Foundation part 5

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📍 Service Location: Monmouth, OR  
📅 Sunday Gathering 4:30pm 


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We exist to be daily devoted followers of Jesus who bring people together to teach them the love and truth of Jesus through relationship. It's not about Sunday, it's about the everyday.

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We serve Monmouth, Independence, Dallas, and the surrounding areas in Oregon. We post weekly sermons and highlights to help you grow in your walk with Jesus.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

We've been talking about foundations. Um, just for Lily's behalf, this is week five of foundations. And uh, she just keeps me right on track. Stephen, what what night is it tonight? Okay, we need to know these things. All right. Um, but we're on week five here tonight. And uh, but the thing, one of the things we've been talking a little bit about is two different mindsets. And Chris, you're not allowed to answer tonight because you've already you've already proven to me that you're paying attention. Um, but can somebody else tell me what is the what is the first mindset that we often come through the doors with?

unknown 0:31

Consumer.

SPEAKER_00 0:32

Consumer, right? A consumer mindset. It's a it's a transactional mindset. It says, hey, I came to church and man, I want some good coffee, and I came to church and I want a good seat. Hey, I came to church, and you know, I want this to really, I want the music really to impact my life, you know? And uh we have this consumer mindset, but what is the other mindset that we actually want to have? Did you say student? I heard it. We want to have a student mindset, why? Because a student mindset, as Noelle could tell you, is a transformational mindset, right? Because we're interested in taking in and learning and growing from it. So this is really essential for us. And one of the ways we do that is by taking notes. And so if you take notes and then you study those notes later and you look up the scriptures and you talk about them at home and you pray about things that God is doing in your life, that seed is just taking root in your life and it's beginning to transform you from the inside out. And that's what we want as believers is we want to have a student mindset. We want to all the days of our lives, even if we're as old as Keith, we still want to. I'm just kidding, he's super young. We still want to, we still want to be students, right? We just want to be students and be connected like that and keep growing. Um, you know, last week um Shane got up here and he he opened our minds to a bigger world around the scripture, didn't he? Talked about the Bible, talked about all these big themes and all these big ideas, and and hopefully he wet your appetite to think about getting more into the scriptures, right? I'm telling you something, kind of like giving. If you invest in your Bible, if you'll read your Bible, I promise you, you will not be disappointed with the results. It will change your life from the inside out. It'll change your marriage, it'll change your family, it'll change the community around you because it's a powerful tool. But I wanted to just give you something. I'm not, I wanted to give you something really simple tonight that you could sink your teeth in. Um, you know, he he tempted you a little bit, but I want to I want to give you something really simple and I want to something that you could invest in yourself. Um, but it's something called soap. Have you guys ever heard of soap before? Scripture, observation, application, and prayer. In other words, this is a simple concept. This is this is you being willing to say, I'm gonna invest time. I'm gonna ask the Lord where I should read in my Bible. And I told you already, if you haven't been reading your Bible, start reading the Gospel of Matthew. That's where we're spending time right now. Open up the Gospel of Matthew, start reading it for yourself. And as you read it, you can get something simple like this journal right here. In fact, I'm gonna tell you tonight, this is a $7 journal. And um, if you want one, you can there's a QR code up there you can scan. And uh we're gonna ask is for five bucks and we'll get you one. We'll order them and have them here by next Sunday. Um, but soap is a really simple principle that'll help get you going in that in that daily devotion to Jesus through this through the scriptures. So I want to encourage you that with that, because remember, if we want to be daily devoted followers of Christ, then we have to practice, right? We have to practice. And so I want to encourage you with that. So just uh again, our hearts, church, is to equip you. Our hearts, remember, is we want to be disciples who make disciples, right? And we're disciples because what? We're committed to being what? Daily devoted followers of Jesus who join people in their journey through life and faith. Simply put, disciples making disciple makers. Amen. All right. Well, why don't you open your Bibles here for a few moments and we're gonna jump into a text of Matthew chapter five, and just I'm just gonna ask you for a little bit of your time to invest. I know we've had some exciting, I mean, first of all, Ryland, he's that beard of his, I mean, wow, right? I mean, hello, man crush, you know what I'm saying? And and uh, you know, and uh, I mean, like like uh Keith said, this beautiful couple, um, you know, and so excited for what God's doing in your guys' lives. Thank you for being here today. Thank you for your ministry. We're so excited about our partnership together and future partnership together. Um, but again, open your Bibles up tonight to Matthew 5, and let's just invest a few moments into the scriptures. Let's let God speak to us tonight and help prepare us for what he wants to do this week, what he wants to do in this season of our lives, how he wants