Ryan Sim - July 9, 2013

Tuesday - Study It - Foundations

This week, we're looking at foundatinos in life. Jesus spoke to this in his conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount which we've been exploring. This is our second last week on this theme! “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) Truth 1: We all build on something in life, and that makes all the difference. Both guys in this story want the same thing – a house. And they build one. What’s different is location, location, location. Just for fun, I recently toured an open house that’s double the price of my own. The house has some premium finishes, sure, but not enough marble and granite to double the price. The price difference was because of the location…the land is what’s most valuable. Are you happy with where you're building life? We build on all kinds of things: Career, Kids, Sexuality, Power, Control, etc. We can build some beautiful homes on those foundations, but it's all for nothing if the foundation crumbles and all that beauty falls down. The foundation in life is the number one decision, upon which all other decisions are dependent. If your foundation decision is about debt reduction, then you'll sacrifice other things to pay down a loan. If it's your kids, then you'll sacrifice travel and independence. These are just examples, of how the foundation impacts other areas of life. Question: What do you think is the difference between a sand and rock foundation in life? Give some examples.

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There is some teaching, especially when it’s unoriginal and shallow, that you can take under advisement. You can simply say, “That’s interesting” and then move on with your life.

We read stuff like this all the time. Magazine articles. Newspaper. Blogs. Facebook posts. Some people are very skilled at rehashing other people’s research in entertaining and interesting ways.

I often read things that are of little value to me. They’re just interesting, and not going to change my life.

I hope the Sermon on the Mount we’ve been studying is not that way for you.

We saw last week – hearing and living these words is like building upon a stone foundation for life. Hearing and ignoring these words is like building on a sand
foundation that washes away.

How you hear the Sermon on the Mount is like the difference between a wedding announcement and invitation.

With a wedding announcement in the newspaper or on Facebook, you say, “Oh, look, they’re getting married, how nice”.

An invitation is quite different, since it has your name on it. It’s for you. We want you to come.

The Kingdom of heaven is often described as a party, and it would be a party with the most original, profound teacher ever at its centre. The very source of truth, wisdom is the attraction.

His way of life would now be the only reality. The kingdom he’s been describing, would be there in living colour.

He’s issued that invitation to you. Come to my kingdom, my celebration, my party. And this is not just a future reality, somewhere else. It’s something we are called to start practicing now, really living it out, to be ready for the full production .

Life on earth is meant to be a practice party, and you’re invited.

We’re establishing a new church, or Christian community, in Ajax – and it will be built on the model of a party with Jesus at the center.

It will be like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. We’re planning our first party for this fall.

Challenge: We’re running a poll right now, that you can find in our app or here on our web site: bit.ly/15B2yry Tell us what kind of party you could RSVP to!

Watch the Video: : http://vimeo.com/70141643