Foundation 030421

[Background music: Hymn/Chorus] O come let us adore Him, o come let us adore Him, o come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord. He has done great things for me, He has done great things for me, He has done great things for me, Christ the Lord. Church and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. According to the grace of God which was given to me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another builds on it. But each man should take heed how he builds on it. Then he now made reference to the foundation, that for no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Christ. So, Apostle Paul is making us to see, the scripture is making us to see something very, very crucial. He said as a wise master builder. It means you will not be a wise builder, you will be a foolish builder if you try to lay a foundation that is different from the one that has been laid. Look at how the Bible puts it here for us. It says, "According to the grace of God which was given to me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another builds on it. But let each man take heed how he builds on it." My focus so much this day is not on our building on the foundation. My focus this day is on this matter of the foundation. Then he now made reference to the foundation. He said for no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid. So which means that if Paul had laid any other foundation apart from that which is laid, which is Christ, Paul himself would have been a foolish builder. He wouldn't be a wise person. So he said, "As a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, others build on it." And he said no other foundation can anyone lay, which means he himself did not lay any other foundation apart from the foundation which is laid. A foundation is laid, and that foundation is Christ. So when he wanted to lay a foundation, he didn't bother to lay any other one apart from the one that has been laid, which is Christ Jesus. It is so crucial for us to see that there is a foundation, and that foundation is Christ Jesus. Now, in looking at this matter that we are addressing this morning, I'm looking at it first at the point of our encounter with Jesus Christ. Now, he said no other foundation can be laid except that which is laid, which is Christ. So we go back to the word of our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life" [John 3:16]. Now, there is a foundation. That foundation is Christ. And in looking at this foundation, the first thing I'm addressing in this matter of the foundation is: Are you in Christ? Then I will move on to look at, still in this matter of this foundation, what is it that will manifest, that will show up? What are the features of a life that is in Christ? But I will not be looking at so many things. I'll be looking at just one important thing this morning about this matter of being in Christ as a matter of foundation. Many times, this matter of being in Christ, maybe it is not properly understood, or maybe modern day theology, or the end time theology, I really don't know what exactly to call it. But as a young person listening to me this morning, I want us to look at this matter of this foundation that is Christ. This matter of being in Christ. And in looking at it, I said I want to look at it in a particular direction. The direction in which I want to look at it is in the direction of what the Bible spoke about in 2 Timothy 2, from verse 19. Now, verse 19, he says, "Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands." Still addressing foundation. In 1 Corinthians 3, he said no other foundation can anyone lay except that which is laid, which is Christ. And I said this foundation of being in Christ. Now, this foundation again is coming up again in this place, but in a particular direction. Now, when he said nevertheless in verse 19, an issue was coming, something was being discussed that led to that. Now, what was being discussed was from 2 Timothy 2:15. Verse 15, he says, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness, and their message will spread like cancer." Profane and idle babblings. They will increase ungodliness. Idle babbling, things that does not have their basis in the truth, in the word of the Lord. Things that are built on human senses, human emotions, human philosophy. Bible says we should shun these things, for they only increase more into ungodliness. And such message they will spread like cancer. You know what cancer does? Cancer destroys. It destroys living cells. Cancer is something that destroys the body cell. So, when we're talking of a message that spread like cancer, we're talking about teachings, we're talking about doctrines, we're talking about a message that destroy life. