’s guidance. It may come when you least expect it.

*Prayer points from book "Too Busy Not to Pray" - Bill Hybels