Building your spiritual house (Pt. 8)

Pt. 8. Cutting Corners  

“13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”-1 Corinthians 3:13-15 

Using the right materials is important, but it is also more labor intensive. Working with brick is harder than working with straw. This, unfortunately, causes people to cut corners and when you cut corners it eventually catches up with you. 

Each new home that is built has to go through a variety of inspections to make sure it is up to code. If you used cheap or inferior materials, it will be found out. Things are no different with your spiritual house. There is going to be an inspection. Paul tells us that one day our spiritual house is going to be tested by fire to see the kind of work that’s been done. I really like how The Message paraphrase describes it:

“Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you’ll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won’t get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn’t, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won’t be torn out; you’ll survive—but just barely.”-1 Corinthians 3:9-15. 

Are you building your life with quality material? Typically, quality is best tested by adversity. Earthquakes test foundations. Strong winds test roofs. The Apostle Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 3:13, in regards to our spiritual houses, that on judgment day, fire will show the kind of work each builder has done. However, that is an unfortunate time to discover how the corners your cut are going to cost you. 

Cutting corners may save you time on the front end, but the end result cannot be calculated, until what you’ve built has been tested. The time to ask these questions is now:

Are you building your life with eternity in mind?

Are you using materials that will stand the test of time?

Are you building your life quickly and cheaply for today or in a way that will count forever. 

We are building a house for God! I want to build a spiritual house that God can be proud to call His dwelling place. 

Scott Burr 

Dayspring Community Church 

Building your spiritual house (Pt. 7)

 Pt. 7-Shoddy Materials 

“12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. 13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. 14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. 15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”-1 Corinthians 3:12-15

Paul tells us that you can build a foundation using a variety of materials. You can us gold, silver, and jewels or you can use wood, hay and straw. There is obviously a cost to building one or the other, which we will talk about next week, but this week I want to focus on quality. 

Let’s be honest, if you live alongside the ocean in Florida, you have to consider the possibility that eventually you are going to face a hurricane. With that in mind, you choose to frame your home with materials that are capable of helping you withstand the storms that will inevitably come. 

However, do we follow the same line of thought when it comes to building our spiritual lives? We are, for certain, going to face storms in this life. Are we framing our lives with that which will help us endure them?  Truss plates are not flashy. They don’t scream… “Look at me!”, but they do make sure that the roof stays on when the rain comes. Prayer, worship, fasting, studying God’s Word, serving others, and showing compassion are not the bling that cause people to “ooh” and “ahh” when they walk into your home. They are the hidden truss plates. In fact in Matthew 6:6, Jesus said when it comes to giving, prayer, and fasting that we are to go into your secret place, where no one can see us, and do these things. 

Few understood this better than James Orchard Halliwell. Halliwell was an English Shakespearian scholar. Believer it or not, you’ve been familiar with his work since you were a child. He authored the story of The Three Little Pigs. From childhood we have been taught the principles found in 1 Corinthians 3, just in fairy tale form. The wolf blowing and blowing represent the storms of this life. Each pig chose their building materials-straw, sticks, and bricks. Only one was able to withstand the wolf’s huffing and puffing. 

You can frame your life with money, popularity, power, or seeking self-interests, but how well will those things weather the storms of this life. How does being popular help you battle depression? How does a fat bank account help you navigate a failing marriage? How is that big promotion helping your manage cancer? 

Using the right materials is important, but it is also more labor intensive. Working with brick is harder than working with straw. This, unfortunately, causes people to cut corners and when you cut corners you put yourself at risk. 

Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church 

Building your spiritual house (Pt.6)

Pt. 6-Good Bones

“Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.”- 

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

Over the last several weeks we have been studying how to build your spiritual house. We’ve discussed choosing the right architect and how you are God’s dream home, we’ve talked about Christ being our cornerstone and how the teachings of the Apostles and Prophets our foundation. However, how we frame things up at this point is just as important.

When we bought the last house that we lived in, we were walking through the home with the contractor that built it. He had come by to finish a couple of things and as we were standing in the garage he looks up at the roof trusses and points out the metal pronged truss plates he had installed. Of all the features in the house he could have shown me, I thought it was curious that he pointed out that particular feature. He went on to tell me that those truss plates were tornado/hurricane rated for up to 150 mph wind speed.

