Full Transcript for Disciples Making Disciples - Made New (Week 1)

after him, Vince Lombardi. 00:02:20.080 --> 00:02:30.319 Uh, and there was a particular year back in 1961 where his team, the Green Bay Packers, had lost to the New York Giants in the NFL Championship that year. 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:39.759 Uh, and so he made the decision seven months later in July, uh, as they were getting ready for the 1961 football season. 00:02:39.840 --> 00:02:44.879 Uh, he decided to go back to the fundamentals, to go back to the foundations. 00:02:45.039 --> 00:03:01.199 And so he walked in, and there's this famous moment where he walked into his locker room and he spoke to these gentlemen who had been playing football for 20, 25 years, some of them, and he looked them right in the eye and he said, This is a football. 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:05.039 And he went back to the foundations of the game. 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:08.560 And his team went on to win the Super Bowl that year. 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:12.240 He went on to never have another losing season. 00:03:12.400 --> 00:03:20.159 And this is sort of the same truth that we find in our spiritual lives that there are times where we have to go back to the foundations. 00:03:20.400 --> 00:03:22.479 And so that's what we're gonna be doing this fall. 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:25.439 We're gonna spend some time going back to the foundations of our faith. 00:03:25.599 --> 00:03:32.560 How many of you know that the foundation is incredibly important in the home that you live in or the building that you work in? 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:41.120 You know that every other system in your house or in your office will not work correctly if the foundation is compromised. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:44.400 And so I want to invite you to be a part of this series. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:47.360 If you're gonna be out of town, hop online and you can join us. 00:03:47.439 --> 00:03:49.919 Uh, join a group, it will help you grow. 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:55.599 Also, uh, in the back of the chair in front of you today, you will notice there is a book. 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:59.919 I'd love for you to reach out and grab this book where wherever you're sitting, it should be in the back of the chair. 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:03.759 Uh, it's called the One-to-One Book, and I want to invite you to take this with you. 00:04:03.919 --> 00:04:14.879 This is a tool that you're gonna hear about all throughout this series, and it's both a tool uh for you to become a disciple, but it's also for you to be a disciple who makes disciples. 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:20.079 Uh, and so we'll hand these out on the way out today, also, but I want to encourage you to take this with you. 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:29.120 If you're watching online, uh, you can actually download the one-to-one app, and uh this is a great way for you to have that with you uh at all times. 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:37.680 Well, today we're gonna be in Matthew chapter seven, and so if you are able, would you stand with me in the honor of reading God's word? 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:53.120 Matthew chapter seven, starting in verse 21, says this not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my father who is in heaven. 00:04:53.360 --> 00:05:02.160 On that day many will say to me, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:05.439 And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:08.480 Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:16.319 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 00:05:16.480 --> 00:05:26.399 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on the house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:35.759 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:44.079 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. 00:05:44.480 --> 00:05:56.319 And when Jesus finished saying these things, the crowd were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. 00:05:56.560 --> 00:05:58.000 This is the word of the Lord. 00:05:58.240 --> 00:05:59.439 You may be seated. 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:10.319 I guess it was somewhere in the range of uh sixteen or seventeen years ago, uh, Allie and I uh had the privilege to go see my sister. 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:20.160 Um, my sister, right after we got married, actually moved overseas and uh has served as a missionary uh over in Italy, and now she's in France. 00:06:20.319 --> 00:06:25.360 And uh so when we were young, we didn't have any kids yet, uh, we were like, we should go see her. 00:06:25.439 --> 00:06:26.319 Now's the time to do it. 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:27.680 And so we went and saw her. 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:35.279 She was living in Florence, and uh that was kind of our hub for where uh we stayed, but we did a few day trips around. 00:06:35.360 --> 00:06:44.079 We went to uh went up to Venice, and uh one particular day we were actually gonna go over to Cinquatera, but it was raining a lot, and so we thought, well, maybe we'll go somewhere else. 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:48.480 And uh she had a friend that was living in uh the little village of Pisa. 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:55.360 Some of you maybe have been to Pisa, and uh you know it's a small village up in northwest Italy. 00:06:55.519 --> 00:07:00.480 And of course, when we were there, we went to see what Pisa is most well known for. 00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:02.720 The Leaning Tower of Pisa. 00:07:02.879 --> 00:07:04.639 Anybody ever been to the Leaning Tower of Pisa? 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:05.920 Some of you guys have been there. 00:07:06.079 -->

