A Building that Endures

Dr. Robin H. Cowin,...................................... November 4, 2018

1 Corinthians 3:10-17............................ Grove FBC 125 Anniversary

I.               All of our work will be tested by fire.

A.    Wood is the building material of Prosperity. King Solomon built his house out of cedar, called the Cedars of Lebanon. It looks and smells beautiful but it covered a lifestyle of indulgence that led him away from the Lord. We try to cover our sin but only Jesus can remove it.

B.    Hay is the building material of Poverty. Hay fed the livestock and put a roof over the head of the common man. Hay is often used to start a fire, whether deliberate or accidental. I am reminded of the verse in Isaiah 40:8

C.    Straw is the building material of Punishment. When the children of Israel were in slavery in Egypt they were forced to make bricks for the buildings of their masters. They were punished by being forced to gather straw to make bricks.

II.             Some of our work will be treasured through fire. Jesus said that we should, “lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven.” Mt 6:19-21.What do we take with us into Heaven? Your first thought may be nothing! But, there are some things we take with us. If gold, silver, and precious stones represent things we take with us into Heaven then what is Paul teaching us here?

A.    Gold is the building material of Honor. Gold is the measure for the highest value materially. Honor is also the measure for the highest value spiritually. The ark of the Covenant, doors to the Holy of Holies, furniture and utensils used in worship were all made of gold or covered with gold.

We take people, relationships, people we love, people we have led to a relationship with Jesus.

B.    Silver is the building material of Holiness. Everything that held anything together in the tabernacle, or connected the tabernacle with the earth, was made of silver. Silver was the symbol of purity, holiness, and separation from the world. The holiest relationship we have here on earth is our marriage. Marriage is the picture of the relationship between Christ and His Church.

C.    Precious stones are the building materials of Heaven. The New Jerusalem is made of precious stones. Also, the Ephod of the priests was made of twelve precious stones, each one engraved with the name of a tribe of Israel. Every Christian is a precious stone in the body of Christ. The stones are representative of the glory of God, (Rev. 21:21). We are a precious stone when Jesus is seen clearly in us. Our relationship with God through Jesus is something we can have here that we will take with us into heaven. If we do not have it here we will not see heaven.

III.           Our foundation will be tempered in the fire. Christ is the bedrock foundation upon which we build.

Commitment is the Concrete of our foundation.

A.    Commit yourself to Jesus in prayer. Before the foundation of a house is poured there are several steps that have to be taken. A connection to the bedrock beneath the house must first be made. The ground is prepared by digging out the foundation, to bedrock, and setting the forms into which the foundation will be poured. This can be compared with our need to establish a relationship with God before we can ask Him to bless anything in our lives. The work of the Holy Spirit could be compared to the steel rods, Re-bar, that is used to give the concrete strength. You are like the sand that will be used in the foundation, incomplete without the cement that is from Jesus.

B.    Commit your family to Jesus. Your spouse is like the cement that is mixed with the sand to make the concrete of the foundation.

C.    Commit to God’s people, the Bride of Christ. Salvation is like the marriage ceremony, which is like the water that is mixed with the cement and sand on the day the foundation is poured.

Philippians 1:6