1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,640 We're going to start from Matthew 7, it says. 2 00:00:01,640 --> 00:00:04,680 Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I 3 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:07,040 will liken him to a wise man who built his house. 4 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,160 On the rock, the rains. Ascended the floods came, and 5 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:13,080 the winds blew and beat on the House, and it did not fall. 6 00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:16,680 Why? For it was founded on the rock. 7 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,920 These scriptures that I just read to you from Matthew. 8 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,080 We're. From what we now call the Sermon 9 00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:27,480 on the Mount, Matthew chapters 5-6 and seven are a collection 10 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:30,800 of teachings that Jesus, he ascended up onto a mountain and 11 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:35,160 he was teaching and preaching these words to basically anyone 12 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:38,600 who is willing to hear. It wasn't like he had this 13 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,360 teaching for select few. It wasn't like it was just for 14 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,160 the powerful. It wasn't just for those who 15 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:48,520 were designated for this time, but he allowed this sermon to be 16 00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:52,040 for anyone who would hear. So a lot of people came and they 17 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:54,920 stood at the bottom of the mountain and they listen to all 18 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:59,200 these teachings that he had. And if you read chapters 5-6 and 19 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,920 seven, you're like, you're probably going to know all these 20 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:05,440 scriptures that you're reading because these are really awesome 21 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:09,200 scriptures that he was teaching to these people who are willing 22 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:12,120 to hear. But what happens is as after he 23 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,240 preaches all these scriptures to them, he wraps it up with this 24 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:20,760 collection of scriptures right here, and he says basically all 25 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,720 of them. Listen, all of you guys, you can 26 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:27,560 sit here and you can hear these words and that's great. 27 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,120 But if you do that, you're going to be like the foolish man who 28 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:34,320 built his house upon the sand. But he said, if you can stand 29 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:37,400 here and hear these words and you can leave from this place 30 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:41,600 and do these words that I just taught you, you will be like the 31 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,200 man who built his. House on the Rock, he says the 32 00:01:45,200 --> 00:01:47,880 winds will come. The rains going to beat against 33 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:51,560 your house, but your house will not fall because your house was 34 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:55,400 built on the rock. So we have to understand how 35 00:01:55,400 --> 00:02:00,400 powerful is it that we have this understanding that we are all 36 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:02,600 houses. I'm going to talk about us being 37 00:02:02,600 --> 00:02:07,200 houses today and how our lives have the ability to reflect 38 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:08,600 that. But when you're building a 39 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:13,640 house, you have to have that solid foundation, naturally 40 00:02:13,640 --> 00:02:16,360 speaking, you know, when you're building a house, you look at it 41 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:18,520 and you look at the foundation, you're like, man, I hope that 42 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:20,080 they had a solid foundation, right? 43 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,560 That's the base of the building of a house. 44 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:28,880 Yet somehow what happens to us as Christians is we like to see, 45 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,560 you know, the, the part that starts going up and we're not 46 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:34,440 really concerned about the foundation. 47 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:36,680 I know I I call it the Castle house. 48 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:39,080 There's a house that's being built down the road from us. 49 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:41,400 I think it's already done, but there's even another one just as 50 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:43,280 big as it in its backyard at this point. 51 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:45,280 And when they? Started digging. 52 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:46,880 I was just. Like, oh cool, you know, another 53 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:49,600 house going up, not a big deal, but man, when the wall started 54 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:53,360 going up, I'm like, Oh my gosh, I was like super invested at 55 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:55,960 this point, right? But as the foundation was being 56 00:02:55,960 --> 00:02:58,000 laid, I wasn't like, oh, I wonder what foundation they're 57 00:02:58,000 --> 00:02:59,960 laying, right? I wasn't thinking about like, 58 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:03,160 oh, what material or materials are they using? 59 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,320 Right, Because we like that second-half of it, but this 60 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:11,440 script scripture goes to show us how important our foundation is 61 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,840 because that's going to be the base for every choice that. 62 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:16,640 We make that's going to be the base. 63 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:20,760 For the lives that we. Live, you can't just stand at 64 00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:24,840 the bottom of the mountain. And hear his words, but it says 65 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,640 you have to go and do those words. 66 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:30,800 So this is the foundation that this that we're built on, this 67 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:32,840 is the foundation that's going to hold us up. 68 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,360 This is the foundation that's going to sustain us. 69 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:37,600 If we don't, I don't have a solid foundation. 70 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,600 Like the scripture says, our house is going to be blown over 71 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,080 or it's going to be beaten down. How many? 72 00:03:44,080 --> 00:03:47,280 Of you, well, if you live in Michigan and around this area, 73 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:51,000 you probably experienced. But the winds this weekend were 74 00:03:51,000 --> 00:03:53,880 insane. I was like, I don't know if I'm 75 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:55,440 going to wake. Up with the house around me, 76 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,920 right? The winds were crazy this 77 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,480 weekend, naturally speaking. And I'm like. 78 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:03,480 Man, I'm so glad my house is secure, right? 79 00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:07,000 But how many of you know that when we go through life, 80 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:10,920 spiritually speaking, we're going to experience some wind, 81 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:14,000 some strong winds. Spiritually speaking, you're 82 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,360 going to experience some thunderstorms in your life and 83 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,839 you're going to experience rain just beating and thrashing 84 00:04:20,839 --> 00:04:23,600 against your house. And it's at that moment. 