00:07:12.560 You've done the American thing, you know, you've like taken a picture like you're holding, holding up the leaning tower of Pisa. 00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:19.439 Uh but it's a really interesting story about the leaning tower of Pisa and why in the world does it lean. 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:29.680 You see, uh it was uh it was built, the start of the construction was around uh the 12th century when they started building this uh this tower. 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:40.240 And originally the plan was it for it was for it to be around eight stories, uh, but as they began to lay the foundation, uh it was a problem. 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:44.879 This was ultimately what caused the leaning, part of the leaning tower of Pisa. 00:07:45.199 --> 00:07:52.480 Uh, they made the foundation of this eight-story building only three meters deep. 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:55.519 That's just under ten feet. 00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:01.360 Can you imagine uh the weight that this building, uh all the construction materials must have? 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:07.120 It was sort of a uh clay-like uh, you know, ground that they were building it on. 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:14.240 And so as they began to build the leaning tower of Pisa, I guess it wasn't called leaning at that time, it was just called the Tower of Pisa. 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:19.279 Uh they uh they noticed when they built the first story, there was, you know, no problem. 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:28.079 But as they began to add the second story onto this tower, they began to notice that um it was leaning one way. 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:29.680 And so what do you think they did? 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:31.279 They just stopped construction. 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:33.279 Like, all right, let's just leave it there. 00:08:33.440 --> 00:08:35.679 And there were other reasons for this. 00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:38.480 Uh there were wars going on and different things. 00:08:38.639 --> 00:08:44.320 Uh, but uh several hundred or a few years later, they began to add on to it again. 00:08:44.480 --> 00:08:54.320 And instead of actually fixing the issue of the foundation, they just thought, uh, let's just compensate for it and like make the next story a little bit higher on one side. 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:58.720 And so that's exactly what they did with the third story and the fourth story. 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:05.200 They just compensated and uh made those a little bit taller, and then they added, you know, it kind of got a little more leveled out. 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:15.200 And so the fifth and the sixth and the seventh story, uh, they just kind of made it normal, but then the eighth story again, it was still leaning, it was leaning up to four degrees at that point. 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:19.600 And uh, and then on the eighth story, they compensated again. 00:09:19.759 --> 00:09:23.759 And so it actually is built with kind of a a curve. 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:26.320 You can see on the other slide, go ahead and put that

up. 00:09:26.399 --> 00:09:35.679 You can see at one point it was even leaning up to five degrees uh before they had some structural engineers come in and reinforce it. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:42.159 And so now, if you go take your picture in front of it today, uh it is about four degrees off. 00:09:42.480 --> 00:09:48.000 Uh, and you can see that this is sort of like some of our spiritual lives. 00:09:48.240 --> 00:10:05.279 Uh, maybe there are some real foundational issues, and so we maybe have compensated in some other areas of our life, but I want to just tell you uh that if you look at that picture, you can see even the flagpole is compensated. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:08.000 It's even leaning the other way. 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:15.519 And uh I think this is the reason that we're going back to the fundamentals and the foundations of our faith. 00:10:15.759 --> 00:10:22.879 You see, some of us feel like the house that we read about today in the text of Matthew chapter 7. 