I want to start the message this morning by explaining a moment in my life where I asked a question that I did not anticipate asking just a few seconds before. I don't know if you've ever had that experience. Where something happens that you didn't see coming and it forces you to ask a question that you did not think you needed to ask. And the question I had to ask was this it was, wait, what am I standing on? I'll explain. Early in my relationship with Megan, which, if you don't know, Megan's my wife. We've been together since we were in high school, and I'm really excited because in February, I don't know what to call this, I don't know the term, but this February I will have been with Megan in an official capacity longer than I was without. So we were, I was 18 when we started dating, and this February, it will be like the, what is that? It's not the halfway point. I don't know the word. More than half, more than half of my life I've been with my wife, which is uh which is awesome. So it's all either uphill or downhill from there. I don't know which one, but there we go. And if you're in a new relationship and it's going hard, trust me, the first 15 years are the hardest. So just get through that, and everything is is better from that point on. But this was early in my relationship with Megan. We've maybe been dating for two months, and her family invited me to go on vacation with them, and I was as nervous as could be. And I've shared stories from this vacation from time to time because it was simultaneously the worst and best vacation I've ever been on. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. And I was the boyfriend. So, like, I have, I just have to be on my absolute best behavior at every moment. If I was miserable, I had to smile and be like, oh, this is great. This is awesome. Thank you so much for inviting me on this awesome vacation. Well, one of the things that went wrong was a canoe trip. Um, it was like our Gilligan's Island canoe trip. You know the song Gilligan's Island theme song? It was supposed to be what? How long? A three-hour tour, right? Ends up being a lot longer. We were supposed to go on this canoe trip that lasted maybe an hour. That's what the guide told us. About four hours later, we arrived at our destination, and it was the middle of the summer, it was incredibly hot, and we were not prepared for four hours in a canoe. No one is prepared for four hours in a canoe, especially when you're like city folk and canoeing is something that you kind of know how to do. You know what I mean? Like, raise your hand if you've been in a canoe. You have canoed, you're canoeers, right? Raise your hand if you're like, I'm good at canoeing. Way less hands. Because canoeing is like the whole time, you're like, am I gonna fall? Am I gonna fall? Don't move. Don't, don't, don't do that, don't stand up. It's terrifying. And so we're in this canoe four hours, and it was it was incredibly hot. The river was way slower than than we were told, and so like we didn't put enough sunscreen on, like, not even close. Megan's little sister, I've never seen a person sunburn this badly. Like it was it was almost like, should she go to the hospital? Because she she, I'm not even exaggerating, she looked like a strawberry. She was so so red. It was it was it was bad. And we're in this canoe for hours and hours, we're sweaty, we're hot, it's it's bad. And finally, finally, with maybe 30 minutes left, we get to this part of the water where it actually was like a river, like we were told. And and it was fairly deep, and the water was was moving you, and so you weren't having to drag your canoe every five minutes on rocks. It was it was great. And I looked at Megan and I said, Hey, let's like jump out, let's swim a little bit, because we were so hot, and she said, Yeah, let's do that. And so I reached down with my paddle and I touched what it feels like the bottom, and it was maybe like four, four and a half feet down. And I was like, Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's not too deep, let's just let's jump in, we're good. So I go first. And the second that my feet hit the ground, it did not feel like what I expected to feel. And I knew something was wrong, like right away. And that's when the thought ran through my mind. Wait, what am I standing on? Within two seconds, I was over waist deep in what I can only describe, I don't know the right word for it. Um, it was like goop and muck. It was moop. That's what it was. It was moop. I was waist deep and moop. I actually went underwater for a second. Like Megan just sees me jump in and like like that. She's like, what have I come back up and and whatever this substance was, it was like it was squishy and it was in my pants. Um that's what I remember. I remember like, it's in my it's in my pants. It was just all it like covered me. And and then all of a sudden these bubbles start to come up around me because whatever I was standing on, me going into it, had like disturbed it. And so these bubbles are coming up and they're everywhere, and Megan's looking very confused, and uh and they start to burst, and this the smell, oh my goodness, guys, I want you to understand something. I have four children, I talk about them a lot. I say that because I've smelled some things, okay? I have changed thousands of diapers, and I'm not exaggerating, 360 days a year for the last five years, a diaper, at least a diaper a day, usually four or five. So I know I know