House of Faith - Part 4 - The Confessing Pillar

WELCOME

† SCRIPTURE READING

Proverbs 18:21

²¹ The tongue has the power of life and death,

and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

PRAYER

† We’ve talked about spiritual warfare. We understand that God hasn’t left us without means here on earth. We know that He has given His Holy armor to protect us and our families.

We are being bombarded daily with attacks from the devil.

Backbiting, gossip, lies, sickness, etc..

In fact, there were more backbiting, gossip and lies being told about me since I started preaching than all my years as a Christian before put together.

There are still rumors gossip and lies being spread about me right now.

But we have the shield of Faith that protects us from these attacks and extinguishes the devils flaming arrows.

Through God’s armor, we are capable of withstanding the attacks from the devil.

This is like a roof to our house of faith.

Try as they may, they can lie all they want, gossip all they want, they can say whatever they want, but because I walk in truth and the Holy Spirit, I have protection.

But to qualify for this protection, we must be saved. And our house of faith must be established by God.

† The foundation to our house of faith must have Christ as the cornerstone and the teachings of the prophets and apostles (which is the Bible) as the foundation.

Upon receiving Christ and making Him the foundation in our lives, God will grow us through the study of His word.

Our thinking begins to change as we read and study His Holy word.

† As God grows us, we start to filter the things we allow in our minds; we filter the trash from our thinking.

We filter the garbage of this world from our sight, ears and thought process.

This is like a pillar set on the firm foundation to hold up our roof on our house of faith.

As we continue to study and build our personal relationship with Christ, (like the prayer David prayed) God writes His word upon our hearts.

† His word begins to fill our hearts like a filing cabinet.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of the Lord.

And as we continue to fill our hearts with Him, our filing cabinet, or hearts, begin to overflow, and like we read a few weeks ago, a spring of living water will flow out from us.

The Holy Spirit will fill us to a point that He will begin to flow out of us and into this world through us.

A spring of living water, flowing from us into this world.

This is how God works in our world today.

Through us!

We are the Kingdom of God!

If you hear people say they just don’t see evidence of God in the world today, it’s because we’re not doing something right.

Rivers of living waters should be flowing from us everyday!

God works through us, His people, to reach the lost of this world.

And this river is the Holy Spirit.

Because nothing is possible without the Holy Spirit, and it is through the Holy Spirit in us that we do these good works.

This becomes our second pillar holding up our shield of faith which protects us.

† The Confession pillar is a result of what is overflowing from our hearts.

What we speak is from this overflow.

† Matthew 12:33-37

³³“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. ³⁴You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. ³⁶But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every idle word they have spoken. ³⁷For by your words you will be acquitted (forgiven) and by your words you will be condemned.”

An apple is from an apple tree, and an orange is from an orange tree. If I hold up one or the other, you know without seeing the tree itself, which tree the fruit came from. You can tell the tree by the fruit it gives.

Do you have a river of life, living water, Holy Spirit flowing out of you and your mouth?

What fruit are you producing in your life?

Is it Holy Fruit?

Or, do you have sewage overflowing?

Remember, the tongue has the power of life and death.

The Lord spoke everything into existence.

And the Lord cursed the fig tree with His mouth for not producing fruit when it was supposed to.

We have the power of God within us in the form of the Holy Spirit.

Are we speaking words of life or death?

The power of life and death are in our tongue.

Are you edifying, encouraging, lifting up and growing?

Or are you spewing out filth, cutting down, killing others with your words and foul language.

Are you foul and filthy in one sentence, and then praising God in the next?

That’s what the bible refers to as double minded.

You need to choose the master you are going to serve.

What fruit are you producing with your mouth?

Because this fruit is evidence of what kind of tree you are.

The tongue has the power of life and death!

What is life?

† Matthew 10:32-33(Jesus Speaking)

“Whoever confesses me before men, I will also confess him before my Father in heaven. (LIFE ETERNAL) ³³But whoever denies me before men, I will deny him before my Father in heaven. (DEATH ETERNAL)

Remember what we read a minute ago in verse 36?

^36”But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every idle word they have spoken.”

What do you speak in idle?

What is coming out of your mouth?

Remember, Jesus said that it’s what‘s coming out of your mouth that defiles you.