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:36.559 We feel like the storms of life are coming against us, and we're not sure that if our foundation, we're not sure if our foundation is very solid, and it feels like at some point or another it might just give way. 00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:39.840 We feel the worry and the anxiety. 00:10:40.080 --> 00:10:50.559 And our text for today is found at the very end of some of Jesus' most famous teaching, the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew chapter 5 through 7. 00:10:50.639 --> 00:10:56.159 It's about 2,500 words, depending on which translation of the Bible you are using. 00:10:56.240 --> 00:11:00.000 Uh, Jesus has taught about all kinds of things in the Sermon on the Mount. 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:07.600 He's taught about prayer and anxiety, loving your enemies, the golden rule, the Beatitudes, and several other topics. 00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:22.879 And after, at the end of uh this lengthy section of teaching, we find that he ends this uh this passage, this Matthew chapter 7, the Sermon on the Mount, by talking about judgment day. 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:30.240 And he sums it up sort of as he would often do by telling a story or what we would call a parable. 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:36.559 And Jesus uh tells us about a new way to live. 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:41.440 That's really what this is all about, is it a new way to live. 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:53.200 And so, as he has been teaching the Sermon on the Mount, what you will notice is that as we read the passage today, you will notice that not everyone is a disciple. 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:55.279 Did you notice that? 00:11:55.840 --> 00:12:02.799 He said, There are some that will say to me, Lord, Lord, uh, but they won't enter the kingdom of God. 00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:04.559 Shock, shocking, I know. 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:11.200 That means that some of us in here, uh, maybe we have some family that are not disciples. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:17.039 That we might have maybe some friends in our friend circle that are not disciples. 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:23.440 We might have some people in our office that would not consider themselves disciples. 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:26.639 Now I want to just add a word onto that. 00:12:27.440 --> 00:12:30.960 There are some in your family who are not disciples yet. 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:38.879 There's some in your friend group, or maybe some of you in here today that are not disciples yet. 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:44.000 There's some in your office that are not disciples yet. 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:59.279 And Jesus begins by telling us this parable, uh, and it's a sobering truth, and it's a truth that really might be hard to reckon with in West Texas that not all who claim to be a follower really are. 00:12:59.600 --> 00:13:03.120 Not all who claim to be a Christian really are a disciple. 00:13:03.279 --> 00:13:08.080 And I think this is the point where we need to just pause uh and define this word for a moment. 00:13:08.240 --> 00:13:13.200 This is a word that you don't often hear outside of the church, uh, but in the church you hear about it a lot. 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:16.080 So, what in the world is a disciple? 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:19.200 Well, first of all, uh I it's a noun. 00:13:19.519 --> 00:13:21.840 Here's your English lesson for today, right? 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:23.039 It's a noun. 00:13:23.360 --> 00:13:25.039 But sometimes we use it as a verb. 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.759 We say, I'm gonna go disciple that person. 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:34.080 Well, I believe what a what scripture tells us is that a disciple is a devoted. 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:35.519 Everybody say devoted. 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.360 It's a devoted follower. 00:13:39.919 --> 00:14:08.480 Somebody who believes in their heart, confesses with their mouth that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, that he is the only way to the Father, that he is the one who, through his death on the cross and through his resurrection and victory over the grave, uh, through our proclamation of that daily and attempt to progressively become more and more like Jesus, they are a disciple. 00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:11.120 They are a follower of Jesus. 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:19.679 But as we read earlier, Jesus tells us that not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven. 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:21.200 But who is it? 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:25.759 It's the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:28.879 Now, some of us may be thinking, this doesn't sound fair. 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:32.720 It doesn't sound fair. 00:14:33.679 --> 00:14:37.840 I mean, I can say one thing, but what what if what if I don't do it? 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:41.759 You see, the kingdom of God is not a socialist government. 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:47.840 Uh it's not a republic, it's not a democracy, it's not an oligarchy, it's not a bureaucracy. 00:14:48.000 --> 00:14:50.799 The kingdom of God is a theocracy. 00:14:51.360 -->

