#1. What Is The Foundation?

- A. Living my life (my choices, my actions, my habits, my character)
according to_______________________

“… I will show you what they are like.” Luke 6:47d NIV

Let’s do a checklist. Am I gentle? Do I hunger for right living? Am I merciful? Am I pure in heart? Am I a peace-maker? Am I the light of the world? Do I keep/teach Jesus’ commands? Do I reject ungodly anger? Do I reconcile with those who are angry with me? Am I controlling my thought life? Am I honoring my marriage vows? Do I honor my word? Do I give without fanfare? Do I pray without pride? Do I fast without notice? Am I storing up treasures in heaven? Am I refusing to worry? Do I judge myself before I judge others? Do I pray for wisdom & discernment? Am I trusting Christ for my salvation? Am I guarding against false prophets? These are the Jesus principles.

Notice the connection between choices, actions, habits, & character. One leads to the next. Every day I face choices. The choices I make will lead to the actions I take. Enough choices and actions leads to habits (either good or bad.) My habits in life build my character. So my character can be a godly character if I make my choices, actions & habits based on Jesus’ principles. No such thing as a small choice or an inconsequential choice. Every choice counts. Every choice is leading me in one direction or another. That’s why it’s foundational!

B. People who live their lives built on the foundation of Christ
will make Him _______________________

“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46 NIV

This is how Jesus ends his great sermon. There’s almost a frustration. The word is κύριος in the Greek, which means “Lord,” “Master,” or “Owner.” We’d use the word CEO or Boss today. It’s like he’s saying, You call me the CEO and tell me what a great leader and speaker I am, how wonderful my words are, how perfect my philosophy of living is, BUT THEN YOU GO AND DO WHATEVER. Don’t call me κύριος because you like what I have to say! Call me κύριος because you live by what I say! That’s what it means to build your life on a solid foundation.

#2. Why does Foundational living matter?

A. With Jesus as my foundation, my life is built to ___________________.

“When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.” Luke 6:48b NIV

Storms happen. All the time. They come in all shapes and sizes. And they come to all people - Christian or not. Relationships break up. Businesses go bust. Literally sometimes the storms come and destroy our property. No where in the Bible does it state that Christians get a pass from the storms of life. What Jesus does promise us is that if we live our lives according to his principles, by our choices, actions, habits and character, that we will be able to withstand the storm. Likewise…

- B. Without Jesus as my foundation, my life is built to
_________________________ .

“The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” Luke 6:49b NIV

Jesus tells us that this stuff isn’t optional. It’s not like I can live according to Jesus’ principles some days and not on other days, depending on if I feel like it or not. He says “ignore these instructions at your own peril.” In fact, the word used for the “foolish” man in Matthew’s account is literally the word, “Moron!” You’re a moron if you don’t build your life upon these specifications. Jesus designed the universe. He designed you and me. He knows how we’re supposed to work.

#3. Foundational living starts with…

- A. Jesus as the _______________ of my life.

“As for everyone who comes to me…” Luke 6:47a NIV

Foundation living starts with recognizing Jesus as the One Who designed me AND as the One Who saves me. It’s both / and. So many are willing to accept Jesus as their Savior. We must also accept Him as the Architect of our life. He designed me. He has given me commands to live by. I live my life according to His designs.

So many of us have been building our lives like we’d build a treehouse. No plans. No architect. Never following the designs of The Designer. It’s just one mess after another. Eventually - if we’re smart - we conclude that there must be a better way. There is. Jesus’ way. We come to him.

- B. ____________ everything else I might build my life upon.

“They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock.” Luke 6:48a NIV

To build our lives on the foundation of Jesus’ rock - on His principles, we have to get rid of anything in our lives that are counter to His teachings. We have to clear out the mess.

When we come to Jesus, not only as our Savior, but also as our Architect, we’re acknowledging that we need a Demo Day in our lives. We sometimes get this wrong. You never try to do the Demo Day on your own and then come to Jesus. Start with Jesus and then allow him to help you with Demo Day. He’s done it before. He knows how! You can have that life designed by the Master Architect AND you can have His help in making it happen!

Here’s what you can’t have. You can’t have Jesus as Your Architect and Savior and then continue to live in the hovel of a life you’ve made for yourself over the years before becoming a Jesus follower. You either are following Him or you’re not. When you make The Master Architect Jesus your CEO, expect that parts of your life will undergo Demo Day.

#4. Foundational living continues with…

- A. Jesus as the ______________ of my life.

“… and hears my words…” Luke 6:47b NIV

No one really likes to be inspected. When I think of a building inspector, in particular, I think of someone who has the power to shut me down if my building is not up to code. Who wants that? It sounds so negative.

Here’s the thing - Our lives change over the years. Our priorities change. Our relationships change. Our careers change.

Here’s what hasn’t changed - Jesus’ commands for how we should live our lives. The application to our lives changes as our lives change. That’s why it’s important to be in God’s Word every single day. We don’t just “come to Jesus.” We also “hear his words.” The important meaning there is that we are actively listening to what he says. Not just hearing like noise in the background. It’s daily foreground listening and thinking…

… and comparing my life to the commandments of Jesus. I ask myself, “How am I doing?” “What could I be doing better?” We literally check the wiring of our lives against the codes of Jesus’ architectural drawings and ask if we are still running our lives according to His plan.

- B. ______________ everything else in my life.

“… and puts them into practice…” Luke 6:47c NIV

Whenever we begin to notice that there is something out of whack in our lives, we go back to The Architect “come to me.” We challenge ourselves to really examine His plans “and hears my words.” And then we do something about it “and puts them into practice.” What does it mean to put this into practice? This is another way of saying there are times when we have to remodel something in our lives.

How do we practice? We identify one area in our lives that is not working the way it should. Am I impatient? Am I unkind? Am I not generous? Then I begin to practice doing things that change my choices, actions, habits toward doing it right.

2 things about remodeling with Jesus.
#1 - one thing at a time. Like a remodel at home, just one room.
#2 - always remodeling. Never done. Jesus always has way to make our lives better.