Speaker 1: 0:02

You're listening to Heed the Word with our pastor and teacher, Ken Davis. Pastor Ken is the senior pastor of Calvary Chapel, Southwest Metro, located in Burleson, Texas. Please join us as we study our series entitled the Foundations of Faith.

Pastor Ken Davis: 0:18

You see, we want, as Christians, to bear fruit for Jesus. Why, as Christians, to bear fruit for Jesus? Why? Because we remember that we have been cleansed of our sins. You see, peter is saying hey, if you don't care about growing in grace, if you don't care about letting the love and the fruit of God flow into your life, you don't care about that, then you are forgetting something that's very important. You are forgetting that you were forgiven.

Speaker 1: 0:49

Even if you're not handy, you know that when it's time to build a house, the foundation must be the first thing that's addressed. It must be done right the first time. Our relationship with God is no different. We must have a firm foundation in the Word of God that's rooted in a deep and lasting faith in Jesus. That's why Pastor Ken chose to share with you our series entitled the Foundations of Faith. Pastor Ken begins this series by sharing his own personal experience with the effects of not having a solid foundation in this faith walk. That we're on A foundation in the Word of God is necessary for us to bear fruit, which is the will of God for every believer in this life. Don't forget to stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Heed the Word, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, please open your Bibles and let's join Pastor Ken with part one in our series entitled the Foundations of Faith.

Pastor Ken Davis: 1:49

You know, when you build a house, when you build a building of any kind, any builder will tell you that the most important part of that building is the foundation. Because if you have a faulty foundation or if you have a foundation that is not structurally sound and strong, then no matter what kind of a beautiful house you build, it's destined to have problems, isn't it? We live in North Texas. We know what foundation problems look like here in North Texas. Right, you begin to see those cracks in the walls and your doors don't close right, and the windows won't open in your house. And what have you? All of that because of problems with the foundation.

Pastor Ken Davis: 2:32

You know, when I first came to the Lord back in 1988, I had had, prior to that, a general knowledge of God. I'd been raised in my earlier years with an understanding of church and of the Bible. I used to go to church with my grandmothers, both maternal and paternal respectively. My dad's mom was a Seventh-day Adventist, and so we would go to church at the Seventh-day Adventist church some Saturdays. And my mom's mom was a Pentecostal, and so we would go to church at the Pentecostal church on some Sundays, and I always preferred to go on Sundays because that way I didn't have to miss Saturday morning cartoons. That was my reasoning behind that, so I preferred going there. But, as you can imagine, that could have led to a very mixed understanding of the way things work, because there are a lot of teachings in those two denominations that are really opposite one another. Fortunately, at that age all they taught was Bible studies anyway, and flannel graph knows no denominations, so it's all pretty much the same. Well, as I grew, I kind of drifted from the Lord and knew enough about God and enough about the Bible to have a general understanding. And I knew about God but I didn't really know God. How many of you can identify that there was a point in your life where you knew about God but you didn't really know him or have a relationship with him. Well, in my life that changed in 1988. My girlfriend at the time gave me a little pamphlet that you may have heard me mention before, by a man named Joseph Wisenot, and the book was titled 88 Reasons why the Rapture Will Be in 1988. Now, of course, as we know, he was wrong, and at the time I knew enough about the Bible to realize that he was probably wrong. Then, too, realize that he was probably wrong then too, because I remembered reading that Jesus had said no man knows the day nor the hour, not even the son, but only the father who's in heaven. Right, but then again, this guy wasn't talking about a day or an hour, he was talking about a year. So, within the letter of things, he might've been right.

Pastor Ken Davis: 4:51

You know, I came face to face with the holiness of God and I recognized the fact that if I were to have stepped off a curb and been hit by a bus that afternoon, it wouldn't really matter when the rapture was, because I was going to have to stand before God and give an account for my life. And I realized at that time that I was not prepared to do that. And so I did what you would naturally do. I found a church. Right. When you want to know about God, or when you want to get right with God, what do you do? You go to church, right, that's what our culture tells us. And so I went to church.