smells, and I've never smelled anything like this. This was it was the most putrid, horrifying thing, and and need I remind you, it was in my pants. Um and Megan's like, what in the world is that? And I'm like, I don't know, but I need your help to get back in the canoe. Have you ever tried to pull someone into a canoe? It's it's really hard, right? And we've only been dating for a couple of months, our relationship isn't exactly secure, and I smell like this, and it's in my pants, and and there's no shower, there's no way to get it like off of me. So I just I get in the canoe and it smells awful, and no matter what, I couldn't get that smell away. And so the whole drive back with her family, it's like, what's that smell? It's Justin's pants. They're full of moop. And it was terrible. It was terrible. But it did, that moment did force me to ask the question wait, what am I standing on? Which is a good question to ask from time to time. And that's a question that Jesus challenges us to ask today. If you're just joining us, we've been in a series for months called A King in His Kingdom. It's been awesome because ever since July, we have we've just sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to what he's had to say. There has not been a single Sunday where we have not just opened up to a teaching of Jesus. We've been exploring his teachings. And the conviction behind this is that very often as Jesus followers, and I know not all of us in the room have made that commitment. We might not call ourselves Jesus' followers, but those of us who have, very often we're more familiar with what Jesus did than we are with what he said. And that won't do. If we're gonna follow Jesus, we've got to know what he said and understand it. And so we've just been exploring the teachings of Jesus, and when you look at the teachings of Jesus, you see this theme that runs through it. It's called the kingdom of God. Jesus is always talking about the kingdom. The kingdom of heaven is like this, the kingdom of God is like this, and so we've been exploring what it means to live in the kingdom. And a few months back, we started going through this one specific teaching of Jesus, the longest, uninterrupted of teaching of Jesus we have. It's often called the Sermon on the Mount. It's Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7. We've gone through it bit by bit, and today we find ourselves at the very end of chapter 7. So after today, we will have finished the Sermon on the Mount. And here's what Jesus says to wrap up his teaching that we've been in for so long. He says, Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the flood waters rise, and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish. Like a person who builds a house on sand, when the rains and the floods come, the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he taught with real authority, quite unlike their teachers of religious law. Like so many things that Jesus said, this is loaded. It's loaded with audacity. I love how audacious Jesus is. Like who's who says things like that? Who says, anyone who does what I say, that person's wise, I'm the way, I'm it. You gotta do what I say. Like, who says that? That's audacity right there. To say that it's all about me. Jesus doesn't say that we need to follow a philosophy. He doesn't say that we need to prescribe to a certain way of thinking. He says, no, no, no, you need to build your life on me. It's not the only time he said that. Most of us are probably familiar with this. You've at least heard this at some point, John 14, 6. Jesus says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. That is audacious. Seriously, who says things like that? We have to remember that Jesus has real authority. It says that the people were amazed when they heard him teach because he taught with someone, like someone who had real authority. That's because he does have real authority. He is the king. When he talks and teaches about his kingdom, he's making a claim that he is the king. He makes no apologies for it. Jesus claims to be the king, to be the very one that we need to build our lives on. He says that if you do that, if you build your life on what I say, you obey me, you're wise. It's gonna work. If you don't, you're foolish. That's an audacious thing to say. The statement's also loaded with promise. There's the promise of trouble, the promise of trials. He doesn't say if the storm comes, he doesn't say if the rains come in this metaphor. He says when. It's inevitable. And I love the fact that Jesus is honest with us about the fact that following him is not a problem-free life. If you've given your life to Jesus, please understand he's never promised you that you will avoid trouble. He didn't avoid trouble. In fact, he promises the opposite. John 16, 33 begins with, I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. We live in a world full of people trying to sell us something, and they usually sell us with dishonest claims or exaggerated claims. Like the fitness industry, that's the king of it. You know, where you see commercials or things on TV products that promise you results, they're really like really easy. I don't know if you've ever bought something like that. I know I've told this story before, but years ago, I bought one of those electronic belts that you wrap around your waist and it like shocks your abs, so you can sit and watch TV and get a six-pack. I bought one of those. I used it a few times. Does not