85 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:27,120 That you're going to be like, I'm so thankful that I built my 86 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:32,840 house upon the rock. But there's two MMM, but there's 87 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:36,280 2 steps. In order to have that solid 88 00:04:36,280 --> 00:04:40,080 foundation, we cannot just stop at step one that says you hear 89 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,200 the word. We have to go on to Step 2 that 90 00:04:43,200 --> 00:04:46,200 says you do the word. It's easy. 91 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:50,120 For. Should be should be easy to show 92 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:53,080 up at church on Sunday. Just throwing it out there 93 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:57,560 should be easy to show up at church on Sunday, should be easy 94 00:04:57,680 --> 00:05:01,360 to hear the words of the Lord, easy to open up your Bible, 95 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:03,320 right? Just open up your scriptures in 96 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:05,360 the morning and and read the word. 97 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:07,840 But when God's word is like, love your neighbor as yourself, 98 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:09,320 and then someone comes up. Against you. 99 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:12,920 You're like, oh man, now I actually have to do. 100 00:05:13,280 --> 00:05:17,440 The word of the Lord. So in order to ensure that your 101 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:21,480 foundation is solid, not only can you hear the word of the 102 00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:26,640 Lord, but we have to put God's word into action and start doing 103 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:29,440 God's word. I love the story of the 104 00:05:29,440 --> 00:05:32,600 Pharisees when it says they. Honor me. 105 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:36,480 With their lips, but their hearts are far from. 106 00:05:36,480 --> 00:05:38,640 Me. We can't have what I call the 107 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,840 Pharisee condition where we just stop at step. 108 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:45,000 One we know. God's Word, but we don't allow 109 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:50,440 God's Word to really transform our hearts and transform our 110 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:55,120 lives in order to not just know His Word, but do God's Word. 111 00:05:55,840 --> 00:05:59,080 We are people who we want that solid foundation. 112 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:01,760 We hear His Word and we do His Word. 113 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,600 Amen. Man, that's hard. 114 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:06,880 For that first step. We've only started with step 115 00:06:06,880 --> 00:06:09,800 one. You're ready to keep moving on. 116 00:06:09,840 --> 00:06:13,360 On the building of our house, Proverbs 24, three to four says 117 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,800 through wisdom, a house is built. 118 00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:21,440 By understanding it is established and by knowledge, 119 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:25,240 the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. 120 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:29,440 OK, so now we have this, this solid foundation and now it's 121 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:32,840 time to like allow our house to start getting built up. 122 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,520 But what happens a lot of times, like I was mentioning the castle 123 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,360 down the street from my house is the foundation part I wasn't 124 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:41,440 super invested in. But once the wall started coming 125 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:45,800 up, I'm like, oh, a lot of times as Christians, what happens is 126 00:06:45,800 --> 00:06:49,080 we want the part that we can like, see. 127 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,600 Or the part that we can feel everyone's into their feelings 128 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:54,920 these days, right? We want the part that's like, 129 00:06:54,920 --> 00:06:56,800 oh. We want the wisdom and we want 130 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:59,520 the knowledge and we want the understanding. 131 00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:03,320 But if you don't start with step one, the foundation, you're 132 00:07:03,320 --> 00:07:07,160 never going to have that solid structure of a house that God 133 00:07:07,160 --> 00:07:10,320 has called us to. So again, now we have the solid 134 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:12,400 foundation, we start building up. 135 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:15,480 We have to be built on that solid foundation or else our 136 00:07:15,480 --> 00:07:18,360 house is going to fall. So here we are. 137 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:20,920 How is the house built? Through wisdom. 138 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:24,520 How is it established by understanding and how are the 139 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:29,080 rooms filled by knowledge? I want to go over a couple 140 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:31,920 definitions of these words because I think a lot of times 141 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:35,040 what happens. Is as we read the scriptures. 142 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:39,640 You know, we, we generally speaking no wisdom, we generally 143 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,560 speaking no knowledge and generally speaking no 144 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,480 understanding. And a lot of times those those 145 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:49,960 three kind of get lumped together into one understanding, 146 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,040 if you will. And, and I want to go into this 147 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,400 so we can really know how our house is built, established, and 148 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,520 how the rooms are filled. Knowledge is a gathering of 149 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:02,840 information about God through Scripture and experience. 150 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:05,080 Knowledge is something that as we. 151 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,720 Read the Scripture. We are going to learn God's Word 152 00:08:09,840 --> 00:08:13,200 as we read it and we walk out our walk with God. 153 00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:15,920 There are things that we're going to learn about Scripture. 154 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:18,480 There's things that we're going to learn about God. 155 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:24,840 But wisdom is the divine practical ability to apply the 156 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:29,120 knowledge of God to everyday life, ensuring decisions align 157 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:32,000 with His will. So wisdom is kind of taking the 158 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:35,080 knowledge that you've learned and now putting it to action. 159 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:39,320 In your everyday life. As I was, you know, just 160 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:41,840 studying these scriptures, I wanted, I was thinking of like, 161 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:46,000 what's an easy way to explain the difference between knowledge 162 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,280 and wisdom in it, in it, in Google or chat or whoever I was 163 00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:54,400 using created this really great analogy and I was like, I like 164 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:58,320 that it said knowledge is knowing what a tomato is. 165 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:02,000 Wisdom is knowing that it doesn't belong in ice cream. 166 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:08,320 And I'm like, OK, right, simple, simple enough to understand, but 167 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,840 here we go. So we have to have the 168 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:14,600 knowledge. We have to have God's word by 169 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:18,240 reading it and by experiencing our walk with God. 170 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:21,960 But then we need to get to a place where we're able to now 171 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:26,120 take the word of God and say, OK, how do I apply this to my 172 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,880 life? That I can apply it to my life 173 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:33,480 and allow my life to align with His desire for my life. 174 00:09:33,600 --> 00:09:37,680 How can I apply this to my heart so that now my heart is in 175 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:40,640 alignment with the heart that God wants? 