Pastor Ken Davis: 5:26

And that Sunday, as I sat there in the pew, I don't remember what the pastor taught about, I don't remember what he said, I don't remember any of the songs that we sang, or what color the carpet was or any of that kind of thing. All I remember is is that by the end of that service I was weeping in the pew. I was just sitting there and the tears were flowing down and I was repentant for my sin. And God touched me that morning and I was baptized that very same day because that particular church and that particular denomination, as soon as you make a confession of faith, they've got the water warming and they're ready, you know. And so I was baptized that very same day.

Pastor Ken Davis: 6:06

And then I went home and guess what happened next? Nothing, nothing. My life didn't change. Well, it changed in some ways. As I go back and I read the journals that I had written at that time of life, I can see that I was looking with an expectancy towards that particular month, that the guy that wrote the book said Jesus was coming back. But when Jesus didn't come back in that month, I began to wane a little bit in my attention to the matter. You know, what's interesting to me is I never once got a phone call from that church. I never once had anyone knock on my door and say hey, you know, you were baptized at our church a couple of weeks ago. How is that going? Never once did anyone come to me and say okay, now that you're born again, now that you're a believer, here are some things that would be good for you to do so that you can begin to grow in your relationship with Christ and become a stronger Christian. No one ever said any of those things to me. Now I'm not faulting them, because you know what. I never went back to that church again. I was there that one time and then I was gone, and they may not even have known how to get a hold of me, but the fact remains that at that point in my life I was born again. I had had a sincere and a real conversion experience with God and I'd been touched by him, but I didn't have the knowledge or the tools by which to begin to grow in that faith. Shortly after that, I joined the army and in January of that year I'd been saved in August and I went away to the Army in January.

Pastor Ken Davis: 7:46

And if any of you know me, you know I love to read. I'm an avid reader. Okay, I mean, there's very few things I would rather do than read a book. Well, in basic training you only get two books One is your training manual and the other is the Bible and the only reason they let you have the Bible is because they're not allowed by law to take that from you. Okay, so here I was with this little Gideon Bible in my pocket and nothing else to read. And if you know anything about the military, you know there's a lot of hurry up and wait stuff that goes on. You gotta hurry, hurry, hurry and get to this spot and then you wait for three hours for whatever it is that's going to happen in that spot, and so there was a lot of downtime in that.

Pastor Ken Davis: 8:30

And so, with nothing else to do and nothing else to read, I pulled out that Bible and that was God's way of saying okay, son, you need to be discipled a little bit. And God got me into the word and I read through all of the gospels and Romans and Psalms and Proverbs, and I was ravenous for the word of God. And, being in the Word of God, a change began to occur in my life and I began to understand some of those basic principles of the faith, like the fact that if we want God to forgive us, we have to be willing to forgive others and really forgive them. That was the first lesson God taught me, and he would very soon give me the opportunity to exercise that new discipline. Well, as time would go on, I would be in one base or another and I was here and there and I never really got into church.

Pastor Ken Davis: 9:15

And to tell you the truth, it was about two years into my Christian walk before a brother in Christ finally came alongside me and began to speak into my life and began to say you know, ken, I know from what we've talked about that you're a Christian, but from what I can tell you don't go to church at all, do you? No, you don't really know that much about God's word either. I know you've read it, but I mean, have you really, you know, studied it or memorized it or meditated on it, or no? And he began to speak into my life. He was my platoon sergeant and he began to share with me some of those basic things about God and about growing in grace that I wish I had known from the very beginning.

Pastor Ken Davis: 9:58

Now I'm telling you all of this this morning to kind of lay the framework and kind of give you the reason behind what we're going to be doing today and over the next few Sundays. You see, I recognize the fact that there may be a lot of you who are in a very similar situation to the one that I was in, in that at some point in your life you acknowledged faith in Christ, you came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, but after having done that, you were never equipped or given the tools by which to grow. In other words, you were never discipled Just by a show of hands. How many of you would say that that either describes your experience or the experience of someone you know, anybody. So I'm not completely off base in saying that this is a common need that there is in the body of Christ. And so today we're going to go over some things that to some of you may seem like old hat, like oh, I already know all that, like why do I even need to be here for this? Well, I want to kind of take you back to something that Peter said, second Peter.

