Sermon intro:

• Recap - In the past two weeks we’ve discussed “Wisdom is my Wingman” and “The God-Centered Life” in both of these messages I was laying a foundation that Wisdom is your friend, and that the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. 
• Today I’m continuing to lay an amazing foundation for a life built on wisdom “The Folly of Sand, and the Wisdom of Stone”
• There are many “foundations of wisdom” or places where people look to find the “right way” to build a life. 
  • Stoic philosophy, Buddhist principles, the rigidity of Islam, or philosophical books like the mediations of Marcus Aurelius. In conversations, I’ve come across a lot of different bedrocks for how to build wisely. 
  • The Art of War
  • The 48 laws of Power
• The greatest foundation of wisdom is the very words that come out of the mouth of God
• Two Questions
  • What is the ultimate authority you’ve chosen to build your life on?
  • How are you consuming that authority—so deeply and consistently—that it doesn’t just inform you, it transforms you?

Main Passage:

• Matthew 7:24–27 (NLT) — 24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Body

1. The Folly of Sand

   1. The Storm is Coming - If it wasn’t coming, there would be no issue, but it’s coming. 
      1. If you knew a fight was coming, like for sure, would you prepare? 
   2. Ignorant and Deceived - No knowledge
      1. Christ and temptation - He knew the Word so He wasn’t deceived. 
      2. The amount of scammers these days calling, asking for pin codes, trying to deceive. 
      3. There is an extreme danger to not knowing what God calls sin, not knowing His ways, and being led astray. 
   3. Unformed and Untrained - No formation
      1. Missed potential
      2. There is the you that you could be, but it will never happen if you are not formed into an image. 
      3. You may have all the ability in the world to become a neurosurgeon or foreign diplomatic ambassador, but if you are unformed, you will never meet your potential. 
   4. Unsanctified and Mediocre - No discipline
      1. Discuss the meaning of sanctification
         1. Set apart for special use - temple language
      2. John 17:17 (NKJV) — 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.
      3. Ephesians 5:25–26 (NKJV) — 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
      4. Back to the fight analogy - would you be unfit, unready, out of shape, or would you be ready. 
   5. Easily defeated
      1. If you don’t know how to believe in God and how to fight the devil you will be ignorant of how to stand in faith. 
      2. Jesus fought temptation with the Word.
      3. Hebrews says it’s sharper than a sword.
      4. Ephesians says it is the sword of the Spirit.

2. The Wisdom of Stone

   1. Our nourishment 
      1. Matthew 4:3–4 (NKJV) — 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
      2. There is something more important than burgers, it’s the Word of God.
      3. The Israelites had to learn to wait, be satisfied, lean on, the Word of God. Jesus is here sitting in the wilderness, content with the Word of God. 
   2. Our discipleship
      1. We are being formed into an image. Michelangelo’s statue of David took almost 4 years to complete and started as a marble block. Chip by chip, he was pulling out David. 
         1. “Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”
         2. “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free”
      2. You are on the block, God is forming you into the image of Christ!!! That happens by His Word. His Word is the chisel. 
   3. Our path 
      1. Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105, NLT)
      2. So many times, God has used His Word to shape my path, or the decisions I make. 
      3. Many times when people go to make a move in life, and ask for a Word from the Lord, He will give them a scripture. 

3. How to build on stone

   1. The power of feeding daily
      1. Present the study of four days a week
      2. In 2009, the Center for Biblical Engagement issued a report that concluded that people who read the Bible at least four days a week experienced the following benefits:
         1. Getting drunk = 57% lower odds
         2. Sex outside marriage = 68% lower odds
         3. Loneliness drops 30%
         4. Bitterness drops 40%
         5. Gambling = 74% lower odds
      3. Christians who read their Bible at 4 days per week were also far more likely to engage in evangelism and discipleship:
         1. Sharing faith with others = 228% higher odds
         2. Discipling others = 231% higher odds
         3. Memorizing scripture = 407% higher odds
   2. The power of forming a habit
      1. I have a few habits that just happen
         1. Going to brush my teeth every morning and night
         2. Going to drink AG1, drink coffee, and eat an apple
         3. Going to read my daily Bible reading
   3. The power of others
      1. Atomic Habits
         1. The few
         2. The many 
         3. The powerful
   4. The power of sharing
      1. It’s not just about putting the Word down in you, it’s about the Word becoming a river and sharing it to others. 
   5. Transition - SO NOW I WANT TO PRESENT TO YOU A VISION FOR THE FALL OF THIS YEAR THAT WILL PUT YOU ON STONE! 

4. Presentation of vision

   1. B-Groups centered around the conversation of the Word
      1. Until now groups have been built around community.
      2. For the foreseeable future, we need to have them center around the Word
   2. Will you consider becoming “seen”? 
      1. There is a word that some love, some hate, but it’s an inevitable word.. Accountability.
      2. There is a power to being seen. 
         1. For instance, if I told you I was going to come over to your house this afternoon, you would rush home and clean. Why? Because you are about to be seen. 
   3. Will you consider sharing what God is showing you in the Scriptures? 
      1. I’m encouraging you to jump in text threads of a few people and walk through the word with them. More than 5 can be overwhelming, but consider jumping into a mode where the Word is talked about all the time. 
      2. Colossians 3:16 (NLT) — 16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
   4. Jeremiah 8:9 (NKJV) — 9 The wise men are ashamed, They are dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD; So what wisdom do they have?