Proverbs 10:25 “As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.”
The foundation is the most important part of building. As men of God, we often talk about building and buildings. “How to Build a Sunday School Class,” and “How to Have Bigger Attendance and Offerings,” are the eye-catching titles of books that sit around my own personal library. We drive through town and see the beautiful buildings of dead religion, and we think how wasted it feels that people who do not win souls to Christ have such nice buildings. We know exactly what buildings or plots of land we want in our town. My favorite thing to talk to preachers about is building a building and building a work.
The cornerstone is the most important part of building. In architecture, a cornerstone is traditionally the first stone laid for a building, with all other stones laid according to that first stone. A cornerstone marks the geographical location and orientation of the building. It decides which direction you will go in your building.
We know Christ is our cornerstone in the work of God: Isaiah 28:16 “Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.” Ephesians 2:20 “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;” The importance of this is not missed in our hearts. Jesus needs to be the focus of everything going on in our churches and ministries. Everything in our hand should be done to the glory of Jesus Christ. Lifting Him up is the most pressing matter of our day. Jesus led a three and a half year ministry all about setting himself as this chief cornerstone. The beginning of a project should take a disproportionate amount of time to accomplish. I have not worked full time as a carpenter for a while, but I remember well the steps to putting down fresh flooring. Move the furniture, tear out the old, scrape the floor clean, screw down any loose boards, sweep the floor, measure, decide which way to go, sweep again, measure again, strike a line, and begin to dry fit the product (sweep again as necessary). Laying tile or carpet, building a wall, or even building a house is not hard to DO. The hard part of any of these is making sure to do it STRAIGHT and RIGHT before you go building. Jesus did this for us. The apostles followed suit in their own life and ministry. Proverbs 10:25 points out that “the righteous is an everlasting foundation.” Paul tells the Ephesians that they are no longer strangers, but part of the house of God. He says that this house of God is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,” with Jesus being the cornerstone. I often looked at myself as the contractor in the work of God. Calling the shots, bossing workers around, and viewing the work of God from the outside as it goes from framework to finished. The truth of the matter is all I am is a building block is God’s house. I need to be willing to be a foundation for those who come after me by putting myself right in line with the cornerstone (Christ), and following the line that He has set.
1. You need to dig deep to get to the foundation.
Luke 6:47-48 “Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my saying, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock:” Jesus is the rock, and you are the foundation. It takes 3X as much work to put yourself in Christ as it does to lay a foundation in the world. You not only need to COME to the Lord says, you need to HEAR what he say, then you need to DO it. The parable reflects the same. You not only need to DIG deep, you need to LAY a foundation, and then BUILD on that foundation. The foolish man only did one part of that.
2. You will not be seen as the foundation.
Where do you think the wise man’s foundation was found? Underneath the dirt. Too many times people want to be the steeple when the Lord really needs somebody to be a stone for the foundation. The only time people look at the foundation of a building is when they are inspecting the building. Nobody drives by a church and thinks, “Man, look at how nice that foundation is laid.” The work of the ministry will leave you feeling unnoticed, and unseen. The Lord sees all, and when we are the foundation He will reward us in public for what we are in private.
3. You are the key to success as the foundation.
Think about what has brought you this far: Godly Heritage, a Pastor who invested in you, a Christian School that taught you, a Sunday School teacher who noticed you, a Bible College that trained you, a Conference that inspired you, or a Camp that changed you. All foundational to making you who you are now. When you decide to be a foundation block instead of a showpiece, you allow God to extend the influence of your service for Him.
People who go through the storm will tell you a more full story of the parable Christ gave to us. The shutters of the wise man’s house? Gone. The 3D shingles on the roof? They’re in the neighbors yard. The foundation kept it from falling, but no one saw what it did. The blood and sweat that got it where it was at was long past. Be a building block for the Lord’s house.
Pastor Jesse McCammon
Calvary Baptist Church | Flora, IL