work. The guy in the commercial, he looked great. And he's just sitting there watching. I was like, that's what I've been missing. How can I watch TV and get fit at the same time? That's efficiency. And so I bought one, I wrapped it around my waist, it shocked me, it hurt, it was painful, zero results to speak of. Because the reality is, if you talk to someone who's really fit, and you say, hey, I want to be like you, and they're honest with you, they're gonna tell you the truth. It's really hard. You're gonna have to be extremely disciplined, you're gonna hurt almost every single day, and strangely you'll like it. That's the funny thing. You know, like some part of you sore, but you feel like you've accomplished something. The reality is it's hard, it's difficult, and it's rare for us to find someone in this world that tells us the truth and says, no, no, this is actually really tough. It's gonna take discipline, it's gonna take sacrifice, it's gonna take hard work, and you will experience pain. It's refreshing when someone's honest. Jesus is honest. He tells us, following me is not, it's not easy, but it's good. Never trade in good for easy, by the way. They're not the same thing. And Jesus doesn't promise us easy, he promises us good, but uh, there's also the promise of victory because he says that if you build your life on him, when the rains come, you're still standing. John 16, 33 finishes. I told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows, but take heart, I have overcome the world. Jesus wins. When you follow Jesus, you're you're you're following a winner. Because Jesus defeated death. And so, yes, following Jesus is not easy. Yes, you will experience trials and troubles. The rains will come, storms will happen, but when all is said and done, you'll still be standing. Because Jesus proved that that's what happens when you live connected to him, because he has that kind of power. Jesus challenges us to ask a question what am I standing on? What's my foundation? All my hopes, all my desires, all the things that I'm looking forward to in life, what's it based on? Whether we realize it or not, we've we've built our lives on some type of foundation, and Jesus is telling us that if that foundation is not him, we're in trouble. So I think it's good for us to ask the question wait, what am I what am I standing on this morning? What am I building my life on? Because there's a lot of options. There's a lot of options out there, a lot of things that you can you can choose to build your life on, but but it's sort of build at your own peril. So this morning we're gonna explore some of those and then and then contrast and compare those to Jesus and really do some soul searching and find out what what our lives are really based on. One of the obvious ones, and I don't think we need to spend much time on this, but it's it's so easy for us as people of means. We we might not all think of ourselves in the room as people of means. You might be like, I you don't know me, I'm not a person of means. The reality is if you are an American alive today, you have more than most people in human history have ever had. You just do. Not like more people in the world today, more people in the world ever. We have the ability as Americans, most days we can wake up and go, hmm, what do I want to eat today? I'm feeling like this, and then we go and we get it. And that is literally an experience that very few people in human history have ever had. And so that the challenge for us as Americans is that we live in a wealthy society and we tend to put our trust and our faith in our wealth, in our stuff, and what we've earned. Jesus actually said that it's very challenging for rich people to enter the kingdom of heaven because we have this tendency to put our faith in the stuff that we have, but that's silly. That's silly. Because no matter how much money you have, maybe some of us in the room were like, I got quite a bit, it didn't used to be yours. At some point in time, that money belonged to someone else. And then it left that person and it went to you, which means it's unfaithful. And your money, no matter how hard you've worked to earn it, it is more than happy to leave you and go to someone else. And so, whatever you do, don't build your life on your stuff. Don't build your life on what you earn, what you make. Jesus said, Don't put your trust in things that can rust and things that mobs can come and destroy. Don't put your trust in what you have, because by the way, we live in a culture where every few years there's another candidate that has big ideas that they want to spend your money to accomplish. They're so excited about their big ideas, the politicians that we elect, they have these massive plans, and it's so exciting, they're like, hey, I've got this plan, I just need all of your money to do it. And we go, okay. We really don't have any power when they make those plans. So don't build your life on your stuff. This is not a good foundation. But there's other foundations to choose from. How about how about this one? Um, personal feelings. We live in a culture that tells us everywhere we turn to just do what feels right. You know, do do what you feel is best. Let your feelings be what guides you. Let your feelings be your foundation. Feelings are feelings are an interesting thing. They're important, by the way. I'm not demeaning feelings. Later on, it's gonna seem like I am, but trust me, I'm not. Jesus had feelings. He felt