Pastor Ken Davis: 11:03

Now, as we read through chapter 1, I want you to know this is not intended to be an exhaustive study or verse-by-verse study of this passage, but there are several key principles that I want to draw from here, starting in verse 1 for context Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained like precious faith with us, by the righteousness of God and of our God and Savior, jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied to you. In the knowledge of God and of Jesus, our Lord, where is grace and peace to be found? Where is it to be found? It's to be found in Jesus Christ, our Lord, and what's more in the knowledge of him. Isn't it in Jesus Christ, our Lord, and what's more in the knowledge of him?

Pastor Ken Davis: 11:54

Isn't it Verse three as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him, who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust, when we come to Christ, he gives us a new nature. Now we still have an old nature, that is, that sinful nature that is our flesh, that is in operation within us, but we also then have a new nature, that is the divine nature, or the nature of God, as we've become his children, and it's that nature, through those divine and precious and awesome promises in the scripture that we want to see growing in our lives, and that's why Peter says, in verse five of second Peter, chapter 1, but also, for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue to virtue, knowledge to knowledge, self-control to self-control, perseverance to perseverance, godliness to godliness, brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness. Love to godliness, brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness. Love, for if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things, you will never stumble, for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. For this reason, I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

Pastor Ken Davis: 14:15

So Peter is basically saying this listen, I know that you know a lot of what I'm telling you, and I would say by the same statement I know that you know a lot of what I'm telling you today, but it is profitable for you and it is wise for me to remind you of these things. If you are someone who already knows everything that we're talking about, and if you're already on fire for the Lord, then you'll find these words affirming to the course of life that the Lord is leading you in. My intention is just to stir you up today and to remind you of these things that you already know. However, however, if you remember what that fire was like, that fire of new faith, if you remember what that was like, but you find it far from your current experience, then I want you to let these words of encouragement and exhortation stoke the flames of your heart and move you to be revived to the former passion that you had for the things of Christ. And if these things are foreign to you altogether and you have not, as Peter said here, been established in these things, then I want this to serve as a primer to you and a laying of the foundation upon which a fruitful life can be built. That's our intention Now.

Pastor Ken Davis: 15:54

Verses 2 through 11 that we just read shows us very clearly that there is a progression of growth in the Christian life. Salvation, believe it or not, is not the end of our journey of faith. It's just the beginning of our journey of faith. You don't check that off and say, okay, now I'm saved, what next? Once you have attained that salvation, once you have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, then it's time to, as Paul said, lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus laid hold of you, because he saved you for a purpose not just so that you could be saved, but so that you could be a part of his kingdom. So that you could be saved, but so that you could be a part of his kingdom, so that you could bear fruit in his kingdom.

Pastor Ken Davis: 16:37

As we read there, it says that if you do these things and if these things abound in you in verse 8, you will neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, we want, as Christians, to bear fruit for Jesus. Why? Because we remember that we have been cleansed of our sins. You see, peter is saying hey, if you don't care about growing in grace, if you don't care about letting the love and the fruit of God flow into your life, if you don't care about that, then you are forgetting something that's very important. You are forgetting that you were forgiven, that you have been washed clean of your sin. You see, sometimes we forget just how rotten we were and we look at our current experience and we look at how we are today and we say, well, I'm pretty good.

Pastor Ken Davis: 17:32

Yeah, it makes sense that the Lord would want me on his team. Can I tell you something? He didn't need one of us. He didn't need one of us. There's nothing that we have to offer that God could not have found somewhere else or that he didn't already possess himself, because he is in all things and he possesses all things. He doesn't need you, but he wants you and he has work for you to do that he's prepared beforehand for you to do those works. Why? So that you can partner with him in them, so that you can benefit from being a blessing and being fruitful. God has called us to fruitfulness in his service. If you don't believe me. Listen to Jesus.

