Set The Table: A Biblical Foundation | Tyrone P. Jones | A Seat At The Table

Good morning to you. Welcome to Church for the City, where we'll teach the Word of God. We'll encounter the presence of the Lord and spread the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because we give it up for the worship team and them leading us to the throne of grace indeed. And I'd also like to give a shout-out to the online campus, those that are watching us in prison and jail. God bless you. We welcome you and thank you for being with us. On Mother's Day, we done gently-used purses for the ladies. And for Father's Day, for those that were at Crossroads Mission, and for Father's Day, we want to do 100 gently-used wallets and a pack of socks. Now, pack of socks means you're buying them. We don't bring you used socks. And please make the socks black or white, not, you know, any kind of... You know how you can get socks with all kind of gag stuff on them. Let's just do black and white socks and a gently-used wallet. You can bring that down to the office at any time between now and then. We want to do 100 pairs of socks and 100 wallets to the men at Crossroads Mission. Can you help us do that? Thank you. You've done so great for Mother's Day. Men's retreat, monies are due. So I think you can tap to give, finish your commitment on the website. Also, tap to give is the easiest way to do any kind of giving, honestly. You just touch your phone on that tap, and anything you need to do, you can do there. Also, if you need more information, you can stop at the table. There'll be a table being led by one of the men regarding the retreat. All right. Yeah, every time you come to the building, of course, there's opportunities to give, and there's ways to give on the screen. I just want to say that your generosity, it doesn't go unnoticed. It doesn't go unnoticed by us. Obviously, what we do here, not just here locally, not just in our community, but beyond, throughout our country, and around the world, is because of your generosity and your giving. And so I always thank you for what you're doing for us. But you know the truth of it is, generosity and being faithful and obedient in your giving and tithing, that's actually more for you than it is for us. It really is, because it shows where your heart truly is toward the Lord.

And it is, it's no secret that everything that we receive, no matter where it comes from, it really does belong to Him. And I really think it's a simple, simplistic ask of God to say, can you at least trust me? Now, generosity doesn't really have a number on it. It really doesn't. But the Lord is saying, can you at least trust me with 10% of what I trust you with? That'll tell you where your heart really is, whether you believe that what you have is yours and belongs to you, or whether what you've been trusted with is His and belongs to Him. And so the real test of your heart, honestly, or one of them, is in your giving. And it is your faithfulness and your giving that has helped us to do so much. I'm going to pray here in just a minute. We have Pastor Ty and Pastor Abel, as we speak, are on their way to India to work with the church plants there, to lead a conference there. John Stratton and I will be leaving tonight for Slovakia. And same thing, we've had a team there that's done some work there, but we'll also be looking to do some assisting, come alongside for some church planting there in the nation of Slovakia. And again, these things are able to be done because you have a heart for the kingdom of God. You have more than just an investment of being in a seat or serving, you've also invested what God has trusted you with. And so I want to thank you for doing that. Thank you so much for doing it. All right. Now, I'm going to ask you to take your Bible. And if the person next to you doesn't have their Bible, tell them, listen, next week it's your turn. It's your turn to bring the Bible. So take your Bible, let's stand and go to Matthew chapter 7. I know there's so many ways we could read the word and we put the scriptures on the screen, but man, it's just so good sometimes just to have a Bible in your hand. We had Effie here that was from... Bangladesh, and some of you might recall her and her husbands are the ones that developed the Language for Their People group and had the first book those folks was able to put in their hand was a Bible printed in their language. The joy of being able to hold God's Word.

Matthew chapter 7, we're going to look at verses 24 through 27. This is the closing out of the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus' teaching. Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house. But it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be foolish. Sorry, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against the house and it fell. And great was the fall of it. So for the reading of the Word. Well, Father, I just thank you now for the opportunity to share from the Holy Word. I thank you for the Gospel, in this case, the Gospel of Matthew and the words of Christ and the encouragement that we have on how we're to build and what we're to build on. And so, Lord, I thank you for your faithfulness to us. And I pray, Lord God, that I'm able to minister this by the Holy Spirit in a manner that does right and good according to the Scripture. I pray that I will decrease that you might increase. And Lord, that'll be your anointing that carries me and uses me to speak with clarity. And Father, as you know, my prayer is for every church in this county. We want every church to grow. I want every pastor, Lord God, to be blessed, surrounded by good people, able, Lord God, to establish a community, a fellowship within the house of God where it's a safe place, where people can go in and hear the Word of God and lives can be transformed. I pray, Lord God, for Pastor Esteban and Claudia at the Somerton Assembly,

