Reconciliation Ministries

God's Word, Part 1 - Your Foundation

AT THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
The question was asked, "what then will become of this child?" So EXTRAORDINARY was the event surrounding his birth. Indeed Every birth is extraordinary. True, some more than others...Like the man whose wife was on the labor table and a nurse jumped up on the table to help the delivering Mom to push...so traumatic was it for the dad to be, he grabbed the oxygen mask and began to inhale oxygen and later proclaim "It was one of the hardest things I have ever been through!!!"

Or in the case of my own wife, we will never forget the birth of our second son. We had gone to the hospital and checked into a room. She was lying in bed when the mid-wife came in and checked her and remarked that she had
dilated to 4, the same as the lady in the next room. We liked this hospital. It was brand new and the walls were sound proof {I liked that!!} As I sat on the side of my wife's bed we heard a S-C-R-E-A-M!!! from the room next to us. What about the sound proof rooms I asked myself.... The woman in the next room had dilated to 10 and was about to have the baby and started shouting, "I'VE CHANGED MY MIND!!" - Phew!! The mid wife had left our Door open and we could hear her screaming... Boy, l will never forget the birth of our second son!!

GOD'S VIEW OF YOUR BIRTH;
Every birth is Extraordinary-though perhaps not as DRAMATIC ... and your birth was no different...The Bible says in Psalm 139:13 "For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful and I know full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eye saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. How precious are Your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them. Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awaken I am still with You."-

You are fearfully and wonderfully made, and your birth is a wonderful thing.
God has given you LIFE. To breath, think, function, Your birth was EXTRAORDINARY because of the ONE who created you, He the Living God is EXTRAORDINARY!

Just as the question was asked "What then will become of this child?" So we too may ask the question "What has become of you?" When you are laid in the ground what will your life have amounted to? "What then will you turn out to be if you keep living as you have?"

A SPECIFIC MISSION FOR YOUR LIFE;
Just as a torpedo ship firing a missile has a specific target in mind, You too as a Christian must have a Specific Aim in mind and a Specific Mission in your daily living. That Mission never changes. No matter what your circumstances are, no matter where you are, what you work at, go to school at, live at...That Mission is to
1. - KNOW HIM AND TO MAKE HIM KNOWN.
That includes...
A. - EXALTING GOD- Isaiah 12:4
B. - EDIFYING the Brethren- Hebrews 3:13
C.- EVANGELIZING THE LOST- Matthew 28:19-20....

And to help clarify your mission, God has Given His Word to Show You His way in aiding you to fulfill your mission...as His ambassadors in this world.

Lets consider ONE ASPECT of His Word. As we consider the Purpose Of Biblical Knowledge.

The PURPOSE OF BIBLICAL KNOWLEDGE is to
1. MAKE YOU WISE TO SALVATION...
2 Timothy 3:15 -" And that from childhood you have KNOWN the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that LEADS TO Salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ."

God uses His Word to convince us of our utter depravity and separation and lostness from God and through His Word show us that there is a way back to God through turning to God through Jesus Christ from Self rule to submit
and place our selves under the authority of God through complete reliance on the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Only one who has the authority to forgive and cleanse us from the guilt and break the power of sin as a master over us and
forgive us and make us what God intends for us to be- In a Right Relationship with Him through the Power of His SON.

THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION ANYONE CAN ASK.
One night while driving back to the city I was staying in Australia from a nearby city I had spoken at. Our oldest son, who was seven at the time, accompanied me. He broke the silence with a question, "How do you know if you are saved? I told him that was the most important question anyone could ever ask.

ROBIN HOOD AND THE MERRY MEN!
I shared with him a story of when I was growing up. I was about nine or ten at the time and went to a school where we were not allowed play soccer at lunchtime, which was very depressing for us soccer mad kids. So we formed a
group, "Robin Hood and the merry men." Each day, after we had gobbled down our lunch, we walked a couple of hundred yards across the road to nearby three storied homes where some wealthy people lived. At the back of one home were some apple trees. The entrance into the back yard was sown an alley. One catch was there was a kitchen women that looked out on to the alley. So in order not to get caught we would crawl under the window, into the orchard and stuff our pockets and sweaters with apples and then on the way back out the alley duck under the window to not be seen and then run across the road...Mission accomplished...steal from the rich...give to the poor...us!! The apples were not even tasty. We just liked stealing from the rich as we supposed them to be! One day, on the way out of the orchard, I chose to walk by the window in the alley. And as I stood by the side of the road looking right and left before crossing, A woman grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and started screaming, " what's your name, where do you live..." Have you ever seen a woman when she loses it? I was so scared I gave the name of one of the "merry men." I told her I went to the school on the other side of town. I was so scared if she had offered me a chance to go back and glue the apples back to the branches I would have tried to! You know why? I knew if I went home that evening and my parents found out I had stolen... I would have been History!!! That's why I lied... I was sorry I GOT CAUGHT. But I was never sorry I STOLE from the Lady.


