Built To Last

Today’s Bible readings are 1 Kings 5:1-6:38, Acts 7:1-29, Psalm 127: 1-5, & Proverbs 16:28-30

Psalm 127:1

¹ Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.

           

We, as people, can build a lot of things.  We can build beautiful houses.  We can build planes that can fly across the world.  We can build ships that can cross the oceans.  We can build space shuttles that can go to the moon.  We build buildings that stretch to the sky.  Yet, God’s Word says that: “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain”.

           

What I have found to be true in my life is that it is one big building project. I am building my marriage. I am building my ministry. I am building my family. I am building a home.

           

Many of you are in the same position.  You are building as well.  But let me ask you a very important question: Are you building in vain?  It is easy to forget to put God into our plans.  It is the way of this generation to exclude God from our plans.  It is easy to get busy with other things.  This is very dangerous.  It becomes a costly err in the end.  For the bible declares: “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain”.

           

What a tragedy it is to have your dreams and all that you have been building fall to pieces. This happens all the time. We must put God into our plans.  He must have a place in our lives and in our marriage.  He is the Master Builder.  And if we build upon Him, what we build will stand.  It will not fall to pieces and it will not be in vain.

Matthew 7:24-27:

Therefore anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the Rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Let me draw your attention to a few important truths that are found in the word’s of Jesus here.  Let us choose to learn the meaning of what our Lord is teaching to us.

1.      2 individuals building the same thing (they were building their dreams, their future, their house)

2.     2 individuals built 2 different ways; one on the Rock and one on sand (one put into practice what he heard and the other did not). The wise man heard that building on the Rock was the best way to build and he did.  The fool must have heard to build on the Rock but chose to do it the easier way.

3.     They both faced the same things

4.     2 very different results

See, if we want what we build to last and stand the test of time and trial, we must invite Jesus, the Master Builder, into our plans.  He is the Rock that we must build all things on.  This means our marriage, our ministry, our families, & our lives as well.  Without Him in the building project, the builders labor in vain.

Pastor Richard Schlotter