strongly, actually. Jesus wept. Multiple times in scripture, we see Jesus moved to tears. He laughed. But Jesus didn't, he didn't build his life on his feelings. And yet we're told to do that. We live in a culture that says, just go with what you feel is best, and that's that's just terrible advice because our feelings are easily manipulated. Our feelings are so easy to mess with. Like, okay, the other day um I'm watching Toy Story 2 with one of my kids. I don't know if you've seen it or not. It's a movie about toys. Um, it's been out for a while, so spoiler alert. Um I know, there's no spoilers, no, don't worry about it. But uh, but no, it's a movie about a toy cowboy and a toy spaceman and their adventures together. And I'm watching this with one of my kids, and at one point I get tears in my eyes. Like I'm actually welling up. I'm watching a movie about a toy spaceman and a toy cowboy. And I'm feeling because because the human beings that work at Pixar are emotionally manipulative, evil people. Like, I actually have a good friend from college who's an animator at Pixar. We we roomed across from each other in college, so he's he's great. I'm I'm half joking. But but honestly, if you've seen a Pixar movie, you you clearly know how easily your emotions are to be messed with, right? Have you ever seen the movie Up? Anyone ever seen the movie Up? Oh my goodness. What a what a horrible, horrible thing. That movie, like what that movie, if you've never seen Up's 10 years old, I highly recommend you to see it. Disney Plus just came out, $7 a month. You get them all. Um, and so so all the marketing for Up, it's this old man, and he's got a house and like a billion balloons. His house floats away, and he goes on adventures in his floating house, and there's a Boy Scout, and it's hilarious. And that's what the marketing material showed. That's what the trailer showed, and so you go to see the movie Up so you can laugh and have an adventure with the man with the floating house. And in the first five minutes, the first five minutes of the movie up, here's what it will tell you you are a mortal human being, you will die, you will not accomplish your dreams, and you will have regret. That's the first five minutes of up. The movie Up begins by ripping your heart out of your chest and then puts it back in. And it's a kid's movie. And parents took their children to see up, not anticipating having to explain the reality of death and suffering. But that's that's what Pixar does. They take your heart and they mess with it. Our our emotions, they're just like, they're just so easy to manipulate. So we better be really careful not to build our lives on what we feel. Our feelings are far too fickle to be the foundation for our lives. And yet we live in a culture that screams at us, just follow your heart, do what you feel is best. There's actually a scripture in Judges that talks about a time in Israel's history. And it says, in those days, Israel had no king, and all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes, and it was not a good time to be alive. The reality is that a culture where everyone believes they're their own God, and everyone believes that they have the ability to determine what is true and what is right and what is good on their own, it's not, it doesn't really work out. Feelings are not meant to be the foundation, they're important. Be in touch with them. Dudes, spend some time figuring out what those things are inside of you, emotions. Be in touch with them, but don't let them be your foundation. We could talk about another foundation that a lot of us buy into. It's our own thoughts, it's our own logic, our own ideas. Raise your hand if you're a logical person, if you consider yourself to be a very logical person. Okay. Raise your hand if you're an emotional person married to a logical person. Ha ha ha! Isn't that fun? Right? That's the worst. That's how Megan and I are, and I'm not saying that women are emotional and men are logical, but in our relationship, that's how that's how it's worked out. And it just, what that means is she does not make any sense to me. Most of the time. Because she just she feels things. And she feels things that I don't feel. And I heard this said years ago, and I believe it's true that most guys, we have three emotions. We're mad, we're sad, or we're glad. That's it. And if you're not, if you're not sad and you're not mad, you should be glad. And Megan has thousands of emotions, hybrid emotions, you know, emotions that have like merged with other emotions, things I've never experienced before. Like she will cry sometimes and I'll say, Are you sad? No. Why are you crying? I just feel like it. And that to me is like this one's defective. We gotta figure this like something's something's wrong. And it's so hard. Like, I have experiences, and I'm I'm sure many of us have had these, where like, because my wife is emotional and I'm logical, she will come to me with a problem that she does not want me to solve, even if I can solve it. It's not this doesn't make any sense. Like, logical people, does it make any sense for you to not solve a problem that you can solve? Does that make any sense? No! And yet she'll come to me with a problem and she'll be like, this is happening, and she'll she just and she'll tell me, I don't want you to solve it, I just want you to feel with me. You know? And it's I've tried and failed many times because I just want to solve it. You know, like when my kids