TWO TYPES OF SORROW;
I explained to my son, that the Bible speaks of two types of sorrow in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10. There is WORLDLY SORROW, which is how I felt when I got caught. I was more concerned with what it would mean to me. And there is GODLY SORROW, as David expressed when he sinned "Against Thee and Thee only have I sinned...AND DONE THIS GREAT EVIL..." David's Concern was he had sinned against God. Not what it would mean to him but what it meant to God.

I asked him if he was more sorry when he got caught or if he got caught or was it a sorrow because he had sinned against God? Who was he most concerned about? One is a worldly sorrow the other a Godly sorrow that leads to
repentance. A Changed mind that leads to a change in direction, both attitude and action are altered towards God and self!

Many people are remorseful but not all are Repentant. Which is to say, a right conclusion of what God says about Himself, themselves that leads to a turning to Him from self rule to Submit to the Son's Rule. The Purpose of
Biblical Knowledge is to Make you wise to Salvation.


BUILDING YOUR FOUNDATION;
In Matthew 7:24-28. Jesus speaks of two individuals who have the same experience with different results. He speaks of two individuals who build a house ... and they both experience storms, rain, wind and one house falls and is destroyed, the other stands. What was the difference? The Foundation! He compares one as a wise individual, the other he says is Foolish. One hears what He said and chose to build the FOUNDATION of his life on the WORD of God. The other also Heard and CHOSE not to build his life on the FOUNDATION of God's Word for their life, and He compares them to building their lives on the foundation of SAND. Sand sinks, it moves and shifts. Sand is unstable.

All around us people are building their lives on a Foundation. Either by CHOOSING to Build their life on God's Word or by CHOOSING not to. Those who CHOOSE not to, having HEARD the Truth are building on "sand," things which will never stand the test of the ALMIGHTY God. People build their lives on Fame, Fortune, Prestige, Property, Popularity, Materialism, Power, pleasure, Praise and acceptance of others, Independence, Religion...and in the end it will not stand the test.

Today you are either Foolish or Wise in God's Eyes and it all depends on whether or not you are building your life. Your Attitudes and actions, aims and ambitions are governed by God's Word as the Rule and Compass of your life.

The Purpose of Biblical Knowledge is to make you WISE to salvation. That you are separated from God because of sin, selfishness and the only way you can please God is by submitting to the Lord Jesus who alone has perfectly
Satisfied God's Perfect and True Standard. Today, Call to Him, Choose to turn the control of your life and your sin to Him and trust Him to come and change you and give you life and the Power to build your life on THE FOUNDATION that CAN NEVER BE SHAKEN!


BORN-AGAIN FOR A PURPOSE
Just as a missile on a submarine has a specific mission and target. So too, the child of God, the Christian has a specific mission in his or her life that never changes no matter where they are. It is to Know God and to Make Him Known. This is the Aim and target of your life every day...to Know HIM and to make HIM Known. That includes EXALTING GOD- Isaiah 12:4; EDIFYING fellow Christians, encouraging them in their life to be true to the Lord-
Hebrews 3:13 and EVANGELIZING those who do not know the Lord Jesus personally - Matthew 28:20....

So your TARGET...YOUR AIM TODAY...is to Know Him and to Make Him Known. God has given His Word to you. And the Purpose of Biblical Knowledge is to "Make you wise to salvation." And Begin building your life's choices, attitude's, values and goals on the Foundation of His Word, which will remain forever. 1 Peter 1:23- "For you have been born again not of seed that is perishable but imperishable that is through the living and abiding Word of God ... the Word of the Lord abides forever."


DAVID'S EXAMPLE;
When you are laid in the grave it well may be asked "What then became of this child." May it be said of you as it was of David of old, where God’s Word testifies to what became of him... "For David after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep..." Heaven Testified to his life, that he lived to serve and DID serve God's purpose in his lifetime among his generation. Is God's Purpose to fulfill what you live to Know and do? If not ... perhaps you need to look at the foundation of what you are building your life on. Who and What are you Living for? What is it you value supremely?

THE TWO THINGS THAT WILL LAST;
One morning I was sharing with my chidden on VALUE. Riches, wealth, cars, houses, etc., will all one day pass away but the Bible teaches only two things on this earth will Last forever. God's Word and people, who all enter into eternity either Heaven or Hell. So I asked in light of this information which should we concentrate our energies and efforts on? They answered correctly "People and God's Word." But having the right answer though is good, will not be sufficient for their lives unless they CHOOSE to live their lives in accordance with what they now know to be true. Many people believe intellectually this truth but their BEHAVIOR proves whether they Truly BELIEVE or not. It’s all about values. What is it you value and what you value is what you will give yourself to and for. Jesus says, "for where your treasure is there will your heart be also."- Matthew 6:21.... David's Treasure was serving the purposes of God in his generation because he supremely valued God. Ultimately you will serve the one you love and value supremely.

GOD'S PURPOSE FOR YOU;
Today His purpose for you is to KNOW Him and to make Him Known ... this is one of the purpose's for Biblical Knowledge. So you will know how to be saved ... and in turn tell others how they too may be saved, and brought into a right relationship with God.

For further study, see "God's Word, Part 2 - Frees You Up".

Be a WISE builder today. Build on God's Word.
God Bless, Aidan

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