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Inspecting a Faith Foundation (Acts 17:1-10)
4 Plays50 minutes ago
A faulty foundation can be costly later. For example, if one starts to see stair-stepping cracks between brick and mortar, walls that begin to lean or bulge, cracks developing where the wall meets the ceiling, windows that stick or doors that jam, then you have a foundation problem.
The same can eventually happen in the life of a believer or the fellowship of a church. Apart from building upon the foundation of Christ, a church can later close its doors as it craters from within. Apart from follow-up and discipleship, a new believer can later collapse in his or her faith.
This bible study from Acts 17:1-10 takes us back to where it all began for a new church start in the province of Macedonia in northern Greece. We will take note of how Paul and Silas planted and founded this church in the city of Thessalonica during Paul’s second missionary journey, most likely in the Spring of AD 50.
Let’s apply piers and beams to the necessary vertical and horizontal relationships that are needed when grounding someone in the faith. Each pier will represent the stability of what only the Lord can provide. We shall compare beams to the necessity of connecting with other people that God sends into our lives.
Support, 17:1, 4, 6-7
Site, 17:1, 10
Strategy, 17:1-2
Supplies, 17:3-4
Stability, 17:5-10
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Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations
Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam Street
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
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Transcript
Introduction and Welcome
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message.
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If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, fbccolumbustx.org. And now, take your copy of God's timeless Word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
00:00:43
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Welcome to Growing Grace.
Inspecting Faith Foundation: Acts 17:1-10
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want to talk to you today from Acts chapter 17 verses 1 through 10 on the topic, inspecting a faith foundation.
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You know, a faulty foundation can be costly later. If one starts to see stair-stepping cracks between brick and mortar,
00:01:06
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walls that begin to lean or bulge, cracks developing where the wall meets the ceiling, windows that stick or doors that jam, then you, my friend, have a foundation problem.
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Well, on a spiritual level, the same can eventually happen in the life of a believer or the fellowship of a church. Apart from building upon the foundation of Christ,
00:01:39
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A church can later close its doors as it craters from within.
Founding the Church in Thessalonica
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Apart from follow-up and discipleship, a new believer can later collapse in his or her faith.
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So this Bible study that we're going to take today takes us back to where it all began for a new church start in the province of Macedonia in northern Greece.
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We'll take note of how Paul and Silas planted and founded this church in the city of Thessalonica during Paul's second missionary journey, most likely in the spring of AD 50.
00:02:19
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Now, Luke records this process for us in Acts 17, verses 1 through 10, especially the first part of verse 10. We will compare their labor to laying a pier and beam foundation.
00:02:34
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So let's look at the passage first, and then we'll begin to see what we can learn about inspecting our own faith foundation. Acts 17.1 begins this way. Now, when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia,
00:02:51
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they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days, he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, "'This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.'" And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
Challenges and Metaphors of Stability
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But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason,
00:03:44
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seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.
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And Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus." And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
00:04:24
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The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. quite a passage of Scripture on how the church in Thessalonica was founded.
00:04:36
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I think there's certain things here in these verses that tell us a way that we too can be certain that our church or our life is built upon the solid foundation of Jesus Christ.
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So let's apply piers and beams to the necessary vertical and horizontal relationships that are needed when grounded someone in the faith.
00:05:01
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You see, each pier will represent the stability of what only the Lord can provide. We shall compare beams to the necessity of connecting with other people that God sends into our lives.
00:05:17
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So both are going to be needed. You're going to need the Lord, but you're also going to need other people. So let's look at this together. Why don't we look at the first beam, and that is support.
00:05:28
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We're going to look at verse 1, 4, and 6, and 7. The text clearly informs us that Paul did not start a new church in this city all by himself.
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Count the number of plural pronouns, they or them, and other such references like brothers or these men. Who was a member of Paul's ministry team anyway that went with him to Thessalonica?
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You'll find the answer to that in verse 4 and in verse 10.
Paul and Silas' Ministry Strategy
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And the answer is that Paul and Silas, that was the ministry team. But there were others.
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you know, as a matter of fact, a man named Earl Lewis counted up how many people associated with the Apostle Paul in his work. You know what he discovered?
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There's approximately 100 people named in the book of Acts that were associated with Paul, helping to one degree or another. But what about cooperation with the locals or with the nationals?
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Because he was in Greece, right? Who was willing to open up their home for a house church for the mission team? Well, verses 5, 6, and 7, and 9, four times were given the name of that man.
