“What Builds a House?”
By Brother Kenneth Ray
September 16th,
2012
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notes in pdf format.
Psalm 127:1 Except
the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it…
Today I will be sharing about
construction, or building. As a country,
we have built many things; I will not attempt to cover them all. The message today will look at two things we’re
familiar with: the building or
construction of a house, and the building or construction of a city.
As you listen to me, the city we
find ourselves in is Waukegan, IL. Krotz
Springs, LA, is the town I grew up in; my parents still live there today. It is the town I spent most of my childhood
in. Every city has a story. I’m sure Waukegan has a story,
but I’m not familiar with it. I know the
story of Krotz Springs, because I grew up there. Mr. Krotz drilled an Artesian well there, and
founded a town; Krotz Springs got its name
from Mr. Krotz’s spring. That family
built a town, along with others, one house at a time until the total of all
those homes was a town.
Who is our builder, that is, the
builder of our house or city? As
believers, we read in the bible that Jesus was a carpenter’s son.
Matthew 13:55 Is
not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary?...
As electricians, we like to say that
God is an electrician, because of Genesis 1:3.
The Temples:
In Exodus
25, Moses built the Tabernacle (well, he didn’t do it alone, a lot of people
did the physical work, but he was the leader of Israel at the time and he made
it happen). David wanted to build a
Temple, but wasn’t allowed to, because he was a man of war, and had shed
blood. His son, Solomon was allowed to,
in 1 Kings 6. The books of Ezra and
Nehemiah describe the rebuilding of the Temple.
Not to be outdone, Herod built a bigger Temple. This is the Temple that we read about Jesus
driving people out of. There is only one
wall left of that Temple; it’s referred to as the Wailing Wall. Now, the last Temple built was Jesus
Himself. John 1:1 tells us that “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Verse 14 goes on to say, “14And the Word was
made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Jesus was a Temple of God that went around
teaching and preaching… He hung on a
cross, gave up the ghost, was laid in the ground, and then three days later
rose from the dead.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know
ye not that your body is the Temple of the Holy Ghost…
Of all the Temples built, only the
one that God built is still standing. Where
is the Tabernacle? Where is the
temple? Where is Jesus? well, okay,
Jesus is up in Heaven, but He’s not here, walking among us anymore. This temple, too, shall pass. None of us are getting out of this life
alive. Someday this temple will go back
to the dust from whence it came, but the soul to God who made it.
Jesus,
departing from the Temple with His disciples said these words:
Matthew 24:2 …There
shall not be left one stone upon another…
God did not build the building that
we worship in.
The City:
God is building the population that
will fill His Holy City. If you are part
of that population, then you have accomplished something. In the meantime, more houses need
building. It is dangerous to be a lazy
Christian. How do we build our houses? One
soul at a time, while we are building our own houses and being proactive in our
relationship with God. We will see
others build, through the power of God’s word.
Which soul? When you’ve been
seeking God a He shows you someone, that’s the soul you should be sharing with.
Matthew 5:14-16 …Let
your light so shine before men…
The world is watching you. WWE used to advertise that, “The Word Is
watching.” The world isn’t watching
wrestling, it’s watching you; except for those people that just want to be
entertained. There are no entertainment
houses in Heaven. To him that know to do
good and doeth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17).
Can I tell you something? Drugs are
fun, or people wouldn’t do them. Drinking
is fun, or people wouldn’t do it. That
doesn’t make it right. When God keeps
you, there’s still going to be some filth, but when God isn’t keeping you, it’s
like… You know how trash builds up on the curb whenever there’s a holiday that
week? Well, without God keeping you, the filth builds up like every day is a
holiday.
Any house or city will require some
maintenance to prevent it from being turned into ruin. We do this by tithes and offerings, prayer,
studying God’s Word, fellowship, teaching others to do these things.
Why? except the LORD keep the city,
the watchman waketh in vain.
Jesus is the cornerstone of our
foundation; the first block put down, which everything else is built off of
(Matthew 21:42).
In Genesis 32:27-28, Jacob wrestled
a man, and the man said let go, and he said, not until you give me a blessing. And the other man asked his name, and he said
Jacob, and he asked his opponent’s name, and he said it was irrelevant. Jacob’s name got changed to Israel, and he
was told to go to Beth-el (Genesis 35:3).
Here is the WHY:
Genesis 35:3 …
God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way…
Genesis 35:10 …and
he called his name Israel.
When God builds the house, sometimes
He will do an add-on; maybe it’s a simple home addition, or maybe it’s a second
floor. If you go on Angie’s List, you’ll
find that God gets good review—He does good work. You need to try the spirits, to make sure
that the spirit that’s telling you to add-on is really God’s spirit.
Krotz Springs used to have a
population of over two thousand, now it’s around seventeen hundred. The city that God built isn’t going to have a
population problem. Even if the whole
world showed up, that wouldn’t be a problem.
God’s House is big enough with plenty of room.
Revelations 21:1-4 …
I John
saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God…
What’s your house made of
today? If this message deals with you
today, it’s not because of anything I said, I’m just reaffirming what you
already know.
Sermon
notes by Pete Shepherd
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