1. The first part of Psalm 127:1 teaches an important principle -- "the Lord must build the house." 2. If the Lord is not the builder, those who build the house are working in vain. 3. In our lesson we are examining: a. 2 building projects in the Old Testament that illustrate this principle b. how the Lord builds His house today.
Discussion:
I. TWO BUILDING PROJECTS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
A. A negative example: The tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). 1. (vs.1-4) A plan was made to build a city and a tower. a. Brick and mortar were selected as the materials. b. The plan was to build the tower up to heaven. c. Question: Is there any mention of the Lord in this plan? 1) After the flood God wanted Noah's descendants to populate the earth. 2) The Babel project was designed to keep everyone in that area. 3) This was a vain project because the Lord's will was not followed. 2. (vs.5-9) The Lord stopped this building project. 3. We do not know how many resources were involved, we do not know how many people worked on this project, and we do not know how much time was spent, but we do know that it was all in vain. B. A positive example: The tabernacle. 1. The Lord gave Moses a pattern for the tabernacle (Exodus 25:1-9). a. The Lord selected certain materials to be used. b. He gave detailed instructions for building the tabernacle. 2. The Israelites followed the Lord's instructions (Exodus 39:32, 42-43). 3. The Lord was pleased with the tabernacle (Exodus 40:33-34). C. These building projects in the Old Testament illustrate the principle revealed in Psalm 127:1. D. On the basis of this information, let us turn our attention to . . .
II. HOW THE LORD BUILDS HIS HOUSE TODAY
A. In 1 Timothy 3:15, the church is identified as God's house. B. God's house: 1. has a corner stone -- Jesus is the corner stone of God's house (Acts 4:11) 2. has a foundation -- the apostles and prophets serve as the foundation of God's house (Ephesians 2:19-22) 3. has a door a. Jesus is the door of God's house (John 10:9). b. He knocks, and He wants to come in (Revelation 3:20). 4. has keys a. Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter (Matthew 16:19). b. Peter revealed the keys for entering God's house in Acts 2:38. 5. is composed of a variety of members a. Christians are the members of God's house (Acts 2:47; 1 Peter 2:5). b. All members of God's house are important (1 Corinthians 12:14-27). 6. has something special that binds its members together -- love. a. The hearts of Christians are to be "knit together in love" (Colossians 2:2). b. (Colossians 3:14) Christians are to put on love "which is the bond of perfectness."
Conclusion:
1. Faithful members of God's house look forward to spending eternity in another house built by God (2 Corinthians 5:1-2). 2. The September issue of Gospel Advocate has a series of articles based on the theme "When Bad Things Happen." 3. One of the articles is entitled "Look Forward to Heaven." 4. We sometimes groan now, but we have reason for hope, comfort, and encouragement (Psalm 23:6).