00:14:53.200 And what he says goes. 00:14:53.759 --> 00:14:57.519 He is king and he is Lord. 00:14:57.679 --> 00:15:06.000 The Bible is very clear that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. 00:15:06.159 --> 00:15:13.360 And Jesus tells us from the very beginning that not everyone who says they are a disciple is one. 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:21.360 And in a similar way, my West Texas friends, not every day will be a hundred-degree day from here on out. 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:22.399 Praise the Lord. 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:24.559 Come on, somebody, say amen today. 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:25.919 Fall's coming. 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:27.600 Next week, we're in the 80s. 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:33.039 But it's true. 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:37.279 And you may you may wonder, well, why would Jesus say this? 00:15:37.440 --> 00:15:39.200 Is he is he just trying to scare people? 00:15:39.360 --> 00:15:41.519 No, I think Jesus is just a truth teller. 00:15:42.000 --> 00:15:46.159 And the truth is you are either a follower or you are not. 00:15:46.559 --> 00:16:05.120 And there should be some markers in your life, there should be uh some some principles or some attributes that we're gonna cover in this series that should mark your life and show that you have the fruit of a disciple, and this is where a firm foundation is found. 00:16:05.360 --> 00:16:16.879 But not everyone is a disciple, uh, and not everyone has a firm foundation, uh, and sometimes the issues that we have in our life are actually not what we think they are. 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:18.879 Some of y'all need to hear this today. 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:22.320 They're actually discipleship issues. 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:24.240 Let me give you a few examples. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:28.480 Some of us may think that we have an issue in our marriage. 00:16:29.200 --> 00:16:36.480 We may think, oh, it's just the same fight that keeps coming up, or you know, at the root of it, it's the same issue. 00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:43.759 But I would say for some of us that are having marriage issues, it's actually not a marriage issue, it's actually a forgiveness issue. 00:16:44.720 --> 00:16:53.360 You haven't freely received forgiveness in your own life, and therefore you cannot offer forgiveness to the person that you are married to. 00:16:53.519 --> 00:16:56.799 This is a foundation issue in your faith. 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:02.399 It's manifesting as a marriage issue, but it's really a foundation issue. 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:18.960 Some of you may think that you have an alcohol problem or an addiction issue in your life, but I think what I have discovered in my years of ministry uh that it actually usually is a foundation issue in the person. 00:17:19.359 --> 00:17:27.519 See, on the surface it seems like an addiction problem, but uh under the surface, it's actually a repentance issue. 00:17:27.839 --> 00:17:31.920 Repentance means that you turn and go in a different direction. 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:34.720 You do not run back to that addiction again. 00:17:34.880 --> 00:17:40.799 And so I think this is why we're coming back to this series because sometimes we need to have that this is a football moment. 00:17:40.960 --> 00:17:46.880 Like we need to go back to the foundations and the fundamentals of our faith. 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:50.319 Some of us in here may feel like we have money issues. 00:17:50.559 --> 00:17:51.920 Anybody in here feel like that? 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:54.160 Sometimes I feel like I got money issues. 00:17:56.160 --> 00:18:02.880 But what we often discover, and sometimes I discover this in my own life, is it's actually a lordship issue. 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:14.960 Like Jesus isn't really Lord over all of our finances, over all of our assets and our investments and our retirement accounts, over our wallet. 00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:24.960 And what we actually discover in the scriptures is that it's not a fine foundation, it's not a finance issue at all, it's actually a lordship problem. 00:18:25.680 --> 00:18:32.319 And these issues or these problems are actually just symptoms of a foundation issue. 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:39.119 Your foundation is built on the sand and it's affecting every other area of your life. 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:45.359 And some of us, the truth of the matter is the scripture tells us that we're not actually disciples. 