Cocopah Assembly. I pray that you continue to bless them and use them, Lord, for your good and your glory there in the lives of those that they're ministering to. Lord, I pray for Pastor Ty and Pastor Abel, Lord, as they travel to India. Help them, Lord God, to pour out to those pastors and leaders over this week that they're there. Lord, give them fresh vision and insight on expansion there and maybe more church planting. Lord, give them grace, give them wisdom. I pray you'd be with John and I as we go to Slovakia, same thing. Lord, I just pray for the strength to minister and, Lord, to come alongside and see how we can help with some more church planting there in Slovakia. I just thank you for allowing us, Lord, to be part of expanding the kingdom of God. And, Lord, I pray you'd be gracious to us, Lord, those that are first responders, those that are serving our country, those that are in harm's way, those that are in political positions to make decisions from president, vice president, cabinet, governor, mayor, council, supervisors. Lord, give them wisdom, Lord, that the decisions they make are for the good and the welfare of our country. Lord, we thank you for being faithful and for being good. In Christ's name we pray, may the people of God say amen. Amen, you may be seated. My grandmother who raised me or was part of raising me, I should say, she died almost three years ago. I think next month will be three years. And, obviously, the house that I was raised in, it just had some value to me, some sentiment, and none of my uncles, my mom, my aunt, none of them either wanted...didn't want to invest in what it would take to get the property and a good place. And so, Lady V and I decided that we would buy out the estate.

And our first thought was to...we knew the house needed a lot of work, leaks needed to be fixed, you know, doors wasn't closed properly, stuff needed to be patched up, it seemed like floors were sloping a bit. But we, you know, we discovered it wasn't paint that was the problem, it wasn't drywall that was the problem, wasn't the windows or anything that was the problem. The problem was the foundation was damaged. And so all of the patching... that was attempted was not gonna solve the problem. And I do think there's a lot of families, unfortunately, they might find themselves in that same situation. Here's a case where I thought it was a number of issues we could address, but there was one big problem. A lot of families have that same experience. They think the problem in their family might be communication is strained and the marriage feels a little distant or children wandering or trust is weakened or anxiety in the home and keep fixing the cracks. But the real problem is the foundation is bad. The foundation is damaged. Now we're launching into a series on family. And I can tell you not one of these messages, I don't care who's gonna be up here over the next four weeks, not one of these messages are coming from perfection. As a matter of fact, I've learned more by failure than I have by getting it right. And what's interesting when you get older,

you don't mind being more honest about where you jacked up. You know, when you're young and when you're in, it's like, oh, that ain't so bad. Oh, this will work out. Oh, we're going in the right direction. We're better than the next door neighbors, right? We always wanna be better than the other family down the road. But when you get older, you can reflect on some things and you can see where you messed up. I was talking to a couple this morning. I started out by saying one big mistake I made with my children and then I stopped myself and said, no, no, it wasn't one big mistake. I made a lot of mistakes with my children. And so none of this is gonna come from perfection. Everything that's gonna be taught here though is designed to take you to what the scripture says, either that we've learned over the years, experienced or learned again through failure. We'll talk about marriage. We'll talk about parenting. We'll talk about broken families. But today we're gonna talk about the foundation and how this thing called family that was designed by God to be his conduit, his vessel, to reflect his image and expand what he wanted to do in the world, how this thing called family can do what God has intended it to do. And what we learn even from the beginning,