The garage was the only place in the house that had an exposed ceiling to see them, otherwise, I probably would have never known they were there. However, in that moment, I got a glimpse not at the aesthetics of the house, but at the structure. I got to see how things were framed up. I got to see what kind of materials were used. He was proud of those truss plates and I can honestly say that in the 14 years I lived there, through all the storms and high winds that battered that house, I never had a single issue with that roof. 

This got me thinking about some of the home improvement shows and the houses they choose to renovate. One of the shows is called, “Good Bones”. What does that mean? As the phrase implies, the house chosen may not necessarily look all that great on the outside, but underneath, it’s in great condition. The structure beneath the surface is good construction. 

In 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, Paul is admonishing us to take the time to think about how and with what materials we are framing up our lives. Are we building our lives with eternity in mind? Are we using materials that will stand the test of time? Are we building our lives quickly and cheaply for today or in a way that will count forever. 

You can have a great blueprint, a solid cornerstone, and a strong foundation, but if you use shoddy materials you are not going to have a house with good bones. 

Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church

Building your spiritual house (Pt.5)

Pt. 5-Foundations

“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”-Ephesians 2:19-22

The Apostles and Prophets preached the word of God as they were led by the Spirit of God. Those teachings, fitly framed together, provide for our foundation.

A foundation is designed to stand the test of time. Let’s be honest, it has a house to hold up. So it makes sense to pay attention to the details that will make certain that the house remains stable. Why, however, when we buy a home do we want to make sure that the foundation is solid, but when it comes to our lives we give little thought to it. Don’t we want the same stability and strength for our lives? 

A good foundation has three primary tasks. 

First, a good foundation is load bearing. A foundation needs to be able to support the load being built upon it. Your entire house sits on top of it! The average house weighs 50 tons. That 50 tons house sits on a 7 ton foundation. Making certain that foundation is laid correctly is of paramount importance. Good foundations are capable of bearing tremendous loads. Perhaps the reason you feel as though you are being crushed under the weight of this life is because your life isn’t build on a foundation that can sustain it. 

Second, a good foundation guards against shifting and settling. Solid foundations help to prevent your home from shifting and settling into the ground beneath. If it is well-built it will help to keep the occupants of that home safe from normal weather and give added protection against natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. The teachings of Christ, the Apostles and Prophets when fitly framed together provide the strength and stability we need to face the storms of this life. 

Finally, a good foundation provides structural integrity. A well constructed foundations keeps moisture out, resists movement, and insulates against the cold. A good spiritual foundation can keep worldly influences out, help us to resist temptation, and insulate us from sin (Psalm 119:11). All of which provide us with greater spiritual integrity. 

When is the last time you evaluated your foundation? What are you building your life upon? Is Jesus Christ your cornerstone? Is your life fitly framed together by the Word of God? All of this must be firmly established before the walls go up!

Scott Burr 

Dayspring Community Church 

Building your spiritual house (Pt.4)

Pt. 4-Cornerstone

“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”-1 Corinthians 3:9-11

In ancient building practices, the cornerstone (or foundation stone) was the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones, laid after this one, would be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. The foundation stone was “the stone” that aligned the entire structure. 

The Apostle Paul was familiar with this practice when he referred to Jesus as the cornerstone. However, he wasn’t the only one who made this reference. In the book of Isaiah, the prophet refers to the Messiah to come as the cornerstone:

“Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on. Whoever believes need never be shaken.”-Isaiah 28:16

Just like a physical house, our spiritual house needs a reference point. A stone to which we align our lives. One that is immovable and unshakable. One that is true and does not sway with every wind of doctrine. One that we trust can withstand the storms of life and the test of time. With that in mind, when we are building our spiritual house, we must make certain that our house is being built upon Christ and His word. Without this very important relationship with Christ, our lives will become misaligned and before long we become unsound. 

However, over time and with the advancement of building techniques, the cornerstone became more ceremonial than structural. What once was the very rock upon which a structure was fitted, has now become a showpiece. 

Modern day cornerstones are often placed on the corner of a building and are inscribed with dates of construction and various names including that of the builder or architect. Unfortunately, this modern representation of a cornerstone has become the reality for many believers. Jesus has become more of a ceremonial stone, rather than a structural support upon which their lives are rooted or built upon.  

Obviously the Apostle Paul did not see Jesus as a simple showpiece in our lives, but understood Christ to be foundational to our salvation and spiritual growth.  He, also, understood that it was only after the cornerstone was set that the rest of the foundation could be tied to it. 

Scott Burr

Dayspring Community Church