If the Foundations be destroyed

[0:00] We're going to talk about foundations tonight and the word of God tells us of foundations in Psalm 11.

[0:11] ! I'll read through the psalm it says and it's a psalm of David. Psalm 11. You might want to read along with me. In the Lord put I my trust how say ye to my soul flee as a bird to your mountain for lo the wicked bend their bow they make ready their arrow upon the string that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart. We're in Psalm 11 verse 3. If the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do? The Lord is in his holy temple the Lord's throne is in heaven his eyes behold his eyelids try the children of men the Lord trieth the righteous but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth upon the wicked he shall rain snares fire and brimstone and horrible tempest this shall be the portion of their car for the righteous Lord loveth righteousness his countenance doth behold the upright. We see there David declares his faith I trust in the Lord he talks about the wicked bending their bow of a warfare he says of the foundations if they'd be destroyed what can the righteous do which is verse 3 and then it says the Lord is in his holy temple we see the world with its love of violence sounds like the 21st century doesn't it and it tells of his judgment to come but his love of the righteous friends if the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do foundations I know at home lately we've got a bit of a water problem we've got some water coming down and the side of our house is all green with moss and mildew and I'm just worried about the foundations worried about the foundations if the foundations be destroyed it's a problem isn't it foundations can get broken down they can get damaged they can be torn down overthrown I believe we're seeing this destruction in our world today aren't we the destruction of foundations in these times that we live now the Bible talks a lot about foundations whether it's foundations for our home we could think of our physical home but even for our family the foundation of our home of society of our lives our lives are we building a strong building to build a strong building we need strong foundations of course it would be foolish to build without a foundation Luke 6 verse 49 tells of a man who built without a foundation that would be pretty silly wouldn't it it might build it quicker it might cost less but a building without a foundation reminds me of the tower of pisa i should have drawn i had a photo of the the leaning tower the famous leaning tower of pisa we must have a foundation we must and a foundation needs to be strong we need a strong foundation in a world where weakness prevails doesn't it moral weakness moral decay the moral undermining of society at large it makes me think i'd love to see more people involved in local government in state government in federal government to make a difference to be the salt and light pray that there'll be some christian candidates get elected as we come to the end of the ballot papers time now and hopefully they'll get across the line we need some strong foundations the strong foundations provide safety when they develop the building they first have to build down before they build up don't they you see the construction fences around these construction sites and there's nothing much to show because uh you know at that level you can't see they're actually building down they build down first they build the foundation first and they go really deep you see these city blocks where they build these they dig so deep down don't they then they build

[4:11] these skyscrapers they have to be on a strong foundation because we know a building can only be as strong as as its foundations that's why you see strong buildings coping with cyclones and heavy weather heavy rains winds earthquakes floods always test the foundation we know that familiar story of the man who built his house one built his house on the sand the foolish man the other built his house upon the rock and it says the rain descended so you had the weather from above then the floods came you had the weather from below and then the winds blew the weather from around above below around rains winds earthquakes floods i can relate to floods lately i had a little flood at my house when it was pouring down with rain lately and we had that really heavy rain and julie and i were were getting our we had a little bilge pump that gave up the ghost and we were trying to uh pump it away or and then shovel it away and bucket it away and it just wouldn't stop and then later that the morning after i realized when the rain had stopped well the the water's still flowing down and it was a it was a tap it was a pipe from a tap that had ruptured and so we're able to fix it but it was we were at this imminent peril of a flood that's uh so i can relate to the the floods uh here and so this foundation in matthew 7 the the wise man he had a foundation his foundation was rock and for us it's the same isn't it we've got a rock haven't we the rock christ jesus he's the rock of ages he's immovable he's that one that we can build our lives upon a foundation first thing it needs to be strong another thing about a foundation it needs to be stone not sand so a rock it has to be rock solid as we see in this matthew 7 picture as solomon built the temple it tells what did he get he got stones he got great stones costly stones and huge stones to lay the foundation of the house we build on a rock christ jesus and he tells in matthew 7 that account as a light to the luke 6 account that his words are that foundation building on that strong foundation building on that stone if you like that's that rock that solid rock so a foundation should be strong it should be stone rock it should be thirdly it should be stable we see that a foundation should be stable when foundations are tested when the earthquake comes we see it needs to be stable and unshakable and of course we read again of this tried stone this precious cornerstone this sure foundation this stable this stable this sure foundation who is our lord and i can urge you tonight as believers your savior is a sure savior his salvation is a sure salvation it's a certain salvation it's not a an uncertain salvation i know oftentimes when we're witnessing and talking to folk they might say and i love love the way peter puts it are you 100 sure that you're going to heaven some might say oh 99 and a half percent some might say um you know uh maybe 60 percent 100 he can be 100 amen because he's a certain savior he's a sure foundation amen he's a sure foundation a foundation stone a tried stone a precious corner stone that's christ jesus isn't it our lord

