UNLESS THE LORD BUILDS THE HOUSE
Ps. 127:1
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Sometimes things in life are turned upside down.
2. I heard about a man who picked up a homeless man and took him to Denney’s for breakfast. While eating the man asked him how he ended up this way.
3. He said, "Up until last month, I still had it all. I had plenty to eat, my clothes were washed and pressed, I had a roof over my head, I had TV and Internet, and I went to the gym, and the library.
4. “I was working on my MBA on-line. I had no bills and no debt. I even had full medical coverage."
5. I felt sorry for him, so I asked, "What happened? Drugs? Alcohol? Divorce?"
6. "Oh no, nothing like that," he said. "No, no.... I was paroled!”
B. TEXT
“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain” Ps. 127:1.
C. THESIS
1. The Bible teaches that “The Lord is with you when you are with him” 2 Chron. 15:2. The extension of this principle of us living and walking with God, is Ps. 127:1;
2. “A solid house and divine protection are blessings flowing from abiding and obedience.”
3. Tonight we’re going to look at what God means when He says “Unless the Lord builds the House…Guards to City. That’s also the title of this message.
I. DEFINING THE SCOPE OF THIS VERSE
A. THE EXCEPTION CLAUSE
1. This verse is known in contract law as an exception clause. It starts with the word, “Unless” and states the exception to what’s normal. Then it follows that with what will normally happen.
2. The normal rule for builders of houses is that they will build in vain. Only if the Lord helps them will they NOT be building in vain.
3. Next, it’s normal for a city to be at risk of attack, and in the natural, there’s little that guards can do to stop the risk. However, if the Lord is watching over the city, all that changes, for He neither slumbers nor sleeps. Only He can make every weapon formed against you become powerless!
4. So this verse describes what can happen IF God is with you and is on your side. SO THIS VERSE DESCRIBES THE BLESSINGS THAT WILL RESULT FROM WALKING WITH GOD!
B. TERMINOLOGY: “HOUSES, BUILDERS”
1. To “BUILD A HOUSE” refers to building a person’s Life – their material possessions, their family, their habits and priorities, the direction their family is going, etc.
2. This is clear from Jesus’ parable of the Two Houses:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Mt. 7:24.
3. Vice-versa; “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. …and it fell with a great crash.” Mt. 7:26-27.
4. So the term “HOUSE” refers to a person’s LIFE – how we go about building our lives. God considers how we build it to be very important.
5. The CITY and the GUARDS also relate to us and what we trust in for our safety. If we trust in our own efforts, we aren’t safe; if we trust in the Lord, He can and will keep us safe.
C. CAUSE OF THESE BLESSINGS
1. Both of these metaphors sound strictly providential, but God’s involvement is ENTIRELY DEPENDENT ON OUR COOPERATION WITH HIM.
2. A solid house and divine protection are blessings flowing from abiding and obedience.
3. We will see that when we ABIDE in the Lord and OBEY the Lord, God will automatically build our house right (because we’re yielded to Him) and guard us on every side, because God watches over what belongs to Him.
II. UNLESS THE LORD BUILDS THE HOUSE…
A. HUMOR
1. Some house builders drove to their local lumber yard. One of the men walked inside and said, "We need some four-by-twos."
2. The clerk asked, "You mean two-by-fours, don't you?" The man said, "I'll go check," and went back to the truck. He returned and said, "Yeah, I meant two-by-fours."
3. "All right. How long do you need them?" asked the clerk. The man paused for a minute and said, "I'd better go check." After a while, the customer returned to the office and said, "A long time. We're gonna build a house."
4. How could any builder be that dumb? I don’t think you’d want that guy to build you a house. But many who try to build their lives use faulty materials and bad foundations. (Steve Shepherd)
B. TWO BUILDERS, TWO POSSIBLE OUTCOMES
1. Ps. 127:1 points out there are 2 potential builders: the Lord and/or us. Many people’s lives have not involved the Lord as builder. People have built their own empires, their own lives – apart from God.
2. Think how many rich people, how many politicians – have built kingdoms, but godless kingdoms. Many will have all their works burned up. Listen to Paul’s description:
3. “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames” 1 Cor. 3:10-15.
