Building a Well Established, Treasure Filled House
Proverbs 24:3
“Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge its rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.” NKJV
the NIV says rare and beautiful treasures
Whether we want to believe it or not, we are all involved in a building program. The things we say, the action we take and the thoughts that we believe all go into the pot to shape the house that we are constructing. A new year brings with it a new chance to “remodel” our house if we don’t like the way it looks.
Life progresses and we need to progress with it. I think of it simply as four segments:
Lemonade-gatorade-medicaid-hearing aid
As I grew up my desires would change…first I wanted a bottle and pacifier, then toys, then a bike, then a car, then an apartment, then a wife and then a house(or a wife that already had a car and a house)..the home would be a symbol of achievement, someplace to call my own. I think it would be safe to say that just about everyone longs to have their own home someday.
I would like you to think about your personal building project this morning not necessarily being something physical, but rather mental, emotional and spiritual. What type of structure are you building with your life and what do people see when they look at the construction? The fact of the matter is that we should always be building something spiritually and God has established a way for us to insure that something new is always taking place for us. The bible says that His mercies are new every morning so we approach each day with an “earnest expectation and hope”(Phil 1:20) of our building plans.
How can we be sure that our “spiritual” house will be completed as God desires? How can we be sure that it will not use its value? How can we fill it with the things that are on God’s heart?
Our scripture today says that “through wisdom a house is built”. Eccl 9:18 tells us that wisdom is better than weapons of war. Wisdom was there at the beginning of it all…through wisdom God founded the earth.
Wisdom would be defined as discretion; judgment
Some wise thoughts I have heard would include:
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you do criticize them, you’re a mile away and you will have their shoes.
If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
Many folks start building before they are ready…which is not wise. We are on the verge of starting our infiltration of the community by going to people’s homes…you know what we will find? People that are ready to build, people that are building prematurely and people that are content right where they are. So why will we go? Because “he who wins souls is wise.”
Wisdom discerns when we are ready…it’s the “principal thing”, its better than all the things that you could compare to it.
A wise man is strong, able to receive rebuke and profit from it.
Through wisdom a house is built…it takes time, its not prefab…its board attached to board, brick laid upon brick, line upon line, precept upon precept.
OK so its valuable, where do we get it?
James 1 tells us that is any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men without reproach..generously, liberally…all the wisdom you need.
Wisdom responds different than expected…
A man went to work one morning very upset. A fellow-worker asked him what was wrong and he said, ‘My wife told me she had gone to a fortuneteller. The fortuneteller said to her, ‘I see your second husband in the crystal ball. He is handsome, brilliant and charming.”
“I can understand why you are so upset,” the fellow worker sympathized.
“Of course I’m upset,” the man replied. “Don’t you think your wife would tell you if she was married before?”
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…the first step is understanding who He is and how important He is to your life and your future…He told us that He has a plan for us…one that will benefit us and not hurt us, a plan that gives us the future that we long for and the results that we seek. It all starts with him, it all comes from him and it all ends with him.
Wisdom is the principle thing, therefore get wisdom.
“by understanding it is established”
Some things are just hard to understand nowadays…
Did you ever notice when you blow in a dog’s face he gets mad at you?
But when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the window.
If Barbie is so popular, how come you have to buy all her friends?
Many folks stop building today because they lose their relationship with the architect/contractor. So they grab the plans themselves and start to try building it alone only to find out that this project is much more complex than they imagined and they don’t understand the blueprints. We need to stay connected to the Grand Architect…that connection brings with it new revelation…an understanding of all of the mystery that life in Him brings with it.
Understanding is the stamina;stability of the building process. To be established is to be certain, to be fixed. There’s no double-mindedness, no waffling…you know what you are going after, you see it before you and you move in that direction.(settled in)
Skillfulness, reason, intelligence all are part of understanding and that is why we pursue it.
Understanding puts you in position to receive from God…it takes you to another level.. Prov 4:7-9
7 Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
8 Esteem her, and she will exalt you;
embrace her, and she will honor you.
9 She will set a garland of grace on your head
and present you with a crown of splendor."
(from New International Version)
So you have two of the elements necessary to build a well established treasure filled house…now comes the last element…the part that puts the rare and precious things inside you
By knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
Curb appeal is great but what’s on the inside tells you what type of house it is. The first two homes we bought were larger than we were. Once we moved into them what we had, we had some rooms that had no furniture. What seemed to happen is that open space became subject to anything that you don’t want to put away…it open storage! God’s plan is for our spiritual houses to be full so that there is no room for the garbage of this world to gather there. Knowledge is an ongoing process…you keep pursuing it…
You have probably heard said knowledge is power. Knowledge gives you the keys to unlock and lock. People perish for lack of knowledge…the more you know about God the more filled you become. He didn’t say the “truth shall set you free:, he said “the truth that you know will set you free.
10 truths children have learned
1. No matter how hard you try, you can’t baptize cats.
2. When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.
3. If your sister hits you, don’t hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4. Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5. You can’t trust dogs to watch your food.
6. Don’t wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
7. Reading what people write on desks can teach you a lot.
8. Don’t sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
9. People still have bad breath even after eating a Tic Tac.
10. Never hold a dustbuster and a cat at the same time
So let me bring this home to what it means to our life in God. You see it should be just like Proverbs 24. Through wisdom and discretion and good judgment you come to know who the Lord is. Then you accept Him into your life. Maybe you’re a bit hesitant at first but after you begin to understand more about Him, you want to be closer and He moves closer to you. You begin to establish a personal relationship. Your desires start to change as do your habits and all you want are more and more facts about this one you now call Savior. As your knowledge increases, His precious and pleasant promises begin to fill and fulfill your life.
So what type of house are you building this morning? Are you going after God’s mind, His heart and His purposes? We all have the unique opportunity today to have a personal relationship with this Grand Architect and Designer. That relationship is the key to building a well-established, treasure-filled house.
Pray