[8:12] prophetically it's speaking of christ to come he is a foundation a sure and a tried stone precious a foundation also needs to be secure job 38 6 it speaks of foundations fastened foundations fastened think of that security that is in christ that you can know a secure salvation when we look at the times we're living in we're living in it seems like they're insecure times aren't they people just don't know what we're going to read in tomorrow's newspaper what's the headlines going to be tomorrow there's talk of you know someone pressing nuclear buttons there's there's talk of war breaking out in multiple places right now at the moment and we're living in insecure times and really if there was a big catastrophe and i'm not meaning to be a doomsday sayer so much but i guess the potential for a big catastrophe is just really it could happen really in in a few moments of time and someone has imagined it for example a large percentage of the world's computers crunch to a halt bang the internet's down you know our electronically connected society will plunge into darkness as power plants shut down no power imagine that no electricity no more tv no more lights no more on anything electric no more air conditioning airplanes could fall helplessly to the earth their electronics could fail if there's a emp you know this electronic bomb that they could drop banks supermarkets traffic lights break down many makes of cars would be inoperable the computerized components would fail they won't even start they won't operate burglar alarm systems won't work crime vandalism riots would explode you can imagine billions of panicking people and what would they want they'd want a new system a new system they'd want order out of chaos wouldn't they they'd want to have a dictatorial government that i'm sure would have their best interests at heart and the masses would cry out for such leaders to bring control control us save us save us bring freedom they'd want that public safety that assurance and the world economy would be bankrupt wouldn't it people would be in all kinds of stress this kind of scenario it could happen it could happen and it could happen really quickly we see in the news lately there's talk of bio terrorism isn't there the biological warfare pestilence weather weapons they're talking about in these troubled times that we live these things are very conceivable we need something secure we need a rock don't we we need a rock in such times we need to find a place of safety we need a refuge don't we we need a shelter from the storm and there is one who can bring such security to lives a secure salvation a secure savior a certain savior and he'll bring real meaning and hope people are searching for that aren't they searching for something strong something solid something they can depend on in a world where everything's fickle and failing something someone they can count on so we've seen how a foundation can be forgotten in luke 6 49 the man forgot to put a foundation just started building his house without one people are building their lives without the foundation aren't they they don't know christ it's sinking sand on christ the solid rock i stand we sang before there's a foundation that is going to hold in the tests of time a foundation that is not going to be shaken psalm 18 7 82 5 talks about foundations being shaken or flooded it tells in lamentations 4 11 of

