God’s plan for us is to get our foundation down first so that we can be taken through the proper growth process. Our Spiritual growth is no different than a plan to build a building, first you lay the foundation, then you go up with the rest of the building.
That foundation is Jesus Christ 1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
As we grow, we develop all kinds of imbalance with our growth process. But if God can get our foundation down where we rely on Him and not ourselves–then He can go up with a spiritual temple. But not until then because we won’t be building upon the Rock.
This is the vital lesson God is trying to instill and teach all believers–to break reliance upon ourselves and learn to rely upon Him.
God must take us through a process to learn that we cannot do the works of God with the flesh. Once we have learned this vital lesson then God can begin to teach us to look to Him as we should. This process usually takes years as we develop. Years of frustration and failure, until we come to see the vast difference between Christ and our Adamic nature.
Once we see that we cannot produce, then it is then that God can teach us to learn dependence on Him. But till then we will always think that there is something good in us.
James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
There are many kinds of imbalance that have come along to hinder us from getting our foundation down this way. Many of the Church organizations have taught us a form of religion that did not help us get grounded in God, but we only had religion. What imbalance do you have in your life? Is it family, job, exercise, sleep, entertainment, diet? Did I leave anything out? Well, yes, I did.
The question that must be asked here is—WHERE DOES GOD FIT INTO OUR BUSY SCHEDULE? Does He just figure into an hour slot on Sabbath, when we gather for songs and a message? IS THAT ALL GOD DESERVES? We should come to understand that God does not deserve our leftovers. We must have the proper balance in our lives–that gives God reign over us as He becomes the balance that we seek.
There have been ministers in the Body of Christ that didn’t have their foundation down in Jesus Christ and have failed to lead the brethren to Christ, but the brethren look to them for their foundation. Pride has taken its toll because many are confident in their own abilities.
No matter how talented and eloquent a speaker or teacher may be, he will have to be laid aside by God because God cannot work with proud hearts. How many times have we seen this happen?
It will be a lifelong process of many mistakes and failures. And it is through this process that God tries to teach us the vast difference between the two realms. This is the process where we come to learn to rely on the source, and not self.
One of the problems is we think we are good people. We must be taken through the process that Paul had to come to learn – Romans 7:14-24, where he came to see that nothing good was dwelling in him. Here Paul says even 20 years after his baptism, he kept doing the evil that he didn’t want to do. Even the good we do, no matter how good in appearance our service is, to God it is like filthy rags.
As God takes us through this process, we will then see our need to pray about every matter.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Will become a way of life for us, where God tells us not to rely on our own reasoning but take it to Him and he will guide you and me. We then learn not to rely on own understanding for we have seen the failure of years of trying to do it our way. Then God begins to get the foundation down in Jesus Christ—then we begin to have victory in our walk as we never had before during our reliance upon ourselves.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Christ is our wisdom, and as we learn to go to the Source in deep respect and awe in Him–then it’s the beginning of a walk of wisdom. We will then be directed by His Spirit because the hindrance to His guidance (self-wisdom and reasoning) are then held out of the way by the (stake).
God always works to get our foundation down first. Let us hold fast in our trials and God will establish us in Him.
1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. All of those words relate to getting our foundation down through suffering.
As we allow Him to teach us to get our foundation down in Jesus Christ, then we can go on to maturity.
Your brother in Christ,
Ron
Getting Our Foundation Down – Ron Volk
March 9, 2024 by Shirley Gohner • Uncategorized • 0 Comments
God’s plan for us is to get our foundation down first so that we can be taken through the proper growth process. Our Spiritual growth is no different than a plan to build a building, first you lay the foundation, then you go up with the rest of the building.
That foundation is Jesus Christ 1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
As we grow, we develop all kinds of imbalance with our growth process. But if God can get our foundation down where we rely on Him and not ourselves–then He can go up with a spiritual temple. But not until then because we won’t be building upon the Rock.
This is the vital lesson God is trying to instill and teach all believers–to break reliance upon ourselves and learn to rely upon Him.
God must take us through a process to learn that we cannot do the works of God with the flesh. Once we have learned this vital lesson then God can begin to teach us to look to Him as we should. This process usually takes years as we develop. Years of frustration and failure, until we come to see the vast difference between Christ and our Adamic nature.
Once we see that we cannot produce, then it is then that God can teach us to learn dependence on Him. But till then we will always think that there is something good in us.
James 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
There are many kinds of imbalance that have come along to hinder us from getting our foundation down this way. Many of the Church organizations have taught us a form of religion that did not help us get grounded in God, but we only had religion. What imbalance do you have in your life? Is it family, job, exercise, sleep, entertainment, diet? Did I leave anything out? Well, yes, I did.
The question that must be asked here is—WHERE DOES GOD FIT INTO OUR BUSY SCHEDULE? Does He just figure into an hour slot on Sabbath, when we gather for songs and a message? IS THAT ALL GOD DESERVES? We should come to understand that God does not deserve our leftovers. We must have the proper balance in our lives–that gives God reign over us as He becomes the balance that we seek.
There have been ministers in the Body of Christ that didn’t have their foundation down in Jesus Christ and have failed to lead the brethren to Christ, but the brethren look to them for their foundation. Pride has taken its toll because many are confident in their own abilities.
No matter how talented and eloquent a speaker or teacher may be, he will have to be laid aside by God because God cannot work with proud hearts. How many times have we seen this happen?
It will be a lifelong process of many mistakes and failures. And it is through this process that God tries to teach us the vast difference between the two realms. This is the process where we come to learn to rely on the source, and not self.
One of the problems is we think we are good people. We must be taken through the process that Paul had to come to learn – Romans 7:14-24, where he came to see that nothing good was dwelling in him. Here Paul says even 20 years after his baptism, he kept doing the evil that he didn’t want to do. Even the good we do, no matter how good in appearance our service is, to God it is like filthy rags.
As God takes us through this process, we will then see our need to pray about every matter.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Will become a way of life for us, where God tells us not to rely on our own reasoning but take it to Him and he will guide you and me. We then learn not to rely on own understanding for we have seen the failure of years of trying to do it our way. Then God begins to get the foundation down in Jesus Christ—then we begin to have victory in our walk as we never had before during our reliance upon ourselves.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Christ is our wisdom, and as we learn to go to the Source in deep respect and awe in Him–then it’s the beginning of a walk of wisdom. We will then be directed by His Spirit because the hindrance to His guidance (self-wisdom and reasoning) are then held out of the way by the (stake).
God always works to get our foundation down first. Let us hold fast in our trials and God will establish us in Him.
1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. All of those words relate to getting our foundation down through suffering.
As we allow Him to teach us to get our foundation down in Jesus Christ, then we can go on to maturity.
Your brother in Christ,
Ron