SERMON NOTES Sunday, September 19, 2004 FOUNDATIONS Introduction to our Comprehensive Discipleship Strategy Rev. Jimmy Painter Cresthill Baptist Church

Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Community Church, and author of such best-selling books as The Purpose Driven Church and The Purpose Driven Life relates the following personal experience. Warren writes, “I once built a log cabin in the Sierra Mountains of northern California. After ten backbreaking weeks of clearing forest land, all I had to show for my effort was a leveled and squared concrete foundation. I was discouraged, but my father, who built over a hundred church buildings in his lifetime, said, ‘Cheer up, son! Once you’ve laid the foundation, the most important work is behind you.’ I’ve since learned that this is a principle for all of life: you can never build ANYTHNG larger than the foundation can handle. The foundation of any building determines both its size and strength, and the same is true of our lives. A life built on a false or faulty foundation will never reach the height that God intends for it to reach. If you skimp on your foundation, you limit your life.” (Foundations, p. 7)

God is building His church! God is building our church! God is building His church, Cresthill Baptist Church, and “…the gates of Hell shall not prevail against us.” (r.e.: Matthew 16:18) On September 1st, 2004, we launched I3, our Comprehensive Evangelism Strategy for our church. I have written to you about I3, and over the past two Sundays, I have preached on it. When we Invest, Invite and Include our un-reached, un-churched persons in our lives and in our church, we will grow! It is absolutely essential that we lay a thoroughly Biblical Foundation as we grow our church and as we build our church, because we “can never build ANYTHING larger than the foundation can handle.”

Joel 2:28 and 29 declares, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions … I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” (NIV)

I believe “those days”, that day, is TODAY! God has given our church, our sons and daughters, a prophetic call to proclaim Christ Jesus right here in the shadows of both our state and our nation’s capitals. God has called us to be the voice of one crying in this metropolitan desert, “Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken.” (Isaiah 40:3-5, KJV)

God has given us both dreams and visions of where He wants us to go, and what He wants us to do, and these are big dreams and great visions as God has lavishly poured out His Spirit upon us. God has not called us just to gather a crowd, but rather build His church, His Great Church, right here at 6510 Laurel-Bowie Road. And, if we are to be used by God to build a church that will more than seat the projected 900 seat Worship Center God’s led us to build, and if we are to be used by God to expand our present ministries and birth new ones; and if we are going to fulfill our God-given destiny, we have got to lay a foundation big enough to handle it! And lay that foundation we are going to do!

On Wednesday, October the 6th, Cresthill Baptist Church will lay that foundation when we begin FOUNDATIONS from 7:00 until 8:00 p.m. On that and successive Wednesdays at 7:00 we will be teaching you the five essential Biblical basics that every believer needs to know to become all that they were born-again to be. If we are to be a Purpose-Driven Church, and if you are going to live a Purpose-Driven Life, then we all have got to get these life-changing truths into our heads, into our hearts, and into our lives.

Now, if you are sitting there right now wondering why it is that you need a Biblical Foundation for your life, here’s why. You need a Biblical Foundation because …

* It’s the source of personal growth and stability. So many of the problems in our lives are caused by faulty thinking. That’s why Jesus said the truth will set us free and why Colossians 2:7 says, “Plant your roots in Christ and let Him be the foundation for your life.” (CEV)

* It’s the underpinning of a healthy family. Proverbs 24:3 says, “Homes are built on the foundation of wisdom and understanding.” (TEV) In a world that is constantly changing, strong families are based on God’s unchanging truth.

* It’s the starting point of leadership. You can never lead people farther than you’ve gone yourself. Proverbs 16:12 says “Sound leadership has a moral foundation.” (Message)

* It’s the basis for your eternal reward in heaven. Paul said, “Whatever we build on that foundation will be tested by fire on the day of judgment … We will be rewarded if our building is left standing.” (1 Cor. 3:12-14, CEV)

* God’s truth is the only foundation that will last. The Bible tells us that “the sound, wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ … are the foundation for a godly life” (1 Tim. 6:3, NLT) and that “God’s truth stands firm like a foundation stone.” (2 Tim. 2:19, NLT) (ibid, pp. 7,8)

Jesus concluded His Sermon on the Mount with a story illustrating this important truth. Two houses were built on different foundations. The house built on sand was destroyed when rain, floods, and wind swept it away. But the house built on the foundation of solid rock remained firm. He concluded, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like the wise man who built his house on the rock.” (Matt. 7:24)

The Message paraphrase of this verse shows how important this is: “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life … They are foundational words, words to build a life on.” (Ibid) Bring them in, BUILD THEM UP, Send them out. Cresthill, we need to lay a foundation to build them up, to build us up, and to build up the kingdom of Christ! What … you want to know more about FOUNDATIONS?! I’m so glad you asked! Borrowing from “America’s Pastime,” our baseball diamond shows how every one of us and those God brings to us, and those whom, through I3, we bring with us, can all make it around the base paths and SCORE! Look at your Study Guide.

