The Psalms: House Vs Home Series

Well good morning newlife, and welcome to the back-to-school week as I like to call it. Man, I saw so many photos on Facebook on the first day, first day at school, first day at work, a lot of firsts has happened already in just the first couple of days, some of you are wishing for the first salary in 2025, yeah you know it.

So, as we in the series that we are looking at the psalms, and it got me thinking about a lot of my firsts, and how we like tackle this thing called life. I mean look at us. First is your birth, then first birthday, first easter, first Christmas, first bike ride, first school, first date, first kiss, first day of work, first car, and first house. Yes, the list can carry on, but it seems all the firsts leads us to build a house. You know we study; we work we live to have a house with a family. It is built into us, to somehow belong, that the end goal, is this and I am not a big fan of this Word, and it is this, our goal is to “Settle down”. I mean what does this even mean? Well, the internet will make you believe that it means this: to become calm or quiet, or to make someone become calm or quiet. And the reason that I laugh at this, is cause any of you who had children, how was getting ready for day 1 look like for you? Or better how did stationary shopping go?

Now in all this, I really needed to reflect. And I was wondering, do we not do the same in our lives, that we tend to become quiet, like quiet about what is right, quiet about our values because it is old school and not modern, did we become to calm with our children spiritual future. And it got me to what I want to look at and there is a psalm about this: And the psalm I want to look at is the following: Psalms 127: AMP

Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain. [Ps 121:1, 3, 5] 2It is vain for you to rise early, To retire late, To eat the bread of anxious labors— For He gives [blessings] to His beloved even in his sleep. 3¶Behold, children are a heritage and gift from the Lord, The fruit of the womb a reward. [Deut 28:4] 4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one’s youth. 5How blessed [happy and fortunate] is the man whose quiver is filled with them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies [in gatherings] at the [city] gate.

Man, and I was like what a verse, and there are so many things we can take from it. And it made me realize, that God never wanted us to build a house for our families but to build a home, you see we are so focused to build a house for our family, that we tend to forget or we “settle down” in creating a home. So, I want to break it down and verse by verse for you all.

So, the question I want to look at and what I want to ask of everyone is this? What does it mean to build a home that honurs God. Do we only look at the food, resources because this is where the world is going at, success. Or is it something deeper. Is there more to life than just creating a comfortable life, because let us be honest. There are many people in this room that had comfortable lives and the world came, and epidemics came, and retrenchments came, and all of that seemed in danger. I believe created a false sense of security of when you built a house for your family, you good the legacy is good, and there is the lie, because we can have all this and still be empty.

You know there is this funny story it is better to cry in a Porsche than in a Kia Picanto. It seems funny but we believe this to be true, but I have spoken to many people, and you can have lots of stuff, but still empty. You could have built a house, but it is still empty.

So, I want you as we start to ask how is my spiritual house looking, I want those who are married those with children those who are thinking to build a life together, single all of you to ask how would you built a spiritual home, how would you do it? And I want to give you this building plan, I want to give you some biblical building plans that does not need spluma to be approved, I want to unpack this with you.