WEEK 1 | INTRODUCTION
WHY DOES FOUNDATIONS MATTER?
FOUNDATIONS walks through the foundational components of life as a follower of Jesus. These are the essential building blocks for a healthy life of faith. But do not confuse foundational with basic or rudimentary. To any student of the scripture these biblical mandates are self-evident. Yet, there isn’t a believer alive today who can exhaust the simple yet revolutionary call given to each of us by these six simple verbs.
When you read FOUNDATIONS, think of yourself as a child receiving gentle instruction from your heavenly Father. FOUNDATIONS is about the freedom offered to all who believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is derived from six biblical mandates that God gives his people repeatedly throughout the entire cannon of scripture. They are the essence of God’s way for man to discover abundant life in a fallen world. Missing even just one of these truths is like trying to grow plants without water, soil, or sun. FOUNDATIONS asks six difficult questions in light of God’s commands.
BELIEVE – Can you believe God is exactly who he claims to be?
REPENT – Is anything too broken for God to heal?
FOLLOW – Will you truly follow Jesus anywhere he leads you?
REMAIN – When you become discouraged will you walk away?
SHARE – Are you an individual or do you belong to a family?
MULTIPLY – Will you lay down your life so another can live?
TWO IDENTITIES
There are two essential identities to the life of every believer and every living thing:
1) The identity of the child
2) The identity of the parent
Children receive and consume. My parents spent thousands of dollars and hours, teaching, training, loving, supporting, coaching, and leading me so that I could become a healthy adult. My role as a child was to receive their love and instruction and follow their lead. As a child of God I have this exact same role. God gives; I receive. Jesus speaks; I listen. The Spirit leads and I follow. (John
10:1-19; Psalm 23).
Parents have an entirely different role than children. As a parent I give, so others can receive. As a parent, I speak so others can listen. As a parent I lead so others can follow. The parent sacrifices their life and preferences for the health and well-being of their children.
So it is with our spiritual identities. Not only are we children of God, we are also called to be disciple-makers (Matt. 28:18-20) and teachers (Heb. 5:12). The biblical pattern goes like this: 1) Receive Jesus 2) Obey Jesus 3) Be Jesus. The 12 disciples were disciples (pupils & adherents) before they were apostles (“sent ones”). Abraham followed God in faith well before he fathered many nations. Paul surrendered his life on the road to Damascus well before he was planting churches.
Every believer must first follow before they multiply. But, every true disciple will mature into a multiplier (Heb. 5:12; Matt. 28:16-20; John 17:18). This shift from spiritual child to spiritual parent never supplants our identities as children of God. It only builds upon it.
As Jesus asked Peter to feed his sheep, he reminded him that the older he became the more he would be led places he never intended to go, namely death on a cross (John 21:17-19). So it turns out that if we want to be greater and greater multipliers we must become more and more dependent followers.
The closer we follow the more we will multiply.