Faithfulness to the Blueprint: Will Your Works Stand the Test?

[0:00] Talking about God's building, God's building program, really how to build a strong church.! I speak of a construction project. It's the building, the building, that is the body, the church of God.

[0:14] And it's a simple passage yet packed with lots of precious challenging truth. Firstly, there's a foundation. We see that in 1 Corinthians 3 from verses 9 onwards.

[0:27] It says,

[1:27] Each one are the living stones, the living bricks that make the building. And so it says there, this is verse 9, it says there, Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.

[1:41] And so this word husbandry, it means a field cultivated. It means that God's people are called a field. A harvest field, we could think of it.

[1:53] A field that's planted, that's growing. A cultivated field. And then it says, ye are God's building. So there's lots of different pictures about the church, what it's called. It's referred to as this field.

[2:05] This husbandry, which means a field. And this building, which has a foundation. God's people are a building. And what's more, we're co-laborers.

[2:16] It says there, verse 9, For we are laborers together with God. Laborers together with God. God's fellow laborers. So my plea tonight for the gathered multitude that's here tonight, that each one of you would consider that you're part of this construction, this building project.

[2:38] And you are co-laborers, laborers together with God. We can all be a part of the building crew. To be builders up of one another. Building up one another.

[2:50] And verse 9, laborers together with God. So not singly, not on our lonesome, but together. And what's more, together with God. That God himself is laboring together with us.

[3:03] And you could picture it in a way, our laboring together with God, that we're privileged really to be a laborer with him. As someone has compared it to, there was a man out mowing his lawn one day and his six-year-old son comes along and steps in front of him and holds the lawnmower and asks to help, to help the dad.

[3:29] And so he lets the young one come there and lets him get behind the bars of the lawnmower so the son can help the dad.

[3:41] Of course, really, the dad doesn't need that help. But yet there's this sense where, and the dad was thinking, it's just how my heavenly father allows me to help him.

[3:53] To help him. As if God needs our help. But we are laborers together with God. We've got that privilege, haven't we? To be helpers with our heavenly father. To seek and to save the lost. To be a part of his mission.

[4:05] To be a part of that building of his church. That precious work that we all have to be servants of God. To be co-laborers with God. That we've got that privilege of ministering with him.

[4:18] So you are God's husbandry, like God's land under cultivation. He wants fruit there. He wants abundance. And you are God's building too. And it tells of a foundation. What's the foundation?

[4:29] It says our foundation is Christ. Think of it, of whatever we do for God. That the foundation's got to be right. It's got to be founded upon Christ. So the glory of God.

[4:40] For the glory of Christ alone. And here's the only reliable foundation. If we try to do anything for God that's not founded upon Christ, then it's vain, isn't it? No other foundation can we depend upon.

[4:54] There's no substitute. There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts 4 verse 12. So what's the foundation that we're building upon? We could think of it, building our lives upon, building the church upon, building our homes upon, our ministries.

[5:11] What are we basing our lives upon? Is it on the foundation? That must be the first thing. Are we founded upon the rock? As we think of our Lord tells to Peter, as he made that confession of Christ as the son of God, that he is the Christ.

[5:28] We see that our Lord commended him that on this foundation, I'm going to build my church. And so it's in that strength, that foundation that is Christ, we find our fulfilment, our peace, our rest.

[5:41] What are you building on? It's a big question, isn't it? Are we trusting in shaky foundations? Of course, our Lord tells the story of a man building his house on the sand, as in his own empty ways, and then the man who built his house upon the rock that speaks of building upon his word.

[5:59] And that was the right foundation, the sturdy foundation. How are we building? It's a big question. I know the council have got various rules and regulations about building things.

[6:12] I know sometimes you wonder why it has to be so onerous to get approval. Where we are, we're in a bit of a hilly spot where it does get quite windy.

[6:25] And they had all kinds of rules and regulations about just a simple garden shed and a gazebo had to have these special requirements because it does get windy there.

[6:36] So I complied with that, although I did have a structure that wasn't, according to the building code. And when it did get windy, I found out why there's such requirements because I had a little gazebo that fell over, that blew over.

[6:52] And it could have been dangerous because I thought I could get away with that. It was just a simple structure. But because I didn't secure it, it wasn't built to code. It wasn't up to scratch.

