Series: Under Construction (1)
Christianview Church
July 30, 1995
Principles to Build On
I Corinthians 3:9-10
For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
What is a principle?
Definition:
A principle is fundamental truth, law, doctrine, or motivating force, upon which others are based. A principle is a rule of right conduct.
Principles are the laws of nature by which things operate.
God has established truths upon which everything in this world operates. The more of them you are aware of, the better you are going to do in life.
1. The principle of seeking wisdom.
If you could see my Bible you would note that it has a dark section in the middle. These pages have become stained from excessive use. They are the book of wisdom or as it is more commonly known – Proverbs.
Many years ago the youth pastor at the church I was attending challenged us to read a chapter a day of the book of Proverbs, there is one for each day of the month. I accepted and continue to meet that challenge these many years later; I am seeking the wisdom of God.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
In all your ways ac-KNOW-ledge him, know Him!
Proverbs 3:13-18
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.
How many of us get all of this backwards? We seek the supply instead of the supplier. We seek the reward instead of the rewarder. We run after created things instead of the creator of all things.
We must be a people who prize the word of God above our emotional desires, above experiences, above dreams, visions and tingly sensations.
We need to seek wisdom and become grounded in God’s truth. If you don’t have time then make time because the word of God is the wisdom of God and that wisdom has power to change things.
Psalm 119:9
How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
Psalm 119:11
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 107:20
He sent forth his word and healed them; he rescued them from the grave.
Proverbs 3:1-2
My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.
Joshua 1:8
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What is this mind renewal all about? It’s about learning to think God’s way (wisdom) instead of the way of this world that we have grown up in.
Proverbs 4:7-8
Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you.
II Timothy 4:3-5
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.
Can you believe that there will come a time when men will not tolerate sound doctrine; instead they will surround themselves with teachers who tell them what they want to hear?
Any chance you recognize that time as now?
There is no excuse for not seeking and finding wisdom today, if you are not a strong reader you can by the Bible on tape and read along with it.
Again, do you think you don’t have time? Make time! Turn off the tube and close down the computer game, and make time for seeking wisdom.
2. The principle of hard work.
Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
I realize that some people have the issue of working too hard, and they need to learn the principle of a Sabbath rest; but many of us do not realize that we are supposed to work.
You were not designed to sit around waiting for a government hand-out to come in the mail.
I am convinced that about 70% of all the counseling that goes on around here could be eliminated with this one strategic move - insist on jobs for those who want the service. I know there are some genuine needs here and allow me to exaggerate just a little, but when you sit around all day with nothing to do but think about your problems, the devil has a field day on you.
Look at what the scriptures say about laziness:
Proverbs 1:32
For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them
Proverbs 10:4
Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.
Proverbs 14:23
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Proverbs 20:4
A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.
I love that one because it says, even though he didn’t sow anything he still looks for a harvest; that is how it is with the inactive, they think the world owes them something for the nothing they contribute. We have built this kind of thinking right into our socialist political ideology. It is contrary to the principles of God that govern this planet.
Proverbs 24:30-34
I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw:
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.
The old saying goes:
“Hard work keeps the body healthy, the mind clear, the heart whole, and the purse full.”
There is a lot of wisdom in some of those old sayings, that’s how they gain their longevity.
Don’t miss more principles to build on next time in “Under Construction – 2”