00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:48.480 So why would somebody want to be a disciple then? 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:51.519 I think it's a good question. 00:18:52.400 --> 00:19:02.400 Well, I think what we see all throughout the Bible and through the scriptures is that the way of Jesus is the path to true life and to flourishing. 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:04.319 I believe this. 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:14.799 I believe that there are lots of other ways that you can live, but the real way to life, and the real way to flourishing is doing it Jesus' way. 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:17.519 And this is what we see in Psalm chapter 1. 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:25.599 We see that that is uh that is the kind of person who uh is like a tree planted by the stream. 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:32.240 When the difficult seasons of life come, when the drought comes, we're in a drought, it seems like here at West Texas, right? 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:35.920 But that kind of person is the wise person. 00:19:36.559 --> 00:19:41.519 That's the kind of person who can withstand the difficult seasons of life. 00:19:41.680 --> 00:19:48.160 And as we flip back just a few verses in Matthew chapter 7, we see that Jesus is using this imagery again. 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:50.960 He actually uses three different types of images. 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:54.400 He says, uh, he says the first one is two gates. 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:58.400 One leads to life and one leads to ruin. 00:19:58.640 --> 00:20:01.200 The second image he uses is two trees. 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:04.960 He said, There's one that is a good

tree and there's one that's a bad tree. 00:20:05.119 --> 00:20:06.640 How do you know the good tree? 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:08.240 It's got some fruit. 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:15.519 And then finally, he uses uh the imagery or the simile that we read about today. 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:21.839 There are two types of houses, one built on the rock and one built on the sand. 00:20:22.079 --> 00:20:22.799 Verse 24. 00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:25.440 Everyone who hears, everybody say, hears. 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:29.759 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them. 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:32.160 That's the hard part, isn't it? 00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:45.039 Will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it was founded on the rock. 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:50.720 A disciple hears the words of Jesus and does that. 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:55.200 Jesus calls that kind of person wise. 00:20:57.359 --> 00:21:17.359 I was uh praying for this moment this week, and uh there were some people um who are walking through some things at Mid-Cities Church right now, I believe specifically at the Mid-Cities 191 campus, uh, who I felt like the Lord wanted me to just speak some things over you today. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:26.480 Uh I think there are at least one person in here today uh who is walking through an incredibly difficult situation with your sister. 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:36.400 There's some hell things going on with your sister, but I want to encourage you that you have a firm foundation. 00:21:36.640 --> 00:21:48.720 And this is not gonna pull you under, and this is not gonna tear you down, this is not gonna tear down the house that you've built, if you will, because you have the firm foundation of Christ Jesus in your life. 00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:50.960 If that's you today, be encouraged. 00:21:51.279 --> 00:22:10.319 The second person uh that I believe is here today and needs just an encouragement is there is at least one or two of you in here today who have Had some uh some words spoken about you, and it actually uh is dealing with like a legal situation, like it's kind of like they are speaking some slander over you. 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:18.559 Uh, and I I want to encourage you by the Spirit today that you are gonna make it through because you have the foundation of Jesus Christ in your life. 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:24.319 And so you do not, I think back to last week's message, uh, Pastor Chris taught about vengeance. 00:22:24.559 --> 00:22:26.559 You do not have to be the one who seeks vengeance. 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:29.119 Jesus is the one who is your righteous judge. 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:31.519 If that is you today, be encouraged. 00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:36.480 There's a final person in here today, maybe you're watching on online, I don't know. 00:22:36.559 --> 00:22:46.079 Uh, somebody who has a child who is dealing with extreme behavioral issues, it's weighing heavily on you, you feel like you don't know how to navigate it. 00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:49.200 Uh, the Lord, I want to encourage you today, the Lord is with you. 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:52.480 He is giving you wisdom to walk through this. 00:22:52.720 --> 00:22:58.559 He is your foundation, and your foundation will not give way. 00:22:59.519 --> 00:23:03.440 Because your house is built upon the rock. 00:23:03.759 --> 00:23:08.079 There's others of us in here today, maybe you go, I don't know, I feel like the other house. 00:23:08.160 --> 00:23:12.480 I feel like my foundation could crumble at any moment. 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:17.680 And Jesus tells us, number three, a house without proper foundations will crumble. 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:19.359 It's just a matter of time. 00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:24.400 It's just a matter of time. 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:41.680 Verse 26 and everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain fell, and the flood came, and the wind blew, and beat against the house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:45.279 Once again, Jesus uses assembly here. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:48.720 Another uh illustration here. 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:56.160 You see, people who are not disciples hear and do not do the words of Jesus. 00:23:59.599 --> 00:24:04.000 Anybody ever met someone who hears but doesn't do? 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:08.240 So I've been selling some things on Facebook lately. 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:11.519 Anybody ever sold anything on marketplace? 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:14.880 It's like the worst place on earth. 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:22.000 There's so many people on there who say they're gonna do something and then don't. 00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:27.519 I mean, it's the only place where you can like sell a lamp and make five bucks or die. 00:24:27.599 --> 00:24:28.880 You know, you don't know. 00:24:30.799 --> 00:24:39.519 Literally, I had a guy yesterday who was like, hey, I'm gonna come pick this thing up, and so I built my day around it, my afternoon around it, and then he was like, Hey, you gonna come get this thing? 00:24:39.920 --> 00:24:43.440 He said he was gonna do something, and then he didn't. 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:50.480 How many of us can we know somebody like that who professes to be one way? 00:24:51.680 --> 00:24:55.599 It's like they hear the words and then they just go, nah, I'm good. 00:24:56.079 --> 00:24:57.759 I'm gonna do it my own way. 00:24:59.119 --> 00:25:03.440 Jesus would call that kind of person a foolish person. 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:11.680 And these two people, the wise person and the foolish person, they deal with storms in a different way. 00:25:11.839 --> 00:25:17.039 The one with the foundation built on the rock has peace, knowing that the foundation will hold. 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:26.960 The one with the foundation built upon the sand

likely has a ton of anxiety and fear, knowing that at any point the foundation could give way. 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:31.119 Why wouldn't we build our house upon the rock? 00:25:31.759 --> 00:25:42.000 Maybe some of you in here uh sort of feel like uh the Tower of Pisa, like uh you don't have a firm foundation, and so you've been compensating in several other ways. 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:45.200 And people compensate in all sorts of different ways. 00:25:45.359 --> 00:25:49.119 Maybe uh you've upped your alcohol consumption lately. 00:25:49.279 --> 00:25:59.920 Maybe uh maybe instead of having real human interaction uh when you needed advice for something, uh you ran to Chat GPT, you ran to Claude, you say, What do I do with this person? 00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:01.519 How do I respond to this text? 00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:05.519 Let me just encourage you and warn you be careful with that. 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:10.240 It can be helpful, it can be useful at times. 00:26:10.400 --> 00:26:13.039 I have friends that say it's the Antichrist. 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:15.759 I'm just saying it's not a human. 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:18.880 It's not a way to compensate. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:24.480 Did you know that the number one use of AI right now is therapy and companionship? 00:26:27.839 --> 00:26:33.200 So I'm not saying that to like throw stones, but if it's become your best friend, stop it. 00:26:35.359 --> 00:26:36.960 Go talk to a human. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:50.559 We got lots of people that will be up here at the end of service, and they would love to pray with you, to minister to you, get connected to a group, a real human group, a real counselor, human. 00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:54.960 Build your house upon the rock. 00:26:55.359 --> 00:27:00.400 And when the storms of life come, your house will not fall. 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:09.039 Now, maybe some of you in here would say, I remember a time in my life where I had some solid foundations. 