it was God's purpose that the kingdom of God, his work would be done through a nucleus family or nuclear family, however you wanna say it, a male and a female that's married, that has children. That was God's intent from the very beginning with Adam and Eve. But what we discovered is that paradise that God intended for them, it was lost and division came in. And what God intended to be unified and be in relationship, Satan brought a great assault on it. As soon as he had access to man, he brought assault on the family. And what you read in those early chapters of Genesis is the vision and conflict in the family right from the beginning. And that was the heart of Satan. You see the fracturing of a husband and a wife in Genesis 3. You see the fracturing of their two children, Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. And that leads to the fracturing of society in Genesis 6. Every one of us are born in the image of God. That's why every person on the planet has value, because every one of us are born in the image of God and it's purpose and destined for us to reflect that image. But Satan attacked God's image. He attacked God's authority. He attacked the relationships that God was establishing. And where family was supposed to be the place of peace, where God works through family,

even now, it's actually, it was the first battlefield then and still a major battlefield now. What Satan done then, he's still doing, causing division, causing conflict, causing hostility, causing rebellion, causing sin. Nehemiah, when some of the exiles was released to go back to Jerusalem from Babylon, he knew that the thing that we got to preserve here above all else, they were sent there to rebuild the wall, build their homes, build the temple. I may have the order wrong, but those were the things that they were to do. But he knew that what had to be preserved first is family. And in chapter four, verse 14, when they had all kinds of enemies, coming against them, questioning them, ridiculing them, mocking them, assaulting them, etc. In verse number 14, he says, and I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of people, do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome. I paused just enough for you to say amen to a great and awesome God. So we're going to go back again. Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great and awesome. And fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes. He knew that we got to preserve this thing called family and that if we don't fight for our families, then someone or something will shape them. Now, when we're talking about the weakening of family today, there's so many things that we can discuss, that we can talk about that's caused families to be weak. Just a lot of things that's in the front of us. And there's some things I won't go into that is, to me, part of the foundation being cracked. And, you know, we can start with the killing

of babies in the womb. That alone, it shows how we view family and how we view people. I think one thing that's not talked about enough is how poorly we reunify people into their families that have been in war and been in conflict. And they come home and, you know, we call it PTSD and whatever. But the transition of them coming back into their home after seeing and experiencing everything that they experienced, and then you drop them back into a family and say, everything ought to be normal now. I think we've done a horrible job of that, and that's caused a lot of family damage. But I want to talk about some things here. Again, I can't talk about everything that I really believe has contributed to a faulty foundation. A faulty foundation. Because families collapse when they're built on a faulty foundation. And one of those things is fatherlessness. Fatherlessness. And, again, research is so clear about that, of what the risks are and what happens in a lot of cases and a high percentages of families when the father's absent, not present, and maybe sometimes in the house and still not present. But when I was born in 1963, 73% of children was born into a home where there was a man and a woman that was married with children. They had two parents in the house. 73%. That number now is below 44%. The number of children that are born into a home with two parents in the house. What's unfortunate, even about that 44%, they're counting them as parents in the home, but not even all of those folks that are in the home are married to each other. What's even more heartbreaking for me is over 70% of black children are born into a home where there's no father. Over 70%. The results of this is incredible on how it's affected us. Listen to what Job says in Job 24, verses 2 through 3 and verse 9. The wicked displace boundary markers. They steal a flock and provide pasture for it. They drive away the donkeys owned by the fatherless and take the widow's ox as collateral. The fatherless infant is snatched from the breast. The nursing child of the poor is seized as collateral.

Do you see what the enemy does when there's nobody protecting the home? Do you see how vulnerable that woman is, how vulnerable those children is? The assault that comes up on them, everything can be taken from them because there's nobody in the home. I tell Tyrone many times, I can talk to a child or a teenager or a young person and you give me five minutes and I can tell you if that child was raised with boots in the house or not. It don't take long to see the marks of people that was not raised with a father in the house. It's critical for fathers to be there as the foundation, building a foundation on them. Some of the greatest pathologies that we have seen in this day, you witness it on the news every single day. Higher rates of poverty, lower educational attainment, a greater likelihood of incarceration. Increased behavioral and emotional challenges, which just is a heavy burden on us as taxpayers that foot the bill for increasing welfare and crime and drug addiction, etc., the consequences of an uneducated and illiterate group of folks. God designed for fathers to be present, to be engaged, to be loving, to be protecting, and to be leading. And wherever that design is absent, there is a loss that's deeply felt. You can't build a solid foundation. You can't build a solid foundation if fathers don't take their place. The second one is materialism. And in the biblical context, it refers to preoccupation, I would say, with the emphasis on gaining or obtaining either material wealth or possessions more than spiritual, eternal issues. Now, I want you to hear me and understand this. You will never hear me speak against the people of God being blessed, wealthy, whatever God does. You'll never hear me speak against that. First of all, I could take you through hundreds, well, maybe not hundreds, but well over a hundred scriptures where it talks about God's people being prosperous. And so I absolutely believe God is a God that's able, willing, and desires to bless his children. And so by no indication should you equate that to the same as the prosperity doctrine, which I think can be off the chart. But I can tell you this. I don't believe in a poverty doctrine. I don't believe in being broke. I don't believe God wants his children without nothing. I believe God wants to bless his children. Am I talking to the right church?