[7:04] And you can think of that when, for example, there was a hurricane in Florida and all around there was devastation and the TV news camera came and spoke to this man and they saw that this man's house was still building.

[7:17] It was still standing. And they said, Sir, why is your house the only one still standing? How did you manage to escape the hurricane, the severe damage? He says, I built this house myself and I built it according to the Florida State Building Code.

[7:32] When the code called for two by six roof trusses, I used two by six roof trusses. I was told that if this house was built according to the code, it could withstand the hurricane.

[7:42] I did and it did. I suppose no one else around here followed the code. It's true, isn't it? What is the code? It's right here, isn't it? We build according to the code, as it were, build according to God's plan.

[7:56] We build our lives on the rock, that sure foundation, the one who is Christ. We build our life upon him. And God's word will hold us true and steady and strong.

[8:06] Because friends, a storm is coming, isn't it? A storm is coming. So we must follow the building code. In other words, have that foundation. No other foundation. You think of the lives that are lived without that foundation.

[8:19] There's not that strength. There's not that lasting eternity view for many. And they're like the man who built the house on the sand.

[8:29] It's just not going to stack up. And so we must have the foundation right. And when you think, as you start life, as you follow the Lord, as you're saved, as you trust him, that foundation will hold you steady for a lifetime.

[8:43] There was a millionaire called John Wanamaker and at 11 years old, he bought himself a little Bible. He purchased a Bible at 11 years old. And later he said, I have of course made large purchases of property in my time involving millions of dollars.

[8:59] But it was as a boy in the country at the age of 11 that I made my greatest purchase. In the Little Mission Sunday School, I bought a small red leather Bible for $2.75, which I paid for in small installments.

[9:15] But looking back over my life, I see that that little red book was the foundation on which my life has been built. And really, the greatest investment of my life was having the Bible.

[9:30] So getting the foundation right is fundamental, isn't it? Secondly, we see there's a need for faithfulness. We see from verse 10, I'll repeat that again, according to the grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another builder thereon, but let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

[9:54] For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. There's a blueprint there, a blueprint, and the faithfulness we need is to get the foundation and to build rightly thereon.

[10:09] We see verse 12, it reads on, Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble.

[10:20] So there's different kinds of building elements here, different substances, different structures that we can build our life in different ways.

[10:34] and Paul puts it here that it can be gold, silver, precious stones, or it can be wood, hay, stubble. And he says this, take heed how you build.

[10:47] Are we going to faithfully build with the right building materials? Are we going to take care, be careful how we build? How are our motives, our methods, what's the spirit, the motive, the heart behind what we build?

[11:00] When we live a life, is it Christ and his glory? Is it that we'll build something that's meaningful, that's built with an eternity in view? And we see those different qualities of gold, silver, those precious, costly stones, and then we see that which is really going to be not lasting, wood, hay, and stubble.

[11:22] What is it that we're building? Is it a faithfulness that we have that we're going to build rightly, we're going to build right? And people will know that we're building right or they'll see that it's not going to measure up, it's not going to take the trials and tests of life, it's not going to go through the tests of time.

[11:49] There was an older man working on a farm, 73 years old, and he got trapped underneath a tractor and then there was a terrible storm and he couldn't get free.

[12:00] He was under this tractor and there was no one else around him for four days and nights. It could have cost him his life, it cost him his leg because he lost that, but he had his friends come looking for him.

[12:14] Why did they go to his farm to check up on him? Because he missed the prayer meeting. He missed the prayer meeting, not showing up for that least attended service of the church was how they noticed, hey, he's not here and they went looking for him.

[12:31] They knew that something was wrong for him to miss fellowship and so his faithfulness to the Lord saved his life, saved his life. Wouldn't that be something, you know, that you're so noticed that you're not there because you're so faithful when you're not there, people notice.

[12:50] Take heed, take heed how you build. And so we see this need for devotion, for love, relationship with God, our personal walk with him.

[13:02] Is it gold, silver and precious stones? Are we willing to sacrifice such that that which we count precious is that which is precious in our Lord's sight?

[13:14] Another illustration of that, there was a woman doctor called Dr. Eleanor Chestnut and she was working in China in 1893 with the missions board in a hospital and she built this hospital using her own money to buy the bricks and the mortar and there was so much need there, she saw the great need and she performed surgery in her own bathroom while the building was being completed.