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life." But there are teachings, there are messages that when you encounter them, they spread like cancer. They destroy life. They are anti-Christ. They are against the teachings of Christ. They are against the words that Christ speaks. Now, he gave example of two people there, Hymenaeus and Philetus are of this sort, who have strayed concerning the truth. Are you seeing it? So, when we're talking about vain babblings or idle words, we're talking about things that are contrary to the truth. Things that do not agree with the truth. Things that are not according to the word of scripture. And what is for them, what was it? Saying that the resurrection is already past and they have overthrown the faith of some. Are you seeing it? Something about that which is not true is that eventually it overthrows faith. It overthrows faith. Now, in the verse 19, the Bible now said so that we don't get into such situation, so that such things don't become our portion, so that such things don't become what our life will display, the Bible now says, "Nevertheless, there is a solid foundation of God." So, the Bible is saying that there is a foundation that should be laid so that a man don't go astray. There is a foundation that must be laid. If that foundation is not laid, at certain point in your walk with God, you will stray. Something must be laid. Don't forget, Christ must be laid. But in this place, he now gave a direction about a man being in Christ. He said, "Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands sure, having this seal: The Lord knows those who are His." And let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. I will take that in another translation, NLT. It says, "But God's truth stands firm like a foundation stone, with this inscription: The Lord knows those who are His. And those who claim they belong to the Lord must turn from all wickedness." Are you seeing it? Are you seeing it? If a man is in Christ, if truly he is in Christ, something that must show that foundation is a turning away from all wickedness. When a man don't turn from iniquity, then it means that that foundation which is to be laid, which is Christ, has not been laid. There is a foundation. It's not just that the man is in church. It's not just that the man is a Christian leader. It's not just that the youth is active in the fellowship. It's not just that the youth is in charge of some things. Not that the youth is in charge of some things in the church or in the fellowship. It's not just that as a young man you are busy with the things of God. No, it is not just that. It's not just that as a young man you say that you are born again. No, it is not just that. It's not just that as a young man you are doing the work of God. No, it is beyond that. There is something very, very crucial. In this foundation, he said but God's truth stands sure like a foundation stone, with this foundation... he said it has this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His." And those who claim they belong to the Lord must turn from all wickedness. So when you see a man who says I belong to the Lord, I have laid the foundation, and that man does not turn from wickedness, can I announce that there is a problem? The correct foundation has not been laid. When it is laid and what is laid is actually Christ... You know what the Bible said about Jesus? The Bible says, "This is the Lamb of God." The King James translation says, "This is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world." So when a man encounter Christ, what actually happens is that there is a taking away of sin. There is a taking away of iniquity. There is a taking away of wickedness. There is a taking away of transgression. There is a taking away. If that taking away is not there, then we can safely say that look, which type of foundation was laid when the foundation of your Christianity was laid? We can begin to ask such questions. And as a young man, I want you, a young man and a young woman listening to me, I want you to begin to look into the matter of your foundation. Because the foundation of God that is sure, the foundation of God that is not shaking, is that foundation... that foundation has this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are His." And number two, everybody that truly belongs to God depart from iniquity. So, a non-departure from iniquity is an indication that perhaps the foundation has not been laid. Or two, the foundation that was laid was not properly understood. You know the Lord Jesus talk about the parable of the sower? He said these are those who receive the word but does not really understand it. And so the enemy came and stole whatever was heard away. So maybe something actually came, but it was not understood. And because it was not understood, what happened was that the enemy quickly took advantage of the situation because such a life is vulnerable. Since the matter was not understood, what was given was taken. What was given was corrupted. What was given was not properly... was not something that would benefit the individual, that was able to now benefit the individual. And so it becomes very important to look at your foundation. It becomes very crucial to examine this matter that we are discussing. Because he says, Paul said, "As a wise master builder, I have laid this foundation." And there is not any other foundation can any man lay except that which has been laid, which is Christ Jesus. So the foundations, there's nothing like two foundations. Anybody that is a wise builder in God, anybody that is building wisely and building correctly, the only foundation the person will lay is the need to have a personal encounter with Jesus. It could not be a foundation that come and become our church member. It could not be a foundation of look, come and be in the choir, come and be in the Bible study. It is not just coming to work for God or doing some activities for God. There is a foundation that will be laid when a man is a wise master builder. As he encounters people, the foundation he laid in their life is Christ. Now, the direction in which we are now looking at this matter is that look, if the foundation that is laid is the one that is in Christ, then something about that foundation is