And so at the same time, though, when your drive and your energy and your obsession and all of your time is to obtain and to pile up and to acquire and to accumulate, that really becomes a form of idolatry. And Hebrews 13 5 tells us that we don't need to do that because our father will never leave us or ever forsake us. He will always make sure that we have what we need. And we have a tendency sometimes, I've done this as a parent, until I realized how big of a lie it was to tell my family, everything I'm doing, I'm doing for you. That's a lie. That's a lie. You're doing it for yourself, for your own ego, for whatever reason, because this is what happens. You're now teaching your children, your provider is me, not the God in heaven. I'm feeling better, so I hope y'all doing all right. Not sitting down today. I'm standing to teach this. And so we have to be sure that the things that we do for the good of our family, for the good of the kingdom of God, which that's the ultimate, anything that we get belongs to him, for the good of the kingdom of God, that we do that from the right reasons. Otherwise, it invigorates lust of the eyes, as we see in 1 John 2.15, where everything you see that somebody else got, somebody else, you know, you get manipulated to do and to get and to gain and to go after. It just distracts you from what is the most primary purpose. And here's what Matthew 6.19-21 says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal, or where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. So if our treasure is in heaven, then our affections is in heaven, and our heart will be in heaven. Again, that doesn't limit God from blessing and pouring out goodness upon you. He does that. And actually, we do have a biblical responsibility to lay up for our children. So don't ignore those things that are right and good, but don't let materialism be the thing that you build your family on, on the foundation of that. Materialism can cause you to rise above of your love for God and obedience to him. And instead of being generous, you become a taker. You become full of avarice. And unfortunately, a lot of times people spend more money than they make. And that affects relationships. And unfortunately, you don't, that's immeasurable until you hit a spot in life with your family, with your wife, with your husband, with your children, and realize it is my pursuit. that has caused this problem that I'm facing right now. Y'all doing all right? The third thing is addictions.

And there's many, porn addiction, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, sex addiction. Two of them that we don't talk about as often, gambling and food addiction. There's no addiction that you can have that won't bring harm to others. Sometimes we do things and we may say out of our mouth, well, it's not hurting anybody. Yes, it is. Anything that does damage to you, damages those around you and affects the whole. Here's what Proverbs 11, 29 says, the one who brings ruin on his household will inherit the win. There's always a blowback when you go into addictive behaviors that you think are just about you and doesn't affect others. There's a blowback for that. It brings some damage to the household. The fourth one is ideologies. I didn't quite know how, I'm not even sure if ideology is the right word here, but I can tell you what I was thinking. Because now we live in a time where people's personal point of view or people's personal preference or people's beliefs will determine their manner of engagement with family. So in other words,

if people don't have the same view politically as you do, if you vote for this person, I don't wanna have anything to do with you. That kind of ideology that just brings a rupture into the family. If you don't accept my lifestyle and support me for my decisions, if you reject me, then I reject you. That's ideologies that bring a rupture into the foundation of the family. If your religious practices or your faith community is different from others, then you cause hostile interaction with people. That's damaging to the foundation. The Bible says here in Proverbs 14, 12, there is a way that seems right to man, but its end is a way to death. And so when we allow our particular ideologies, and listen, again, you'll never hear me teach that you tolerate things, people, ideas. You'll never hear me preach toleration. I don't even know if toleration is a word. I went to Yuma High School. I can make words up. But you can have disagreements with folks. I sit across the table on a regular basis with people who we don't agree with politically. Don't agree with them at all. Matter of fact, I think they wrong about almost everything. But you can leave that table,

