Tag: #cornerstone

EP253 – RESTORING THE CORNERSTONE

EP253 – RESTORING THE CORNERSTONE

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WELCOME TO GOD FOCUS THIS MORNING

The title of today’s episode: RESTORING THE CORNERSTONE

As we begin a new year it is good to take time to reflect. The body of Christ is in a good position to make a large impact on the world. But first we need to make sure we are strong and fortified. My mind wanders to Nehemiah’s story today. The walls of Jerusalem were in ruin. God placed it on Nehemiah’s heart to restore what made Jerusalem strong. The walls needed to be rebuilt. People needed to have faith in the fact that God was going to watch over them again.

The people of Jerusalem had been carried away, captive by a foreign king. God allowed it to happen because the people lost sight of their relationships with God. They turned to false gods to worship.

The modern church today, has left the old paths, they have been drawn away from God. They worship man’s ideas of God, but neglect the one true God. There are a few, a remnant, that have held on to the truth of God. It is up to us, to strengthen the wall and rebuild the church.

Just as the Jewish people forgot God, we have forgotten the cornerstone. We have become the builders that rejected the cornerstone. But we are not without hope, it is not to late to rebuild the church. But the cornerstone has to be restored. Jesus must become the center.

The word tells us that Christ is our foundation, the chief cornerstone that we build our faith upon. A cornerstone in ancient Israeli architecture was a large center stone that was placed under a building. It was the point that the building was supported upon, as well as the outer foundation. Without the center stone or cornerstone that was support for all the corners, the building would collapse in on itself.

Eph 2:18-19 For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;

This is saying that through Christ, we both, Jews and Gentiles, have access to God by one spirit, which is the Holy Ghost. We are no longer strangers but are part of God’s family.

Eph 2:20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

We have to follow the teachings of the apostles and prophets laid out in God’s word, because they all point to Jesus as being our foundation.

Eph 2:21-22 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: 22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

The church, the body of Christ is fitly framed and growing together as one to become a holy temple in the Lord, we are put in the place God needs us to fulfill the purpose of strengthening the body of Christ.

Imagine you are a contractor in charge of building a house. Would you use pvc pipes as a substitution for 2×4’s in a wall. That is not the purpose of the pipe and the building will not stand. Just as a 2×4 is not good to use to run water but a pvc pipe would work much better. We have to find our place in the body to be the most effective. But we all work together to build up and edify one another and Jesus Christ.

Acts 4:10-12 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

For context this is when Peter and John had healed a man outside the temple, at the gate called beautiful. The church people of the day were trying to give them a hard time. But they explained to them that Jesus was the cornerstone on which they had faith. Jesus was the reason they had the power to heal the man. They went further to say there is no salvation except by Jesus. This was blasphemy to the people of that day. They rejected the cornerstone, but he was who they needed and they didn’t want to give up their religion.

Jesus came to save those who were lost, he didn’t come to start a religion or a denomination.

Psalm 118:19-22 Open to me the gates of righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord: 20 This gate of the Lord, into which the righteous shall enter. 21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation. 22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

We are at the moment of decision as we start this new year. Will we be like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day and reject him in the name of our ideas. Will we continue to follow man’s ideas of Jesus? Will we be guilty of continuing to build on a foundation that is not the truth of God’s word but man’s perception of that word? How long will we allow the enemy to divide God’s people with denominations?  How long will we reject the cornerstone?

It is time that we make sure that our house is built on a solid foundation. Jesus Christ is our cornerstone, our structural support. Anything less is going to leave us in a mess.

As we start a new year, take a moment to think about how much of a priority Jesus is in your life. Do you talk to him often or only when you are in trouble? Do you study his word or only open your Bible on Sunday mornings? Jesus doesn’t want to be in our church box, he wants to be in every aspect of our lives.

As I have said before, I never ask you questions or to reflect on things that I have not already asked myself. It is good to take a moment to check our lives and make sure that the cornerstone is where he belongs, in the center of our lives.

Until next time,

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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BUILDING A HOUSE

Psalm 127 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.

I know, I hate to waste my time. Why would you waste your time building a house, that does not have any value? A contractor could invest a lot of time and money in building a house. Now imagine that house sitting on the market.  No one is living in it; therefore, it has no value as shelter or comfort to anyone. The contractor cannot get a return on the investment to put in other projects.  This is the worst-case scenario for a contractor.

Spiritually speaking, we can build all sorts of fancy buildings to have meetings in that we call church.  But if the Lord is not in building the spiritual side of the house (church) it is worthless. True everlasting kingdom things will not be accomplished. People will only be full of coffee from their coffee bar in the lobby. The church needs to be full of the Spirit of God. It is God that transforms lives.

How many times do we miss God’s instructions about how he wants us to build? Every good contractor will have a blueprint.  Our Bible is our blueprint, it gives us instructions on how we need to build His house. Many natural houses get taken out by dry rot and termites. Our church can suffer from the decay of sin. Too, long we have allowed sin to creep into the church. Eating away at the foundation like termites. We have accepted things that are contrary to the word in the name of compassion and tolerance.

The church is not called to conform to the world. We are called to change it. If people’s lives were in good, solid shape they would not need God to remodel them like an old house. Eph 2:19-22    19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;   20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;  21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:   22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

We are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus told Peter that he was a rock, and said, upon this rock, I will build my church.  In other words, you have a solid grasp of what I want you to carry out in the world. You will be solid and not wishy, washy. I can trust you to be solid ground for people to build their understanding of the gospel.

Just like Jesus being the chief cornerstone of any congregation, we need him to be our personal spiritual cornerstone. Our personal lives need Jesus in the center.  We too need a blueprint on which to build our lives. Again, that blueprint is the Word Of God, our Bible. The enemy has tried to alter the blueprints by changing them with a watered-down version of the word. Some of the “new” translations are severely inaccurate. If someone new to building came along and read some of these translations, they would be deceived and not build on a firm foundation. Then the house would suffer all sorts of issues from cracks in the walls to a total collapse.

Jesus spoke a parable of a wise man that built on a rock. When the storms of life came, it stood strong against the storms. But he also spoke of a foolish man that built on sand. When the storms came, his house fell. We never want to see anyone fall. It is up to us to get into our Bible and study the blueprint. Then we need to share our knowledge to help others build wisely.

I Cor 6:19- 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  This is a reminder that we are the house in which God dwells. We can trust him because he is a master craftsman. He not only built each one of us as unique individuals, but he created the heavens and the earth.  We are so individually designed that we all fit together perfectly to make the beautiful bride that Jesus will return to receive one day soon.

JUDE 17-21 17 But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; 18 How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. 19 These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit. 20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Do not let your labor be in vain; allow God to build your house.  He wants to talk to you. Spend time in prayer, building up your most holy faith. I promise you He will keep you on track if He is your chief cornerstone.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS