Foundation Stones (Part 3) – Jesus w/the 12 – The Forgotten Foundation of Christian Life

Everybody wants to be an apostle with nothing previous to him. I am telling you, what they thought the church was. If you had asked them and if you’d said to them, “What is the Christian life?” They would have had no idea what the Christian life was, and you know why they would not have known? Because they were not Christians. They were not Christians. They did not have the life of the Lord in them, but they had believed on Him, but they had not yet been indwelled by His life because he had not yet died as a grain of wheat that came up to be many grains of wheat, but this thing Christian was captured in one being, one human being, one visible person and had not yet been transplanted into other people, other visible people, but boy, they had a ringside seat watching a Christian.

For three and a half years they watched a Christian mirror Christian. This thing Christian was captured in one being, one human being, one visible person and had not yet been transplanted into other people, other visible people, but boy, they had a ringside seat watching a Christian. For three and a half years, they watched a Christian be a Christian. They knew how He lived the Christian life, and when on the day of the resurrection and after the Lord rose from the dead, He planted that seed in them and they became Christians because they had the life of God in them, they knew how to live by that life, wouldn’t it? They knew what a Christian was. They had watched one.

I’m going to talk about this, some more, only it will be clearer to you, I think, when we get finally to the city of Jerusalem. You know what you need? You’re young, you’re all young. There’s not one of you in your 30s. In fact, … is the oldest among you. How old are you, brother? The oldest among us is 27. You know what you need? You need to watch, you need to watch some Christians be Christians and you really need to watch them. Oh, I would really admonish you to stare a hole through them. Not the fact that they have a post-nasal drip or dandruff or a limp or when they speak, they sometimes fissile with their words but not a lisp. Watch the Christian part of them, and just watch. Don’t try to imitate it, just watch it. Don’t imitate it, just watch it. Just watch. That’s one thing we need.

Another thing you need to do is to hear and to see and fellowship what you hear and see and share it. The rest kind of takes place, takes care of itself, the exposure, the getting caught and all your problems. I guess if there’s anything else I would really say to you brothers that you need is, when we find out what your weaknesses are that instead of getting mad and stomping off the scene, taking up your toys and going home, going back and telling mama, telling us all about you hypocrites, but when you really get found out when your weaknesses are finally discovered that you be with some help, there would be some help around and it will be there because praise the Lord there are some people who did go to Galilee. If you want help, you can find it. There have been some people who have been to Galilee, who know what church life is and its embryonic ways. They know Galilee. They can help you and will help you if you are willing to be helped.

Now, I talked to you about two things here. One of them was about what the Christian life was at this point and what the church was in their understanding by now. I did not mention to you preparation of the worker. I want to think for just a moment. What was the Lord doing to prepare these men to be workers? And boy, it’s just kind of unbelievable. Timothy, listen to me. The Lord was putting Himself in the middle of the room and He was saying to them, “Watch Me. Live with Me and watch Me. Watch the problems I have, you’re going to have them. Watch the crises I go through, you’re going to have them. Watch what I preach. Make it real in your life first. It was real in my life before I preached it. I did not preach it after I heard it. I preached it after it was real to Me. Did you hear that?

Most preaching today is sermon stealing and hasn’t been processed through the speaker. It’s just been processed into his notes. What Christ spoke had been processed through Him for eternity plus 31, 32, 33, 34 years. Hear what I have to say. Experience it and proclaim it. You know something I’m a little surprised at, I have seen brothers who have watched and have experienced but don’t have the courage to proclaim. That’s a new experience for me. Don’t be ashamed to proclaim that which has been made yours. Don’t be so humble.