to bring about change. Because man, if we'll listen, if we'll take it by faith, if we'll respond to it, act on it, obey it, it's gonna change us from the inside out. All right. Matthew 5, it'll be on the screen for you, uh, but you can write that down. Matthew 5, starting in verse 1. It says, when the crowds, uh, excuse me, when he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him, then he began to teach them, saying, Now, this is a cool picture because Jesus, um, there was lots of people around. Why? Because if you remember right, he was down further south, and um, with everything going on with John the Baptist, but then John the Baptist had gotten arrested, and remember he withdrew and he went up to the northern part of Israel. He's up there by the Sea of Galilee in the area of Capernaum, and he's out there and he is he is preaching about the kingdom of heaven. He's giving the blind sight, he's healing the lame, he's bringing people back to life, he's casting out demons. People are coming from all over, including Syria and the Decapolis and all around Israel, people are now coming to him. But Jesus sits down to focus on his disciples. Because what Jesus understands is what he is going to accomplish and what he's going to entrust to just a few to accomplish once he's gone. And I want you to hear this tonight. If you're willing to be committed as a disciple, I want you to know Jesus will sit down with you daily and teach you. That's his heart. And that's what he's doing right here in Matthew chapter 5, verse 1 and 2. Verse 2. Then he began to teach them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit. Now, these say these sound really contrary to things that we think about being blessed on, right? Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Now I've titled tonight's message, The Best Life You Can Live. The best life you can live. In fact, when you when the when they tried to translate uh into our English language this word blessed, it's complicated. Whether you're looking at the text from a Hebrew or from a Greek, and most of this was all written in Greek, and it's complicated. And so a really cool paraphrase that I came across, and I love it, is this the person who is living the best possible life is actually the one who is poor in spirit, who mourns, who is meek, and who is hunger, hungry and thirsty for righteousness. Now I realize this isn't something that we think about, right? Um, what are some of the things, really quickly here? If I was to say, what are some things that if you said this defines somebody living the best possible life? I want you to take off your Christian hats for a moment. Give me some ideas, real quick. Tell me something. Chris, what'd you say? Food. This guy loves food, okay. He's a he's a he is an adolescent teenager and he loves food, okay? Something else. Sleep, okay. Motorized vehicles. Shane. Healthy relationships. Shane. Rest, something else. Chris. Water. Okay. These are these are some things, right? Um, some some more basic things, but I think usually when we say, you know, um years ago, I had the privilege, it was kind of weird at the time, but the company I was working for was owned by Uncle Warren. Do you guys know who Uncle Warren is? He is he is a billionaire. He's one of the wealthiest men in the country. We called him Uncle Warren. And uh somewhere deep down in a dark hole, I have a picture with that man. And uh and I watched as uh people around him treated him uh as if he contained some level of status of information that was beyond human ability. It was really weird, I'm just saying. So anyway, but I would say that if if you thought you had a million or a billion dollars in the bank, would you think that that person was living the best life? Come on, be honest tonight, right? Right? I mean, if you could have the house you wanted, drive the car you wanted, wear the clothes you wanted, not have to go to work and still have money, wouldn't that be pretty good? Okay, a few of you are agreeing. Okay, I'm finally getting some honesty tonight, you know. Water. Come on, water, food, come on, come on. Those are basic needs. All right, but the person who is living the best possible life is actually the one who is poor in spirit. Now, this, I don't know, if that doesn't change the way you see this passage, I don't know what will. But it really does. It gets your attention. And so we're gonna talk about, we're gonna talk about these foundational attitudes that Jesus is talking about. Poor in spirit, mourning, uh, meek, and then hunger and thirst for righteousness. So we're gonna talk about those four things for just a few moments tonight. But poor in spirit is, you know, I know, I know that Keith's got all the refunds coming in the mail somehow. I don't know what that's all about, but but poor in spirit is like being bankrupt, right? Poor in spirit means there isn't any refunds coming in the mail. In fact, there's not any resources in the bank. In fact, there's not enough to cover the month or to cover life in itself. And so you're bankrupt and you're in trouble. In other words, poor in spirit is understanding that you and I are insufficient to do anything in our strength, power, and means to do anything about our sin problem. Isn't that good news tonight? Isn't that good news? But that's what poor in spirit is. It's bankrupt spiritually. We are not spiritually self-sufficient. We cannot earn a place. You know what? There's gonna be a lot of disappointment in this world when Jesus comes back, when people begin to understand. It wasn't about how much was in your accounts, it wasn't about the lifestyle that you live. What it was about was serving Jesus. And see, understanding that he has done it all, right? We cannot earn a place in God's kingdom. And we need this. What do you think we need tonight? Man, you know you're talking to a church when they're like, we need Jesus. Chris. Hey, you're getting closer. You said spirit. What's another name for the spirit of God? Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit. That works. I'll take that. We need the Holy Spirit, right? Because if we're poor in spirit, we're spiritually bankrupt, right? There's nothing that we can do. And so we need the Holy Spirit's life, power, and grace. Ephesians chapter 2 reminds us of this truth. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8 reads like this: For you are saved by grace through faith. Now I know that Matt and Hawley have a daughter named Grace, but they're not talking about that grace. They're talking about God's grace, God's unmerited favor. In other words, God withholding what you and I deserve and giving us what we don't deserve, right? God's grace. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourself. It is a gift from God, not from works, so that no one can boast. Jesus is saying we need to understand that apart from him, we are spiritually bankrupt. We need to learn how to understand how to live life poor of spirit, because it's only by the grace of God that our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. It's only by the grace of God that when we take our final breath on this earth, should Jesus tarry, that you and I will be standing in the presence of the Almighty. It is only by the grace of God that he has rescued us from sin, addiction, and all sorts of problems in life. Why? Because he stepped in through the blood of Jesus that was shed on the cross for you and me so that we could have life. So we've got to live, learn how to live poor in spirit. But then he talks about mourns. When you think about mourning, I don't think about living my best life, right? I'm a crier, you know. I cry and I get all snotty and it runs down my face, and and then I'm then I'm just like, you know, dry heaven and all this messy stuff, you know what I mean? And it's just scary looking, you know what I mean? And so it's hard to think about this idea of mourning as being representation of living your best life. When you think of mourning, what do you think of? Grief, sadness, right? Somebody passing, right? All maybe a relationship ending, Chris. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. But what about this? Have you ever thought about acknowledging your weakness? Acknowledging your struggle with sin? Acknowledging that you have this rotting corpse, unfortunately, because we we're we're we're prone to sin, and and because of that, we struggle even after even after coming into the right relationship with Jesus, we still struggle at times. But mourning is learning to acknowledge that weakness. Again, we're saying, Lord, apart from you, apart from your Holy Spirit, apart from what you're doing in my life, Lord, I'm I'm I'm weak and I struggle. God, I so desperately need you. But it also means grieving over the things that grieve God. Do you know that as a as we walk as Christians, that when we witness things that grieve the heart of God, these are things that we should mourn. These are things that we should take to prayer. These are things that we should allow them to weigh heavy on our hearts. Why? Because Jesus wants us to understand something. We all struggle with sin, but where we struggled, he succeeded. Where we failed, he had victory. Ephesians chapter 5, we're gonna go right back there again. Ephesians 5, verse 1 says this. Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, and walk in love as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you as is proper for saints. Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking, even around the water cooler, are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. For know and recognize this, that even every sexually moral or impure or greedy person who is an idolter does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Now, the reason I shared this passage with you tonight is because I want you to see that God's standards are beyond our ability to live on our own. Did you catch that tonight? I know that's a little depressing, and that's the point. We need to learn to mourn the weaknesses that we have so that we learn how to rely on the presence and the power of God to be victorious. You see, that's what Paul's trying to point out. He's saying, look, God's standard, it's you can't even reach it, it's so high. But here's the thing: you can't buy it, you can't earn it, there is nothing you can do. It is only by the blood of Christ that we have been transformed. And so it's understanding that you and I are called to imitate God. You and I are called to pursue Him. You and I are called to realize and to mourn over those things that grieve the heart of God. Wow. I'll just amen myself tonight. All right. Number three tonight, we're gonna talk about another attitude. How about this one? Meek. Meek. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't I don't really get onto social media. Or are there any social media fans in the house tonight? Just be honest, right? Don't you know we're in church, right? Okay, very good. There's a few of you out there. I'm not really a fan of it. Um, but can I just ask you guys do you do you hear but people talking about how meek people are on social media? Yeah, I didn't think so. Right? It's not something that would be discussed or prized, but but the meek are those who are humble and submissive to God. Humble and submissive to God. Jesus was the ultimate example for us about being humble and submissive to God. In fact, he was so humble and submissive that he died, he gave his life to be hung on a cross. Ultimately, right? Uh Abraham would be another really good example of somebody who was meek and humble, right? He told Lot, Lot, you choose which direction you want to go, and I'm gonna trust God that he'll still provide for my family, right? There's lots of examples. Moses was also another example of somebody who is meek and humble before God. But we have to know this meek people are those that depend on nothing but God.