[13:45] and this doctor, one operation involved the amputation of this labourer's leg and some complications arose and they needed skin grafts.

[13:57] A few days later another doctor noticed that Dr. Chestnut was limping and they asked her what's happening and she said oh it's nothing. But finally they noticed that the skin graft for the patient who was this common labourer she took the skin from her own leg under local anaesthetic only.

[14:22] Gold, silver and precious stones isn't it? We can lay our lives down, we can be making sacrifices for the kingdom of God and in fact not long after Dr.

[14:34] Chestnut and four other missionaries were killed by a mob that stormed the hospital during the Boxer Rebellion so she became a martyr effectively gold, silver and precious stones but some works were going to be just wood, hay and stubble maybe they're things that we've just done in our own flesh and our own carnal self-interest and our own human effort and strength skin deep things that we do maybe with the wrong motives maybe if we're going through the motions we've not got the right heart whether it's empty ritual whether it's just a skin deep kind of thing and our works will be shown to be just wood, hay and stubble or will we be on this side with gold, silver and precious stones where our Lord will say well done thou good and faithful servant friends one day our works are going to be evaluated of course our salvation is one thing which is by grace through faith yet there is that aspect of works our works will be tested and evaluated are they going to be seen to be faithful works think of faithfulness some have compared it to as a as an example to kind of stick in our mind is a postage stamp have you ever become discouraged remember the little lesson of a postage stamp first it's torn away from all those other stamps that are attached to it then it gets licked stuck away in a corner pounded but it holds fast to that letter later it's cancelled and disfigured by black ink does it give up and let go no the postage stamp sticks on it holds fast till it gets to its destination think of it how can we be faithful such that our works are going to be gold silver and precious stones they're going to go the distance they're going to be used for the glory of God our faithfulness in our use of spiritual gifts our talents in our service for the gospel in our telling the truth of

[16:44] God to others or are we going to water it down we're going to be weak and kind of wimpy and airy fairy just giving dribs and drabs or is it going to be a faithful service the foundation has to be right the faithfulness should be right and thirdly we see another truth that this text tells us about it tells us of a fire there is a time of fire a time of testing coming and it tells us that verse 13 it says every man's work shall be made manifest every man's work it tells of a time of accounting we'll all give an account we're all going to give an account we'll all be examined and our works are going to be tested this should be something we should be mindful of that every man's work that means you and me doesn't it when it says every that includes you it includes me every man's work shall be made manifest there's going to be a revealing a fire coming hotter than we've ever had before and we see this revealing it says every man's work shall be made manifest there's going to be a revealing so what is it going to reveal we can consider the false will be exposed the secret sins is it some of our motives behind our works are for vain glory for ourself the real character and heart of a man is going to be exposed it's going to be truly seen nothing will be hid our darkest secrets will be revealed the phony the fake the hypocrisy the quality the worth the value of our works are going to be shown for what they are they're going to come to light every man's work shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed it says shall be revealed by fire now it's interesting of course our God is a consuming fire is one scripture we could think of revelation 1 14 it tells of our

[18:45] Lord his head and his hairs were white like wool as white as snow and his eyes were as a flame of fire think of those penetrating eyes a flame of fire a dividing asunder there's going to be this fire that will penetrate to the very heart it's going to be revealed for the day shall declare it it tells us it's going to bring it to light make it plain make it known because it shall be revealed by fire it's got the sense of disclose take off the cover uncovering unveiling Matthew 10 26 it says there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed and hid that shall not be known now it's good for things to be exposed we think of the cutting of the surgeon's knife it must expose the cancer you know it's brought it home to me lately because one of my schoolhood friends who was a young fellow at the time

[19:46] I was a young fellow not that long ago it doesn't seem that long ago when I was in the youth group and I've just heard lately he's got cancer he's got cancer he's the same age as me brings it home doesn't it brings it home and of course I heard another friend of mine has got cancer as well and you think life is short people isn't it it is short the cutting of the surgeon's knife has to expose the cancer because the exposing of the cancer helps the surgeon to get to work and to remove it and think if there's any falseness in me it should be exposed let it be exposed and let God deal with it let God resolve it and sort it if there's carnality if there's shallowness in me if there's flesh in me then let it be exposed let it be let the cloak be torn away let the mask be taken off that God can do that inner work that deep deep work inside of us and our

