Unless The Lord Builds The House

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)