00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:13.039 I remember uh, you know, 15 years ago I was connected to a group. 00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:15.359 Uh, I remember I was reading my Bible often. 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:19.759 I remember, you know, 25 years ago, man, I was all in for Jesus. 00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:31.359 I was a devoted follower, but because of any number of things that have happened over the last number of years, I just have found like I found myself feeling like my foundation has begun to crack. 00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:36.720 My foundation has had some uh some giving way, if you will. 00:27:36.880 --> 00:27:45.279 And Pastor Daniel shared with us this video a few weeks ago uh from uh a newscast over in India. 00:27:45.440 --> 00:27:53.359 And what had happened was they had built a house, but then they began to dig a canal right next to the house. 00:27:53.599 --> 00:27:55.200 And you can see what happened. 00:27:55.279 --> 00:27:57.839 You guys turn your attention towards the video screen. 00:27:58.079 --> 00:28:06.559 Now, news from Bengal, a four-story apartment building collapsed like a house of cards this morning at Daspur in Bengal's West Midnapur district. 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:12.240 The collapse triggered, say local, by a canal being dug just next to the building. 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:19.279 Cracks had started developing a couple of house crashes, pictures go viral. 00:28:19.519 --> 00:28:20.640 Well, no duh. 00:28:22.079 --> 00:28:28.480 But I can't help but wonder if this isn't sort of a picture for some of our lives. 00:28:28.799 --> 00:28:34.960 Uh and for any number of reasons, our foundations have begun to crack. 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:40.319 And we've gotten away from the fundamentals of our faith. 00:28:40.960 --> 00:28:54.480 That Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, that he is where life really is found, that he really is Lord of our life, that community and uh church is the place where we're gonna find real life. 00:28:54.720 --> 00:28:59.440 And if that's you, maybe uh over the last several years you found yourself drifting away. 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:06.960 And uh so I want to just encourage you uh to be a part of this series, to commit to being uh a part of Mid-Cities over the next eight weeks. 00:29:07.200 --> 00:29:08.960 If you're out of town, that's cool, we get it. 00:29:09.039 --> 00:29:10.000 I do that too. 00:29:10.079 --> 00:29:33.359 Uh, but hop online, be involved in a group, and let's grow together uh as disciples, because we are called to be a church of disciples who make disciples, which just reminds me, and we're coming to the end of our time today, but this is what I believe is true, is that a life with proper foundations will teach others how to have proper foundations. 00:29:34.319 --> 00:29:50.400 That is Jesus, as he was uh coming to the very end of his time on the earth, the last thing that he told you and I and the disciples who were standing with him that day is that we are to go into all the world and to make disciples. 00:29:50.640 --> 00:29:52.400 And so that's what this church is all about. 00:29:52.559 --> 00:29:57.200 If you're new to Mid-Cities, we are a church of disciples who make disciples. 00:29:57.359 --> 00:30:00.960 And so to finish our time today, I want to ask you to just stand with me. 00:30:01.519 --> 00:30:06.880 We're gonna just read this passage uh from Matthew 28, 18. 00:30:07.119 --> 00:30:15.680 I want you to read it with me, uh, and then I'm gonna take a minute and pray over us as we prepare to dive into this series over the next eight weeks. 00:30:15.839 --> 00:30:18.160 Matthew 28, 18, read it with me. 00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:26.640 It says, and Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 00:30:27.119 --> 00:30:40.559 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:45.359 And behold, I'm with you always to the end of the age. 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:50.079 So, Jesus, I thank you for each of those that are here today. 00:30:50.240 --> 00:31:01.440 God, those who are watching online, thank you that you have come to be the firm foundation, Lord, that uh without you, Lord, we build our house upon the sand. 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:06.640 But thank you for what you've done for us, how your blood covers us, it covers our sin. 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:11.839 You offer us uh forgiveness, you offer us life to the full. 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:17.759 And so, Lord, would you help us build a firm foundation in our life over the next several weeks? 00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:20.960 God, we invite you into our life to speak to us. 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:28.319 God, we pray that we would be disciples and that we would go into the world and make disciples of all nations. 00:31:28.480 --> 00:31:30.000 God, we invite you to do this. 00:31:30.160 --> 00:31:31.839 In the name of Jesus, we pray. 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:32.720 Amen.