unknown 18:49

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 18:52

Blessings. Kind sir. Blessings, kind sir. Okay. But meek people are those that depend completely on God. What in your life right now is getting in the way of you completely depending on God? Meek people commit their lives and the direction of their lives completely upon God. Young person in the room tonight, if you want to know what God's plan is for your life in future, then you need to come to a place where you are being submissive and walking in obedience to God because He'll show you the way. Okay? He will show you the way. Psalms 37, 11 says, but the meek shall inherit the land. He didn't say the rich, he didn't say the powerful, he said the meek. He says, but the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace. And finally, tonight, thanks for hanging in there with me, by the way. I appreciate it. I know we've had a lot of exciting things happening today, but you can't miss this one. This one right here, if if you missed morning, if you missed poor in spirit, no, they're all really good. If you missed any of them, but don't miss this one tonight. Don't miss this one. Hungers and thirst for righteousness. Hungers and thirsts for righteousness. This is a foundational requirement for all godly living. If you want to learn how to walk poor in spirit, mourn, walk in mourning. If you want to learn how to be that meek person, fully dependent, fully submissive to God, then you have got to learn what it means to be hunger, to have hunger and thirst for righteousness. Jesus says in Matthew 6, 33, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Church, do you see what he said right there? He said that if we would learn how to fully depend upon him, seek his kingdom, walk this out, that he's gonna take care of the rest. We don't have to carry these burdens and these struggles anymore. He's gonna carry them for us, right? Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Let me give you a couple of biblical examples here before we wrap up. We see that this hunger and thirst was found in Moses. Okay. Moses was a great leader. In fact, Moses was esteemed as probably the greatest leader that Israel ever had. Exodus 33, 13 says, Now, if I have indeed, this is Moses, listen to how personal this conversation is with God. Now, if I have indeed found favor with you, please teach me your ways, and I will know you, so that I might find favor with you. Now consider that this nation is your people. If I have found favor with you, please teach me your ways. Moses desired more than any. To have intimacy with God. He had a hunger for God. David in Psalms 42, 2, he cried out, he says, I thirst for God, the living God. And when I come and when can I come and appear before God? Isn't that powerful? David's crying out in this hunger and thirst. Paul the apostle in Philippians 3:10, listen to this. My goal is to know him, talking about Jesus. My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death. I believe Paul was a man that walked poor in spirit. I believe Paul was a man that mourned and that was humble and meek before the Lord. I believe Paul was a man that hungered and thirst for righteousness, and he got to see the hand of God work over and over in his life and ministry as he was sent out to plant churches and to testify before rulers and governors and kings because God used him in such a powerful way. Church, are you hungry and thirsty for righteousness? But I want to encourage you to hunger and thirst for righteousness more than food, more than water, more than social media, more than entertainment, more than having something new, more than anything that you could think of. I want you to learn and realize that this is God's call for you and me, is he wants us to come to this place where we hunger and thirst for him more than anything in our lives. The person who is living the best possible life is actually the one who is poor in spirit, mourns, is meek, and hungers and thirsts for righteousness. So let's just talk about a couple practical things as we close here. Do these foundational attitudes define my life? Do these foundational attitudes define my life? Think about that. Don't answer. Think about it. Pray about it. Wrestle with God about it. And if there's some things in your life that need to change, and I promise you, God will point out some things that need to change. But do these foundational attitudes define your life? And then why not? Consider setting aside time, pray, seek God and ask Him to search your heart and mind. You know, I've been I've been encouraged this year to be thinking about memorizing Scripture, and it's been it's been a whole new experience when it comes to hiding the Word of God in our hearts. And it was so fun on youth on Wednesday, Grace Smucker told a story about she was, they had gotten a seed and had planted it in some soil and it had grown and become a plant and a flower. And I said, Wow, thank you for that illustration, Grace, because that is exactly the way it works with the Word of God. When you plant that seed in your life, and it gets watered and it begins to develop and grow inside of you, it becomes a plant, and then eventually it produces fruit inside of your life. And there's a scripture that has been on my heart and mind, and I want to share it with you tonight. Please forgive me if I stumble. But it's Psalms chapter 4, and it's from the NIV 1984. So you probably don't have that version of the NIV. So if you're looking on your phones, it'll show that I'm incorrect because in 1984, NIV is different than the NIV in your phone today. But I believe it was probably David because he cries out, he says, Oh my righteous God, hear me when I call to you. Give me relief from my distress. Be merciful to me and hear my prayers. He says, How long, O man, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? Know that the Lord sets apart the godly for himself. Know that the Lord hears me when I call him. He