Last week I asked why we do the things we do.  What if we have based our beliefs on things that may not be entirely true?  Are we willing to take the time and go back and earnestly study the Bible with an open mind to see if these things we believe are really so?  Or are we “settled” because our faith is in someone else’s studies and faith?  In other words, have we studied these things out for ourselves so we know that we know?

Like many of you, I went to church and listened to sermon after sermon and my beliefs were built on someone else’s foundation more or less.  I took the preacher’s word that those things were so that he preached, and my spiritual foundation was built accordingly, and solidly.  The problem occurred, however, that once the Holy Spirit instructed me to start studying things out for myself, that I discovered my foundation was faulty, and therefore all I built upon it was shaky.

In 1995 we started questioning many things we had been taught at the church we attended and they didn’t like it and gave us the right foot of fellowship out the door.  The LORD literally told me to forget all I THOUGHT I knew about Him and start in Genesis 1:1 and let Him show me who He really is.  It only took about 3 or 4 chapters into Genesis before I said, THAT’S NOT RIGHT, and the Holy Spirit said “Excuse Me?” My foundation was already showing cracks, and I literally had to tear down my “spiritual house” and lay a new foundation, before I could rebuild.

Many years of earnest study have passed, and there were many things I took for “Biblical fact” that instead turned out to be “doctrines of men” which were not based on the Bible at all, but rather “church tradition” and men’s teaching which was based on “someone said”.  Many have had their faith shipwrecked when trials came into their lives because their faith was built on a faulty foundation.  All my life I’ve been a stickler for detail, down to the smallest thing, and if I’m going to do something, it will be done right, or I’m not going to waste my time with it.  This attitude has led me to question many things being taught in churches today.  Some of it sounds real good, but when you truly examine it, most of it appeals to our carnal nature, and that’s why we like it and keep coming back for more.

“Feel-good” sermons do exactly that: they make you “feel good”, but they do nothing to build your spiritual house. They WILL keep you coming back and handing them your money, but little else.  They are merely pretty pictures to hang on the shaky walls of your house, and when the house is shaken, the pretty pictures crash to the floor.  I want more.  I want the “meat and potatoes” of the Gospel WORKING in my life.  Many of you have been going to the same church many years and you should yourselves be out there preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but instead are rotting away sitting in a pew, thinking that is your God-ordained purpose in life.  NEWS FLASH!!!  God has bigger plans for you!  But you will never know what they are if you aren’t willing to put the time in to find out what His plans are for you.

One of the last events recorded in Matthew 28 reveals God’s plan for the disciples:
Mat 28:16  Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
Mat 28:17  And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
Mat 28:18  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Mat 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Something that many people believe is that Jesus only intended the DISCIPLES were to preach the Gospel.  But they overlook the last part of verse 20, where it says I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Obviously the disciples didn’t live until the end of the world, so Jesus was speaking of future BELIEVERS preaching the Gospel throughout the world, promising He would be with them to the very end of the world as they did His work.

The main reason so many sit in church year after year doing nothing, is that they don’t believe the “great commission” applies to them personally, that it was only given to the early church.  So, what ELSE do they believe that is incorrect according to the Word of God?  More importantly, what do YOU believe that you have not or cannot prove from the scriptures?  Is YOUR faith built on someone else’s foundation?  That is a very dangerous foundation to build upon, for when the floods of life come, and they WILL, you may find your “house” swept away because the foundation failed, and your whole faith in God will be shaken or destroyed, because YOU didn’t take the time to make sure your foundation is sure and founded solidly on the Word of God.

I’m always challenging you to get in the Bible and study for yourself whether things you believe are true or not.  ALWAYS be willing to question what you believe, and back it up with the Word.  DON’T TAKE MY WORD OR ANYONE ELSE’S WHEN IT COMES TO BUILDING YOUR SPIRITUAL HOUSE…SEARCH IT OUT FOR YOURSELF!!   Most every Bible teacher strives to be accurate in their teaching, although there are some who deliberately deceive people for their own profit,  and the Bible warns us they are out there.  But like any human, we are subject to error.  I could be wrong, and that’s why I’m constantly examining my faith whether it be founded upon truth and accuracy of God’s Word, or if it’s built on other men’s teachings.  I have nothing against other teachers, but I will be judged for what I teach, and to me, THAT’S SCARY!  It had better be right, or I will answer for it.  Thus, I implore each of you, GET IN YOUR BIBLE AND STUDY IT LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS UPON IT, FOR IT DOES!

If someone asks you concerning healing for example; and you answer their questions, and they say, ARE YOU REALLY SURE??, what will your heart tell you?  ARE you really SURE?  Or maybe you’re NOT so sure after all?   There is a cure for that, you know…Get in the Word of God and settle your questions once and for all.  God WANTS you to be settled and unshakable.  He WANTS you to build your foundation on HIS WORD, so when the trials come and blindside you, that you will not be destroyed by the evil one.  I’m doing my best to help you get “settled”, but you need to do your homework too.  Don’t just take my word for things blindly.  PROVE ALL THINGS, for that is necessary for your good.

1Th 5:12  And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
1Th 5:13  And to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. And be at peace among yourselves.
1Th 5:14  Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
1Th 5:15  See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
1Th 5:16  Rejoice evermore.
1Th 5:17  Pray without ceasing.
1Th 5:18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1Th 5:19  Quench not the Spirit.
1Th 5:20  Despise not prophesyings.
1Th 5:21  Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
1Th 5:22  Abstain from all appearance of evil.
1Th 5:23  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1Th 5:24  Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.
1Th 5:25  Brethren, pray for us.

See that?  These words were not written just for the “original disciples”, they were written for the “present-day” disciples, which are YOU and ME.  In order for the FUTURE disciples to have their foundation built on the solid rock of Christ Jesus, WE must make sure WE are teaching them from a solid foundation, and that only will happen if we are earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to the first church.  Let us heed the warning given in Jude 1:3-4,
Jud 1:3  Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Jud 1:4  For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Down through the years the Gospel has seen some what I will call “adjustments”, which have led many astray into error.  It is that error which causes many to fall when they are in the midst of fiery trials.  The only way to stop that from happening to YOU is for YOU to get into God’s Word and study it until you KNOW what it says for yourself, so your faith is not built upon someone else’s faith.  MY faith is not built on what someone else says or said.  It is directly from the Word of God.  Yours needs to be like that, so it will bear being examined.  Teachers are good to have, but you have to constantly check their work to make sure what they are teaching you is right, otherwise you have errors and false teaching that you’re going to pass on to someone else down the line, and that is NOT GOOD.

When I teach you something, check it out for yourself, only then can you say “I AM REALLY SURE!”  The next generation will thank you.  And so will the LORD.