Finding stability - Crossroads
November 3, 2011
1 John 3:1-2
INTRODUCTION
- Have you ever watched a new building being built?
- It is like watching water come to the boil, it takes forever
- Some time ago there was a fire on Richmond Road
- I drive by there every day and once they started digging the foundations, I thought, great, it wont be long now
- But it seemed to take ages
- Once the foundations were complete, the rest of the building was built fairly quickly
- The foundations are important.
- The bigger the building, the deeper the foundations have to go
- You don' want to build a 20-story building on an inadequate foundation
- The building will lean over and eventually collapse
- The foundation we have is very relevant to the stabilty we experience
- This is true of buildings. It is also true of people.
WHAT ARE OUR FOUNDATIONS LIKE?
- Our lives are like a building
- We start off as kids, small, weak, vulnerable and insignificant
- Our childhood years are formative years for us
- These years provide the foundation upon which the rest of our life is built
- Many of us probably had less than perfect parents
- The experiences of our growing-up years impact our adult life
- If I grew up in a stable family, where dad loved mom, where there is love and appreciation, where our needs are met and we experience the protection of a dad who cares, we will probably grow up to have a stable life
- But if our parents divorced during our formative years, that shakes our foundations
- If one who is supposed to be our protector betrays us, our foundation is shaken
- If we have to fend for ourselves, because we don't have parents who care for us, this is another cause for a shaken foundation.
- When we have a shaky foundation, it is hard for us to live a life of stability
- It is hard for someone who experienced shaky origins, to be stable as an adult
- So what can we do about this?
JESUS GIVES US A NEW FOUNDATION
- When we accept Jesus into our life, we suddenly have a fresh start
- Rom 6:3-4 The waters of baptism symbolize the fresh start that we have, our sins have been washed away
- Something profound happens when we accept Jesus
- That is that we are now children of God
- 1 John 3:1-2 We are now children of God
- This means that we now have a new family
- We have a fresh start, with a new family
- God is our Father
- Psa 68:5 Father of the Fatherless
- If you did not have a dad while growing up, God will fill that need.
- He will provide the care and love that you needed while you were growing up
- God will never betray you
- James 1:13 – God tempts no man
- He will never try to trip you up
- Whatever he does and allows in our life is for our good
- Rom 8:28 All things work out for our good
- 2 Cor 9:8 – God is able to take care of our needs
- God is faithful
- God is not fickle
- Our parents messed up and promised things they did not deliver
- But God is always faithful
- 1 Cor 10:13
CONCLUSION
- When we accept Jesus We have a fresh beginning.
- If we treat this seriously, and really turn to him as our Father, and ask him to be the father we never had, he will do so
- Dianne was having a CAT scan last week and was claustrophobic, and prayed asking God to hold her hand.
- Suddenly she felt someone hold her hand, and she fell asleep, totally at peace
- God will be the dad you always wanted, if you ask him in faith
PRAYER
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