† Psalm 39:1-3 (David Speaking)

¹ I said, "I will watch my ways

and keep my tongue from sin;

I will put a muzzle on my mouth

as long as the wicked are in my presence."

² But when I was silent and still,

not even saying anything good,

my anguish increased.

³ My heart grew hot within me,

and as I meditated, the fire burned;

then I spoke with my tongue:

David was saying, “if I can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”

But he couldn’t continue to keep silent!

When he couldn’t take anymore, he spoke, but GOOD and to God!

That’s what David just told us.

Gossip, backbiting, false witness and lies are snares of the devil.

So what if I slip up…

† James 1:26-27

²⁶If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

To do good, and keep yourself from being polluted by the world.

How do you know if you’re polluted by the world?

Easy, has your thinking changed since you’ve accepted Christ?

Have your thoughts, or way of thinking changed?

Do you filter what comes into your mind, your house?

Are you filling your heart with God’s word or do you spend all your free time on worldly things?

Is God really number one in your life?

What is the most important thing in your life?

Your job, your retirement, your husband or wife, your children?

If any of those were your answer, you may be headed for disaster.

God HAS to come first!

“You mean even before my husband, wife or kids?”

I mean even before YOURSELF!

What good is a man whose priority is himself?

The most evident proof to see if you are polluted by this world is by your fruit.

† Proverbs 10:11

“ ¹¹ The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,

but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.”

If you are speaking violent, hateful, hurtful, angry, vile, things, then you have the mouth of a wicked person.

You heart is full of the things you speak.

Your fruit shows this.

Why does Jesus tell us this?

So we can recognize where we are, and make it right!

So we can see the evidence of our hearts, and know whether or not we have allowed Christ into our hearts.

So we can see what is filling us.

So we can change it!

God’s word was designed to fill our hearts and from that overflow, be in our mouths.

† Deuteronomy 30:11-18 (The Offer of Life and Death)

¹¹ Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. ¹² It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" ¹³ Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?" ¹⁴ No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

¹⁵ See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. ¹⁶ For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

¹⁷ But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, ¹⁸ I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.”

God has set before us Life and Death. And the power is in our tongue!

Judging by the fruits of your mouth, where is your heart today?

Are you choosing life or death?

You can choose life today!

† Romans 10:8-10 tells us that “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has risen Him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED.”

“For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation!”

Confess to the Lord today and choose life

Examine your tongue to see what tree you are from.

Psalm 32:5 says “I confessed my sin to you and you forgave me”

1 John 1:8-10

“⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”

† Today you can choose life.

Today you can confess the Lord before man, and Christ will confess you before God in heaven.

Today you can examine your mouth, and know what is truly in your heart.

Today you can confess to the Lord and He can change your life.

And before you know it, you have made God first in your life, and through your study of God’s word, it will fill your heart and overflow through your mouth and you will confess and speak the goodness of the Lord.

PRAYER

Father, thank you for your word.

Thank you for showing us the power our words have.

You spoke everything that is, into existence.

You have given us the power of life and death in our tongue.

I pray that anyone here today that wants to confess to you Lord, they come forward.

I pray that they recognize that their hearts need to be changed by you Lord.

I pray that they confess you Lord before all, and confess to you so they may be forgiven.

Amen.

House of Faith - Part 3 - The Believing Pillar

WELCOME

† SCRIPTURE READING

Mark 11:23, 24

“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. ²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AND UNDERSTANDING

We understand that although we are in a very physical existence, that there is a spiritual and unseen universe as well.

And in this spiritual unseen world there is a war going on right now as we speak.

You are either on the enemy’s side, the allied side, or you are going to be a trophy for the enemy.

There are no neutral grounds in the spiritual realm.

So we’ve discussed how God has prepared those who belong to Him.

He has given us spiritual and powerful armor.

† This armor of God is ours; it can be used by those who belong to God.

You remember the story of David as a young man when he faced Goliath.

The King offered David his armor because David was about to go into battle.

But David, understanding that God was with him, solely relied on the armor of God to protect him in the battle.

When we move in the name of the Lord, nothing, nor any one, can come against us.

We are children of the Most High, and greater is He that is within us, than he in the world!

We have nothing to fear when the Lord is moving us.