[12:21] foundations burnt down ezekiel 30 verse 4 foundations breaking down it talks about foundations falling down as i related before with water damage after seasons and seasons of rain my foundations my wall could fall down if it's undermined enough and it talks about that in jeremiah 50 verse 14 that the walls are thrown down the foundations are fallen you know a foundation can fall can't it i'm not really into the building game but you need underpinning don't you people would know about such things that uh and i've seen it too where it sinks you get these transportables and the stumps sink and uh it's big big trouble isn't it the walls are thrown down because the foundations are fallen so there's all kinds of ways that foundations can be destroyed they can burn down break down fall down and i put it to you today that foundations are falling down all around us the foundations are under attack and they are being destroyed the warning of the bible is of such a time i believe we've lost our foundation think of the world as it is these days i'm sure we could relate it's been like that over time but for me it seems ever more so more and more so i don't know if i'm i'm reading it different from you but lawlessness isn't it going crazy no respect of police or authority the trance madness that you should even could even change what gender you are what madness that is madness isn't it now they could the the uh the thought police could come and shut us down for me saying such a thing but you think of that and the censorship now i heard of one preacher who had his youtube channel shut down bang bang they're just like that everything wiped all of his sermons all of his ministry over years and years just youtube says no you're not being politically correct anymore and so they shut his channel down everything wiped out wiped down yeah it's censorship of the ultimate degree isn't it now as a church we've made some provisions so we're keeping copies of all of our stuff so that if ever youtube does shut us down we've we're able to put it up in another way in another form so we've got other channels through uh rumble and bitchute we've got other means that we can put um message out there if this becomes politically incorrect to the degree that they censor us to such a degree and it is possible censorship we see the globalist agenda it's just overtaking isn't it globalism god's judgment looms i put to you tonight but god's judgment is around the corner we see as in psalm 11 it talks about that he's going to rain uh snares fire and brimstone and horrible tempest upon the wicked friends judgment is around the corner we see moral relativism now it's like you can't speak the truth anymore you get shut down i know i've been in workplaces where you know they shut down the christian they shut him down uh we're drowning in information but we starve for knowledge we need to be salt and light god helping us that's what i'm hoping i'll get re-elected on council and try to be that salt and light when they try to put stupid ideas like flying rainbow flags i'm going to be a voice speaking out against such things because we need to speak out against madness the madness the political madness the crazy talk of this world where where madness is prevailing the big problem is that we've lost jesus that's what the problem is uh here's a quote i'm going to quote a bit here that i've adapted jesus jesus everywhere but no real jesus jesus this and jesus that

[16:31] jesus jesus everywhere but no truth you've got the new spirituality now where for example the pope even billy graham robert schuler different ones are talking about a new spirituality of course he's passed away now billy graham but a new spirituality that allows for a jesus that answers the hearts of christians buddhists muslims and hindus alike billy graham has said he's on record as saying that devout buddhists muslims hindus jews and nature worshipers already have jesus within whether they even know his name i think he's made some big mistakes billy graham um the late billy graham i i he's made some strange remarks that cause confusion as if someone would already have jesus in their heart when they've never trusted him it's like there's a jesus out there that's so broad-minded and flexible isn't that ours is truly i'm quoting still the age of jesus long-haired christian rock music stars prancing around jiving and shaking with the beat of the music millions of people laughing roaring screaming rolling rocking swaying jumping cheerleading marching and mosh dancing in the name of jesus if you add in the name of jesus it makes it all all right doesn't it so they think the modern day jesus think of him he's very popular i'm quoting still country music entertainers pro football athletes champion boxers they will cheerfully give him glory and credit with their successes and victories of course there was someone uh that um was actually honest and he said uh that he thanked satan that he won this uh this uh film award or whatever there's some that are actually honest because that's who they really serve isn't it they might called they might call jesus in a way that is just a good luck charm for some so the world is is going crazy with this new jesus and there's all manner that he's being repackaged he's non-judgmental he sends no one to hell and he wants everyone to be happy and rich forever and ever and he's even got new bible versions that describe him we have lost jesus here's another quote we've lost our moral compass we're a society that's taken prayer out of its schools that cringes or gets angry when the name of god or christianity is mentioned we are a society that stood by as 38 million unborn babies have been slaughtered in their mother's wombs now i've got some up-to-date stats here abortion is the leading cause of death around the world around a hundred thousand unborn babies are killed every year in australia think of that 100 000 it's actually the biggest cause of death in australia is abortion it's not all manner of other things it's actually the most the most highest cause of death there's around 5 000 babies aborted in south australia every year that's huge isn't it and some of them just down the road from here 5 000 babies supported every year in our state of south australia i'm quoting phil further it says a society we're in a society where the average person lies six times a day and considers this acceptable under the right circumstances if the end justifies the means some people think it's okay to lie six times a day and then we have some these liberal kind of news reporters questioning a judge as old-fashioned because he actually believes in ethics and morals and values but now that's considered a problem a disease the foundations aren't they the foundations of our society really our society is very materialistic and idolatrous it's covetous it's a most indebted society in history look at the government