[20:49] Lord warns he says beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees there this is Luke 12 verse 1 beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed neither hid that shall not be known think of that there's a time coming when all of our motives all of our works will be exposed for what they are and if there's hypocrisy that will be exposed for what it is there's nothing hid that shall not be known these are words that should ring deep in our hearts to think well is there some hypocrisy in me in my heart then let God resolve it that I would have that fear of God that I would want that leaven to be exposed and to be dealt with we read in similar vein 2 Corinthians 5 for we must all appear before the judgment seat of

[21:50] Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he had done whether it be good or bad knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men but we are made manifest unto God and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences and 1 Corinthians 4 5 it says it talks about bringing to light the hidden things of darkness friends there's a revealing and that's a good thing for God to reveal to ourselves if there's something not right with him if there's need to resolve something if there's a as it were a spiritual cancer that we want to get that right don't we that the word tells us of a time coming of course in the end times the wrath of the lamb we won't be here for that we see that men are going to hide their faces from him they're going to hide from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb man's been trying to hide from God since

[22:57] Genesis 3 verse 8 hasn't he Adam Adam where are you he knew where God knew exactly where Adam was but man is trying you think oh I'm going to hide from God he can't see me that's a foolish that's a foolish thing isn't it to try to hide yourself from God you can't he sees through and through he sees with his x-ray vision doesn't he and we see of our Lord's coming it tells us now little children abide in him that when he shall appear we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming wouldn't it be a sad thing that you as the children of God that when he appears that you're going to be ashamed before him at his coming oh there's some stuff I didn't resolve with God there's some unconfessed sin there's some things that I didn't really sort out when God put the finger on something and I didn't resolve it what a shame to be ashamed before him at his coming rather that we can have confidence we can have a boldness we can have an assurance we can have that yeah okay

[24:10] I did sin but God has resolved it of course at Calvary he's resolved it but I'm not living in sin I'm not trying to sneak some sinful thing and try to hide some lack some hidden hypocrisy I haven't laid on the altar rather deal with it now if you've got something that you want to try to hide from God rather lay it before him and say Lord help me with this sin help me to overcome help me because one day our works will be revealed they'll be revealed for what they are it could be some empty works some even well meaning works yet deep down within the motive is wrong it's not for the glory of God you wanted some praise of man for it our works will be revealed to all so if we've got something to hide rather lay it on the altar and let God deal with it ask God to help you overcome to deal with it now because one day his judgment will be revealing and it'll also be a refining judgment and the word of

[25:14] God talks about a healthy fear of God such that we're not going to be those that are hiding from the wrath of the lamb but there's that sense where we might be those little children when he appears that we might be ashamed before him that will motivate us to a holiness in our lives that will want to have that incentive for evangelism that will want to have that true motive to serve him for his glory and think of a fire coming I know there's friends of mine that have had the loss of a house and I've seen the destruction of a fire it's absolutely shocking when you see what a fire does but more so of course the danger to a human soul from fire there's different stories I could tell there's one lady she was in this burning building she was frantic and she thought

[26:20] I've got to save my silverware so she went to the house and she took the silverware from the burning building and she took these fine paintings from her building at her house as it was starting to burn as the fire was starting to spread and she took the oriental rugs that meant so much to her and then finally it dawned on her oh where is my darling baby she frantically ran around to the room where the baby was she looked through the window and she beheld the burning room and the bed where her baby was she broke the window open but it was too late oh I have saved my goods but I've lost my baby what a tragedy it would be that we would have that mind we're so bothered about possessions and material things that we miss what matters most as human souls isn't it of course the word tells us we should be as it were snatching them from the burning that's the picture that the loved ones that we know who don't know

[27:23] Christ that we should be pulling them out of the fire there's that sense of it that's more important than any material benefit or gain of any real consequence of what matters most is human souls and that lady realised too late she was grasping for the things and forgetting her baby how sad and yet multitudes are doing that aren't they neglecting the main thing what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul there's another story of this woman this beautiful girl she had dresses and jewels that were the envy of all her girlfriends and yet she was in a fire too and the ladies were upstairs they made a dash for the stairs but the escape was cut off below they ran to the windows and shrieked for help the fire engine came and the firemen reached the window but the flames were making a frightful headway the firemen raised their ladders to the window where the poor women stood and they waited to take their turn on the ladder but then the young lady thought of her jewels before anyone could stop her she rushed back into the blinding smoke