We are the Kingdom of God on earth; we are the Body of Christ.

Romans 8:14 – 16

“14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of son-ship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.”

We, have no fear, because the Spirit of God is in us!

How do we acquire this armor of God?

What must we do to qualify to receive it?

This is where the house of faith comes in.

The armor of God is our protection, like a roof protects those under it, so does the armor of God. It protects those under Gods armor.

So to qualify for the armor of God, we must first accept Jesus Christ.

Christ becomes our corner stone.

† And from that cornerstone, God builds us up with His word, thus forming the foundation which is the word of God that testifies through the prophets and apostles of Jesus Christ.

Our foundation is strong and solid!

Those who build upon this foundation are like wise men, and their house will withstand the coming storm.

Once we accept Christ and begin to read the word of God, through God building us we begin to set up our first of 4 pillars that will support the roof on our house.

† When we read the word of God, our thinking begins to change. We begin to see ourselves through the light of Christ as opposed to the light of the world which tells us EVERYTHING is OK as long as you’re not hurting anyone, regardless if you are hurting yourself.

During this time God is building us, we receive what is called DISCERNMENT.

This is a God given ability that is given to believers so they know what the truth is, and what are lies.

† Using our discernment, we can begin to filter our thoughts in our thinking processes. This first pillar is set firmly on the foundation that Christ and the word of God has built.

We begin to throw out the trash, and only dwell on Godly thoughts.

Remember the scripture last week;

Philippians 4:7 – 8

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”

We use our discernment to think about what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

This is what we dwell on in our minds.

Everything else, goes in the trash.

As we continue to read, filtering out the trash from our minds, God continues to build us, and through the word of God, we begin to believe in the word.

This begins our 2^nd pillar in our house.

† Because we changed our thinking, our believing pillar begins to appear.

This pillar is founded on the firm foundation of Christ and the word of God as well.

† This pillar is a result of the first pillar of thinking, and will be affected if anything happens to the first pillar.

If you allow garbage into your thinking, guess what, your pillar becomes weak, and what you believe will be effected by what you think.

See how the previous pillar effects the building up of the following pillar?

This is why it is so important to God that you only think and dwell on Holy and Godly things.

If you have not changed your thinking since you have accepted Christ, then you can’t truly believe.

Christ changes lives!

If your life hasn’t been changed since you’ve accepted Christ, then there is something wrong.

You need to examine yourself to see if you are truly seeking God through His word and changing your thinking, filtering out the garbage.

Otherwise, you cannot experience this second pillar, believing, or, faith.

Jesus is trying to tell us something here in our scripture reading today.

† Mark 11:23, 24

“I tell you the truth, …

Incidentally, in case you don’t have discernment, Jesus tells us that He’s telling us the truth.

Knowing that Jesus doesn’t lie anyways, if He tells you He’s telling you the truth, what He means is, “This is really, really important, and I want you to listen closely!”

if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen

it will be done for him.

And does not doubt in his heart…

Your heart is where you store what? The Word of God. The base of belief.

And if you say “Go throw yourself into the sea…”

Say, where do we speak from? The overflow of our…heart, the overflow of our belief.

How do we fill our heart? Reading God’s word…filling our thoughts with Him.

Thinking on those things we spoke about earlier. Dweeling on God and His goodness!

If we fill our thinking with the Word of God, it fills our hearts, this is where we believe.

If our hearts are full, we speak from that overflow.

Jesus says, if we speak from this overflow, what we speak will what? Happen!

And we don’t have to do it, Jesus says, “It will be done for you!”

What we speak, will be the Will of God that we have filled our hearts with.

The will of God we learned from His Holy Word.

How many of us here today have mountains in our lives?

How many of us realize that we can’t move a mountain?

How many know that God can!

The reason Jesus used the word picture of a mountain, is because He wants us to realize that the things in our lives that seem impossible to deal with, or the obstacles are to immense to move, are not impossible to God for those who believe. For those who have faith.

Where does the Faith come from?

The Word of God.

The road ahead may look treacherous, hard to travel, difficult terrain.

Maybe even IMPOSSIBLE!

But Jesus makes a promise,

IT WILL BE DONE FOR THEM!

Who here wants God to take care of their mountain for them?

²⁴Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

I have seen miracles through prayer requests to God!

