Keeping It Simple Series: Building A Solid Foundation

Let's dive into this mini-teaching in our Keeping It Simple Series on Building A Solid Foundation. 

We will discover why building on Scripture is essential in our walk as baby Christians. As we mature spiritually, we will move from milk to meat. 

Today, drink some milk and get full on the Word of God. 

Learn more at www.reflectivespacesministry.com

(Watch on YouTube for PowerPoint Version)

Transcript

Welcome to today's mini-teaching in our Keeping It Simple Series: Building on a Solid Foundation. I'm Tammy Toney-Butler with Reflective Spaces Ministry. We will dive into our PowerPoint and our simple teaching method to help us move from milk to meat. But it is essential as baby Christians, as new believers, that we build on a solid foundation of scripture, that we anchor into the promises of God's word that will keep us tethered so tightly to the hem of his garment, keep us from going astray and ensuring that we are abiding in the vine of truth as we set out to become spiritual leaders ourselves, disciple others, and help individuals mature in Christ as they walk along that narrow path of righteousness for his name's sake. Holy Spirit, I invite you into this teaching. It's all about you. It's not about me. May they have spiritual eyes to see and ears to hear. And may the truth penetrate bone and marrow. Going deeply in, establishing roots so deep that absolutely nothing will stop what you have ordained in their life. You knew each of them. Before you form them in the womb, they have a purpose, a divine purpose. They're not just new believers. They're believers with a purpose, a path, a chosen destiny to fulfill. Because aren't we all one in spirit? The Holy Spirit's in us, guiding us into all truth, and we're under the head. which is Christ. Oh, Holy Spirit, strengthen us. Strengthen us, oh Father. Abba, Father, speak to us through your Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. Guide us and keep us during this teaching. In your Son's mighty precious name, Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen. So now we are going to talk about building a solid foundation. We build a solid foundation. It is essential that we build it on the rock. Lord Jesus, the love of Jesus, the life of Jesus, the humility of Jesus, his compassion, his mercy. And as we search the scriptures for truth, building layer upon layer upon layer, drawing strength from God's promises, looking back to the Old Testament, as we digest and get nourished from the New Testament, everything has a place, purpose, and order. Nothing's by coincidence in God's kingdom. There is no such words as luck in God's kingdom. Everything, everything, everything is because of God. God's sovereign will for our lives. Every divine encounter, there are no coincidences in God's kingdom. Even today, those of you that are watching this, there's a reason that you are watching this right now. There's a reason that I came on during this time, as God is speaking to you, wanting you to grow in relationship with Him by way of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, Spirit of God, the Spirit of Jesus, because we're all one. And remember, Christ came to do the will of the Father. And when we saw Lord Jesus, we saw Father. We are all one in spirit. We're going to be reading, starting with Psalm eleven. Then we're going to build and we're gonna go to Psalm seventeen, fifteen. We're gonna go to Psalm four, six through eight. Look at Psalm sixteen, eight to eleven. Acts two, twenty five to twenty eight, which also looks back at Psalm sixteen, eight to eleven. We're going to read John four forty eight, John twenty twenty nine, and we're going to conclude with first Peter one eight to nine as we build off the rock. Let's start with Psalm eleven one. For the choir director, a Psalm of David, new living translation. I trust in the Lord for protection. So why do you say to me, fly like a bird to the mountains for safety? Eleven two. The wicked are stringing their bows and fitting their arrows on the bow strings. They shoot from the shadows at those whose hearts are right. The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do? Psalm eleven four. But the Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth. Psalm eleven five. The Lord examines. Both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who love violence. Psalm eleven six. He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked. Punishing them with scorching winds. And remember our teaching on the four winds of God. You may want to go back and look at that. It's a little bit more of a mature teaching. So if you're still on milk, then you may not want to go to that as of yet. But the Holy Spirit will guide you through each teaching that we've done. When to watch certain videos. Also, tune into our reflective hour with Tammy Toni Butler with different teachings, interviews, and knowledge gleaned from other faith leaders. Psalm eleven six. Again, we read, I'll read