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His name was Jason. How does Luke describe those who were responsive to the team? You can look at verses 4 and 6 and 10, and you'll discover some people did respond.
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It says some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. It's very important that you have local people or nationals, insiders, who will say, I'm with you.
00:07:15
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It says that when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.
00:07:28
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You see what I'm trying to say? That there were others who helped to found this ah church there in Thessalonica. And I think that's why. Christianity is so unique that it it requires us not only to connect to God, but we also have to connect to other people.
00:07:47
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Well, next, let's look at something only God could tell them. Let's look at the sight I'm not gonna refer to the site as a beam, I'm gonna refer to it more as a part of the piers.
00:08:01
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So we can identify in this passage that the right site for investing their time and effort was the first pier upon which Paul and Silas would rest their labor for the Lord.
00:08:14
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Notice in verse one that they were there were two cities that it says they passed through, they didn't stop. Why did they not stop in those cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia?
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I mean, after all, historians tell us that at that time, Amphipolis was known for internationals. There were regiments of Roman military there. It was a thriving industry.
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They even had gold mines. So just think about the prosperity that would have been there, the safety that would have been there with the Roman military. Think about all the internationals. So everybody could be a part of this church. Why not build it in Amphipolis?
00:08:55
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Or why not build it in Apollonia? Apollonia was a Roman city with no income tax and a nice harbor. Well, that also would have been a blessing. So why, oh, why did he go to Thessalonica? That's what it says in verse 1. So how do you think Paul and Silas knew to pour out their lives in Thessalonica?
00:09:19
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And when you you read down in verse 10, they go from Thessalonica to another city, Berea. How did they know to plant a church there? I think the the short answer to all of that is the Lord.
00:09:32
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The Lord led them. But I did notice that both Thessalonica and Berea they each had a Jewish synagogue. So that leads me to the second thing, which I would consider more of a beam than a peer.
00:09:49
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So the second beam that we see in this text is the strategy. The strategy found in verses one and two You know, Paul had a strategy. It refers to it here. it says, and when Paul went in, as was his custom, on the three Sabbath days, he reasoned with them from the scriptures. When he went in where?
00:10:12
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In the synagogue. Aha. So he went to the synagogue of the Jews because his strategy was relational. You can't expect to win a community if you don't want to go where the people are.
00:10:26
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And that's where he wanted to go. And he thought, well, I'm a Jew, so my natural relationships should begin with the Jewish people. We understand one another. But also they're expecting the Messiah. I know that Messiah to be Jesus, so I've got some good news that I can share with them.
00:10:44
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But it also says that Paul went in. And I thought, you know, there's something to be said about incarnational mission work, where when you go to a country, when you go to a city or to, let's say, a county, that you want to go on the inside, you want to be a part of it.
00:11:02
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The other thing I noticed is temporal. He didn't go there and say, this is where I'll be for the rest of my life. And no, it says in the biblical record that he was only there in Thessalonica for three Sabbath days.
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So three Saturdays, he was there. But the other times, he must have left there and went somewhere else. And we know from the text, verse 10, his next place was Berea.
00:11:28
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But it also says that his way, his strategy was also rational. It says in here, he reasoned with them. Do you know that the word for reason there is the word that means a dialogue?
00:11:43
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And so he dialogued, he would use questions and get their answers and they would ask questions and he would give them answers. And that's also found in Corinth in Acts chapter 18, verse four.
00:11:56
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I think that he really liked to reason with people. Don't ever assume that to become a Christian means to throw your brain out.
00:12:06
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No, not at all. Christianity is very rational, very logical. It's based on very good reasoning. but it's also biblical. His strategy was relational, incarnational.
00:12:21
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It was temporal. He wasn't going to stay there forever. It was rational, but it was also biblical because it says he reasoned with them from the scriptures.
00:12:32
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The scriptures make sense. They fit together when we interpret them right. You know, an example of God leading someone in their strategy, leading someone to the right site, can also be seen in Acts 16, verses 6 and 7, where the Holy Spirit says, not that way, not that way, here, this way.
00:12:54
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I believe that somehow the Lord had placed upon the Apostle Paul to start the churches in urban centers, to start the churches in capital cities.
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Thessalonica, for example, was a capital city of the northern province of Greece, which was known as Macedonia. But when he goes down to the southern part of Greece, a part called Achaia, he went to Corinth.
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And that was a capital city. When he went to Asia Minor, you know where he planted a church? In the capital city of Asia Minor, Ephesus. He also traveled along major Roman roads. So he wanted to catch people who were on these major major thoroughfares, kind of like in our community. you know We have 71, but we also have I-10.
