Skip to content 8. Biblical Foundation: What Should I Anchor My Life Upon? Sep 7 · 27 min ...more
8. Biblical Foundation: What Should I Anchor My Life Upon?
September 7, 2023 · 27 min
Series Life Redefined September 7, 2023 · 27 min · Life Redefined
...more Show the full description Show less
0:01 Shall we give the Lord a clap offering church? Hallelujah. What a joy. What a privilege for us to study the word of God together and gather together to worship with the saints.0:13 Hallelujah. I'm deeply thankful to the Lord that God has enabled us to see this month of November that over the past 10 months, God0:24 has truly been faithful. He has sustained us. He has provided for us. He has protected us. He has shielded us from things we don't even know about.0:37 And here we are in the brand new month of November that we can worship him. We can adore him. Hallelujah. Today, we're concluding our sermon0:49 series on life redefined. This is the 8 key questions on spiritual formation. I began by exploring biblical1:00 theology. And today, we're going to explore biblical foundations. You know, if you do not have the right foundations, you cannot1:11 understand biblical theology. So today we're going to explore the question, what should I anchor my life upon? Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly1:23 father, we thank you so much for this day. I thank you, Lord, that your presence is with us. Wherever we are, where 2 or 3 are gathered in your name, your1:35 presence is in our midst. And Lord, your presence is there to heal us, to instruct us, to inspire us, to convict us, to transform1:47 us, to change us. So today, mighty God, we come before your throne room of grace, and we ask that the Holy Spirit will be our teacher. That Lord, that we are not just hearers of the1:58 word, but we are doers of the word. That we are not just people who accumulate or even appreciate knowledge, but we are people who apply2:10 what we learn. So today, father, we come before you and we ask for your help. In everything that we do, let the name of Jesus alone be exalted and worshiped. We thank you. We praise you.2:22 Holy Spirit be our teacher in Jesus name. And the people of God said, Amen and Amen. Come on, let's give Jesus a clap offering. Praise you, Lord. Hallelujah. Today, we2:34 are concluding our sermon series, Life Redefined. These are the 8 key questions on spiritual formation that we have been exploring. Now, I hope2:46 that in your life group meetings, that you would refresh yourself from memory those 8 questions. Because these are not just 8 questions that we need to know for life and2:58 discipleship, but these 8 questions actually act like a diagnostic tool. In fact, I go into depth in our semester 2 in our Bible college,3:10 but we have condensed this for our life groups. And today we are going to explore the last question, question number 8: What should I anchor my life upon? What should3:22 I build my life upon? And this is the Biblical Foundations. I want to quote you from Mahatma Gandhi. This is what Mahatma Gandhi3:34 said: You Christians look after a document, which is the Bible. You Christians look after a document containing enough dynamite to3:46 blow all civilization to pieces, to turn the world upside down and bring peace to a battle torn planet. But you treat it3:58 as though it is nothing more than a piece of literature. I want you to pay attention to that last line. But you treat it as though it is nothing more than a piece of4:09 literature. What was Mahatma Gandhi referring to? He was referring to the holy scriptures. You and I hold in our hands the living Word of God.4:22 A word that was authored by God. It is sacred writing, the Bible says. It is His divine will revealed to us. Is not Bible is not something that contains God's4:33 Word. Bible is God's Word. It is what He has spoken to us. So upon what should I anchor my life? What should I build my life upon?4:46 There is nothing more. There is nothing else. And there is nothing less. It is the Word of God. I want you to listen to me carefully. The Bible, the Word of God,4:58 is not only our foundation, it is the authority in our lives. Hallelujah. So I'm going to take you to a passage of Scripture that kind of5:10 explains to us the supremacy of the word of God and the supreme delight that we need to have in God's word. See, the psalmist in the Old Testament said5:22 that he treasures God's word. He stores God's word. In other words, he delighted in God's word. He read it. He meditated on it day and night. I want you to listen to5:34 me. That supremacy of scriptures, and we need to understand the sufficiency of scriptures for our life. So this morning, I want to take you to Second Timothy chapter5:45 3 and verses 14, all the way to verse 17. Let's read it. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly5:57 believed, knowing from whom you learnt it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for6:09 salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and6:21 for training in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. May the Lord bless the reading of6:33 His word. Hallelujah. I want you to take a step back and look at Second Timothy chapter 3 with me. Because Second Timothy chapter 3, now Second Timothy6:45 is a book, 1 of my favorite books in the New Testament. Excuse me. Now, Second Timothy chapter 3 is Let6:56 me say that again. Second Timothy is a favorite book of mine. And the reason why Second Timothy is a favorite book of mine is the last testament. It's the last book written by Apostle7:08 Paul to his spiritual son, Timothy. And in this, he actually gives a roadmap of discipleship. And in specifically, in chapter 3, he deals with what7:20 would happen in the last leg of the last days. Now, this was not only a warning to Timothy, who was pastoring in Ephesus, but now more than ever, it7:32 is vital for us to understand the times, the seasons that we are living in. So therefore, this book is of great importance when you want to understand discipleship and building a life7:44 on Word of God. He says in verse 1 of chapter 3, But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty.7:55 Now, in the last days, Paul says, there will come times of difficulty. Times of difficulty. Now, many times when you look at the8:07 world, the optimist will look at the world and say, Things will get better. A pessimist will look at the way things are and say, Things are getting worse. But Paul is not8:19 an optimist, not a pessimist. He's actually a realist. He says, In the last days, things will get worse before they get better. I want you to think about this.8:31 When Christ returns, He's going to establish His kingdom and there will be new heavens and new earth and things will be better. But before He comes, things will be a lot worse. And so8:43 here He says that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. So rather than proclaiming there will be an end time revival, Paul actually says there will be an end time reward.8:55 Look at what he describes in verse 2 onwards, For people will be lovers of self. In other words, there's a rebellion against God. Lovers of money, proud, arrogant,9:06 abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not9:18 loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit. In other words, they don't even know that they are walking in such error and pride, but they are swollen with conceit. Lovers9:30 of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Having the appearance of godliness but denying its power avoids such people. What Paul was writing is this, that the world will go9:42 through dark and difficult period, and people's heart will be divorced from God. I want you to listen to me. The world we are going in is dark and9:54 difficult. The reason is because it wants to divorce itself from God, and God has given the world to depravity of heart, depraved mind. There is10:05 not only perversion, but there is a deep, deep sin that pushes them away. I want you to listen to me from the Word of God. So10:17 that's why when Paul is addressing in second Timothy, he's actually saying in chapter 3, 2 things about the culture. 1, there will be the reality of cultural decline. In the first 910:29 verses, he's talking about the cultural decline and the reality of it. But then from verse 10 to verse 17, in the rest of the chapter, he deals with the remedy for cultural10:41 decline. So what is the remedy for cultural decline? And Paul says, You got to come back to the Word of God. I want you to listen to me. How do we build10:53 our life? In every season, you have to build your life upon the Word of God. What is the remedy for cultural decline? Paul did not offer a new strategy. Paul actually11:05 says, You already know this, just stick with the Scriptures. Do you know that Scripture is the 1 that is being attacked all over the world? They wanted to11:16 take the Bible out of the parliament. They want to take the Bible out of the public school system. They want to take the Bible out of families and homes. They want to take the11:28 Bible out of people's lives. Why? They they say this, that the Bible is archaic. You've got to follow the times. Can I humbly say this? The church of Jesus Christ11:40 is not about following the times. The church of Jesus Christ is about following the truth. You and I need to come back to the truth, and the truth is found in the word of God.11:52 But in the last days, the Bible not only talks about the decline in society, but the Bible also talks about the decline within the believers, within the hearts of the12:04 believers. Look at this in Second Timothy chapter 4, in the same context of what Paul is writing. He says about the church in verse 3, For the time is coming when people will not12:15 endure sound teaching. In other words, he's talking about the teachings that we proclaim today. He's talking about the times now. There is a time that is coming when people will not12:27 endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth12:39 and wander off into myths. Listen carefully. In the last days, it is not just that people will be walking away in error and rebelling12:51 against God, But even within the church, people will be selective in their listening. They will accumulate for themselves teachers they want to hear, and they will wander off into myths.13:03 So what is the warning about? The warning is whether you're a believer or whether you're a person who is a pre believer, both of you need to come back to the scriptures. Both13:15 of us have to build our life upon the word of God. I want you to listen to me carefully. The only thing that you and I ought to anchor our life13:27 upon is the word of God. If you want to be faithful to Christ in this last leg of the last days, You need to be faithful to the scriptures. You need to continue. You13:39 need to hold fast to the scriptures. And that's what Jesus said. If you are a wise man, you will not only hear what the word of God says, but you will build your life on the13:50 solid word of God. You're a wise man. Matthew chapter 7, he says this. A wise man not only hears the word, but he does. Therefore, when the storms of life come, he14:02 can still be strong and he will stand. Why? Because he has built his life on the word of God. So as we read Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse 14 to verse14:14 17, in this context, Paul is saying to Timothy, I want you to build your life upon the word of God. I want you to anchor yourself on the word of God. Why? Paul gives 2 reasons14:26 in this passage. 