4. What would God have us to do?
a. Build/pattern our lives after the example of Jesus Christ.
b. To labor toward the establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth. That is, to study and live out the Gospel, the Bible; and to expose as many people as we can to the life-saving message of Jesus during our lifetimes.
c. To raise our children and grandchildren with a biblical worldview, to be kingdom-minded, who will teach and share Christ with the nations during their own lifetimes, passing it to their children also.
5. Now, if we LISTEN to the Holy Spirit AND OBEY the will of God, WE WILL build what God wants us to build with our lives and it will survive the fires of Judgment.
III. UNLESS THE LORD GUARDS THE CITY…
ILLUSTRATION
1. On September 19, 2014, Omar Gonzalez, 42, jumped the main fence around the White House and gained entry inside through an unlocked door, then barreled past a guard and ran into the East Room before being tackled.
2. The budget for the Secret Service is $1.8 billion/ year. It has 6,500 employees and their # 1 job is to protect the President. You would think, with all the power, money, and technology of the U.S. Govt., they could protect the most powerful leader in the world.
3. Maybe they can’t, but God can!
A. PROTECTION PREDICATED ON OBEDIENCE
1. This part of the verse too is speaking of being in God’s will and under His blessing. God watches over His saints. He puts His angels around them. He puts a hedge of protection around them – as long as they’re obedient, they’re invincible.
2. The reality of a “HEDGE OF PROTECTION” is shown in Job 1:10; “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.”
3. WHY? BECAUSE HE WAS OBEDIENT. God described him as “blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” Job 1:8.
4. The nation of Israel was also under God’s protection until Achan sinned, then 36 Israelites died before their enemies (Josh. 7:5). When Joshua asked them why, God told him that Israel had sinned and they were consequently open to destruction (7:12). Numbers 14:9 said of the idolatrous nations in Canaan, “Their protection is gone.”
5. In general, God’s people are invincible when they’re walking with God and are obedient. God puts His angels around them.
B. PROTECTION OCCURS BECAUSE OF ABIDING
1. Take Ps. 91 as an example (of which many could be cited):
2. “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest [ABIDE] in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” Ps. 91:1-3,5,7,9-11.
3. Verse 9 is the linchpin; “All this is available to the one who makes the Most High his/her DWELLINGPLACE.” If you ABIDE under His shadow (vs. 1).
4. All this means that you are abiding in God, fellowshipping with God on a daily basis. Those who throw in their lot with God, and walk with God – God watches over them and protects them, for they’re close to Him.
5. So when Ps. 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain,” it points out that if we put God in charge of our lives, they will be solid and safe.
6. SAVED FROM GAS EXPLOSION
a. “I’m a social worker and this one morning in 2005, I had an appointment at 9:30am to accompany my client to visit her doctor. It is my usual habit to arrive early and since I arrived at 9:15, the client and we decided (felt impressed) to head out early to her doctor’s appointment.
b. While waiting at the doctor’s office, my client’s nurse called me on my cell phone about 10:30 to tell me that she had come to visit the client and found that her apartment was on fire and feared that the client was still inside the apartment, but I told her, “No, she’s with me.”
c. We were told not to go back to the building so I took her to her daughter’s place.
d. I found out later, that it was a gas leak that exploded and destroyed her apartment. If we had not left the apartment the time we did, we both would have been killed.”
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: KEPT OFF THE PLANE
1. Back in 1979, speaker and author Dennis Waitley once found himself racing to catch a flight. He was on his way from Chicago to Los Angeles and had to board DC10 flight 191 to deliver a speech later in the day.
2. But this time he didn't get there on time. Furious to see the gate agent lock the door just as he arrived, he pleaded with her to open the gate and let him board. She refused and fuming, Waitley left the boarding area to complain.
3. But only twenty minutes later, the news came through that the plane he had missed had just crashed on take-off, killing all on board. Instantly, his anger and disappointment turned to shock, and later to gratitude.
4. He left the ticket line and checked into a room at an airport hotel. He knelt beside his bed and then tried to get some sleep. Instead of returning the unused ticket for a refund, he decided to keep it and put it on his office notice board at home.
5. It's a silent reminder, because every so often if he gets annoyed at something, his wife Susan leads him by the hand through to the notice board to take a look at his flight 191 ticket. Waitley says, "Every day is a gift to be lived to the full".
B. THE CALL
1. Do you need direction for building your house as God would have it? Let’s surrender our lives to God!
2. How many of you need protection of your family or property? Let’s purpose to ABIDE and OBEY the Lord so that those blessings can be ours!
3. Prayer time.