and those people still know we love each other. You can have disagreements on what people believe about certain lifestyles and practices and stuff. And it doesn't keep you from speaking truth that's biblically. But don't allow that to divide up families and just wreck the foundation of what God is hoping that we can establish here on earth. Y'all right? And so underneath, again, that's those four things. Underneath every one of these symptoms, of course, lies a deeper issue. It's really not fatherlessness or materialism or addiction or ideological division that's the real problem. The real problem is the lack of understanding that's the real problem. The real problem is the foundation. It's what you're building on and what you're using to build that foundation and build your family. And so many times we're building on the wrong foundation. And the scripture repeatedly tells us that if you build a foundation on success, that's going to crumble. If you build a foundation on security, that's going to fail you. If you build a foundation on self, you're going to find that you're insufficient. If you build a foundation on religion and that's not with Christ,

you're going to find that to be damnable, honestly. And so the strongest test of any foundation is not how it holds up on sunny days, but whether it's able to stand up in the middle of a storm, when storms come, when rains come, when floods come. And Christ is the only foundation proven strong enough, both time and eternity, that if you build your house on the foundation of Christ, it's better. going to stand no matter what comes. You notice here. Yeah, in Matthew 7, 24 through 27, the verse I read, notice the guy that built his house on the sand, sorry, the rock, the rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blow, blew, all upon that house, but it didn't collapse. The same thing happened to the other house. It was in different circumstances. It was in different trials. It was in different tribulations. It was the same thing. Nobody in here is going through anything that nobody has not went through before. Same stuff. The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew, pounded on the house, but that house collapsed. Why did it collapse? Because the foundation was sand and not a rock.

So much more difference can be made in your home and in your family, in your life, if Christ is the foundation. Christ is actually the one that gives us a stable framework, an understanding of God, where we can navigate life so much more better and build healthy relationships and pass on values from one generation to the next. So the title of this series is A Seat at the Table. The title of this particular message is to set the table. And I'm encouraging that we set the table with a biblical foundation. And maybe, I hope, it still happens with families. For many, it does, maybe on holidays, birthdays, et cetera. But the table is where family gathers. The table is where values are taught. The table is where stories are told. The table is where forgiveness is given, and generations of all ages can connect, and faith is passed down. That's the foundation that we need to set the table with, a biblical foundation. So let me give you just seven reasons here in 11 minutes on why a biblical foundation is what you need. The first one is a biblical foundation gives families a clear identity, a clear identity. Many families struggle with these questions. Who are we? What do we stand for? And what is our purpose? Struggle with those questions.

I think it's good for every family to write out a mission statement, and a vision statement, and a value statement. Who are we? The scripture helps us identify those things. The scripture helps us answer those questions, and remind us that we were created by God, and loved by God, and called together as a family for his glory. Do you know that everyone in your family, every child that was born, was not an accident? Ain't no need to, when that child come out, you looking at that child, say, I don't know where you came from. I can tell you where it came from. But God put us in family together for a purpose, for a mission. There's some values that we can establish. Who are we as a family? What do we stand for? What do we believe in? Joshua made a family mission statement in one line. He says, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. So when families can understand their identity, if it's built on a biblical foundation, you can gain confidence. They can get direction for their life, and be shaped to become the people

that God wants them to be, so that they're not following after cultural trends. Here's the second thing. A biblical foundation provides moral direction. Moral direction. You know what is right and wrong when you build on a biblical foundation? Children know, adults know what is a right standard, what's right and wrong. We don't buy into this stuff. Well, if it's right for them, then it's right for them. No, no, no. Does the Bible say that that's right? When we build on a biblical foundation, we know what is right for marriage. We know what is right for parenting. We know what is right for finances. We know what is right for work ethic, and relationships, and integrity, and character. The Word of God does that. It gives us moral direction. We don't have to guess what God says about these things. It's very clear in His Word. Psalm 119, 105 says, your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path. Anywhere you're walking, anywhere you're going, whether it's that vein of finances, that vein of marriage, that vein of parenting, that vein of business,

