(Matthew 7:24-27) "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these saysing of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Whenever there's a commercial building or any kind of physical structure being built, there must be a foundation laid before you can begin hanging the steel. Whenever you build any kind of physical structure, you must begin laying a foundation. Why is that so? You must lay a foundation to hold up the structure of the building. If there's not a solid foundation upon which to build any kind of physical structure, then whatever is built from the ground up will eventually collapse. It's the foundation that offers support for the steel, bricks, the rafters, the roof, and any other materials that are involved in building an edifice. Without a solid foundation upon which to build any kind of physical strucutre, then all the materials that are used to erect the building won't endure. They'll just cave in. That's why it's so crucial to build a foundation. A foundation is the support or stabilizer upon which to build a building.
On January 12, Haiti experienced a 7.0 earthquake. That earthquake devastated the tropical country of Haiti. All the buildings that were constructed in Haiti weren't constructed to withstand a strong earthquake. Therefore, many of the homes and public buildings toppled in Haiti. The foundation of those buildings was inadequate. That's why they toppled the way they did. Of course, any town, country, or state that's built on a fault line is not on a very strong foundation to begin with. If the homes or commercial buildings aren't built to withstand a large magnitude earthquake, then the building will collapse. In any earthquake which has a magnitude of 7.0 or more there will be considerable damage taking place. That's why it's so necessary for buildings to be designed so the damage caused by an earthquake will be minimized. That's one example of how important it is to construct a strong foundation. There are cities along the Gulf Coast that are susceptible to hurricanes. It's very imperative that homes and public buildings to be built to better withstand the storms that nature allows to take place. That's another reason for builings to be constructed with a steady foundation.
Here are just a few of the reasons just mentioned with earthquakes and storms why it's so important to construct buildings with a firm foundation. If that be so in the physical realm, just recognize the seriousness of building a church, a country, and a home (family) on a strong spiritual foundation. One of the reasons why so many homes are falling apart today like never before is because many homes aren't build on a sturdy solid foundation. If Christ isn't the head of that home, there will be trouble when the storms of life come about. Today our country is in the midst of a recession. The unemployment rates are creeping higher and higher. As anyone knows, the lack of finances causes stress in a home. If that home isn't built securely on the Word of God, then there will be turmoil in that home. There's a great possibility that home could rip apart at the seams and crumble. That's happened in many homes. In today's homes, there are many wayward children that are running to and fro in every direction. They are on drugs, alcohol, etc. and they hang around with the wrong crowd in their youth. There are many parents that are frustrated with the choices their children are making. Why? There's a number of reasons. Many parents are inconsistent with training their children in the ways of God. They aren't consistent when it comes to discipline. Children have to be disciplined. Children also have to be taught the Word of God. If the Word of God isn't paramount in that home, then how can Christian parents expect their children not to go astray? If Jesus isn't the foundation in that home, then it will crumble when the pressures of life are applied to that home. Everybody goes through trials. Trials and suffering are a fact of life. Every home regardless whether it's Christian or not, is going to face storms and trials. When the parents aren't faithful when it comes to standing on the rock (Jesus) when storms come by, how can they expect their children to make it? Christian families don't just happen. They are built. A Christian home must be built on the Word of God and prayer as well as faithful church attendance. If families don't make spiritual things a priority in their life, then their home is going to face trouble when the storms come.
A church also must be built on a strong foundation. In Matthew 16:18-19, Jesus told his disciples, "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Jesus told Peter that His church was to be built on the solid rock, which is Jesus. A church must be built by the preaching, teaching, and practicing of the Word of God. When the focus is not on the solid rock, then that church isn't going to withstand trials and tribulations. Also, a church isn't scriptural if it's not built on the Word of God. The whole purpose of church collectively is to worship and serve the Lord. Everything must be Christ-centered. If it's not Christ-centered, then it won't fulfill it's purpose here on this earth. There are many churches in name only that major in numbers and marketing techniques to draw in crowds of young people. A church must be built on solid preaching and prayer. The Bible says in Acts 2:47 when the church was empowered by the Holy Spirit that the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved. God must add to the church. It's done through the preaching and teaching of the Word. The Holy Ghost must convict hearts. We can't rely on the methods outside of the Bible to legitimately reach people. You can reach people through worldly methods, but those worldly methods won't produce genuine converts. Instead, those methods will produce lost church members. A New Testament church must be built on the solid rock which is Jesus.
Lastly, it's imperative that a country be built on a solid foundation. America in its beginnings was built on a solid foundation. Our Pilgrim and Puritan forefathers came to this country in the seventeenth century to build this country on Judeo-Christian principles. They fled England for the purposes of the freedom to worship as they chose. They in turn built and dedicated Massachusetts to God. Read the Mayflower Compact and some of the old Puritan writings. Over the last one hundred years, America has gone astray. Secular humanism has creeped into this country and now we've become a post-Christian nation. Our politicians, our mainline denominational churches, our businesses, and even many of this nation's citizens have forgotten God today. Today we worship at the altar of prosperity. Take a look where that's brought this country in the last fifty years. There's an old saying, "Rome burns while Nero fiddles." That's happening in America today. America is on fire and we are all playing our fiddles. The warning signs are ominous. America is in trouble spiritually, socially, morally, politically, and even financially. We've allowed atheists such as Madeline Murray O'Hare declare war on God over fifty years ago and they sued and took their atheistic causes to court. As a result we've had Supreme Court decisions in 1962 and 1963 which led to the path of outlawing voluntary prayer and Bible reading in our schools. Our nation's leaders don't want to acknowledge God in our country. We have atheists that have been trying to strip every mention of Jehovah God from our public arena in America. They've been successful for the most part. The biggest problem is our churches have fallen asleep. We've hung our harps upon the willow and have not paid attention to the cultural onslaught that's taken place in America for the last 50 years. We've rejected the Judeo-Christian foundation that our Puritan forefathers built American upon. The Bible says in Psalms 11:3 "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Our foundation has been destroyed in America. What can the righteous do in this country? I don't know. I do know Christians need to stand for truth and stand for righteousness in all levels of society. I don't expect America to turn around and embrace the God our country was built upon. I know I'm very cynical. I do know with God all things are impossible. However, it says in Psalms when your foundations are destroyed, there's not much the righteous can do to restore them. I do know that all the events that are taking place in our world is leading to the soon return of the Lord. We need to live for God in these last days. We need more than ever to be faithful to church and put a hedge around our homes. That's the only choice we have. We need to make sure our homes are built on a solid spiritual foundation.
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