00:13:45
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This is really crossroads of two major roads. but also they were near a seaport. They had Greek culture. They had Jewish influence. There's so many different reasons that we could have said that the Holy Spirit would have said, this this is where I want you, Paul.
00:14:04
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So stay here in Thessalonica. Plant a church here. So he can tell you the site, but he can also help you know the right strategy for that site.
00:14:15
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I've always thought to myself, you know, if I wanted to reach teenagers, I would use one strategy. If I wanted to reach children, I would use another strategy. If I wanted to reach adults, I would use another strategy. If I wanted to reach senior adults, I would reach even another strategy. So you see what I'm saying?
00:14:34
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It makes a difference, the strategy you're going to use to do your work. For Paul, he always found that Jewish synagogue, and that's where he would start.
00:14:45
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But let's move to another peer, something that the Lord has to provide.
Gospel as the Foundation for Missions
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How about the supplies? You know, 2 Timothy 3, verses 16 and 17 says that the reason God inspired the Bible was so that the man of God would be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
00:15:06
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The Lord provided all that would be needed for the missions and the evangelism that was going to be taking place there in Thessalonica. You know what he gave to them?
00:15:17
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Something called the gospel the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ is that Jesus came, He was born. He taught. He ah died on the cross for our sins. He was placed in the tomb.
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And three days later, the Father raised Him from the dead. And then He ascended back to the Father. And then He's going to return someday to this earth for those that follow Him.
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That's the gospel. That message may seem so simple, but that message changes lives. You see, I'm choosing to compare the supplies we need for winning our community to appear that the Lord has already provided through His Word.
00:16:03
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Verses 3 and 4 give us three verbs that vividly describe how Paul utilized his God-given resources. Listen to what he did.
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He was explaining the gospel. He was proving the gospel and he was proclaiming the gospel. He wanted people to understand. And that's why he would try to explain it.
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But he also would want to give them evidence and proof that the gospel is not based on hearsay or myth. It's based on evidence.
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hard and fast evidence. But also, he proclaimed the gospel because the gospel is good news. It's something that ought to be announced. It's just like when you had your first child.
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Did anyone have to, you know, say to you, hey, how about your wife? Has she had the baby? Or would you go to them and say, guess what? We have a baby girl. Guess what? We have a baby boy.
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Aren't you excited? Weren't you excited whenever you had that child? Of course. And so sometimes people need to hear the gospel. Sometimes we need to actually go back just a little before the gospel, before Jesus, and talk about creation.
00:17:20
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If you were to go to hear what Paul said to those who lived in Lystra, they didn't have a Jewish background. And so he had a different starting point for those who were there. Verse 15 says, men, why are you doing these things? They were beginning to worship Paul and Barnabas. He said, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like nature with you, and we bring you good news. that you should turn from these vain things to a living God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.
00:17:55
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In past generations, he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet, He did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.
00:18:13
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you Do you see what he's doing? He knows that they they weren't looking for a Messiah. And so he goes back to creation. You can do the same thing. When he was in Athens, he began with an idol. There was one idol in the city of Athens called an idol to the unknown God.
00:18:33
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And so he said, that's the one I want to talk to you about, the unknown God. And so whatever way that you can take the gospel of Jesus Christ, take the word of God, God has supplied the word, the truth,
00:18:48
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the truth of the gospel, so that you can say, I have all that I need. I know it's great whenever people have lots of money that they can use for outreach. That's definitely wonderful and fine.
00:19:01
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You know, it's nice whenever people have a building and so forth. But you know what happens sometimes in overseas locations? People share the simple gospel under, a under let's say, a palm tree.
00:19:13
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And they begin to have crowds that are massive under that palm tree. you know And so what we need to realize is, even if we don't have buildings and large budgets and all these nice things, if you have the Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ,
00:19:31
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You have all you need to share the good news of Christ with others. Well, let's go to something else. You know, there certainly were threats to the stability of these new believers.
00:19:44
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I mean, if you read verses 5 through 10, there was envy from the religious gatekeepers. There was evil among shopkeepers, and there was emotional emotional agitation from, well, for lack of a better term, let me call them the beekeepers. But it's like, you know Some people just wanted to cause trouble. And so they're just like bees looking for somebody to sting.
Jason's Stability and Christ's Foundation
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But you see, two things gave a new disciple named Jason the stability that he needed. And it's almost like we have a combination here of a peer that only God would provide and a being that you have to depend on other people for.
00:20:26
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You know what the two things were that gave Jason stability when the whole town came out there and said, hey, stop what you're doing. We want those two guys. We're going to kill them or whatever.
00:20:38
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Here's what he was leaning on. He had a secure connection to the Lordship of Christ. That's what verse 7 tells us. He kept telling them, you know, Jesus is Lord. Jesus is Lord. And so that was his message, was the Lordship of Christ.
00:20:55
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And they heard it loud and clear because that's what they said. He's not saying Caesar is Lord. He's saying there's another king named Jesus. So he was connected to that peer.
00:21:08
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but there was also a secure connection to the body of Christ. That's a beam. It's like that also gave us life stability. Verses six and seven and nine and 10 refer to a fellowship.
00:21:22
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It's like there were so many other disciples who were all saying, we can do life together. We can serve the Lord together. We can encourage one another in our fellowship. And I think that brings tremendous stability whenever life hurts, whenever there's cancer, whenever there's loss, whenever there's tragedy, or whenever there's persecution. Stand together, united, and it will give stability. Hold closely to the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will find all that you need
00:21:54
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You know, in wrapping this whole ah Bible study up on, you know, the pier and the beams and looking at the foundation to our faith, I couldn't help but think about a parable that Jesus taught from Matthew 7, verses 21 to 27.
00:22:11
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You see, Jesus contrasted two spiritual foundations for life and for eternity. One man built his house upon a rock.
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The other man chose to build his house upon sand. The wise man who built upon a solid foundation represents someone who hears the word and obeys it.
00:22:35
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The foolish man, however, who built upon shifting sand, he also heard the word. But you know what he failed to do? He simply failed to obey it.
00:22:46
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That's why I wanted to share this message with you today from 1 Thessalonians, not 1 Thessalonians, from Acts 17, verses 1 through 10, because the church in Thessalonica was founded upon Jesus Christ.
00:23:02
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What is striking about that parable is that no one could have known for certain which man made the best choice for a foundation until the storm came, until the rains came, the floodwaters rose up, and the wind blew against it.
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The foundation that we choose will ultimately be tested, so we need to follow the example of Paul and Silas and lay the right kind of foundation for life and eternity.
00:23:34
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And the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 3, there's only one foundation that's been laid, and that foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you trusted in Jesus as your life's foundation?
00:23:49
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As you get ready to go into eternity someday, would you say, I'm ready because I know that I've built my life upon obedience to the gospel. I've trusted Jesus Christ. I've turned from sin and placed my faith and trust in Him. No, I'm still not perfect, but I'm trying to follow Christ. And I know that He's forgiven me for my sins because Jesus' blood was sinless and perfect. He's the perfect substitutionary sacrifice for all of my sins.
00:24:23
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And that's why I'm ready when the storms come. That's why I'm ready. Even if death comes, I can go with confidence knowing that my house, my life is built upon the Lord. Is your life built upon him? What about your family, your children and your grandchildren?
00:24:42
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What about your neighbors and those you work with? What about others that you go to school with? Why don't you say, Lord, would you help me to be, well, like a missionary, kind of like Paul and Silas?
00:24:57
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They felt like God led them to Thessalonica. And so they said, you know what we're going to do? We're going to help others build their lives upon the lordship of Jesus Christ, upon the finished work of Christ. And that's exactly what they did.
00:25:12
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Would you join me as we pray? Let's pray for your life, but let's also ah pray for the lives of others who may not yet know the security that you have in Christ. Let's pray together.
Conclusion and Prayer
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Lord, I thank you so much for this time to look into your word.
00:25:29
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And so God, we just pray together. Lord, I pray for my friends that are listening. Would you help them make real sure that their lives are built upon the foundation of the the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross?
00:25:44
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We know that the cross was accepted. Jesus' death on the cross was accepted because, Father, you raised your son from the dead. He's alive, and he can change lives today.
00:25:55
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And thank you that he's changed many lives right here in Columbus, and I've met many, many Christian people. And so, Lord, we pray for those that are in our community, in our county, who still don't know Christ.
00:26:07
Speaker
We also wanted to pray that, Lord, you would help us to look at those people that you've placed sovereignly in our lives. Have we ever said anything about why we have security in Christ? Maybe it's time that we launch out there and say a word. So help us look at passages like Acts 17, verses 1 through 10, and realize that we too, can build upon what Jesus has done.
00:26:35
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Thank you again for all that you've done for us, Jesus. Bless our day in Jesus' name. Amen. Thanks again for listening. God bless you.
00:26:59
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This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.