the light of God's Word is a lamp unto us. And without that biblical foundation, your values are going to be based on feelings. They're going to be based on... people's opinions. They're going to be based on cultural pressure. Sometimes we go to the default and, well, work for daddy, work for granddad, or work for grandma, then it'll work for me. And that becomes just a changing more of activity instead of having a biblical foundation of moral direction. This third thing, a biblical foundation strengthens marriage. Strong families are built on strong marriages. The Scripture teaches husbands and wives, both of us, that we should love sacrificially, and forgive freely, and serve one another, and remain committed through some difficulties. Ecclesiastes 4.12 says, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken, not quickly broken because we're built on that biblical foundation. When Christ is at the center of that, whether it be the marriage, whether it be the relationship, there's a source of grace, there's a strength that comes, there's a hope that you can hold on to that's beyond human effort. The fourth thing is biblical foundation helps families navigate hard times. I'm going to tell you this, every family will experience some tough stuff. Every family. Every family is going to experience some illness. Every family is going to have some financial hardships. Every family is going to have some loss. Every family is going to have some difficulty. Every family is going to have some disappointment and some conflict. Our faith doesn't keep us from suffering, but what our faith does, it gives us meaning, it gives us hope, it gives us strength in the midst of that. Psalm 46.1 says, God is our strength, and a very present help in trouble. That's because of a biblical foundation being built. So, families that's grounded in scripture, they learn how to trust God even through some difficult circumstances.

Team, you can go ahead and come. Number five, a biblical foundation shapes the next generation. I will talk more about this on Father's Day when I deal with parenting, but parents, we are intentionally called to teach our children about God. And I think the reason that so many of us feel so inadequate to do so is because we haven't learned it ourselves, that we haven't put the time in, that we haven't committed to it. But the scripture tells us what we ought to do. Psalm 78, 5 through 7, it says, for he issued his laws to Jacob. This is the Lord saying his law was first given to the people of Jacob, the family of Jacob. He gave instructions to Israel. It was expanded beyond that. He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children so the next generation might know them, even the children not yet born. And they, in turn, will teach their own children. So, each generation should set its hope anew on God. Now, every time a family stands up here to have their children dedicated, that's what they're committing to do. They're committing to teach their children from Jump Street, that we're going to teach them the way of the Lord. And when faith is lived out at home, believe me, the children will learn truth. They may have some of that challenged when they go to schools. And, you know, not everyone is going to teach. Obviously, it certainly depends on the school you're in. Not going to teach biblical principles, but you're not sending them to school to learn that stuff. You'd send them to school to learn read and write and arithmetic. That's what you're sending them to school for. But we are the ones that teach them biblical values.

We teach them morals. We teach them what it means to have a mission and a value and a purpose in God. We don't send them off to school to learn that stuff. That stuff is taught at home. That's the parents' responsibility. And so when challenges come against them, when they know some things may not be right, you know, my kids would lie on their papers all the time. They would write the answer they know the teacher wanted and knew it wasn't truth. Some of y'all missed that, but y'all get it. Teacher wanted one answer, give it to him. But that ain't truth is what we learn in the Word of God and what's taught at home. Children learn truth, characters form, values are transmitted. Future generations are influenced. A family's greatest inheritance is not the wealth. And I do believe in leaving up for my children, believe me. But it's not the wealth, but it's a living faith in God. That's the greatest inheritance. Can y'all say amen? Only got two more points. Give me a little music so I feel anointed, just a little. little bit. Number six, a biblical foundation creates lasting unity. Families often divide over priorities, over goals and expectations. And a shared faith, it provides common values, common purpose, common hope, common mission. We're not just united merely by blood. Families are not just united by blood, but we're united in Christ. I love Psalm 133.1 and verse 3. It says, Behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. Hear it this way, behold how good and pleasant it is when families dwell in unity, for there the Lord has commanded a blessing. I love that. There's a commanded blessing on families when you dwell together in unity.