[28:44] I shall have time enough she said I shall have time enough to grab the jewels and then come down the ladder but the firemen called her and tried to reach her but the flames drove her back and the house was a raging furnace she went to all this trouble to go back to the flames into that burning room and to grab the jewel case full of her diamonds but the next morning in the ruins the firemen came across her charred body it was unrecognisable in one hand was the small metal box that somehow had escaped destruction and this jewel case that the girl had thrown away her precious life for the metal case held the gems they were all safe but the woman was destroyed again it's that picture of putting material things before what matters most isn't it what about our own human soul what about the souls of those we love who don't know the saviour we can toy with these things with eternal things bear with me one other account was there was a young man as well in another fire he was upstairs in his pyjamas and the firefighters placed the ladder up to the window and he yelled out

[30:10] I've got to get dressed first the firefighters pleaded with him come as you are come as you are but to no avail he wanted to change his clothes he waited too long he waited too long there's lots of things we could say about the pictures of fire couldn't we of earthly toys and trinkets that people put all their energy and ambition into that and miss what matters most it says the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is of what sort it is so there's a revealing there's a refining too we see the word of god talks about our lord god as being a refiner's fire here's malachi 3 verse 2 who may abide the day of his coming who shall stand when he appeareth for he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap like this strong soap he's like this refiner's fire it's like job knew that didn't he that crucible life can be like a fire sometimes i know people have been telling me there's testing in the workplace of how are we going to make it looking ahead it's looking pretty testing there's fires isn't there's the testing times of life they test our character they test the quality of our faith is it going to get through this fire this refining is it going to make it and what about our own heart is it a heart after God's heart have we got that character of Christ is there impurity that we're trying to hide who's going to abide the day of his coming he's like a refiner's fire you know we can ask God to help us through the testing times of life that the fire is going to make us stronger it's actually going to benefit us that the dross is going to go all that we hang on to of worldliness of self that impurity that is the self the flesh life that can be burnt up and that's a good thing there's many scriptures that talk about the trial the testing of the believer for example 1 Peter 1 7 it tells us that the trial of your faith being much more precious than of gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus

[32:45] Christ the trial of your faith it's in the present that trial of your faith that testing when you wonder what is going on when heartache comes when opposition when you encounter hatred and difficulty the trial of your faith the end result is that your faith is going to be as gold as gold so let's prepare for fire let's not shy away from it let's not throw in the towel when fire comes it's the refining that it's actually the making of us because real faith will shine after the test genuine Christians will sparkle in the day of fire is there some sin that we've cherished let it go let it be burnt up let the fire remove that which is not of God it tells us there if any man's work abide which he hath built there upon he shall receive a reward so let your work abide in other words let that work go through the fire and still stand strong there's a revealing there's a refining there's a rewarding too it tells us there verse 1 corinthians 3 14 if any man's work abide which he hath built there upon he shall receive a reward there's going to be a gain there's going to be a reward now of course our salvation is not a reward for our good works salvation is a gift it's not a reward yet our works can be rewarded our works can be rewarded some will be rewarded with gain some with loss there is a promise of reward it tells how some they're going to be saved yet so as by fire so we see that there in corinthians 3 15 if any man's work shall be burnt so our works can be burnt our works might be i like to put it like the wood hay stubble we just left with a pile of ashes in our hands that's it that's my life's work if any man's work shall be burnt he shall suffer loss but he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire there is a promise of reward so after the test will we have gold or dross will we have gain or loss think of these days that we live and I know

