your foundation

Every church that was ordained of God has a mandate from the Lord to build a foundation of faith under every saint.  If you attend a church that is not actively teaching you the uncompromised Word of God, you may be in the wrong church.  Years ago Kathy would on occasion invite her very old aunt out to our house for dinner.  She was a nice lady and once in awhile I was able to be a part of the conversation.  I asked Aunt Mary if she would see heaven, she didn’t know but she sure hoped she would.  She had attended a church for over twenty years, but never said the sinners prayer until the night I led her to the Lord. 
 
2 Timothy 2:5 Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that need not to be ashamed,  rightly dividing the Word of truth.
 
As born again Christians, we must give ourselves to the Word to find out what pleases our Lord.  What the Lord had recorded in His Word does not apply to every man.  The Old Testament is all about keeping the law, but the New Testament saint has nothing to do with the law.  Some churches incorporate the old covenant law with new covenant grace, this is called “religion” when men incorporate their will with the Word of God.  We must be willing to submit these questions to every wind of doctrine: where does this put me with the Lord?  Does it give me free access to the Lord or does it put me in a bondage situation?  
 
Mathew 7:24 Whosoever hears these sayings of Mine and does them, I will like him unto a wise man that built his house upon a rock.
 
Are you being taught the things you need to fortify yourself to endure all the challenges of life?  Now remember, hearing the uncompromised Word is not enough, you must commit to do what the Lord tells you.  You will always have two sources of information, what God tells you and what the church tells you.  The church ought to be telling you exactly what the Lord is telling you, if it’s not you will subject yourself to “religion”.  Let me give you a classic example of “religion”.  When I was a boy I loved Santa Claus more than God!  If I ate a piece of bologna on Friday, God would send me to hell, but I could be a brat and Santa Claus would still bring me presents.
 
John 16:13-14 When the Spirit of Truth is come, He shall glorify Me: for He will receive of Me, and show it unto you. 

When the Holy Spirit is the Teacher in the local church, He will always speak the truth concerning Jesus.  There is nothing about Jesus that will frighten you, if you are taught by His Spirit you will fall in love with Jesus and remain there.  The apostle Paul warned the church that many would depart from the Word and believe the doctrines of devils.  My brothers and sisters, you must be aware that the doctrine of devils is being taught in many churches.  You must never totally trust any man because men make mistakes.  God gave you a Bible and He gave you the Holy Ghost.  He has been sent to guide you into all truth.  An honest preacher will not be offended if you make him show you in the Bible the Word he is preaching.  We cannot afford to be deceived, eternity is too long to be out of His presence.
 

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