Can you say amen? A commanded blessing. And the last thing, number seven, biblical foundation points families toward eternity. Success and possessions and achievements, again, we'll never mock those, but they're only temporary. The Bible reminds us that the real focus on our family ought to be what lasts forever, eternal life. Matthew 6.33 says, Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Faith helps families live with an eternal perspective. When you build that foundation upon Christ, you're teaching your family the ultimate hope. And it's not found in earthly accomplishments, but it's found in Jesus Christ. And so, a strong family begins with a solid foundation. Now, I started this out by saying to you, nothing you're going to hear from me is coming from perfection. Again, I've probably learned more about failure and lessons in life later than most of those years of raising my children. But I will tell you this, nothing that you're going to hear, not just today, but the next three weeks, is designed for you to go into guilt or condemnation or regret. No believer should live with regret. No believer should live with condemnation and guilt. Here's what I know, folks. You can start with whatever you're learning right now that's right. You can start right now. Start right now. Whatever you heard, whatever principle you're getting, whatever the Holy Spirit is ministering to you, start right now. Start now doing the right thing, making the right decisions, having the right practice, building the right foundation. Recover where you need to. You can do it. When that foundation is put into place, I'm telling you, generation upon generation will still stand around the table and be able to see that this family is built on the foundation. On Mother's Day, almost all of our children were at the house on Mother's Day. And 16 of 17 grandchildren were at the house on Mother's Day, which is, it's a beautiful thing. There was a moment when all 16 of the grandchildren were in the swimming pool. All 16 of them at one time.

A little bit interesting when I got in the pool after I'm trying to... Never mind, that's personal. But 16 of them in the swimming pool. I'm sitting up on the patio before my disappearing act. My family knows I'm with them for a bit, then, whoop, I disappear. But I'm looking at all my children. And I'm sitting here thinking about every one of them have walked with us through conflict, through loss, through hurt, damage, pain, hostility. They've walked through that with us. They've seen it. They experienced it. But then I looked at those 16 grandchildren in the swimming pool, and this is what I said, some of them might know some of that. But I can tell you for all 16 of them, what they know now, in spite of the storms, in spite of the trauma, in spite of the assaults, in spite of the winds that blew, this is what those 16 grandchildren now, this house is built on a rock. This house is built on a rock. This house is built on a foundation. That's what they know now. You can start somewhere. Start from this moment on and make a decision. It might have been one point that I made. It might have been two points that I made. It might have been a line. Whatever the Holy Spirit brought to your mind, don't let it be fleeting. don't let it go away if it was one thing that convicted you say that's it I'm gonna start right there I'm telling you you can do this you can build a foundation for your family don't live with regret don't live with condemnation don't live with guilt what's happened it's happened but don't let yourself fall into the same trap after the Holy Spirit is speaking to you now start right where you are right now and build that foundation everybody stand if you would I'm gonna pray that prayer for you first then we're gonna go into communion and we're gonna celebrate with a great song speaking a blessing over our families every every I close for just a moment father I just I can't read the minds of everyone here but I know that the Holy Spirit spoke to everyone in this house there might have been a word there might have been a

statement there might have been a line there might have been an impression I know you spoke through the word I know you spoke by your spirit and I say Lord for for that man that woman that boy that girl that grandfather that grandmother whatever you spoke to them it might have started with some failure it might have started with some regret it might have started with him feeling a little bit guilty and a little bit condemned but Lord I pray Holy Spirit you will take that thought and don't condemn them but convince them you can do this you can start right now you can put into place what you need to what you need to put into place Lord let it be one practice that they take from this that they begin to change their thoughts change their behavior change their mindset and scan the purview of their family their children and grandchildren and say right now I'm gonna start to build that foundation father I want to thank you for your grace and your mercy if you take your communion elements even with that father as we hold these elements in our hand we're reminded we know we failed we know we got some stuff wrong we know Lord there's some stuff we could cry about for days and nights but what we hold in our hand represents your forgiveness you wash those things away you took up on our guilt you took up on our shame you took up on our failure you took up on our regrets and you nailed those things at the cross and standing here right now holding in our hands what represents your body and your blood we receive with Thanksgiving and thank you for a fresh start a new opportunity that every one of us can do what you've called us to do and more so we receive what you've done for us for all eternity let's eat together and let's drink together can we shout hallelujah as we give glory to God