The Foundation Part 1

 

Greetings in the name of Jesus. This is Rob Haymes. This program is called 15 Minutes With Jesus. I want to bless you in the name of Jesus, all you who are listening, I thank God for you; all you that are reading this message in your own language around the world, God bless you. Thank God for you. Today we are going to talk about Foundation Repair. I am somewhat qualified to do so, as I've been in construction since the 1970's; just recently retired, by the grace of God. Here in Texas there are many houses that are built upon faulty foundations. If you have a bad foundation it creates problems for the house. We have the same problem in the Body of Christ. There is a great need for foundation repair in the Body of Christ. Let's go to 1Cor 3:10&11, The Apostle Paul said, According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Let's go to Heb 6:1&2, Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Here in Hebrews, chapter six, in these first couple of verses, the Apostle Paul describes the foundation. How is your foundation? What is your foundation? Is it Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, and all that He provided us in the Gospel? We must partake of all the true foundation, in order to be truly established in Christ, and to bring forth fruit in Him.

The first part of the foundation is repentance. If you look in the Book of Jonah, I don't have time to go there, you read about how Jonah preached to the city of Nineveh, and the whole city, from the King, unto the poorest person, turned from their sin in true repentance, and they humbled themselves with fasting. They put on sack cloth and sat in ashes, and they cried out to God in true repentance, turning from their sin. True repentance produces true change, there's a real change, there's a real turning. It starts with Godly sorrow. The Bible says Godly sorrow worketh repentance; the Holy Spirit convincing a person of their sin, and then Godly sorrow regarding that sin. Repentance is not just a changing of the mind, as many people teach. Definitely there is a change in the mind, but it starts with Godly sorrow in the heart, being truly sorry for your sin. 

Next we're going to talk about faith toward God, let's go to Rom 4:1-3, What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Let's go to verse 13-16, For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect: Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all, And we go down to verse 20-25, He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Chapter 5, verse 1, Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. We believe in the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the gift of God, the gift of righteousness through faith. If we believe that Jesus bore our sins in His body on the cross, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, that is imputed to us for righteousness. It's the gift of righteousness. Our sins are washed away through His sacrifice. By faith in His shed blood we are righteous. Our sins are cleansed by His blood, white as snow. The Bible says, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. All of this starts with repentance, and then faith; faith toward God; faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

The next thing is the doctrine of baptisms. Let's go to Rom 6:1-6 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Do we know this? Do we know that our old man is crucified with Christ; that when we were baptized in water we were baptized into Jesus' death? The scripture says, in Gal 2:20, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. If we are in faith when we go into the water, we are crucified with Christ. When we come up out of the water, we are raised with Him. If we understand Romans 6, if we understand what happens when we are baptized in water: by faith we are baptized into His death, and burial, and resurrection. Our old man is dead, therefore sin shall not have dominion over us, for we are no longer under the law, but under grace; we have been raised in newness of life to serve Jesus with our spirit in the Gospel.

Then we have the second baptism which is the baptism in the Holy Ghost. As Peter said in Acts chapter 2, repent and be baptized and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. So, after water baptism, in some cases even preceding water baptism, we have the third part of the foundation, actually the second part of the third part, the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the apostles, in Acts,1:8, But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. Also, in verse 5 He said, For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. And notice, in verse 8, He talked about the Holy Ghost coming upon you. So the baptism in the Holy Ghost is not the same as baptism in water. Many of you understand that, but many people do not understand that. They believe that they received the Holy Ghost when they were baptized in water. If we look in Romans 7, let's look at verses 4-6, Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. Now we serve in the newness of the Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter. That's why we need to receive the Holy Spirit, so we can learn to walk in the Holy Spirit. The Bible says they that are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. So, a very important part of the foundation is being baptized in the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit coming upon you; being filled with the Holy Spirit; then learning to yield to the Holy Spirit. The first thing you yield to the Holy Spirit is your tongue, to speak in tongues and prophecy. If you look through the New Testament, in the book of Acts, every time a person received the Holy Spirit they spoke in tongues or they prophesied. We need to learn to yield to the Holy Spirit, and then to be led by the Holy Spirit.

As you read through Romans 7, let's go to verse 18-25, For I know that in me that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. Remember, in verse 5 of chapter 7, Paul wrote, For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. So, Romans 7 is talking about, in the flesh. Verse 18, For I know that in me that is, in my flesh... So, Romans 7 is talking about a man in the flesh. But then verses 1-4 of chapter 8: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Verse 8, So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Verses 13&14, For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 

In the church, for many years, many false doctrines have been given by Satan, and taught by false prophets and teachers, to convince Christians not to receive the Holy Spirit, yet believe that they have, and to live under some kind of law, never overcoming sin, thus preparing them to receive false grace, false justification, turning the grace of God, in some cases, into lasciviousness: All is covered, once saved, always saved, all your sins are already forgiven, past, present, and future, not confessing their sins, never learning to walk in the Holy Spirit, to be led by the Spirit. As it says in verse 4 of Romans 8, the righteousness of the law is only fulfilled in those who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Rom 7:4, Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. Jesus rose from the dead by the power of the Holy Ghost, and as we are married to Him, as we receive the Holy Ghost, and walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, we will bring forth fruit unto God. You cannot do that without the Holy Ghost. You cannot just say you have the Holy Ghost when you don't have the Holy Ghost. That won't work. You have to be baptized in the Holy Ghost. 

The only way to overcome the flesh and sin is to receive all that God has given us; the atonement for our past sins, through faith in Jesus' sacrifice, but also faith in His resurrection; He lives by the power of God. He was raised by the power of the Holy Spirit. We are baptized into His death and resurrection to live by the power of God; to walk in the Holy Ghost and not fulfil the lusts of the flesh, but to fulfil the righteousness of the law, by the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. The key to all this is the love of God, Romans 5:8, shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. If we love God, we will seek after righteousness with all our heart, and He will fill us. We will yield ourselves to Him, and to His Spirit, to walk in the Spirit.

Rom 8:31-39, What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.