[20:31] debt even of our nation it's beyond repaying really isn't it and even local government is just as bad it's it's terrible really the looming debt crisis and the escalating interest rates now we're setting ourselves up for a whole lot of trouble ahead and so we're seeing even our education systems have become war zones may god help you if you are a teacher in the secular school system of these days you're taking your life into your own hands in some of these classrooms aren't you many people who celebrate christmas this year they don't even know who the holiday is for of course it's for sanca clause now we turn it into a retail extravaganza haven't they people will talk about jesus a jesus that they're comfortable with we've lost jesus we've lost our moral compass judgment is coming and so the handwriting is on the wall if you like we see society's foundations crumbling we've lost our salt we've lost our saltiness we've lost our bible which bible take your pick you've got the spirit-filled life bible the quest study bible the full life study bible the holy spirit encounter bible life application bible recovery devotional bible praise and worship study bible touch point bible spiritual renewal bible prophecy study bible the word in life study bible the youth walk devotional bible and you've got the third millennium bible complete with apocrypha to please the catholics i did a quick check lately and apparently the latest figure is there's 450 english translations of at least some portion of the bible it's almost like we've lost the bible because we've got such a confusion of bibles out there i'll put to you that we've lost our faith in god as well now we know there's very few children in church and we're glad to see some youngsters here in church today and younger young adults here but it's a fact that there's fewer and fewer children in church some have reckoned this is probably an old figure that in england fewer than 15 percent one five fifteen percent of children in england under 15 attend church whereas in the 1950s it was half it was 50 percent five zero percent went to church and then we've got such confusion out there of false religions i know i was mentioning it this morning a lady that we do or not she worships the snake god she's a hindu and apparently in one single day in india 10 million hindu pilgrims go to the ganges river to wash away their sins 10 million a day for some long time period and it's a month-long event and they go to a place called haradewa which means door to heaven i think they've made some big mistakes there because the washing of the ganges river water is not going to wash away their sin not not at all and and this place haradewa is not the door to heaven jesus is jesus is the door to heaven and then we see new age spirituality sailing like hot cakes in america some 10 million copies in in one year we're seeing one in every seven people in the world was a muslim in 1950 one in every seven and i checked the latest figures is now one in every four is a muslim around the world that's that's serious that's serious and you know we see that when we do a knocking off times many muslims they need christ they need christ they they say they honor christ they say they honor jesus as a prophet but they don't honor him as who he truly

[24:33] is god manifest in the flesh and we see sadly at times that there's a lot of extremism out there amongst muslims for example there's two million muslims pilgrims sometimes they gather near mecca to pray for the destruction of america the destruction of israel and they chant death to america death to israel they're zealous but it's a zeal without knowledge friends we see all of these things we could labor this idolatry materialism counterfeit spirituality the charismatic wackos out there the goddess worship the paganism and the and we've lost the fear of god too there was a christian music band jars of clay they've recorded a an r-rated film that has nudity and 83 obscenities jars of clay a christian music band and we see much madness out there we see reports of some members of christian music bands are now atheists no wonder they're not following the right jesus it's just a madness isn't we seeing a falling away and the home is under attack to the fundamental building block of society where women's labor's just gone mad we're seeing marriage redefined to something that is not marriage it's not marriage gay marriage there's no such thing it's evil it's wicked we're seeing a permissive society some 16 000 people contract aids every day there's around 38 million people with hiv infections in some african countries more than 25 percent more than 25 percent of the adult population is infected i could go on and on i'm going to skip a bit here though we're talking about uh foundations are being destroyed the foundations the very fabric of society is being ripped apart we see teen pregnancies skyrocketing abortions poverty suicide stds drug abuse alcohol abuse child abuse imprisonment escalating crime about a quarter of all pregnancies now and in abortions one quarter of all pregnancies and in abortion broken homes friends there's much sadness isn't there why because the foundations are being destroyed that's why they've turned from god they've turned from truth and society isn't a big mess so i suppose we should think now what then for us if the foundations be destroyed what can what will the righteous do the foundations are being destroyed what are we going to do about it there was an inscription on an old english church that says this in the year 1653 when all things sacred in the kingdom were either profaned or demolished this church was built to do the best of things in the worst of times that's what we are isn't it the church of god the congregation of god's people that we have been built to be doing the best of things in the worst of times that was true in 1653 and it's still true in 2022 isn't it to do the best of things in the worst of times that we can do more than curse the darkness we could talk more about all the misery but as much as we can curse the darkness we should do more we should light a candle we should be the ones who are making a difference there's foundations and that's the the foundational problem and some things about foundations that are more on a positive line now that ezekiel 13 tells about foundations revealed so it talks there of this wall daubed with

