A Foundation Inspector
A foundation inspector in real life is a very high paid professional whose job it is to inspect a building’s foundation for defects or cracks. It is well known that a building is only as good as its foundation. The bible makes reference to us as a building, a house, a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus says the Lord God. Behold I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone. A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed or well laid. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. Interesting on how many times this verse is repeated in the bible. More times than any other passage in scripture.
We all know that a building is founded on a cornerstone and if the cornerstone is carefully laid in place the rest of the building will be stable and square and not crooked or out of line. I like what the scripture says, If Christ is the true cornerstone of our foundation we will not be disturbed, shaken or out of sorts.Can a Christian have any other foundation stone other than Christ? I think so. Let’s check with scripture and see if it’s possible.
Matt 7:25 is a new testament scripture of the same thing. “And the rain descended and the floods came(not if the rain comes and the flood , it will come) and the winds blow and burst against the house( I am the house, the temple of the Holy Spirit) and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. the other side verse26: and everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. 27: the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and burst against that house and it fell, and great was the fall. (same thing happened to one house, one survived and the other didn’t.
Now here is a thought. The bible is written for a guide book for Christians not for non-Christians because the unbeliever doesn’t read or understand the word of God so the scripture is for all Christians. Can Christians have a great fall? Can they have a total meltdown? Can they relapse into alcohol and sexual sin? Can they go into depression? It seems to indicate that that is possible.
What is the difference between the 2 men and their houses? James 1:22 says” Prove yourselves doers of the word and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 for anyone who is a heared of the word and not a doer is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror and 24 once he has looked at himself and gone away he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. That’s kind of sad. He heard lots of words but never followed up on them. I wonder why? Verse 21 of James says to recieve the word implanted which is able to save your soulds. It is the word that is able to save your sould from destruction but if you can’t receive the work implanted in your heart it is going to be very difficult. Maybe the one was able to recieve the word and the other one couldn’t. Maybe the one knew the damage to his house and wanted to fix the damge, was aware that he hears the word but he knows he never recieves it implanted in his heart.. One was able to recieve the word deep in the soul or his heart or his limbic and the other one just couldn’t get it. Ever had head knowledge about the word of God and couldn’t get it into your heart where your belief system really is? Could the problem be that the heart is full of clutter and thorns, maybe even thorns in the heart, look at the parable of Mark 4:3 The sower went out to sow 4 and it came about that as he was sowing some seed feel beside the road and the birds came and ate it up. 5 “other seed fell on rocky ground 7″ other seed fell among the thorns and the thorns came up and choked it and it yielded no crop. none, zero, zilch. nada. No matter how hard your tried, no matter how many sermons you heard, conferences attended, you just didn’t get it. Ever been there? Remember this parable is not for the unbeliever, this for God’s chosen people. In the parable the heart is the ground or the soil verse 8″other seeds fell on the good soil and as sthey grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty and a hundrefold. He who has ears to hear let him hear. ( Some of us would settle for a two fold yet a lone a hundredfold.
So lets go back to Isaiah 28:16 and check the foundation. Check the cornerstone. See if its firmly placed. Make sure its founded on the Costly cornerstone. See if I am disturbed or out of whack. end of Part 1 on foundations. Next week is the answer. Can a Christian build on a cornerstone other than Christ? I think so.