They asked that their mountain be removed and cast into the sea, and God ANSWERED BECAUSE of their belief!

I can think of many occasions of Christ healing people in the Bible, and in everyone I remember, it says “because you believed, or your belief has made you whole ...”

Do you have a problem believing in your life?

Do you plainly see the mountain, but no path around it?

Is your heart, or belief feeling desperate and weak?

You are not alone.

† LUKE 24:1-27 – On the road to Emmaus

Two weary travelers, feeling defeated because the one they though would save them, had just been crucified.

They were slow to believe in their hearts because they did not study the scriptures as they should.

Jesus reminds them of this fact when He walks with them.

He shares the Word of God that they had forgotten, and explains to them what it meant.

Jesus warned the Pharisees the same thing;

“You are in error because you do not know the scriptures, or the power of God.”

The scriptures, the Holy Word of God, this is where our belief comes from.

Our belief, our faith, comes from what we fill our heart with.

Remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

If you are slow to believe, you need to fill your heart with God’s Holy Word.

You need to read your Bible more!

Fill your thinking with God’s word, and that will fill your heart.

Your belief will magnify and grow and overflow into the next pillar, the speaking!

And as Jesus said, I TELL YOU THE TRUTH…SAY TO THIS MOUNTAIN….BELIEVING IN YOUR HEART…AND IT WILL BE DONE FOR YOU!

† John 20:25

“²⁵So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he (Thomas) said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."”

† John 20:27

“Then he (Jesus) said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

Jesus is telling us today…STOP DOUBTING AND BELIEVE!

We are suffering needlessly in the world today because we do not turn to our Father and ask.

We are in turmoil because we do not speak against those things which come against us in this world.

We lack in our lives because we do not believe the Word of God.

James 4:2

“…You do not have, because you do not ask God.”

It’s time we stop doubting…and believe the Word of God, acknowledge that we are the Children of God, and we have been given power and authority in this world, as the Body of Christ, made Holy unto Him, to BE the Kingdom of God on earth…right now…today!

Jesus tells us “Blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe.”

This is our faith. And through reading the scriptures, our faith can grow and fill our hearts with what our mind and thinking is filled with.

† 1 Thessalonians 2:13

“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.”

The Word of God is AT WORK in you who believe!

Do you want miracles and God working in your life?

Then you must believe the Word of God.

Read God’s word and your faith will grow, and through your faith God will work in your life!

† John 7:37 – 39

“³⁷On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. ³⁸Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." ³⁹By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

We receive the Holy Spirit by believing in Christ.

Nothing is possible in our lives without the Holy Spirit.

Unless we believe, we tie God’s hands and He cannot work in our lives.

Our hearts should not only be filled with Gods word, but there should be flowing out of us streams of living water!

Is the Holy Spirit alive and flowing in you today?

What is overflowing in your heart?

Is it Gods word and Holy Spirit?

Jesus tells us more of the truth in;

† John 10:2-5

“¹"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ²The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. ³The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."”

This is why God’s Word says the Elders and Pastor are supposed to come from the congregation.

You cannot bring in strangers and expect the sheep to follow him.

This is why the Apostles went from town to town, starting churches and choosing elders and pastors from among them, then moving on to another town to do it again and again.

But in our modern church society, we want to bring strangers in and expect them to lead the flock.

This isn’t God’s way, but the precepts of man.

God told the Pharisees that “You nullify the Word of God with the teachings of man.”

This scripture here also shows us an important fact…there is only one way to heaven.

Do you think you’re going to get into heaven by any other way but the gate?

There is no other way but through the gate, and Christ is the shepherd at the gate.

We listen for His voice.

Do you know your shepherds voice?

Do you belong to Him?

Years ago I hear God’s voice for the first time.

I wanted God to use me; I wanted to serve Him in my life.

I was praying and He said to me, you will help a family for Christmas. They have 4 children, and if you don’t help, they will not have a Christmas.

I asked who they were, but got nothing else.

Months went by, but I held on to my faith and what I believed to be God’s voice.

My mother overheard 2 women talking in a store one day, and one said, If someone doesn’t do something for these 4 kids, they will not have a Christmas this year.

Almost to the word, what God had said to me.

