Wilderness To Wisdom: 01 Foundation In Christ

In this episode, we discuss why building your life on the solid foundation of Christ is essential for lasting transformation. We explore what it means to truly surrender to God and allow Him to shape your heart, character, and purpose. You’ll be encouraged to examine what your faith is built on and to strengthen your spiritual footing through trust and obedience.

This message invites you to lay aside distractions and begin rebuilding your life authentically in Christ—one choice of faith at a time.

Transcript

Welcome to Wilderness to Wisdom,

I'm your host Chastity Dawn and this is the very first episode.

Today,

We're going to talk about the very first step on this journey,

Which is committing your life to Jesus Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit.

Now I know many of you have already done this,

But I thought it was important to start at the very beginning for those who may not know or understand.

Now,

As I mentioned in the intro episode,

I had no intention of doing any of this and therefore I have no experience with being a podcaster.

So bear with me,

I'm learning as I go along,

Hopefully it will get better and better with each episode.

So anyway,

Consider the foundation you're building your faith on.

Is this strong enough to hold you when life gets hard?

Because if your life feels shaky,

Unsteady,

Or like you're constantly needing to be rebuilt after every storm,

It may be time to check your foundation.

This is where everything begins.

John 3.

16 says,

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,

That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

This isn't just a verse we memorize as kids,

It's the bedrock of everything we do as believers.

In John 14.

6,

Jesus said,

I am the way and the truth and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.

So the first step of this walk is committing your life to Jesus Christ and receiving the Holy Spirit.

This is where we must begin for those who want to follow Christ.

By placing our faith in Christ,

We're saying that we believe He died for our sins and we have received the gift of salvation.

We become a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5.

17 says,

Therefore,

If anyone is in Christ,

He is a new creation.

The old has passed away,

Behold,

The new has come.

But here's the thing,

We tend to continue or go back to living the same way we did before we received the Holy Spirit.

Romans 12.

2 tells us,

Do not be conformed to this world,

But be transformed by the renewal of your mind,

That by testing,

You may discern what is the will of God,

What is good and acceptable and perfect.

So this transformation that we go through,

It is a daily thing.

It is a choice we make again and again,

Sometimes multiple times a day.

But this is what's necessary to build our lives on Christ,

Even when it's hard.

The goal is to put on the nature of Christ.

As we study the word,

And we continue to learn,

Our minds are renewed,

And then we'll understand more and more how to walk as Jesus walked when he was on earth.

And I realize there are a lot of people out there who know the Bible,

But are not walking like Christ.

So while it's simple to understand,

It can be difficult to walk out,

Especially if you're relying on willpower to control your flesh.

And this is where the Holy Spirit is important.

In John 16,

Verses 7 through 15,

Jesus explains to his disciples that he's going to the Father,

But will leave them with the Helper,

Which is the Holy Spirit.

I'll read it now from the English Standard Version.

Nevertheless,

I tell you the truth.

It is to your advantage that I go away.

For if I do not go away,

The Helper will not come to you.

But if I go,

I will send him to you.

And when he comes,

He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

Concerning sin,

Because they do not believe in me.

Concerning righteousness,

Because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer.

Concerning judgment,

Because the ruler of this world is judged.

I still have many things to say to you,

But you cannot bear them now.

When the Spirit of Truth comes,

He will guide you into all the truth.

For he will not speak on his own authority,

But whatever he hears,

He will speak and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

He will glorify me.

For he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

All that the Father has is mine.

Therefore,

I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

When Jesus ascended into heaven,

He left us with the Holy Spirit to be our helper and guide who leads us to all truth.

Not some truth,

But all.

Do you understand how much power we have as a result of this?

Have you ever questioned why we aren't walking in it?

So many of us grossly underemploy the Holy Spirit in our lives.

And that is what makes it so hard to walk out.

And that is what needs to change.

The Holy Spirit guides,

Corrects,

And empowers believers.

Many followers of Christ have this head knowledge,

But don't fully understand how to walk in it.

We are three-part beings.

We have our physical body,

Our soul,

Which is made up of our minds,

Wills,

And emotions.

And then we have the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

We tend to operate from our body and soul,

Which I'll call the flesh moving forward.

But we need to learn to operate from the Spirit.

And this is the part where it can be difficult.

Every single choice we make and the things we do are based on programming from our subconscious mind.

It's based on what comes forth from our subconscious mind.

And we'll call that our programming.

What goes into our subconscious mind is what we've accepted for our journey.

Now from the time we enter this world,

We begin to learn things of the world in order to live.

Some things happen naturally.

So for example,

No one teaches us how to breathe outside the womb.

It just happens.

But as we develop and grow,

It's based on the input we're receiving from the world.

Initially from our parents and family or those who raise us.

And then more and more from other sources as we get older.

We enter the education system,

Develop friendships,

Watch TV,

Listen to music.

The list goes on and on.

The world is sending so many things our way.

And we either receive and operate according to those programs or reject it and choose another way.

Everything we do is based on some sort of programming that we've received and accepted,

Whether knowingly or unknowingly.

We've gone through much of our lives being programmed by the things around us.

And we've become who we are based on that input.

When we receive the Holy Spirit,

What we must understand is that now we have everything we need to live our lives according to God's plan and will.

The Holy Spirit as our helper and guide is constantly pointing us in the right direction.

But many times the external forces from the world will come through louder.

So if we've never learned or understood the role of the Holy Spirit and how to hear the voice of God through the Holy Spirit,

We continue to accept the things that come from the world.

We'll continue to walk according to the flesh and use willpower to try and walk according to the will of God.

So the key is to understand that the goal is to receive what the Holy Spirit is giving us into our subconscious mind rather than accepting the things that the world gives to us through our subconscious mind.

We must be intentional as we live our lives.

The Holy Spirit will help you to navigate every single area of your life.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3 verses 10 and 11,

According to the grace of God given to me,

Like a skilled master builder,

I laid a foundation and someone else is building upon it.

Let each one take care how he builds upon it,

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid,

Which is Jesus Christ.

That means how we build our lives matter.

Our choices,

Our priorities,

Our time,

They all stack up like bricks.

If we want to live our lives and reflect Jesus,

We have to be intentional with how we build.

We must stop letting the things of the world build on our foundation in Christ.

So think about it.

What foundation are you building your life on now?

It is possible that you have the Holy Spirit.

You may already be a follower of Christ,

But we may not recognize that we're operating from the flesh,

And so we're building a house with cheap materials sometimes.

The goal is to get the garbage out and to walk according to the Spirit.

So we want to live from a place where our minds are constantly being renewed.

We're a new creation,

Meaning we don't walk the way the rest of the world walks.

We're in this world,

But not of it.

And the Holy Spirit will help us to walk this out so that it comes forth from our subconscious mind.

The goal is to receive what the Holy Spirit wants into the subconscious and walk according to that.

And we have to recognize when the programming is coming from the world.

We want our programming to come only from the Holy Spirit.

Remember,

Everything starts with a firm foundation.

When you build on Jesus and walk in that,

You can withstand anything.

So if you're someone who's never committed your life to Christ,

Today is a perfect day to take that step.

And if you already have,

This is your reminder to keep building on that foundation with care.

This is where we start,

And this is how we begin to move from wilderness to wisdom.