First Base is FOUNDATIONS #1: Prayer/Bible Study. Every Christian needs to know WHAT PRAYER IS, AND HOW TO DO IT. The word “prayer” really means “a wish directed towards God.” All that true prayer seeks is God Himself, for with Him we get all we need. Prayer is simply “the turning of the soul to God.” (The Kneeling Christian, pp. 53,54) David described prayer as the lifting of the living soul to the living God. Psalm 25:1 declares, “Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.” (KJV) When we lift up our souls to God in prayer, it gives God an opportunity to do what He will in us and with us. It is putting ourselves at God’s disposal. While God is always on our side, we are not always on His. Prayer is when the individual or the corporate church not only cries out to God for what we need and what we want, but it is more so to communicate and commune with God our Father in intimacy, so that we might get on His side of our situation. And so how should we do it? How should we pray? Jesus’ first followers said, “LORD teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1) We need to ask for the same thing! We need to ask Jesus to show us how to pray. FOUNDATIONS Number One will do just that! FOUNDATIONS #1 will not only teach you WHAT PRAYER IS and HOW TO PRAY,

FOUNDATIONS #1 will also teach you what the Bible is and How to study your Bible. 2nd Timothy 3:16 tells us that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (NIV) THAT is what the Bible is – “God-breathed”, THEONEUSTOS in the Greek, His breath, His WORD. That is what the Bible is for, “17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (NIV) God has work for us to do! But we won’t know what that is and we won’t know how to do it unless we know His word! Christians, the Bible is to be our FINAL AUTHORITY on life. J. I. Packer defines authority as when “you treat His words as having decisive force for your life.” This means that whenever there is a conflict between what the Bible says and the way I feel or what I’ve been taught or the opinions of others or what seems reasonable to me – whenever I have a difference of opinion with the Bible for any reason – THE BIBLE IS ALWAYS RIGHT! (FOUNDATIONS, p. 57) FOUNDATIONS #1, Prayer and Bible Study, will teach you how to apply the Bible as your final authority in every area of your life. Al Goff will be your teacher for FOUNDATIONS #1.

Second base is FOUNDATIONS #2: Personal Evangelism. Pastor Bobby Welch, President of the Southern Baptist Convention and the creator of FAITH Sunday School Evangelism, writes, “The effective evangelistic church has a philosophy of ministry with evangelism at its core because soul winning was Christ’s number one command for the church. Luke 19:10: ‘The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.’ Matthew 20:28: ‘The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.’ 1st Timothy 1:15: ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.’

The church of the first century knew nothing of a specialized few to do the work of winning their world. They all entered into the glorious enterprise of co-laboring with God to win souls. Jesus’ apostles and the early church members took Him seriously. They taught people publicly and from house to house. They testified for Christ, both to the Jews and to the Gentiles. They took the good news of the truth in Christ to all the known world. Christian history reveals that since apostolic times, wherever the church has maintained an evangelistic missionary zeal and a soul-winning fervor, the Holy Spirit of God has given His blessings. Wherever the church has lost its missionary zeal and soul-winning fervor, God has moved on. Billy Graham frequently has said that the chief duty and privilege of the Christian is soul winning. Scripture says, ‘He which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.’ (James 5:20, KVJ) There are many preachers but few soul winners. There are many books of sermons but few on soul winning. Perhaps the neglect of the Christian’s prime business is one of the causes for the church’s failure to lead more men and women to Christ. Even so, such men as John Wesley, David Brainerd, and Stephen Olford taught the primacy of soul winning by all Christians. Thus, the motto and mission of every local church should be EVERY MEMBER EVANGLISM. The words of our commission by Jesus have never been withdrawn, and the vision for world evangelization is still as clear as when He first presented it.” (Evangelism Through the Sunday School, pp. 109-110) God is calling us to be an evangelistic church. God is calling all of us here at Cresthill, staff, volunteers, members and friends to be evangelists. FOUNDATIONS #2, Personal Evangelism, will teach you how to share your faith and lead the lost to Christ. Jan Lewis will be your teacher.

Third Base is FOUNDATIONS #3: Biblical Stewardship. I truly believe that we as a people will never become all that God is calling us to be, do all that God is calling us to do, build all that God is calling us to build, go everywhere God is calling us to go … unless we become Biblically grounded in our understanding of STEWARDSHIP.