have a problem that can be solved, like like let's say, let's say, this happens on a pretty regular basis, that my son Judah drops something in the floor and then he cries because he dropped it. I don't go emote with him, I don't walk up to him on the couch, I'm so sorry you dropped your toy. I feel your pain. I just beat, here's your toy, problem solved. Tears done, let's move on. Right? But that's that's how logical people think. And those of us who are logical, sometimes the problem we have is that we we start to put a way too much stock in our own logic. We start to believe that our own our own way of thinking, our ability to solve problems, that that's worth that's worth building our lives on. That it's it's capable of holding the weight of life. It's our foundation. I'll figure it out, I'll I'll think of the plan, I'll find the solution. It's logic. And here's what I want you to know God is logical. John chapter 1, verse 1 says In the beginning, the word already existed, the word was God, the word was with God. And that that word that We translate word in the Greek, the original language, it's the word logos in the Greek, which is where we get the word logic from. The Greek people understood that there was clearly order in the universe, and so there must be some mind behind everything that exists because everything is laid out so logically. And so what John, the author, is claiming is that that logic that they have they've seen, that logic that they have have discerned, it's real and it's God. He's the one that put everything in order. God is logical. And it's it's good to think. You thinkers in the room, keep thinking. Think a lot. One of my favorite characters in the Bible is Nehemiah. I love Nehemiah because he's a thinker. There's many times in the story of Nehemiah where it just says he thinks about things. Nehemiah 5, 6. It says, when I heard their complaints, I was very angry. After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I love that. Nehemiah just I thought about it. A lot of people need to think before they speak. And that's what he tells us. Before I spoke, I thought. So thinking is good. But here's the thing: if your thoughts, your ideas, your plans, if those are your foundations, good luck. Because how many times have you thought you were right, but it turns out you weren't? Like honestly. How many times have you thought you had the right job? This is it, this is the job. This is the one that's I'm so excited to do this because this is this is the one that it's all gonna work out. I know it. I thought about it, and then nope, you thought wrong. What about the right person? I know I'm hitting hard, but like, how many times have we been in relationships like this is the one I know this is the right person for me? This person, it just works. We click, it's great, we're gonna be together forever, and wrong person. Our thoughts, well intended as they may be, they're they're often they're they're wrong. Sometimes we just don't think right. So our thoughts, they they can't be our foundation. What about what about this one? The the values of the world we live in. That's what a lot of people like to base their their lives on. Like what does a culture think and feel and believe right now? And I'm gonna build my life off of that. And and and I think this is especially true when we're younger. Those of us in the room who are who are younger in life, it's very easy for us just to be a reflection of the culture we're part of. So we value whatever our culture values at the time. But here's the problem with that. You you could you could be the wokest of the woke. You could be the person who right now your opinions are in line with everything that culture says is true. You can post about it on social media and everyone goes yes, and whatever you're posting about today that everyone's saying yes to might be the very thing that 20 years from now gets you banned from whatever. Because culture changes fast. There are things that are celebrated today that 10 years ago were offensive. There are things that that 50 years ago were celebrated, and today those things are offensive. And you just you never know what's gonna happen. You never know how things are gonna change. Jesus said that anyone who builds their lives on anything but him, it's like building your life on sand, something that just changes with the weather. Rain's calm and everything's different. Well, that's that's culture for you. Building your life on what what our culture says is true is basically like going like this. Yeah. It's like it's it's it's something that changes as often as the wind. So if you build your life on the cultural values of our world, it's just not gonna last for very long. I got one more and then we'll move forward. Human relationships. Man, I hear people very often say something like, This person is my rock. And that's that's like a scary thought. Because no matter how amazing a person that you're in a relationship with is, they're not meant to be your rock. And here's the here's the hard reality. If you make them your rock, you're putting them in a position they were never meant to be in, and you're putting a pressure on them that they were never meant to carry. My wife is my best friend. I can joke about it all day long, but I've never known a person who, I've never known a person as godly, as wonderful, as awesome. Um she doesn't love to cook, but I knew that when we got married, and I would rather eat out anyway, so it