[28:36] untempered mortar and it says the foundation shall be discovered so it's talking really about i suppose the context there is about false prophets it's revealing the condition of the foundation right it's revealing the condition of the foundations and for us to attend to the foundations we need to see what state they're in and so they need to be discovered ezekiel the prophet says the foundation shall be discovered or it shall be revealed we need to reveal the false from the truth we need to reveal error from truth we need to give people the truth we need to be a forthright church with forthright preaching exposing error and false doctrine show it for what it is that we shouldn't be afraid to speak it forth god helping us that me and whoever preachers from this pulpit will be forthright because this society needs christ it needs the savior that's why we care about evangelism that's why we care about getting the gospel out by all means possible in this crumbling society people need the foundation and that's christ he is the foundation and so we should expose the false the false teachers the worldly philosophies we need to reveal the foundations secondly we need to raise up the foundations we see isaiah 58 verse 12 it talks about raising up the foundations talks about the old waste places places broken down falling down ruined and then it says we should raise up the foundations we should repair the breach we should restore the paths the church needs to restore what has been lost we need revival basically we need revival i know i remember years back as i visited little glory at the time and and they always used to pray for revival didn't they brother peter that was the the prime prayer of little glory baptist church and that was a blessing to hear them say that that they prayed for revival i'm sure they're still praying for revival and we should be praying for revival we should be believing god for revival because he is the restorer he is the repairer he is the reviver the foundations need to be raised up we need to restore what has been lost all of those lost things the lost bible the lost jesus the the lost truth the lost moral compass we should be building it up we should be raising it up we should be restoring it repairing it what's been damaged and lost here's another like verse colossians 1 23 paul writes to the colossians if you continue in the faith grounded so the word grounded speaks of foundation doesn't it if you continue in the faith let your faith be grounded that faith should have a foundation our faith is built on the foundation and settled be not moved away from the hope of the gospel so it's telling us of the foundation raised up of that foundation that it should be the ground of our faith the foundation in other words our faith should be built on the foundation of the word of god not on some fickle fads not on some bandwagon of the time i know when i was in the pentecostal movement it's like they had a different bandwagon every few years and and they you'd all jump on the bandwagon whatever it was and then there'd be some new bandwagon as it were and that's the the sad emptiness of of it isn't it because this the foundation wasn't there in that in that teaching sadly we need to lift up the old standard the standard of righteousness and truth of holiness raise up the banner of the gospel be not moved away from the hope of the gospel we've got to raise it up

[32:36] raise up that foundation raise up the standard we know paul tells timothy the foundation of god he says it stands sure it's it's solid it's strong the foundation of god is solid it's strong it's firm the lord knoweth them that are his let everyone that name with the name of christ depart from iniquity so the sense of raising it up that foundation the foundation of god that's what we need we need to to discern it to discover it to reveal it to raise it up to restore it to stand upon it and stand sure upon it and thirdly we need to restore repair it ezekiel 4 verse 12 talks about the time of nehemiah and of course we know as i've often related the life of nehemiah the ministry of nehemiah when he saw the city walls and the gates broken down and burnt down he went about the work of rebuilding and it's the same picture isn't it of rebuilding restoring the core bible teachings are foundational of course we're looking at hebrews at the moment hebrews 6 verse 1 it talks about the principles it talks about the foundation the foundation there's foundational principles of course we know in the context it's speaking more of where they were as in the old covenant time but there's a sense of the foundation that we build upon and it's speaking of really elementary doctrinal principles and so we need to make sure that the core bible teachings are foundational and what are the the core bible teachings think of it for yourself brother sister how can i get back to the bible how can i get back to that the shirt sleeves rolled up kind of christianity where i'm in boots and all i'm jumping in i'm living out my faith in a practical lived out way i'm actually believing it peter talked about get involved in the great commission matthew 28 it's still in your bible isn't it go ye into all the world even some even to the darkest jungles of melbourne if god sends you there go into the highways and byways the hedges the streets the lanes of the city friends what can the righteous do or don't we to be doing something or don't we to care about the gospel honestly brothers and sisters real biblical christianity that's what we need isn't it christ-like christianity bible christianity that we believe what it says and we do it yeah amen back to the bible and so it talks further in ephesians 3 that christ may dwell in your hearts by faith being rooted and grounded as the foundation again love we're motivated by love because we love souls and we see a never dying soul we're motivated to tell them of the savior and if we truly love the lord won't we want to serve to be about his work god helping us and your application of that might be different from another believers but there's things that need to be restored because the foundations are under attack today what can we do what can we do what can the righteous do put your christianity into action put it into practice what's going to happen when the storm hits how's your foundation looking are you building on a reliable foundation is christ your rock are you building on the rock his word are we built on a reliable foundation how is it how is it today he wants us to be planted as a plant but

[36:41] they're putting its roots deep down and grounded that foundation the foundation grounded god's love our foundation who is christ the lover of our soul friends we're living in a world where the foundations are being tested and how are we constructing our own lives are we going to be like the man he forgot the foundation he built the house nice and quick probably cheaper you know what a bargain you buy a house without a foundation you're going to know about it later what about your life are you building a life without that foundation who is christ the bible says you can build on that foundation friends the bible tells us who the foundation is it's jesus it's jesus it's jesus christ paul says he's talking about works and activity and the things we might do might be some is wood hay stubble poof pile of ashes when the fire is applied or gold silver pressure stones and he says build on this foundation no other foundation he says can any man lay and that that is laid which is jesus christ there is one rock who's reliable there's one who will hold you sure there's one you can be planted upon and assured of he's strong isn't he he's so strong he's dependable he'll never let you down you can count on him and when life might be falling apart society might be crumbling all around us it's in tatters there's someone someone who offers you safety stability security someone who is strong rock solid the rock christ jesus and we can safely build our lives upon him the essential foundation is christ it's faith in christ isn't it to know him to trust him as the psalmist said in the lord put i my trust what can the righteous do in the lord put on my trust the essential foundation the question is what can what can the righteous do what action are you going to take prayerfully seek god ask him to help you make some decision steps from tonight's message i trust think about it what can i put into action what can i do what can i do i'm one of the righteous what can i do what can the righteous do what are you going to do some things that we talked about on the positive side was reveal the false foundation test it out search it out discover it reveal what it is there's false prophets there's false foundations and that they were daubed with mortar they were fake and uh whited sepulchers you know they were kind of looked good on the outside but it was daubed with mortar and it was fake it was a faulty foundation got to reveal the foundation and then you can get the the trowel out and start repairing it raise up the foundation the gospel standard and restore real bible christianity that's what we want and that christ is our rock he's our rock and lift up his name let us pray lord we thank you that we're living in it seems such a time where it seems like the foundations are under assault this committed foe that we encounter in all of his forms even when he looks like an angel of light help us to reveal him 40 years that that false foundation that faulty foundation

[40:48] foundation and for each one that they might know you as their foundation the foundation stone the one that the builders rejected you're that precious stone the stone the builders disallowed you are that sure cornerstone that foundation stone and no other foundation can a man lay than that foundation you our god and king our lord our lord jesus christ pray that each one here tonight might have that assurance that yes i trust you i put my faith in you oh lord that i'm going to build my life on you you helping me to that you are going to be the foundation i trust in you and your finished work on the cross that sure salvation that is secured and assured by your promise to those who believe that we can know that each one here tonight and those that might be tuning in lord that we can have that assurance today that you are the rock that we will build our lives upon and will be not like the man who forgot the foundation but we'll be very sure that the foundation is sure it's you the foundation for our life our living help us lord to put your word into action in whatever ways we can when when your word poses that question what can the righteous do we'll say i'm in lord i'm in i'm ready to do what you've told me to do i'm here at your service lord you can count on me that i'm going to do something for you by your strength not by my might or my power but by your spirit lord we thank you for every believer here stir our hearts lord urge us on spur us on in this gospel race lord that we might put this into action show us the action that we need to take that your spirit is telling us to take for each one individually lord that you'll convict and lead and guide each one and all for your glory and praise we ask in jesus precious name amen