Months after God spoke I had my answer. And I obeyed.

I heard His voice and recognized it.

And most importantly, I responded to it!

I was a DOER of God’s Word.

And it was because of this encounter that to this day, Terri and I do this for families every year.

Something I would like to continue to do with the new church as well.

We listen to our shepherd’s voice; He leads us beside still waters.

He protects us and guides us through the safest path.

Leading us in His direction.

Do you know His voice? Jesus says;

† John 10:26 – 30

^“26but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. ³⁰I and the Father are one."”

House of Faith - Part 2 - The Thinking Pillar

WELCOME

Last week we began our series ‘The House of Faith’, by discussing the importance of the foundation of our faith being the teachings of the Apostles and Prophets, with Christ Jesus as the Cornerstone holding it all together.

Our faith, or house, is built by God.

Psalm 127 says that unless God builds this house, those who are building it are wasting their time.

But for God to build our faith, we must have the correct foundation, or else the house we build will not stand.

This is why we see people in life who become Christians, and they may be Christians for years, but the first storm in their life devastates them, and they lose their faith and interest in serving God.

This happens because they were missing the most important key to their faith, and that is the proper foundation.

Once we have the proper foundation, then God can build us.

Last week we read in the scriptures that when God builds us, we flourish!

This week we will take a look at one of the first things God does with us as He builds on the foundation that we set when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord, and give Him control of our lives.

The first thing God works on with us is our thinking.

Today we will see how our thinking is the beginning of us becoming the NEW CREATION we are promised to become when we accept Jesus.

We will se how important it is for us to have the right thinking before we can move forward in our growth, and how we already have the wrong thinking, which the devil will try to use against us in his attacks to keep us from moving forward in a better relationship with God.

It is that wrong thinking we have inherited with our sinful flesh.

That thinking that leads us down the path of destruction.

That thinking that keeps us from ever truly knowing God, and what godly living is all about.

That thinking that needs to be erased and replaced by God’s word.

So let’s begin with our scripture reading today and see how God begins His good work in us by building upon the sure foundation of Jesus Christ, and His first wall or pillar, our thinking.

† SCRIPTURE READING

II Corinthians 10:3 – 5

“³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT AND UNDERSTANDING

† Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

We need to constantly remind ourselves and remember that our battle is a spiritual one, and our minds are the battlefields.

We must remember Ephesians 6:12 – 18 “For we battle not against flesh and blood…”

Though the devil may use people to attack us, they are not who our battle is truly with.

It is with the evil spirit, the force behind the actions of others.

This is one of the reasons it is so important for us to forgive others.

They are usually unwitting pawns to the evil plot of the devil.

Even when on the cross, Christ gave us an example to behold.

He stated in the midst of being crucified by those He came to save, and called to the Father in heaven and cried, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Jesus’ strong rebuke to Peter when Peter failed to see the big picture and God’s will in Jesus’ death on the cross, shows that even the elect, the Apostle Simon Bar-Jonah, who would later be called the Rock because of His unwavering faith, was an unwitting pawn to the influence of the devil.

“Get thee behind me Satan.” Jesus exclaimed.

As Satan whispered in Peter’s ear, to try and prevent Jesus from fulfilling God’s will.

God, through the Holy Spirit, has given us divine power to destroy Satan’s strongholds.

These strongholds are sometimes in our lives.

Sometimes they are in our workplace or homes.

Sometimes they are in our country.

But God has given us authority and power through Jesus Christ, to destroy these strongholds of the devil.

We are to destroy arguments, or anything contrary to God and His word, which arises in our minds.

And we take captive, or control, of EVERY thought and MAKE it obedient to Christ.

† The house of faith represents a person, our family or a church. And the armor of God is like our roof, protecting us from the devils attacks just as a roof of a house would protect us from storms.

We know that to have a roof, we must have something under it to support it.

And we talked about how every construction must start with a foundation. And every foundation must have a cornerstone if it is to be strong.

† Our cornerstone is Christ, and the foundation is built from there with the teachings in the word of God, the Holy Bible which gives testament from beginning to end of Christ.

Our foundation began with salvation and baptism, and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus gave us this example when He was baptized.

God proclaimed Him as His son, Jesus expressed outwardly to all those watching that He was washed cleaned spiritually through baptism, and afterwards, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him.

We are to follow this example in our lives today by accepting Christ’s FREE gift of salvation, then getting baptized to show outwardly to all what has happened inwardly, thus opening the door for the Holy Spirit to come into us and our lives.

It is only then that God can work in our lives, and we can be true servants to the Lord, for nothing is possible without the Holy Spirit, for it is not us, but God within us that do these good and holy works.

But once we have this foundation, we’ve accepted Christ, we’ve been baptized and the Holy Spirit has entered us and our lives, we make Christ the cornerstone of our lives and the Bible the foundation, but we can’t have a roof without pillars or walls to support it.

You don’t place a roof upon a foundation.

You could, but no one could enter that house!

I’ve preached before on scriptures about works.

How after we have accepted Christ we must be DOERS of the Word, not just hearers.

Faith without works is dead.

Salvation is free,

Following Christ costs little,

Serving Christ costs everything.

Through works, we serve our Lord.

So what are some of the things we must do?

There are 4 pillars, or walls that hold up the roof, which is our protection and armor in the house of faith.

Each one must be preformed in the sequence we are going to be studying them.

They work together, but the beginning of each pillar is a result of the previous one.

† The first result we have is the beginning of the Thinking pillar.

This is the first of the 4 pillars and the focus of our study today.

The thinking pillar is the result of accepting Christ and the foundation of our house of faith.

We begin to think about ourselves and the lives we’ve been living.

We were probably told that now that we are saved, we are NEW creatures in Christ, and the old has passed away.

We may even ask ourselves, if the old has truly passed away, why do I still struggle with the things my old self did?

Because, our old selves developed habits from serving another master, regardless of if that master was our self, the devil, or what ever.

When we accepted Christ, we gained a new master, the Lord.

And we are new creatures in Him.

But sinful habits of the flesh that took years to develop cannot be changed over night.

My grandfather smoked for many years.

He got cancer and almost died from it.

He quit smoking Cold-Turkey.

After 40 years of smoking a couple packs a day, he just quit.

He went from being a chain smoker, to being a non-smoker instantly.

He was a new creature.

But, the habits he developed over smoking for 40 years took time to get rid of.

After we ate at a restaurant, I would see him holding his straw like a cigarette.

Or, when he would get up in the morning to have his coffee and do the crossword on the newspaper, he would hold the pen like a cigarette, sometimes even putting it in his mouth.

Though he was a new man, some of his habits took time to get rid of.

These habits didn’t make him a smoker again.

Though he had habits and I’m sure temptations, he never smoke again after that.

He had changed his thinking.

He decided in his mind that he was done smoking, and he just stopped.

And he decided in his mind that he was not going to go back to it.

This is true repentance.

The act of repenting begins with your mind deciding!

It’s not the temptation that destroys us in our lives; it’s the giving in to it.

The beginning of the thinking pillar is a result of our salvation.

God is beginning to grow us and build us just as He promised.

† I Samuel 2:35

“I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his house, and he will minister before my anointed one always.”

When we allow God to raise us, as it says in 1 Samuel, or build us as in Psalm 127, we do what is in God’s heart and mind.

What’s in God’s heart and mind is His will.

And we know God’s will because it is in His Holy Word.

And we read His Holy Word because it is the foundation of our faith.

God promises that He will FIRMLY establish our house.

† Philippians 1:6

“⁶being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Once God begins this work in us, He will continue until Christ returns.

So if we don’t see ourselves growing, we need to examine ourselves and see what is happening that is preventing us from this continual growth that God’s Holy Word promises.

Sometimes it’s sin.

This is why I always pray for conviction of sin within the congregation.

This way if we are doing something that is preventing God from building us, we can repent and ask for forgiveness and keep moving forward in our relationship with God.

The Holy Word promises that if we do what is in the heart and mind of God, (His will) He will firmly establish our house, and once we’ve accepted Christ and He has begun a work in our lives, He will not quit, give up, or forsake you.

He will continue until you are complete on that day Christ returns and we receive our resurrected bodies which are perfect and eternal.

God builds our thinking pillar by teaching us where all evil and destruction begins, in our minds.

† The thinking pillar represents our minds, the thinking, imagination, reason and intelligence.