works for us, you know? It works. She's no, she's awesome. She's my best friend. She's been my best friend for most of my life. She's not my rock. And I'm not hers. And and if we were to try to make one another the rock, the foundation of our lives, things would start to crack pretty fast. Because our love for one another, as strong as it may be, it's not strong enough to take the weight. We have a different foundation. And that foundation is Jesus. Guys, he makes a bold claim. He says, Let me be your foundation, I can handle everything. I can take the weight. And I want you to know that he's he's being honest. And and I have the unique perspective, I guess, being a pastor of interacting with so many different people and so many walks of life. And I can just say this that the people I talk to, and Jesus is their foundation, there is a security and a stability there, no matter what happens in their life, that I I do not see. I just I simply do not see it with those who have another foundation. Because Jesus, he's not like he's not like our culture. He doesn't change what he thinks every few years. He's not like our culture where, hey, this used to be in, now it's out, and then two, three years later, it's back in again. That's not Jesus. The Bible says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is consistent, he stands at the test of time. Nothing changes Jesus. Jesus changes everything. So you can build your life on it. He's not, he's not like our emotions. Like Jesus, he never he never accomplishes what he wants to accomplish in our life by manipulating our emotions. He's not like those jerks and pigs are you know as far as his thoughts go, his thoughts, they're foundation worthy. Because he's different than us. Isaiah chapter 55, verse 8, God says, My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, and my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 1 Corinthians 1 25, this foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God's weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. I love this scripture, by the way, because it's a play on words. God does not have any foolishness. And it says that his foolishness is wiser than our wisdom. And if he doesn't have any foolishness, and his foolishness, which does not exist, is wiser than our wisdom, it makes us ask the question, are we really wise? Do we even have any wisdom? Like, what do I know? So often in prayer and just going before God, I'm I'm humbled and I have to ask the question, Lord, what do I know? My greatest thoughts, my best ideas, they pale in comparison. Ask anyone who's on staff at his hands how many things I thought of that didn't work over the years, how many ideas I've had that they don't didn't work. God has never had an idea that didn't work. Think about that. There's never been a moment where God's like, man, I thought that would work. I gotta go back to the drawing board. You know? He knows everything. God knows what you need. His plans for your life, they're right. His ideas for you, they're correct. And the ability to surrender your own thoughts and ideas and subscribe to God, to submit to God, that's everything. As far as relationships go, you will you will never have a relationship like the relationship you have with Jesus. Because the truth is there's no relationship on this earth. It's truly unconditional. I think sometimes we like to convince ourselves that you know the love we have for everyone is is unconditional, and maybe we get close to that, but but I'm I'm sure all of us can think of some things that the people we love could do, and it would change things at least a little bit. The love that Jesus has for you is completely unconditional. Meaning there is nothing you can do to earn it, and there's nothing you can do to change it once you have it. It is not dependent on your performance, it's not dependent on how the last few years have gone, it's not dependent on how the last week has gone, it's dependent on him and him alone. That's a strong foundation. And so, worship team, you guys can can go ahead and come out out of hiding in the shadows where you where you lurk and wait to lean us. Matt's always in the shadows somewhere. He's just always behind me. That's creepy. No, I love it. Matt, you're awesome. Um here's the truth. Some of us today, we're facing something. Many of us today, I'm sure. Most of us, we're facing something. And maybe you don't know what to do. And some of us in the room, you've got both feet planted on Jesus. He is your foundation. You have committed your life to him and you are not wavering from that. And right now, if that's you, whatever's happening in your life, no matter how anxious you might feel, no matter how worried you might be, you're gonna be fine. And what you need to be reminded of today is that if your feet are planted on Jesus, tell anxiety to go away, quit worrying, just forget about it, because your feet are on Jesus, you're going to be fine. So what? Yeah, a storm has come. Yeah, the winds are here, like Jesus promised, but your feet are planted on Jesus, so when it's all said and done, you're still gonna be standing. So, so leave the worry, drop the anxiety, let your heart be filled with joy. You don't need to, you don't need to fret because you are standing on Jesus. You are you're not a survivor, you're a conqueror. In fact, scripture says you're more than a conqueror when your feet are planted on Jesus. And so be filled with hope, be filled with faith. No