Title: Unless the Lord Builds the House
Theme: To show the importance of the Lord being in and of the house.
Text: Psalms 127:1-5
Introduction
Proverbs 27:12 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself; The simple pass on and are punished.
NIV
12 The prudent see danger and take refuge,
but the simple keep going and suffer for it.
Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Psalms 127:1-5 Unless the LORD builds the house,
The Church
Mat 16:15-19 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" (16) Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (17) Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. (18) "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (19) "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Personal/Family and Business/Employment
Personal
Col 3:17-25 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
1 Corinthians 3:9 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building.
1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? (20) For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
Acts 17:24 "God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
Family
(18) Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. (19) Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them. (20) Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. (21) Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
Provoke
Not giving Godly instruction
Talking one way but living the other way
Not showing Godly love
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7).
(3) Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Children are a blessing from the Lord. Sometimes they seem to be hindrances, but look at the legacy God has given us to fulfill.
Proverbs 22:6 says train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. So as long as you do what you are required to do everything will be alright.
Children learn by example. Instead of you saying do as I say. You should be examples for your children, or any children to follow. Children should be and are designed to be a blessing.
(4) Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth.
Children as arrows – we are their directors. We decide where they will go by our influence.
(5) Happy is the man who has his quiver (the place where the arrows are held) full of them;
Employee/Business
(22) Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. (23) And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, (24) knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. (25) But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
FOUR THINGS WE NEED TO REMEMBER.
1. IT TAKES LONGER THAN YOU PLANNED.
2. IT COST MORE THAN YOU FIGURED.
3. IT IS MESSIER THAN YOU ANTICIPATED.
4. IT REQUIRES GREATER DETERMINATION AND MORE PATIENTS THAN YOU EXPECTED.
They labor in vain who build it;
Vain – fruitfulness, to no account, proud of petting things,
“The Psalmist is saying that whatever it is you are trying to build in your life, whether it is your work, or your security, or whether you are trying to build a family, it is in vain, it is worthless unless it is built with the Lord God at the heart of the process. Your work, of whatever kind it may be, maybe so productive that it builds the equivalent of a city, but unless the Lord God is there at the heart of that process, then it has no security.”
Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.
Building on the right foundation, Jesus story
Matthew 7:24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."
(2) It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late,
It is a waste of time to get up real early and go to bed real late making a “provision” for the family if you are not letting God build and guard the city.
There is not enough hours in a day to protect you from the fallacies of life.
Worry
Mat 6:25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
To eat the bread of sorrows;
This is what life is if it not built on Christ. It is full of sorrows. Sorrows to not “get ahead”, sorrows to not “have peace”, sorrows to not have “purpose”, sorrows to not know the eternity of life.
For so He gives His beloved sleep.
Mat 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (30) "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
Matthew 11:28 "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. 29 Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. 30 Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Conclusion
God wants to rebuild some houses this morning. God wants to put some things back together. If you are a family here this morning and your house has been broken I want you to come together.
Maybe you are by yourself and you see the structure being broken.
You may just come.
5b They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.
Prayer
Lord, help us to see trouble coming long before it gets here. And give us the wisdom to know what to do and the courage to dot it.
The Plight of Sin and the unprudent.
Proverbs 7:6 For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice, 7 And saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, A young man devoid of understanding, 8 Passing along the street near her corner; And he took the path to her house 9 In the twilight, in the evening, In the black and dark night. 10 And there a woman met him, With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart. 11 She was loud and rebellious, Her feet would not stay at home. 12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square, Lurking at every corner. 13 So she caught him and kissed him; With an impudent face she said to him: 14 "I have peace offerings with me; Today I have paid my vows. 15 So I came out to meet you, Diligently to seek your face, And I have found you. 16 I have spread my bed with tapestry, Colored coverings of Egyptian linen. 17 I have perfumed my bed With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. 18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; Let us delight ourselves with love. 19 For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey; 20 He has taken a bag of money with him, And will come home on the appointed day." 21 With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, With her flattering lips she seduced him. 22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, 23 Till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, He did not know it would cost his life. 24 Now therefore, listen to me, my children; Pay attention to the words of my mouth: 25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, Do not stray into her paths; 26 For she has cast down many wounded, And all who were slain by her were strong men. 27 Her house is the way to hell, Descending to the chambers of death.