176 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:46,160 Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge to make godly 177 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:49,760 decisions. And as we know, the fear of the 178 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:55,320 Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We have to start with that fear 179 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:58,200 of the Lord that says Lord you are. 180 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:03,600 All powerful Lord, you are all knowing, and God, I Revere you 181 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,280 to the place that I know that your ways are not my ways, but 182 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:09,520 they're better. Your thoughts are not my 183 00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:12,640 thoughts, but they're better. And Lord, I know that you have a 184 00:10:12,640 --> 00:10:15,560 plan for me. So we get to this place where we 185 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:18,880 fear the Lord. We know all these things about 186 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:23,560 the Lord and now we start to align ourselves with His vision 187 00:10:23,560 --> 00:10:28,360 and His plans for not only us as individuals, but as the Kingdom 188 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:31,520 of God. So we start operating in a way 189 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:34,800 where we can now want what God wants. 190 00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:38,560 We can start doing the things that we know that God wants us 191 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:42,160 to do, and now we know how to apply it to our everyday lives. 192 00:10:42,600 --> 00:10:45,800 And then it says understanding is a part of building your 193 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:50,040 house. This is the spiritual ability to 194 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:54,040 discern and interpret and apply God's truth to life. 195 00:10:54,440 --> 00:11:00,200 Here we go moving beyond mere intellectual knowledge to a 196 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:05,080 heart aligned with divine wisdom. 197 00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:10,360 So this is the why behind why we do what we do. 198 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:14,440 Understanding takes us from just the people who are doing you 199 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:17,960 know what we're we're operating, you know, like our operation 200 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:21,400 system is just telling us the Lord says to do this, so you do 201 00:11:21,400 --> 00:11:26,800 it to now saying, God, I believe I might not understand why 202 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:30,040 you're asking me to do these things, but Lord, my heart 203 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:34,240 believes you and it wants to do this not because I was told to 204 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:39,640 do it because I love you and I trust you and I put my faith in 205 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:41,960 you. You know I. 206 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,200 Amen. Yeah, so I was talking to a good 207 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:48,160 friend of mine the other day chat. 208 00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:51,760 And I think it's funny because like, I'm like, man, I gotta, 209 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:54,480 I'm asking this thing everything all day, every day. 210 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:56,040 It's like my husband and I, every time we have a 211 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:58,720 conversation we end up asking Chad a question about it. 212 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,680 But what I have? Learned is it is not a friend. 213 00:12:04,560 --> 00:12:06,520 It is an operating system, right? 214 00:12:07,040 --> 00:12:09,960 Or I don't know the technical word for it, but I was trying 215 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:11,920 to. I'm sitting with Delaney. 216 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:14,320 We were working on something for social and I was like, I'll just 217 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:16,160 ask Chad to make it like, how easy is that? 218 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:18,720 So I gave it very simple directions. 219 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:24,920 Step one, I'm going to send you a photo that I want you to use 220 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:31,400 as inspirations for the colours Only, only colours of this 221 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:34,240 photo. 2. I'm going to send you what I 222 00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:39,680 want the photo to look like. So basically make photo B be 223 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:43,640 exactly the same but use the colours from photo AI said it 224 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:47,120 much simpler than that right? Even if I didn't. 225 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:49,040 Chat's supposed to be pretty awesome. 226 00:12:50,640 --> 00:12:55,160 This picture that it gave me, I was like, you didn't do what I 227 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:57,760 asked you to do. That was like my response back 228 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:00,360 to chat. And it was like, oh, I'm so 229 00:13:00,360 --> 00:13:01,400 sorry. You're right. 230 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:03,080 I didn't do what you asked me to do. 231 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:06,280 I'll try again. And I'm like, let me just, I'm 232 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:08,480 typing back. Let me just tell you my 233 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:11,760 directions again, even more simpler than before. 234 00:13:12,840 --> 00:13:14,320 And it's like, thank you so much. 235 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:16,760 Yeah, I totally understand what you're talking about. 236 00:13:16,760 --> 00:13:22,800 And it gives me the same photo. I'm like, you just gave me the 237 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:26,600 same photo as before and I'm so sorry. 238 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:28,400 You're right. I'm like all I'm learning from 239 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:30,360 this is I'm right chat and you're wrong. 240 00:13:30,560 --> 00:13:33,640 That's all I'm gaining from this conversation. 241 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,800 We don't want to be chat who just like operates out of just 242 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:41,960 like, Oh, I don't know what to do because God says to love, but 243 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:46,360 I don't love this person. So I can't right. 244 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:50,160 We have to have an understanding where we can now apply God's 245 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:55,360 knowledge into wisdom, which creates a heart aligned with his 246 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:57,880 word. Because when we can get heart 247 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:02,080 behind it, it's like, you know, like you don't want to just my 248 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:05,560 kids, like I'm teaching them. My mom always reminds me you're 249 00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:07,240 teaching them. I know I'm teaching them. 250 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:16,600 It's crazy, but I am my kids. It's like, oh gosh, you got to 251 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:18,640 go to the bathroom. What? 252 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:21,800 I have to go to the bathroom. You know, they're like throwing 253 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:26,480 themselves on the ground and they're like, not our older 2 254 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:28,480 are not like this anymore. It's just our younger one. 255 00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,480 You would think the. World is falling apart because 256 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:33,120 we asked him to go to the bathroom, right? 257 00:14:34,240 --> 00:14:38,240 So he goes to bathroom, to the bathroom out of service to what 258 00:14:38,240 --> 00:14:40,440 we've asked him to do. Like, all right, I'm going to 259 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:42,400 the bathroom. But just so you know, I don't 260 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,440 need to go, right? And as Christians, a lot of 261 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:48,920 times that's what we do. We're like God, all right, We'll 262 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:51,280 do your word just because you asked me to do it. 263 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:55,560 But I don't want to do it. When you love God, when you have 264 00:14:55,560 --> 00:14:58,560 his knowledge, wisdom, and understanding and you love him. 265 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:01,280 You don't have that hard attitudes like I don't want to 266 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:03,760 do it anyway, but I'm going to do it because you're like, I 267 00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:07,720 know that your ways are better. So I might not understand God 268 00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:11,360 what you're asking me to do, but I want to do it because I know 269 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:14,600 it's going to work out. I know it's going to be awesome. 