Ps 127:1 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.
Today’s message is about three houses we have in our lives.
1. Your house or home this place where you physically live.
2. Your church house; the place where you regularly attend church services.
3. Your body which is where the Spirit abides.
1. Your house
In Joshua 24:1 “Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel, Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD has done”; and for the next 13 verses Joshua spoke of how God had led them for generations. When we get to verse 14 Joshua challenges the people:
Jos 24:14 “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.
Jos 24:15 But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
What if Joshua were here now, what might he say to the people of our nation?
In the past our ancestors of the faith suffered under cruel dictators, kings, rulers and self-serving religious leaders. God sent courageous founders to pioneer and create a nation that would allow freedom of religion and worship. Through the generations, many have tried to overturn these foundational God given freedoms. The New Testament ideals opened the doors to free speech, freedom to assemble, freedom to criticize government, freedom to fight in wars, and to stand in protest of these same wars. Freewill is a God given attribute that established the basis for this government’s freedoms. Because of these freedoms this nation has generated more general wealth than anyone could have ever image and we are benefactors of the blood, sweat, tears and the very lives of so many who have gone before us. Now at a time when the secular humanist, the sexually immoral, and laissez-faire politicians and lawyers are attempting to overthrow our heritage, it is time to drive a stake in the ground and I don’t know about you, but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
The Bible teaches us that when the patriarchs encountered God they built an altar to Him. The next person that came walking by may not have known exactly what happened there, but he knew somebody had worshipped in that place. The person who built the altar would give the place a name, mark it on his maps and tell the story without apology or scientific explanation to every generation that followed.
We need to cultivate that mind in our homes, that when we have a testimony it is our testimony and when we testify of the goodness of God we need to be driving a stake in the ground, building an altar, marking our maps and telling our family and friend. Because
Rev 12:11 They overcame [satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
We need to make certain that the house we live in reflects the love, care, politics, and whole view of the God we serve.
2. Your church
Within the universal church, we are faced with the daunting task of keeping every single person on the planet informed about the gospel of Jesus Christ. The New Testament church that God has asked us to operate within is organized with a bizarre structure. It is this circular format where the leaders are recognized because of their ability to follow, and from within the followers, God raises up people who can only be recognized by their willingness to serve those from whom they have been raised up from. Now this does not imply that the leaders follow the followers, but rather that they lead by coaching and setting an example for those who follow. Leaders in the church are volunteers; they set aside personal gain and invest countless hours without tally or expectation. They do it out of love and service as the Lord Jesus taught them.
Consequently, when a local church, like this one here, embarks on the mission to communicate the gospel message; we wind up doing many things that good business people just would not do. We build buildings with the intension of wearing them out. When we do, we build a new building that is bigger and better than we need. We build it that way because we are not building it for ourselves, we are building it to make the past generation proud, the next generation functional, knowing that if Christ tarries in His impending return, that the generation after that is going to criticize us for our lack of vision, tear it down and build a new better building.
As a church we do this because our vision can never be about the building, but about the people who are going to be touched by the message that will be preached in the building. The same message that has been going out of this church since 1944 and as the culture around us evolves, so the style and manner in which we present the message evolves, but the message itself remains the one constant, unchanging truth:
Ro 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Ro 10:10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Ro 10:11 As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”
As each day passes, we understand that we are closer than ever before to seeing the rapture of the church and these days are difficult. Never have the words of Hebrews 10 been so pertinent,
Heb 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Heb 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Heb 10:25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
It is tough now and it will get tougher in the days ahead. The value of the true church will become more important to each generation to come. And it is up to us to insure that the gospel message continues to be taught here. It would be sin to pull back from sharing the message of Jesus with our friends, neighborhood and the world.
3. Your body
One thing that the church building is not and never has been is the dwelling place of God. God dwells with His people. I have said this a hundred times, I work in this building all week and there is no life here until you all show up! People come to the church to find God, but they should not come to the building expecting to find God, but rather to the assembly of His people.
Ro 10:6 But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘who will ascend into heaven?,’’” (that is, to bring Christ down)
Ro 10:7 “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
Ro 10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming:
Heb 8:10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Jn 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”
Jn 2:20 The Jews replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?”
Jn 2:21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body.
Jn 2:22 After he was raised from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken
1Co 6:19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
1Co 6:20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
The word Christian means little-christs. Originally it was intended to be an insult, but the follows of Jesus liked the idea of being seen as little-christs. We need to maintain the same attitude, that when people see us and watch our lifestyle, that they would be reminded of the hope that is in the message that comes from a faith based relationship with God through Jesus.
When we take communion, we are reminded of the work of Christ.
Bible passages used in today’s service
Psalm 24:1
Psalm 127:1
Joshua 24:1-15
Revelations 12:11
Romans 10:9-11
Hebrews 10:23-25
Romans 10:6-8
Hebrews 8:10
John 2:19-22
1Corintians 6:19-20