it again. He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching wind. Psalm eleven, seven. For the righteous Lord loves justice. The virtuous will see his face. Psalm seventeen, fifteen out of the New Living Translation. Because I am righteous, I will see you when I awake. I will see you face to face and be satisfied. Let's keep building off the scripture. Psalm four, six, new living translation. Many people say, who will show us better times? Let your face smile on us, Lord. Psalm four, seven. You've given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvest of grain and new wine. You've given me greater joy. There is nothing more important than putting the kingdom of God first. You put it first, everything else shall be given unto you. Seek to do the Lord's will above all else. The kingdom of God is all about surrender. Let not your will be done, but the will of our father, of a father. We are to ensure that we are surrendering. walking in obedience so that he can carry us through these challenging times that we're faced with even today. Psalm four, eight. In peace, I will lie down and sleep for you alone. Oh Lord, will keep me safe. See, that's a promise. In peace, I will lie down and sleep for you alone. Oh Lord, will keep me safe. if you're having trouble sleeping because of the cares of life, then just repeat this Psalm and know that it is God's will that you have a restful sleep. So rest in the shadow of the wings of the almighty God, as Psalm ninety one says. Let's look at Psalm sixteen eight out of the New Living Translation, continuing to build off the scripture. I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. Psalm sixteen nine. Psalm sixteen ten. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. Wow. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. Psalm sixteen eleven. See that you will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence. We only need to seek the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. To be our redeemer. Jesus is the author of life. Remember, he came so that we could be set free and have abundant life. And he ensured that he could be everywhere by giving us his Holy Spirit to guide us, to be with us, to never leave us, to never forsake us. The New Living Translation, Acts two twenty five. King David said this about him. I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken for he is right beside me. Acts two, twenty six. No wonder my heart is glad and my tongue shouts his praises. My body rests in hope. No matter how dark it looks out there, there's always hope. We're to have joy despite our circumstances. Acts two, twenty seven. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. Didn't we just read that? Remember in Acts, They're looking back to the Old Testament, to the scriptures, to King David. You have shown me the way of life and you will fill me with the joy of your presence. Acts two twenty eight. Wow. Build a solid foundation today off of the promises found in God's word. Look back as Peter did and draw from the words of King David. Whenever I was in a dark place, I would read the Psalms. There were many people that were in dark places. You can draw strength from how they got through. They tethered into the word of God, and you can do the same. They also had experiential knowledge of God's goodness, of how he saw them through past trials and tribulations, knowing that he would see them through now. King David had experiential knowledge of God's faithfulness, love and protection throughout the storms in his life. He trusted and relied on God. You can do the same. Let's read the New Living Translation. Jesus asked, Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders? John four forty eight. New Living Translation, John twenty twenty nine. Then Jesus told him, You believe because you've seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me. Jesus was speaking to Thomas here. Thomas had doubts and wanted to see a physical representation of Jesus, the physical body, so that he would believe. Jesus is not limited by physical, by a physical body. The Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ is everywhere. He wants to be present with you at all times in a relationship with you and co-labor with you so that the kingdom of God can be manifested on earth as it is in heaven. Doubt can lead to questions which lead to answers, which leads to belief. Doubting is bad when skepticism leads to stubbornness. and doubt leads to unbelief, which leads to double mindedness. Doubt can lead to spiritual maturity, faith, or spiritual death, pride. We can trust and believe in our own selves, our own way. Make us the God of our life instead of submitting and surrendering, walking by faith and not by sight and letting Lord Jesus' Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God guide us into all truth. It's all about surrender. You gotta surrender. The New Living Translation, First Peter one eight You love him even though you've never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. First Peter one nine. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. The New Living Translation again, looking at John twenty twenty nine. Then Jesus told him, you believe because you've seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me. Remember that we only need to look to the cross to see the love of Abba Father and to see the love of Lord Jesus. He gave up his life so we could have eternal life. The cross is everything to us. No one gets to the Father but through Lord Jesus. And there's no greater representation of Jesus than the work done on the cross, the victory that it ensured for us to have total freedom from the bondages of sin. Let's rebuke these spirits, the spirit of doubt. The spirit of pride is behind it and a spirit of stubbornness can be behind it. Let's rebuke a cynical spirit. The spirit of unbelief can be behind it. A spirit of bitterness or unforgiveness can be behind it. So we rebuke any spirits of doubt, any cynical spirits, any stubbornness and pride. We call for surrender today to the will of God for your lives. Trust in him. Obedience is better than sacrifice. He wants you to obey, even if that means being still. He wants you to walk with ordered steps, for the steps of the righteous are ordered by the Lord. Romans ten, seventeen, the King James Version. So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God. What can you do as a baby Christian, as someone who's growing in the knowledge of the Lord, who's hungry and wants to be fed, thirsty and wants a drink from the wellspring of living water? You can build a relationship with Jesus. You can be still. You can invite him into everything, and I mean everything. I've invited him into helping me get ministry chairs, anything on a budget. I've helped, you know, I ask God about the smallest detail because I fear him. I revere him. He's of a father, but he's also my father. That'll never leave me nor forsake me. He's the father I never had. He's my daddy. He's my friend. Lord Jesus is my friend. I have a relationship. I walk with them. I have an intimacy. I know them and they know me. That's what he wants. You don't have to have these strict guardrails. Religion wants you to follow all of these rituals. Jesus wants you to be in a relationship. Study scripture and build a strong foundation. Pick out scripture. Look at the Bible. Look back at the reference scriptures and build on them. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth, to enlighten the scripture, to give you revelation, knowledge and wisdom as to his truth and understanding so that you too can grow and build. on the solid foundation of god's word remove distractions to hear god's voice get away from the chaos and confusion of the world sit quietly meditate on the promises of god's word go into your secret place create a secret place in your home even whether it's walking in a garden wherever it is make that be the place that you go routinely to meet Jesus, to fellowship with Jesus so that the Holy Spirit is there and that you go with this anticipation, waiting, knowing that he's going to speak with you. Make that a daily part of your routine, like brushing your teeth and never miss it. Never, ever miss it. It is a part of your daily life, of your transformation as you have a renewed mind in Christ. Because your heart has been renewed. You have the heart and mind of Christ. And when the devil comes to your door trying to tempt you, like he did Jesus in the wilderness, you speak scripture. You speak scripture like Peter did, like Jesus did. You speak God's word. And remember, Jesus was the living, breathing word that was alive. It's still alive. God's got you. He's got you. Trust in him and he'll deliver you out of your Egypt that you're facing. He'll help you get across your Red Sea. Seek him. Seek the word of God and be complete as you grow from being a baby Christian to a mature Christian, stretching your faith muscles and then mentoring and leading others. to total freedom in Christ Jesus. Let's pray. Abba Father, we are the sheep of your pasture. Protect us, shield us, guide us, strengthen us, O God. Cover us in the blood of Lord Jesus. Wash us clean. Clarify areas where there's confusion and doubt. And let us grow in faith, knowing that we know, that we know, that we know this is the way walking it. Strengthen them, O God. Send destiny helpers to them. Send laborers into the field to minister to them, to be spiritual mothers and fathers, so that they too can grow in the faith and grow in the fullness of who you've called them to be. In the mighty name of your precious Son, Lord Jesus, we pray and declare all things. Amen. That's the teaching today in the Keeping It Simple series. I'm Tammy Toney-Butler with Reflective Spaces Ministries. Remember to like and subscribe on our YouTube channels so that you can be notified when we go live and when there's other teachings. God bless you and keep you. Remember, Jesus loves you and I love you. God bless you. Keep you.