270 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:18,640 So we have to get to that place where we're building our house 271 00:15:18,640 --> 00:15:22,040 on a solid foundation. And as our walls are going up, 272 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:26,040 they are built with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. 273 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:28,680 Lord God, your ways are better than my ways. 274 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:30,920 Your thoughts are better than my thoughts. 275 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:37,840 Amen. Ephesians 2, it says having been 276 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:42,520 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus 277 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:46,520 Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole 278 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:49,880 building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the 279 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:53,280 Lord, and whom you are also being built together for a 280 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:55,920 dwelling place of God in the Spirit. 281 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:00,560 There is an importance to the cornerstone. 282 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:05,480 And see, a lot of times when we're building our house, we 283 00:16:05,480 --> 00:16:08,560 think about, you know, every choice that we make is kind of, 284 00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:13,320 you know, every choice is like a brick, right, going into the 285 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:16,000 building of our house. But we forget. 286 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,440 How important that first brick being laid? 287 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:24,800 Is Jesus Christ the cornerstone, the most important stone, the 288 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:28,520 first stone laid? The reliable stone. 289 00:16:29,080 --> 00:16:32,200 He sets the. Alignment for our entire house 290 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:38,720 and he provides stability for the house that we are building 291 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:44,960 and every brick that comes after that cornerstone that we lay is 292 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:50,600 a choice that we have made and we have to make sure that every 293 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:54,080 brick that we are laying goes into the. 294 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:56,440 Correct. Alignment for building that. 295 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:58,920 House. We have a brick house and when 296 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:03,600 we moved into the house it was just like a regular reddish 297 00:17:03,600 --> 00:17:07,000 brown color brick. I'm great. 298 00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:09,520 Sure, it's great. For some, but I wanted a White 299 00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:13,720 House, so we decided to paint the house white and all of a 300 00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:16,400 sudden we're like not we, I'm not painting my house. 301 00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:20,000 Someone's painting my house and it's getting painted white and 302 00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,359 on the side of my house. I kind of stepped back and I'm 303 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:25,280 like, what in the what is happening right here? 304 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,440 I thought they painted it like the different. 305 00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,600 Shade of white, but. What I noticed when I got up 306 00:17:31,600 --> 00:17:36,040 close to the house is 1 brick was not set in the right 307 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:40,680 position, which caused the next brick to not be in the right 308 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:44,440 position, which caused the next brick this way and this way to 309 00:17:44,440 --> 00:17:47,280 not be in the right position. So now you're all going to drive 310 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:48,840 by my house meal. I see you now. 311 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:53,120 So now what happens is the whole side of the house, there's this 312 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:57,320 like whole section of brick that just kind of sticks out from the 313 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:01,200 whole rest of the house and then goes back in the alignment's not 314 00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:03,840 right. And So what we do as Christians 315 00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:07,200 is every choice that we make, we understand that that's a brick 316 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,160 in building our house. But we're like, I'm just, it's 317 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:12,360 just like a the the. Choice I'm going to make. 318 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:14,280 Is just like, just like slightly. 319 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:17,760 Off Not that big of a deal. And you you decide to lay that 320 00:18:17,760 --> 00:18:20,480 brick. But then what happens is you you 321 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:24,080 lay the next brick after that choice, and then the next brick 322 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:26,840 after that choice. And all the sudden you realize 323 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:29,160 that your house is not in alignment. 324 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:36,040 So we have to be so in tune with the Holy Spirit and the choices 325 00:18:36,040 --> 00:18:39,800 that we have to make for our house and making sure that those 326 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:43,640 choices are in alignment with the word of God. 327 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,760 And I can say this and most Christians can sit there and be 328 00:18:46,760 --> 00:18:49,880 like, of course, we know that that's God's word. 329 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:53,280 You just got to do it. Even even to this day. 330 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,520 I I called my dad when he was in El Salvador and I was like, I 331 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:59,040 need your help for a choice that we have to make. 332 00:18:59,840 --> 00:19:01,440 And he's like, here's what you got to do. 333 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:08,160 You got to pray about it, right? And it was like, my mind was 334 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:11,360 like, I texted my husband, we got to pray about it. 335 00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:14,040 You know, it's like, that's like, obviously. 336 00:19:14,400 --> 00:19:18,680 But yeah, I was trying to operate outside of asking God 337 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:22,880 what he wanted for my life, for my house. 338 00:19:23,520 --> 00:19:28,080 So we have to say, Lord, you are my cornerstone. 339 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:32,120 You set the alignment for my entire life. 340 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:37,840 Lord, let every choice that I make be a brick that goes in 341 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:42,720 alignment with you so that I can build a solid house. 342 00:19:43,120 --> 00:19:47,240 Because we have a mem, you can have this solid foundation. 343 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:50,680 And then as we start building our house, right line upon line, 344 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:53,280 precept upon precept, brick here, brick there. 345 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:56,760 And as you build that, what happens is if we get out of 346 00:19:56,760 --> 00:20:01,160 alignment now our house is just kind of like right? 347 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,000 And we have to understand that we don't want our, we have to 348 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,360 put, right? If if our. 349 00:20:08,360 --> 00:20:11,440 House is being built and it gets out of alignment. 350 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:14,760 What is the longevity of that house? 351 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:17,960 I don't know anyone who's like, yes, please build me a cheap 352 00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:21,080 house. Please build me a house that my 353 00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:23,840 bricks are out of alignment. So every time I look at it, I 354 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:25,440 think it's painted the wrong color. 