FOUNDATIONS #3 will provide this much-needed Biblical doctrine on how God’s people should handle God’s money. Tithing? What’s that? Giving? What’s that? Sacrificial giving? Are you kidding me? Cheerful giving? Have you lost your mind!? Understanding Biblical Stewardship will empower you to get out of debt and become a kingdom-centered person. Understanding Biblical Stewardship will bless you to be a blessing to others. Understanding Biblical Stewardship will empower us to see our dreams become realities – ALL to the glory of God. And FOUNDATIONS #3, Biblical Stewardship will teach you how to do just that. Rick Decuir will be your teacher for FOUNDATIONS #3.

Home Plate is FOUNDATIONS #4: Discovering Your Ministry. I have a ministry. You have a ministry. “All God’s children have a ministry!” Jesus said, “I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) You will never experience the super-abundant living God has given you until you discover your own unique ministry and put your ministry into action. FOUNDATION #4 will help you to do just that!

The Bible, in 1 Corinthians, Chapter 12, verses 7 – 11 tells us this: “Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful: wise counsel, clear understanding, simple trust, healing the sick, miraculous acts, proclamation, distinguishing between spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues. All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.” (Message) The Apostle Paul goes on to write these wise words recorded in Ephesians, Chapter 4, verses 11-13: “It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (NIV)

Joe Gibbs is the head coach of our Washington Redskins. Joe Gibbs is the coach. He equips his players to play. When all-pro offensive tackle John Jansen went down with a season-ending injury, Joe Gibbs didn’t suit up to play right tackle. What Gibbs did (well, what Gibbs and Joe Bugle did) was get Kenyatta Jones ready to take Jansen’s place. Why? That’s what coaches do! Coaches coach, players play. Here, I’m your coach. Here you are the team. You’ve got to discover your ministry, develop it, and do it! And when that happens and you discover your ministry and you’re practicing it – working it, look at what happens! “14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

What happens when you discover your ministry? We grow: we grow in health, we grow in numbers, we grow in size, we grow in GOD! And to help you discover your ministry will be FOUNDATIONS #4 teacher, Leah Porter.

The final spot on your “baseball diamond” is the “pitcher’s mound” and …

The Pitcher’s Mound is FOUNDATIONS #5: Worship. What IS “worship”? What do we mean when we say the word “worship”? What IS “CHRISTIAN worship”? James F. White in Introduction to Christian Worship writes, “In order to speak intelligently about ‘Christian Worship’, one must first decide just what this term means … Until one reflects on what is distinctive about authentic Christian worship, it is all too easy to confuse such worship with irrelevant accreations from present or past cultures in which Christians have worshiped.” (p. 21)

So, then, what is it? What is “Worship?” Franklin Segler in his classic, Christian Worship: Its Theology and Practice, writes, “Worship is an end in itself; it is not a means to something else.” Karl Barth … declared that the “church’s worship is the work of God, which is carried out for its own sake.” When we try to worship for the sake of certain benefits that may be received, the act ceases to be worship, for then it attempts to use God as a means to something else. We worship God purely for the sake of worshipping God.” (p. 4) William Temple defines worship as this: “To quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, To feed the mind with the truth of God, To purge the imagination by the beauty of God, To open the heart to the love of God, To devote the will to the purpose of God.” (The Hope of the World, p. 30) Robert Webber, in Learning to Worship with All Your Heart, defines public worship this way: “In worship, the church gathers to celebrate God’s saving deeds. Through this celebration, God continually brings the worshipper the benefit of His saving deeds – the forgiveness of sin and the healing of life which flows from the saving and healing death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” (p.5) The Bible contains no less than 251 specific references (Biblegateway.com) to worship, and the act and attitude of worship permeates and dominates all 66 books of God’s Word. I believe that! Matt Redman sums it up best when he writes,

“When the music fades, And all is stripped away and I simply come,
Longing just to bring something that’s of worth that will bless your heart.
I’ll bring you more than a song, for a song in itself Is not what you have required.
You search much deeper within through the way things appear. You’re looking into my heart.
I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about you, all about you, Jesus
I’m sorry, LORD, for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about you, all about you, Jesus”.
(© Kingsway’s Thankyou Music, CCLI# 1596342, Album: I Could Sing of Your Love Forever)

Worship matters much, and we need to know what it is, what it isn’t, and how to do it, and do it RIGHT! And with God’s help, that’s what I will teach when I teach FOUNDATIONS #5: Worship on Wednesday nights!

Cresthill, we need to worship. Cresthill, we need to know what it is and we need to know how to do it. The pitcher’s mound is FOUNDATIONS #5 and yours truly, your pastor, will be teaching that course.

October 6th, 2000 and 4 is “opening day” for FOUNDATION’S opening season. Game time is 7:00 p.m. To the glory of God, let’s all step up to the plate, get a hit, score, and win!!!

© Cresthill Baptist Church