1, that the word of God saves. And secondly, the word of God sanctifies. Let's look at it 1 by 1. The word of God14:37 saves. I want you to think about this. In verse 14, he says, but as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you have14:49 learned it. You know, 1 of the things that he commands or writes to Paul Timothy, Paul writes to Timothy, and he says, but as for you, You know, a15:01 Christian life in the midst of culture is a distinct life. They live like this. But as for you, you've got to do this. So as a Christian minister,15:13 he is writing this to another Christian minister, a disciple, a follower of Christ, and he says, your life has to be distinct from the world. But as for you, you know, in Hebrews chapter15:25 13 and verse 17, the Bible says that obey your leaders and submit to them for they are keeping watch over your souls. You know, 1 of the job of a Christian pastor,15:37 you know, the 1 of the job description for me from the word of God is this, that I need to keep watch over the souls of men that are entrusted to me. Because 1 day we will give an account.15:50 That means we have to do this in fear and trembling. That's why 1 of the things that my wife and I do regularly is go before God and weep for every family and every individual that is part of our family, part of our16:02 church. And the reason I do this is because we have to give an account 1 day. You know, it is not just about preaching and teaching. Hang on. We16:14 have to labor before God in prayer that they will grow in spiritual maturity, that they will grow in Christ likeness, that the little knowledge of the word of God they have, that they will be able to apply. Oh,16:26 we cry for every individual, boy, girl, man, woman by name. But we have to understand here, Paul is not just saying to Timothy as a pastor,16:38 watch over the souls of people. He actually says, watch over the words. You know, Christian minister also have to take care of the words. You know, the Christian words,16:50 fact, theological words are under attack. You hardly hear sermons that talk about sin. Sin. Sin is now downplayed.17:02 Oh, it's a mistake. No, it is not a mistake. It is a sin. What is a sin? Sin is man acting in rebellion against God. His Word, His will, His ways. We need to come and17:14 repent. It is not an intellectual societal problem we are dealing with. It is a sin problem. We have to diagnose rightly, therefore we can give a prescription17:26 rightly. If you do not diagnose it as sin problem, then we will not give them Christ and the truth that we find in the word of God. We gotta17:38 come back to the scriptures. So Paul writes and says, the word of God saves. Now I want to give you 2 things from this passage, how the word of God saves.17:50 How can we confidently trust that God's word will save us? Because it does 2 things. Number 1, the word of God convicts in verse 14, and word of God converts.18:03 Look at this. In verse 12, he says, Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse,18:15 deceiving and being deceived. What does he say in these 2 verses? He's saying the believer, your path, and the pre believer or the unbeliever, their path will be18:27 in contrary, in opposite directions. In other words, God and wicked, godly and wicked, their path are very different. And that's18:39 why he goes on to say in verse 14, as for you, why? Because their parts are very different. Their lifestyles are very different. Their motivations, what they are pursuing after,18:51 what they idolize is very different. But as for you, continue in what you have learned. I want you to circle that word continue because that is the word for every disciple. It19:03 is the word to abide, to remain. In other words, you cut to continue. Jesus said it like this in John chapter 8 and verse 31. If you abide in my19:15 word, you are truly my disciples. And then in verse 32, he says, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. Hallelujah. In other words, we have to19:27 abide in the word. Paul writes and says, continue in the word. Now I appreciate this, that we ought to continue in the word. But19:39 can I humbly ask you to look at that verse again? It says, but as for you, continue in what you have learned. What you have learned. In other words,19:50 there is a context of where you learned this. See, truth is learned in community. Listen carefully. You can sit at home and read the Bible for20:02 yourself. Or you can say, I pick a menu card of preachers and leaders on the Internet, and I can listen. But can I humbly say this? You gotta live in community.20:14 Why? Look at this verse. Continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it. 1 of the things that you and I need to understand is that God20:26 uses the word of God to convict us. But the word of God is taught in a community. The word of God is held together and practiced together in community. That is20:38 why in these last leg of the last days, 1 of the core things that you and I need to do is to find a biblical community and be part of it. Don't isolate yourself.20:50 You know, don't major on the minor. Major on the major. What is the major on the major? The Word of God not only needs to be proclaimed, the Word of God needs to be practiced.21:03 You know, Paul actually says that a preacher ought to be able to teach a preacher. A man of God needs to preach. Look at this in First Timothy, chapter 3 and verse 2, an overseer or a pastor21:15 must be able to teach. 