355 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:27,640 Please. That's the kind of house that I 356 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:30,520 want to build, right? No one wants that. 357 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:32,640 But why do we do it for our lives? 358 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:37,280 We have to hear the word of God and do it and keep in tune with 359 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,120 him every single step of the way so that every choice we make 360 00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:44,520 stays in alignment to Him. So that worry, we're not 361 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:47,600 building a cheap house that's just going to fall over, but 362 00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:50,640 we're building a house for the longevity of it. 363 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:53,120 They're houses, man, that I have seen. 364 00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:59,040 And I'm like you, you hear about them, They're like, OK, I was 365 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:01,160 going to say they're like historical monuments. 366 00:21:02,040 --> 00:21:06,720 So we don't want to be like the historical one in Clarkson that 367 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:08,720 it's definitely not stood the test of time. 368 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:13,080 I'm so sorry if you're like, I'm on that team who's restoring it. 369 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,840 But we want to be like the ones that are like standing the test 370 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:22,560 of time so that when people look at our house, they say, Oh my 371 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:25,960 gosh, that's the kind of house that I want to build. 372 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:27,960 But if they see a house out of. Alignment. 373 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:29,880 They're like, I don't know what you're doing wrong, but that is 374 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:31,280 not the kind of house that I want. 375 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:34,240 We represent Jesus with everything that we. 376 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,480 Do in the house that we build, let's build a house in alignment 377 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:38,320 with him. Amen. 378 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:44,400 First Corinthians 3 it says. Now if anyone builds on this 379 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:48,360 foundation with gold, silver, precious stones. 380 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:52,000 Good, Hey Straw. Each one's work will become 381 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:57,280 clear why for the day will declare it because it will be 382 00:21:57,280 --> 00:22:02,200 revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one's work of 383 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:06,680 what sort it is. We understand as Christians that 384 00:22:06,680 --> 00:22:08,840 when we. Walk through life. 385 00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:13,200 We know that trials. Are going to come we know that 386 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:16,160 just because you become a Christian doesn't mean that it's 387 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,920 smooth sailing all the way because what happens is then God 388 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:23,880 asks you to do something that is totally aligned for his purpose 389 00:22:23,880 --> 00:22:26,560 for you, but it just doesn't look maybe the way that you 390 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:28,600 thought it would look. It didn't come in the right 391 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:30,320 timing that you hoped it would be. 392 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:32,480 And then all of a sudden you're Jonah, who's like, I don't. 393 00:22:32,480 --> 00:22:34,320 Want to do that? And you're in the fish's belly, 394 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:38,000 right? We have to understand that we 395 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:42,080 are going to go through things. Your house is going to take a 396 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:44,720 beating. Just laying it out there. 397 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:48,680 The winds are going to come, the storms are going to come, the 398 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:53,040 floods are going to come. The fire, just talking about a 399 00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:56,240 fire. The other day I tried cooking 400 00:22:56,240 --> 00:23:00,160 something in my oven and I heard, I didn't hear it. 401 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:03,880 I smelled something and I was like, not a big deal. 402 00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:05,400 And then it was like real strong. 403 00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:07,080 And I was just about to text my husband. 404 00:23:07,760 --> 00:23:11,560 If you come home from work and I'm laying on the floor, just 405 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:15,440 know it was the oven. Right when I had that thought, 406 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:18,480 all our alarms start going off. I'm like, Oh no. 407 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,200 So I had to call 911. Thankfully, my house didn't burn 408 00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,240 down. I'm OK, house is OK, we're all 409 00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:28,640 OK. But just imagine things like 410 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:32,400 that happen naturally speaking, things like that happen 411 00:23:32,520 --> 00:23:36,920 spiritually speaking. We have to have a house that now 412 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,200 because your house might look great, you might have moved on 413 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:40,880 to Step 2. You forgot about the foundation 414 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:42,040 part. You have a beautiful looking 415 00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,160 house and then the floods come, but you don't have a solid 416 00:23:45,160 --> 00:23:47,600 foundation. So your house may look awesome. 417 00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:50,560 Floods come, swoops out your house from under and now your 418 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:54,240 house is crumbling down. We have to understand that what 419 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:56,960 we build our the foundation is important. 420 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:00,280 And what you build your house with is important. 421 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,560 So you again may have this great looking house. 422 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,640 There's a lot of Christians. From the outside it looks great, 423 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:08,880 but when the. Fire comes when the testing of 424 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:12,040 times comes. It says what materials you use 425 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:15,600 will be revealed. It will be revealed if you have 426 00:24:15,600 --> 00:24:21,240 used wood, hay or straw. So it might look good from the 427 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,680 outside, but God says, I want your heart. 428 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:27,000 He says, I don't care if it looks like you're a great 429 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,840 Christian. I want your heart. 430 00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:34,320 I want you to have a heart that is after me, right? 431 00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,080 I want you to have a heart that when the fire comes and the wind 432 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:41,960 comes that you're like, man, I built my house on the solid 433 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:44,200 foundation, the rock, which is Jesus Christ. 434 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:48,160 I used him as my cornerstone. I use wisdom, knowledge and 435 00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:50,720 understanding to build my house up. 436 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:55,360 And now as it says here, I've also used gold, silver and 437 00:24:55,360 --> 00:24:58,320 precious stones. And when the day declares it, 438 00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:02,480 it's going to be revealed by fire and my house is not moving. 439 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:06,280 My house is going to stand because you have built the 440 00:25:06,280 --> 00:25:11,520 house, just like God has asked us to build that house. 441 00:25:11,720 --> 00:25:13,720 And you want to know what is so important? 442 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:18,320 About all of this is your house represents God. 443 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:23,240 So everything that it looks like every the location that it's at 444 00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:28,560 all of these things are this opportunity to use for a shining 445 00:25:28,560 --> 00:25:32,760 light to represent who God is. So people see your house. 