Page 8 - Foundations

I have often reflected on the error of the Christian religious system that has chosen its own model
to prepare men for ministry. Christ's model was to take a group of men and have them walk with
Him, to share in His trials, His hardships, and His reproaches. Mankind today virtually ignores this
experiential aspect of discipleship and training for ministry. Instead it substitutes classroom
instruction, the reading of text books, and written and oral examinations. Bible colleges and
seminaries have become a substitute for a life of surrender to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is
little wonder that so many come out of these institutions with their minds confused, and filled with
the errors that pass for orthodox belief today.

Brothers and sisters, the greatest safeguard against error and apostasy is to embrace a life of
surrender to the leading of the Spirit of Christ. If we do not walk with Christ in a surrendered life we
will find ourselves separated from Him, and lacking that intimacy that is necessary to hear His voice
and be guided into all truth. A self-directed life, no matter how noble in appearance, does not bear
the same fruit as a life of abandonment that has yielded to go wherever Christ says go, and to do
whatever He commands.

Because the price of discipleship is so high, there are very few Christians today who qualify as
disciples. There are myriads of confessors of Christ who are following the counsel of their own soul,
pursuing the course that seems good to them. Many of these individuals aspire to be ministers, Bible
teachers, and authors. Yet, because they are not disciples who are denying themselves and bearing
their cross, they are often found to be running with a message that Christ has not given them. Not
having access to the privy counsels of Christ, they feed upon one another, repeating and embellishing
the ideas of other men and women.

Jeremiah 23:30-32
"Therefore behold, I am against the prophets," declares Yahweh, "who steal My words from each
other. Behold, I am against the prophets," declares Yahweh, "who use their tongues and declare, ‘He
says.’ Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams," declares Yahweh, "and related
them, and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them
or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit," declares Yahweh.

Foundations are extremely important things. The psalmist laments, “If the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?" (Psalms 11:3) If the foundation of truth is not firmly established in a
man’s life, seeking to access the treasures of wisdom and knowledge according to the divine pattern
of obedience and surrender, the beliefs and doctrines of the man will be unstable.

Foundations undergird everything that rests upon them. If the foundation is flawed, the structure
arising from it will be unsound. Many are attempting to be teachers of the Bible, expositors of the
mysteries of creation, without embracing the suffering of the cross. Consequently, their teachings
are riddled with corruption. The things they so confidently proclaim do not stand the test of truth.

Foundations are lowly things. To lay a sure foundation of truth a man or woman must humble
themselves. The cross is an instrument of abasement and humility. The cross will put the self-life
to death. The cross engenders reproach. Those who desire popularity, acclaim, and riches will
inevitably despise the disciple’s cross. Refusing to humble themselves, they will not receive the