One of the things Jesus asks us to DO once we are saved is;

Matthew 22:37

“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'”

He understands that where our mind is, the rest of us will follow.

So how do we love the Lord with our mind?

He tells us;

† Philippians 4:7 – 8

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”

† We need to filter out the garbage that comes into our minds daily. This is why it is so important to guard ourselves against what we see and hear.

It’s like the old saying we had in advanced computer programming in college.

It’s really simple;

“Garbage in. Garbage out.”

If your information you put into a computer is garbage, that’s exactly what you will get out of it!

If you spend your free time filling your head with ungodly things, this is what is going to fill your heart.

Everything you see, read and hear is stored in your heart.

And remember, the scriptures say that it is whatever comes out of a man’s mouth is what defiles him...

Why?

Because what you speak is from the overflow of what is filling your heart!

By the way, if you’re filling your head with music, they don’t have to be singing about the devil for that music to be harmful to you.

There are many negative messages that you can pummel yourself with again and again just because it’s got a good beat. And you may not think your hearing the lyrics, but your mind doesn’t miss a word.

And if you really want to know what your filling your head with, read the lyrics sometime and ask yourself, does this offend God?

If so, if you keep filling yourself with it, your heart will fill, and you will speak it from the overflow of your heart and eventually you will be the one offending God.

The same goes for television.

It’s not harmless entertainment if it offends God.

And it doesn’t have to have bad language and nudity to break God’s heart.

God understands us because He created us.

Our thoughts must be on Him; meditating on God and His word.

Our imaginations can lead us to sin; this is why Jesus warned us saying,

† Matthew 5:28

“²⁸But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Why did He say this?

Because He understood that once you start THINKING it, your body will follow!

Our reasoning can be dangerous as well.

The devil loves to debate and in doing this he can cause confusion, or doubt.

He will lead you to believe that you are smart enough, or educated enough to see things and understand things better than most people.

Therefore, you understand what the scriptures really mean, although your interpretation may contradict the character of God.

And he will get you to question the word of God, thus making it useless.

We need to make sure we filter what comes into our minds, whether it be music, or television, even conversations.

Remember, the devil tries to make things that are bad for us look good, so we unknowingly take his poison which will destroy our lives.

Rat poison only has .005% poison in it.

The rest of it is good food that rats love. Looks good, smells good, you would think it’s good. But it kills them.

On the outside, 99.995% of the rat poison was good. But that .005% of poison kills them.

We need to renew our minds, our thinking when we accept Christ.

Some of us accepted Christ years ago, and He began to do a work in us through our thinking, but we have not done what we aught.

We haven’t changed our thinking; we haven’t resisted the temptations that lead us down the same path which resembles our old selves.

We are resisting the Holy Spirit and His work within us.

We need to have a funeral service for our old selves. We need to accept the fact that our old selves are dead!

We are no longer the creatures we once were, and we need to destroy these habits from our former selves that the devil is using against us in our lives today.

Feeding us the lies that, you haven’t changed. You’re the same old person. There is nothing different about you.

Or, you’re fine the way you are. You and God have an understanding. You can’t help these things; it’s just the way you are. And God knows this.

Or my favorite, “God loves you just the way you are.”

Well that’s partly true, He loves you despite the way you are, and He wants to transform you into the way you were meant to be.

And when we mess up, we need to remember, it’s not the way you are, it’s the way you WERE, and as long as you let the devil convince you otherwise you can not grow because the Lord can’t work with the old you, that’s why He came into your life and the old you died.

That’s why God gave you the NEW you, because the new you loves God and the new you wants to please God and the NEW you wants to allow God to grow you!

† Ephesians 4:22 – 24

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

† II Timothy 1:7

“⁷For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind.”

† Philippians 2:5

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Today is the day you put the habits of the old you in the grave with the old you!

Today is the day you accept the new attitudes in your mind.

Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

PRAYER

Lord,

Let us be mindful of the words which were spoken by the prophets, and the apostles, the Holy Word of God which gives testimony of you Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Let us give our minds to you Lord.

Staying sober and alert, full of hope to the end for the grace, that is to be brought unto you.

We bury our old habits with our old selves.

We accept this new creature you have made us.

Make our minds like yours.

Bring our thoughts into submission of you.