matter what's happening, if your feet are on Jesus, you're good. If they're not, this is not me saying this, by the way, don't get offended. If they're not, you're you're not good. That's Jesus talking. I'm a Jesus follower, so I just I go with what he says. See, I think the challenge for us is there might be some of us who can say, and if you're honest enough to say this, it's actually really powerful, that neither of my feet are planted on him. I've got both feet planted on my own thoughts, my own ideas, my own ability, my feelings, my thoughts, culture, what I have, like all those things we talked about, another person. And if both of your feet are there, then there's an opportunity today to move your foundation. You can do that, by the way. Even houses can be moved to a different foundation. It's not too late. No matter where you're at in life, it's never too late to change your foundation. I think the reality is that for a lot of us in the room who would say, I'm a Jesus follower, the challenge is that, you know, we've got both of our feet on Jesus, but every once in a while something else comes along. We don't even intend this. It's not like it's it's conscious, but we just sort of kind of move one foot. And we find ourselves living like this. And the reality is, whatever is not Jesus, it's moving away from him. And so you'll find yourself, and I can't do the splits and I'm not gonna try, but you're just gonna be more and more like this, and there will come a moment where you're gonna have to put one foot over here or one foot over here. The question is, which is it gonna be? So maybe you you've got one foot on Jesus, but you've also you've got another foot over here. You know, I got a lot of faith in this too. It's kind of my backup plan. You don't need a backup plan with Jesus. Come on. He's gonna outlive everything in this world. He's eternal, he's powerful, he's alive. He's alive. Like people, has anyone experienced the living Jesus in your life? You've experienced his presence and his power, he's alive, and he can change everything, but but our feet they've got to be firmly planted on him. He's he's challenging us to ask the question: what am I standing on? And today is an opportunity for us to say, as a church, Jesus. I'm standing on Jesus. And so you know what? When I'm standing on Jesus, yeah, storms are gonna come. I don't know what's gonna happen. If you ever ask me what's the five-year plan for his hands, how am I supposed to know? I'm just a pastor. Only Jesus knows that. And I'm not I'm not so worried about where I'm going or what what challenges life is gonna throw my way. Look, life, I'm old enough to know life doesn't organize itself around what you want, it usually fights against what you want. But Jesus is the King of kings, and as long as I'm with Him, as long as I don't care where I'm going, I'm with Him. I'm gonna be fine. My feet are planted on Him, my faith is in Him. Where He goes, I go. Where He stops, I'll stop. If that's the way we live our lives, I'm with Jesus. He never leaves me, He never forsakes me. No one can snatch me from His hand, that's what Scripture says. He actually says that when you give your life to Him, that you're in His hand, and His hand is in the Father's hand, and it's like double layers. No one can take you from that, but your feet have to be planted on Jesus. And what that means is that you submit your life to him. That's the challenge this morning. He said, Anyone who listens to my teaching and what obeys. Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys, that person, they have their foundation on the rock. We have to obey. See, whatever your foundation is, whether you realize it or not, you're submitting to that. You are, you're submitting to it. You're either submitting to its strength or you're submitting to its weakness. But whatever you've planted your feet on, you have submitted your life to that. Please let it be, Jesus. Please. If you're here this morning and you don't have both feet planted on him, move your feet. Move your feet, he's good. All it takes is a moment of submission where you say in your heart, Lord, I'm sorry for trusting anything that's less than you. And as of right now, my feet are planted firmly on my faith in you. That's all it is. Move your feet. And those of you who have both feet on Jesus, keep them planted. Don't waver. He's never gonna let you down. It will not be easy, but it will be good. So let's pray together. Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for this church, thank you for the fact that we have a foundation in Jesus. Lord, we want to be people who live our lives planted on the foundation that only you can offer. We love you, we need you, Jesus. We need you. That's how we ended last week, just with a crying out that we need you, and we're in the same spot today, Lord. We need you. God, I repent of all the times in my life that I have trusted a lesser foundation. I'm sorry for that, Lord. And I'm declaring for myself right now, you're my foundation, you're my rock, you're my fortress, you're my refuge, you're my strength, you're my hope. Just like these people about to get baptized, I'm putting everything on you. I'm going all in with you, Jesus. Every chip is on the table, it's all on you, and I'm never looking back. And I pray, Lord, that that's our heart as a church, that we're all in with you because you're all in with us, Lord. We know that. We love you, Jesus. It is in your name we pray. Amen.