said, Many are asking, who can show us anything good? He says, Let the light of your face, O Lord, shine upon us. He said, You have filled my heart with greater joy than with all their grain, and when their new wine abound. He said, I will lie down in peace and sleep, because you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Church, I share that with you tonight because as I conclude this, I want you to understand something. If we're gonna build a foundation as a follower of Jesus, if we're gonna build a foundation as a disciple and become disciple makers, then we have got to take this into our lives. We have got to put it into practice. This can't just be something that we talk about on Sundays. This has to be something we talk about at dinner. This has to be something we talk about in the mornings. This has to be a part of the way that we are choosing to live our lives. Because when his word gets anchored inside of you, it's no longer, it's no longer written by an author, but it becomes planted inside of you and it becomes a part of you. So do these foundational attitudes define your life? We're gonna go, I'm gonna invite the worship team to come as we conclude here. But there's three things that I believe that we have to address as we as we look at these foundational attitudes. Do you guys remember when we talked about repentance? Repentance isn't just turning, repentance is a change of heart and mind. In other words, when when the Holy Spirit convicts us of things in our lives, it's us being willing to come to a place where we change our heart and mind about that lifestyle, about that thought, about those words, about those actions, and we correct it and we turn away from it and back to God. We obey is another action step that we can take. We can, as God would speak to us through his word, the Bible, and by his spirit, we could obey what he said. You know, so often, obedience, God will give you something that he wants you to do, and he wants you to trust him and to do it even if it feels uncomfortable. Ryland mentioned that earlier when he was talking about being obedient to share with these individuals and encouraging individuals to share. He was talking about obedience. And here's the thing about obedience you won't get it right every time. But it's the willing heart to continue to say, God, as you lead, I will obey. As you lead, I will obey. And finally, tonight, we have to live. We have to practice the changes that God is making in our life each day. I promise you something, church. If you will put these principles into practice in your day-to-day life, your life is gonna change. Your family is gonna change, your future is gonna change, your heart is gonna change. The world around you is gonna change because God is gonna have such a powerful thing in you that ultimately come out through you. That's what it's all about. We gotta put these things into practice. Will you stand with me tonight? As always, this altar is gonna be available to you. Maybe tonight is a moment where you say, you know what, I wanna I wanna begin to explore. Lord, are those foundational attitudes? Is that alive in me? Or does something need to change? Do I need to leave something at your feet tonight? If you feel that nudge inside, you feel that, you feel the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit, He loves you so much and He already lives on the inside of you, but He never condemns you. See, condemnation comes from the enemy. But Jesus always comes, the Holy Spirit always comes in conviction. He brings it out and he calls you up and he says, Come to me. Or maybe you're here tonight and you say, Man, I I need prayer. I got trouble at home, I got trouble at work, I got trouble with things. I'm gonna invite mom and dad are gonna be over here, Keith's gonna be over here, I'll come join him over there. But if you need prayer tonight, they're gonna be available to you here in just a moment. Or maybe you're here and you say, Man, God's been putting these things in front of me, and I've I've I haven't I haven't been living them, I haven't been practicing them. Come on, tonight's a moment to change. Tomorrow's a day to change. You fail today, you repent today, and you start again tomorrow. Right? God gave us a new day every day. New week every week, new month, every month, new year, every year. He gave us opportunities, church. When we mess up, we just repent. We have a change of heart and mind, and we just go right back to Him. So this altar is available, our prayer team's available, and if you need something tonight, I encourage you. I encourage you, I implore you. Hunger and thirst for righteousness. You'll never regret it. Father, in the name of Jesus, Lord, I thank you for this time that we've had to share tonight. Lord, I thank you for your precious word that is alive, that is powerful, and that's effective. Lord, I thank you for your Holy Spirit that lives and dwells on the inside of us. Lord, I thank you that we're a family here tonight. We are a body, we are your body, we are your kids. And Lord, I thank you tonight for the work that you are doing on the inside of our lives, the way that you're changing our thinking, the way that you're changing the way that we talk, the way that you're changing the way that we live. And Lord, I thank you for that conviction, never condemnation, but thank you for that conviction. Thank you for the healing power of the cross. Thank you for the precious blood of Jesus that still flows to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. God, I pray that your church, your body, would respond to you. God, that your body would pursue you, that they would hunger and thirst for righteousness. God, that they would walk in obedience, that they would learn to live that life of repentance and live it out each and every day. So, God, I'm asking, come and work, come and move, come and change us from the inside out. God, as we pursue you in Jesus' mighty name. Come on, let's worship Him tonight.