1 of the lists is he must be able to teach. That's why don't get impressed by charisma. Explore the content. What are they teaching?21:27 You know, many years ago, I walked into a church in New York. I sat down, I was listening, I was eager to participate in worship and to to hear the Word of God. But21:39 right from the beginning till the end, I didn't hear the Word of God. And many years later, that pastor fell away. I want you to listen to me. Research was21:51 done of all the pastors who had fallen, and during the counseling, they confessed about their life. And 1 of the things they confess is that they never studied the word22:03 of God for themselves. In other words, they studied to teach, but they never studied for their own soul, to feed their soul. In other words, if you store the word of God, delight in the22:15 word of God, and store the word of God, God will keep you in pure ways, the Bible says. I want you to listen to me. In other words, it's not just can a man preach, it's what does the man preach matters.22:28 But can I humbly say this? More than that, you and I need to understand this. You know, sometimes we we say we need teachers who are formally trained.22:41 I appreciate that. I absolutely agree we need to formally train all our preachers. That's why we have taken time in IDMC to train everyone who stands on the pulpit. They22:53 are being trained in in a seminary training. At the same time, they are also being trained in how to rightly divide the word of God, because that's what the word of God says in Second Timothy, chapter 2 and verse 15, a23:04 worker who has no need to shame to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. In other words, we have to train not only in in in a theological listen to this. I don't underplay23:16 theological credential, but I major on theological competency. In other words, there are people who go and study, but they never believe what they have23:27 studied. Can I humbly say this? There are people who can teach something like a subject, but they never believed in that subject. What does Paul write here and say? Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse23:39 14 says, but as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed. Hey. Listen. We gotta believe.23:51 I would rather have teachers who are fully persuaded that this is the word of God, and that settles it for me. Oh, hallelujah. Because that is what becomes life changing.24:04 You know, in even for Paul, Paul actually says to Timothy, you not only received the word of God from me, but you actually watched my life. Look at this in verse 10. Chapter 3,24:16 verse 10, he says, You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness. What does that mean?24:28 Don't just get impressed by what you hear from the pulpit. Watch the life. That's why 1 of the practice in IDMC is we bring people closer to us. We not24:40 only invest the gospel, but we invest our lives. Why? Because it it the truth has to be not only proclaimed, the truth has to be practiced. How do I24:51 practice this at home? How do I lead my wife? How do I lead my children? How do I lead my team? How do I lead everyone? You come closer, and you watch how I make decisions on25:03 my on my family, how I make decisions on money, how I make decisions about my life. Why? Because that's matters. That you don't get in any other25:15 training. You get that by practicing the truth. Listen carefully. That's why 1 of the core things that you gotta do is not just look for credential, but look for competency.25:27 More than competency, look for theological compass. That humility to say, Lord, I need you, and they apply it. So Paul is very clear here. He applies25:39 it. He says, learn. Learn from my life. Not only learn from my life, but you also learn from others. He's reminding Timothy in text second Timothy chapter 1 and verse25:51 5. I'm reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that is found in your mother and in your grandmother. I want you to listen to me. It is in the community that truth needs to be practiced.26:03 Truth needs to be heard. Truth needs to be proclaimed. Listen. Why? So that you won't walk, wander off into myths. You won't be swollen in conceit and26:15 pride and arrogance. Listen. There must be somebody who opens the word of God to you, that you can see Christ in all his beauty and glory, that you can rest in his finished work,26:27 that you can be activated for his kingdom work, that you can go with the power of the holy spirit and accomplish and bear fruit for the glory of God. Hallelujah. Would you take a moment and give thanks to the Lord? Come26:38 on. Let's give Jesus a clap offering. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. What I'm trying to help you understand is this, that your faith must be developed and sustained in community. That26:50 is what Paul was saying here. You know, this past week, by the grace of God, I had meetings with 2 pastors who are planting churches. 1 is planting a church in Melbourne. 1 is planting a church here in Marston Park.
316K followers
Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
316K followers
46:13
Habakkuk | Part 02 | Moving From Reason to Revelation | Rev Paul Jeyachandran Paul Jeyachandran
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
Paul Jeyachandran
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.