Pastor Ken Davis: 18:17

Turn to John, chapter 15. In John 15, starting in verse one, jesus says I am the true vine and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. Now I want to stop on that for a second. That means that if you are bearing fruit in your life, you can still expect God to cut into your life. And you say why, lord, would you cut into my life when I'm already bearing fruit? I don't understand that, if I'm already bearing fruit, why you gotta mess with me, god, so that you can bear more fruit? Because even as you're bearing fruit on that vine, there are still some things in your life that are not pleasing to God. And as you bear fruit and as you continue to abide in Christ, he will prune your life. He will say you know, I've allowed you to operate, and this little thing over here has been operating in your life for a long time, along with everything else. It's time for that to go away so that you can bear more fruit for me.

Pastor Ken Davis: 19:36

You see, because sometimes we try, don't we, to operate in the things of God. We go to church, we read our Bibles, we pray, we have fellowship with other believers. We might even witness or be part of a care team going door to door. Maybe we're even a teacher, a Sunday school teacher or a pastor. Maybe we are very active for the things of the Lord and we're bearing fruit. But there's this little area of our lives over here that aren't quite included in all of this other stuff. Right, this little area of our life that no one else knows about. And hey, the fruit's going good, looking great. But there's this other thing over here that is sapping strength and power from our lives. Can I tell you, if you're bearing fruit for God and you truly belong to him, he is going to cut that off. He's going to cut it and when he cuts it it's going to hurt, it's going to be painful and it may not just hurt you but it may hurt others besides you. But the purpose of that, the reason that God does this in your life, is so that you can bear more fruit. Gardeners will tell you that when you cut or prune a tree or vine, it stimulates growth and when God prunes us, he is stimulating growth in our lives that we may bear more fruit.

Pastor Ken Davis: 21:22

Moving on in verse three you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to. You. Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. Now he's saying you're already clean, you're already forgiven, you're already saved. Clean, you're already forgiven, you're already saved. Okay, but if you don't abide in Christ, if you don't abide in me, jesus said you're not going to bear fruit, you're not going to be fruitful, you're not going to grow unless you abide in me.

Pastor Ken Davis: 22:06

Verse 5, I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered, and they gather them and throw them in the fire and they are burned. But if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, so you will be my disciples. So you will be my disciples.

Pastor Ken Davis: 22:49

So how do we bear much fruit by abiding in Jesus, and abiding in Jesus is really what the Christian life is all about. But to abide in Jesus, we first must be in Jesus. You cannot abide in him until you are found in him, and that really is the first part of laying this foundation. Now we read a moment ago from Peter, and Peter was a witness of this gospel, and we see that back in second Peter, chapter one. Starting in verse 16, peter writes for we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty, for he received from God, the Father, honor and glory when such a voice came to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, and we heard this voice, which came from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.

Speaker 1: 24:12

Well, that's all the time we have for today. You've been listening to Heed the Word, the radio ministry of Calvary Chapel, southwest Metro, located in Burleson, texas. As you likely gathered, pastor Ken Davis is currently sharing our series entitled the Foundations of the Faith is currently sharing our series entitled the Foundations of the Faith. Pastor Ken will be covering many topics about how we can be founded in the fundamental truths of the Word of God. If you were with us at the beginning of today's broadcast, you know we mentioned that we'd be giving additional information about Heed the Word and how to get a free copy of this message.

Speaker 1: 24:46

For more information about Heed the Word, log on to heedthewordorg. On to heedthewordorg. That's heedthewordorg. At the website, you'll find everything you need our contact information, podcast subscription link and a link to our online order form, which will allow you to place an order for a CD of today's message in its unedited form. Since all of our materials are free of charge, supplies are limited, so log on to heedthewordorg and place your order today. As we close today, we want to encourage you to not only be a listener of Heed the Word, but to truly apply what you're learning. Take the Word of God and begin applying it to your life every day. Well, that's all the time that we have for this edition of Heed the Word with Pastor Ken Davis. Place a marker in your Bibles and join us next time as Pastor Ken continues with our series entitled the Foundations of the Thing. Thank you,