446 00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:35,640 And they're like, that's the kind of house that I want. 447 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,160 Amen. Another scripture in first. 448 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:43,360 Corinthians it says, do you not know that you are the temple of 449 00:25:43,360 --> 00:25:46,680 God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 450 00:25:47,200 --> 00:25:51,760 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him, for 451 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:59,760 the temple of God is holy. Which temple you are We in 2010 452 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:05,080 we were starting the young adult group 412 and I just had I was 453 00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:10,040 reading in First Timothy 412 and it was just really sticking out 454 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,000 to me to be an example in Word, conduct, love, spirit, faith, 455 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,720 impurity and I. Really had this? 456 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:17,520 Burden. For the young. 457 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:20,280 Adults at that time, and I know that it's not just a calling for 458 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:22,320 the young adults, it's for the body of Christ, but that's the 459 00:26:22,320 --> 00:26:23,720 ministry that I was in at that time. 460 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:28,760 I really had a. Burden for people to live wholly 461 00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:33,480 consecrated lives and not just a burden for people to live a 462 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:37,720 wholly, wholly consecrated life that we are called to do, but 463 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:42,240 that it was possible because I know so many times when you're 464 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:46,120 going through life, sometimes it feels impossible. 465 00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:51,400 It feels impossible for us to, you know, just make certain 466 00:26:51,400 --> 00:26:55,240 choices that are aligned with what God would want us to make. 467 00:26:55,440 --> 00:26:58,480 So I met with Pastor Rich at the time and he was the previous 468 00:26:58,480 --> 00:27:01,640 young adult pastor and I just was like, you know, he's like 469 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:03,720 the, he's so good at this kind of stuff. 470 00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:06,960 So you know, he's just like he has his, Oh, I was going to say 471 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:08,560 he has his pen, but he's left-handed. 472 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:11,160 He has his pen in his paper, right? 473 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:13,000 And he's like, just just say it all. 474 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:16,440 And I was like, you know, I want holy consecrated lives. 475 00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:18,480 And I went younger and I just like gave him all the stuff and 476 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,400 he's writing it down and we're coming up with a slogan and we 477 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:23,280 came up with how we live matters. 478 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:26,360 How we. I was, I was waiting for like a 479 00:27:26,360 --> 00:27:28,360 big clap for that. I thought that was like, so 480 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:34,680 awesome. How we live matters. 481 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:40,920 It's so important what we do that matters that we're not just 482 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:46,720 outward exterior Christians, but the interior of our house 483 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:49,040 matters. How many of you know what you 484 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:52,560 put in your house makes your house a home? 485 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:56,840 Can I get an Amen? That's why staging houses are so 486 00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:58,160 important. They're going to sell a house, 487 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:01,640 so they stage it and they're like, oh, I can totally imagine 488 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:03,440 my little girl sleeping in this room. 489 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,640 Oh my gosh, this is where we're going to do movie night. 490 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:08,600 I'm going to potty train my right. 491 00:28:08,600 --> 00:28:10,040 They're like. People get all. 492 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:12,680 Crazy when they stage houses because they want to be able to 493 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,240 imagine their family in that home. 494 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:18,920 So we have to have an understanding that what we put 495 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:22,720 in our house to make it a home matters. 496 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:25,280 That's why here. Do you know that you are the? 497 00:28:25,280 --> 00:28:28,600 Temple of God, we are the temple of God. 498 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:35,720 We have this opportunity to walk around making our house a home. 499 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:39,480 And not only do we have this opportunity of making this house 500 00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:42,800 a home, but now we get to represent Jesus Christ in 501 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:46,600 everything that we say, in everything that we do. 502 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,480 We could spend so much time on our solid foundation. 503 00:28:51,840 --> 00:28:55,920 We could spend so much time on building our house with the 504 00:28:55,920 --> 00:29:00,680 right materials and having the alignment, all to have a filthy 505 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:06,640 house right on the inside, all to have things inside of our 506 00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:12,200 house that do not belong. And it's so important that not 507 00:29:12,200 --> 00:29:14,880 only do we have that firm foundation and we. 508 00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:18,640 Build that house. But what we put in our house is 509 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:23,200 a representation of God. Every choice that you make, what 510 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:27,240 you allow into your heart, what you allow into your mind, what 511 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:33,120 you allow your eyes to see, all of that goes into the interior 512 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:37,120 of your house. This scripture says here defile, 513 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:40,920 this means to ruin through corruption or seducing, false 514 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:45,440 teachings, pride and morality. What are we sowing into our 515 00:29:45,440 --> 00:29:49,320 heart? What are we allowing into our 516 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,040 houses? You know Jesus Christ when you 517 00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:54,760 know the Old Testament, it was all about the laws and following 518 00:29:54,760 --> 00:29:56,480 the laws. And then Jesus Christ comes here 519 00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:59,480 and he's like, don't you know that if you look on a person 520 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:01,400 with your heart, you're committing adultery? 521 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:04,120 And everyone's like. What are you talking about? 522 00:30:05,320 --> 00:30:09,720 Because he's making a point to say what's in our heart is just 523 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,080 as important as what we're doing externally. 524 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:16,880 And it's very easy. We've seen this time and time 525 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:21,040 again as we, if you follow any Christian news news, but 526 00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:25,600 Christian news specifically, you see people who their lives look 527 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:29,920 like very promising, right? Oh man, they're like hearing 528 00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:31,400 from the Lord and doing all this stuff. 529 00:30:31,400 --> 00:30:34,440 And all the sudden you find out through the testing of fire, 530 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:40,160 their heart has been revealed. And great was its fall because 531 00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:44,960 they said a foolish man built his house upon the sand. 532 00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:50,200 And when all the storms of life come, the house comes crumbling 533 00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:52,920 down. So we have to understand the 534 00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:55,360 gravity of what we're putting inside our house. 535 00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:59,480 And this is the the the best part about all of This is why 536 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:01,960 the building of our house is so important. 537 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:05,720 And as I was just getting ready for, you know, this Sunday in 538 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:07,960 the past couple weeks, I'm just like praying about it. 539 00:31:08,560 --> 00:31:10,960 And what I saw was a neighborhood. 540 00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:17,960 I saw this, this neighborhood of houses, beautiful, beautiful 541 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:24,120 houses that were all built on a foundation, the rock all having 542 00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:25,560 that cornerstone. All. 543 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:29,680 Having this alignment that follows the heart after God and 544 00:31:29,840 --> 00:31:33,000 and all these beautiful things. And I thought, why is it so 545 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:34,840 important what we do with our house? 546 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:38,720 Because we are a part of the Kingdom of God. 547 00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:43,200 We're not just a house that's over beyond Yonder, you know, 548 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:46,160 living all you can be, you can be. 549 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:49,120 But God hasn't called us to do life alone. 550 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:54,320 God has called us to be a part of the Kingdom of God. 551 00:31:54,600 --> 00:31:59,040 So the importance of us building a house says, listen, my house 552 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:02,880 now represents the Kingdom of God. 553 00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:05,200 People are going to see my house. 554 00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:07,760 And if they see my house and it looks like everyone else's 555 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:09,240 house, why would they want my house? 556 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:13,000 Why would they want what I have? Our kids school is in a 557 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:15,200 neighborhood. It's kind of like when you get 558 00:32:15,200 --> 00:32:17,840 those kids, like you go to a restaurant and they hand your 559 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:20,920 kids a piece of paper. And it will have like 6 560 00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:22,560 different things and they all look exactly. 561 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,320 The same and it's like, which one is different? 562 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:26,600 You drive through the neighborhood and it's like, 563 00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:29,080 hopefully no one owns this house. 564 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:33,400 It's beautiful, but it's like lime green and I'm like, you 565 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:35,400 drive through this neighborhood and it's like beautiful. 566 00:32:35,400 --> 00:32:37,800 And then you're just like, they built a lime greenhouse. 567 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:39,680 It's like, which one doesn't belong? 568 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:44,040 Oh, we don't want to be that house, right? 569 00:32:44,360 --> 00:32:48,480 We don't want to be in the Kingdom of God and we spend so 570 00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:54,360 much time building a house that doesn't fit in God's Kingdom so 571 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:56,880 that they say, oh, right, I don't want that. 572 00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:01,040 We need to be building. We need to be thinking about the 573 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:04,000 house that we build and knowing that it's it's a part of God's 574 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:07,320 Kingdom. Can I get a Amen? 575 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:11,440 Your. House is a part of God's Kingdom 576 00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:17,800 and that is something awesome that is not something to take 577 00:33:18,080 --> 00:33:23,160 for granted. Your houses affect or your house 578 00:33:23,280 --> 00:33:26,320 effects all the houses around you. 579 00:33:26,320 --> 00:33:30,160 In Matthew 6 it says therefore do not worry, saying what shall 580 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:32,440 we eat, What shall we drink, what shall we wear? 581 00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:37,360 For after all of these things the Gentiles seek for your 582 00:33:37,360 --> 00:33:41,160 heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 583 00:33:41,720 --> 00:33:46,320 So what do we do? Seek first the Kingdom of God 584 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:49,600 and His righteousness. All these things will be added 585 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:52,080 to you. I have the question for you. 586 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:57,920 Whose Kingdom are you building? And I know it's easy to, it's 587 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:00,520 easy to want to know what the right thing to say is. 588 00:34:00,520 --> 00:34:03,520 Of course I'm building God's Kingdom, but what are your 589 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:08,840 actions saying? Are you building your Kingdom or 590 00:34:08,840 --> 00:34:11,719 are you building the Kingdom of God? 591 00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:18,800 This is a popular phrase amongst people who are my age, and maybe 592 00:34:18,800 --> 00:34:20,639 it was popular when I was a child. 593 00:34:20,639 --> 00:34:23,199 I just didn't really know the lingo for the parents of that 594 00:34:23,199 --> 00:34:25,880 time. But a lot of people say, oh, 595 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:27,800 we're just doing what's best for our family. 596 00:34:30,679 --> 00:34:32,800 If you tell me that, I will not roll my eyes at you. 597 00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:35,760 I'll just do it this time. And then just know if you ever 598 00:34:35,760 --> 00:34:40,120 say that to me, what I'm thinking inside, we're just 599 00:34:40,120 --> 00:34:41,719 doing what's best for our family. 600 00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:45,199 It's like, so going to church is not what's best for your family. 601 00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:47,719 We're just doing what's best for our family. 602 00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:50,760 So allowing them to spend all this time with people who are 603 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:53,800 not planted in the House of God is what's best for your family. 604 00:34:54,040 --> 00:34:57,560 What if we remember that we were building the Kingdom of God? 605 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:02,160 That we're not building. Our Kingdom, our children are 606 00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:06,840 not our children. They're His children and we are 607 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:10,320 equipping them for the Kingdom of God. 608 00:35:12,440 --> 00:35:17,680 We have to get to this place that says I'm not doing what's 609 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:21,600 best for my family. I'm doing what's best for his 610 00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:24,280 family. And when we do what's best for 611 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:25,880 his family, I will tell. You. 612 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:31,960 That sometimes it's not easy. Sometimes it is a struggle. 613 00:35:32,280 --> 00:35:37,080 Sometimes you're the odd one out, but I would rather be the 614 00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:40,840 odd one out in his Kingdom than busy building my Kingdom. 615 00:35:41,320 --> 00:35:45,680 So we have to understand that we can go through life seeking all 616 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:48,400 these things that the Gentiles seek, but all we're going to do 617 00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:52,640 is just represent the Gentiles. God says if you want to be a 618 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:58,800 part of my Kingdom, seek first the Kingdom of God and then all 619 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:00,840 these things. He's like, I know what you need. 620 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:03,840 Do you not know I created you? I know everything that you have 621 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:08,080 need of, Don't worry about that. Let tomorrow worry about itself. 622 00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:11,320 He says, don't worry about that, seek first the Kingdom of God, 623 00:36:11,320 --> 00:36:14,080 and I will Add all these things to you. 624 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:18,600 But when you thus sin against brethren, and moon their weak 625 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:20,480 conscious, you sin against Christ. 626 00:36:20,760 --> 00:36:23,800 Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never 627 00:36:23,800 --> 00:36:26,000 again eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble. 628 00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:29,440 If you are a part of our Bible studies, you will know that we 629 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:32,400 just use this scripture. The other week we've been 630 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:36,720 studying First Corinthians and I'm like, gosh man, I love this 631 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:39,560 because you dive deep down like. You know it's. 632 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:41,560 Easy to just read through First Corinthians. 633 00:36:41,560 --> 00:36:45,040 It's another thing when you study it and I'm like, Paul is 634 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:47,480 awesome. Like I knew he was awesome when 635 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:50,000 he said imitate me as I imitate, imitate Christ. 636 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,840 I was like, gosh, what a guy. But now that I'm diving into 637 00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:56,160 these Bible studies, if you're not a part and not too late to 638 00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:59,320 sign up. We're talking about Paul, right? 639 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:03,960 And he basically comes to this place that he's like, listen, I 640 00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:05,040 like meat. I love. 641 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:07,280 Meat, it's great for me. I love it. 642 00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:11,440 But if it causes you to stumble, he says, I just won't eat it 643 00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:14,480 again. What if as Christians, we 644 00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:19,320 realize the influence that we have on other people and we 645 00:37:19,320 --> 00:37:21,920 said, listen, if this causes you to stumble, I'm not. 646 00:37:21,920 --> 00:37:26,960 I'm not attached to this. It's OK if what I have put in my 647 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:30,880 house causes you to stumble. I'll throw it to the trash. 648 00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:35,360 We can't be so attached to the things that we put in our house. 649 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:38,040 That we're not. Willing to let it go if it 650 00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:43,120 causes our brother to stumble. We have to realize not only do 651 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:47,160 we get to influence other people around us, but we have the 652 00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:51,240 privilege to influence other people around us. 653 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:55,960 I just think that mindset shift of like an opportunity to do 654 00:37:56,560 --> 00:38:01,360 this for people to now a privilege to influence people. 655 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:06,200 God has called us to be the salt and light in which we live. 656 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:10,960 And we have that opportunity to say, listen, if it causes you to 657 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:13,960 stumble, how much? If we're building our Kingdom, 658 00:38:14,120 --> 00:38:16,640 we're not going to be willing to say I'm not going to eat meat, 659 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:20,880 but if we're building God's Kingdom and we place people 660 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:25,320 first before ourselves, we'll say, listen, I love it, but if 661 00:38:25,320 --> 00:38:27,640 it's causing you to stumble, I get rid of it. 662 00:38:27,840 --> 00:38:32,120 We have this opportunity to influence other people through 663 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:36,680 the building of our house and we have the opportunity to walk 664 00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:39,840 with them through the building of their house. 665 00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:42,720 So when we have this opportunity and they're getting ready to lay 666 00:38:42,720 --> 00:38:45,560 that brick and you're like, wow, that's slightly out of 667 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:49,320 alignment. What a opportunity we have to 668 00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:51,440 get to help influence in the building of other people's 669 00:38:51,440 --> 00:38:52,160 houses. Amen. 670 00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:57,920 In this last Scripture I have it says, And he himself gave some 671 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:01,280 to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some 672 00:39:01,280 --> 00:39:05,520 pastors and teachers. For the equipping of the Saints, 673 00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:09,600 for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of 674 00:39:09,600 --> 00:39:14,160 Christ, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what 675 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:18,400 every joint supplies according to the effective working by 676 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:24,880 which every part does its share, causes growth of the body, For 677 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:30,400 the edifying of itself in love for the body. 678 00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:36,760 We are the body of Christ. It does not say for the edifying 679 00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:41,640 of yourself, it says for the edifying of the body. 680 00:39:42,520 --> 00:39:45,120 And I mentioned this a little bit, but I just think about like 681 00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:50,360 this neighborhood, the Kingdom of God, and all these houses are 682 00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:52,480 being built on the solid foundation. 683 00:39:52,840 --> 00:39:56,040 They're all built with the precious stones and the gold and 684 00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:59,440 the silver, and they stand the test of time. 685 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:05,480 Every house is filled with things that glorify the Lord. 686 00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:08,800 An outsider looking in can say, I want that. 687 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:14,840 If our neighborhood looks exactly like every other 688 00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:17,880 neighborhood, why would anyone want to come in? 689 00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:20,640 They would say, well, I've already got that over here, I 690 00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:23,160 don't need that, but we have the opportunity. 691 00:40:23,160 --> 00:40:28,640 I just believe we are a city set on a hill which cannot be 692 00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:32,280 hidden. We are the light of the world 693 00:40:33,400 --> 00:40:38,440 and we can glorify God as we collectively come together for 694 00:40:38,440 --> 00:40:42,040 the edifying of itself in love. As we collectively come 695 00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:47,160 together, as we bring our houses together and as we make our 696 00:40:47,160 --> 00:40:53,280 houses a home, we come together. And now we have the opportunity 697 00:40:53,560 --> 00:40:57,920 to function as the body of Christ, which is the Kingdom of 698 00:40:57,920 --> 00:41:02,000 God, which is able to represent heaven on earth. 699 00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:05,960 What an amazing, amazing testimony we're able to be a 700 00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:06,960 part of. Amen. 701 00:41:08,040 --> 00:41:08,760 By. Faith. 702 00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:11,080 This is talking about Abraham. It says by faith he dwelt in the 703 00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:14,520 land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with 704 00:41:14,520 --> 00:41:18,240 his children, that heirs with him of the same promise. 705 00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:23,760 For he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder 706 00:41:24,040 --> 00:41:29,640 and maker is God. As we are building our house, we 707 00:41:29,640 --> 00:41:36,560 are a part of a city who the entire city, its foundation and 708 00:41:36,560 --> 00:41:41,240 builder is God. How incredible. 709 00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:49,000 How blessed are we to be a part of what God has for this world. 710 00:41:49,560 --> 00:41:55,800 And when we are in the Kingdom of God, it's not about us, but 711 00:41:55,800 --> 00:42:01,800 it's about building His Kingdom. This is Pastor Lauren Coverbius 712 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:04,360 from Mount Zion Church. We thank you for joining us 713 00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:07,400 today and invite you to connect with our church family by 714 00:42:07,400 --> 00:42:11,120 visiting mountzion.org and following us on social media. 715 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:12,120 God bless you.