[35:20] I've seen some little snippets of it some just pour out the whole life's energy to get one little piece of metal to hang around their neck their whole life's energy and their strain and effort and if they just miss out by how many thousandths of a second they might miss out on that metal they give so much for a gold metal to hang around their neck what if we have got something of far greater worth far greater worth you hear about some of these ones like I think it's China or other countries where they work they train 12 hours a day day after day after day in gruelling conditions they leave their families for years at a time to go into these training camps to get that one gold medal is it wood hay and stubble what is going to be seen for our life will our work survive the test it says he shall receive a reward he shall receive a reward there's going to be some payment there's going to be some return earthly pains will seem so short so brief compared to eternity's riches when you think of it when you actually consider you have you have the lenses on your eyes of eternity and you think that actually when I look at life with eternity in view that it just makes sense how earthly pains are going to be so short compared to eternity's riches the hardships of life are just going to seem but an eye blink a distant memory when we see his face when we see his face when we see his smile it's going to be a time of joy and blessing if any man's work shall be burnt he shall suffer loss so there's the other side to it here that there's going to be a burning up of all that is empty fleshly selfish all that is carnal all that is false and of self is going to be consumed it's going to be burnt up completely like chaff think of a building burnt to the ground nothing to show for it some will forfeit their reward what a sad thing you're in eternity you're saved you have heaven's glories and the wonder of that yet you look back and think what could have been what my life could have been what I could have done but I neglected to do that I forfeited some reward some shall be saved yet so as by fire they're going to forfeit their reward just to be snatched from the very flames of course it's only the grace of God that we have that gift of salvation yet wouldn't it be good to have something plus not that we earn salvation but that there's something of service there's some eternal duration to that work it's going to be gold silver and precious stones it's going to be something that's going to last into eternity are we living in the light of eternity of judgment or are we chasing earthly trinkets or are we storing up heavenly treasures how can that be how can we think of heavenly treasures

[38:58] I've heard it put that the only thing you can take to heaven is another human soul that you've led to the saviour that's a precious thought isn't it how can I how can I reach other souls other never dying souls and take them with me as it were by the grace of God that I can lead them to know Jesus as their saviour wouldn't that be something judgment day is coming thank God our judgment for our sin was paid for the hill of Calvary paid for in full the debt the penalty of our sin yet there will be your day in court we must all give account we must all give account Romans 14 12 every one of us shall give account of himself to God we're going to stand before the judgment bar and we're going to give account of ourself that's a sombre thought isn't it a sobering thought you will have your day in court it tells us that will give account of every idle word it tells us how we'll give account of our stewardship the use of our time how much could our time have been better spent how much of it was wasted frittered away friends think of these things as we think of the word of God it tells us that the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword it's piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do friends we naked spiritually before God everything is open it's it's laid bare it's laid open to the eyes of God our heart the thoughts of our heart the intents of our heart the motives what makes us tick and when you think about it everything that we do counts for eternity doesn't it everything that we do there could be some eternal dimension to it how we treat others how we spend our life is it going to be just a pile of ashes or is it going to be something that's going to count into eternity some take eternity very lightly there was a young man he got himself a new motorcycle he was really proud of it and one evening he finished work and he boasted to his mates as he sped off at great speed he said I will ride her home or to hell in 15 minutes and just a short distance he lost control plunged into a tree and he was instantly killed he was nearer hell than he thought that can happen friends if you're not saved tonight then get right with God trust him trust the saviour tonight trust him to take your sin to pay for it to be that one who pays your penalty he takes your place that he paid it fully at the cross when he laid down his life for sinful man that's for me for anyone who says

[42:19] I'm a sinner I need a saviour and he will be that saviour to you as you trust him as you turn to him in faith as you come on bended knee with a bended heart and say Lord forgive me save me be my saviour be my substitute there's a time coming when the fire's going to come down from heaven the fire's going to come down friends and we could carelessly think of the fire we could be like the man saying I've just got to get this done before I come as you are come as you are don't delay we think we've got plenty of time I'll ride it to home or hell in 15 minutes he went there likely to hell friends you could be like the woman trying to get her gems and jewels or neglecting even the baby that was much more important than material things what about your soul that eternal value that is your life there's a value in how you live your life that you could spend it with eternity in view there's a foundation that we must build upon

[43:34] Jesus Christ that Jesus Christ is the one he's the one that I base my life on I found my life upon him my faith in Christ is that foundation that will hold me sure and steady that can be your trust tonight and you can have a faithfulness in that building that I'm a co-laborer I'm a worker together with God a worker together with others of this working crew this building crew that is the church and we're going to see the edifying that building up of the church of God there's a faithfulness there that'll see it done unto the glory of God and there's a fire coming there's a test how are you building will that building that you build be something that's be lasting that's going to be strong build into your life those things that will last into eternity the things of eternity of eternal souls reaching others for Christ is the most precious thing that precious souls can be harvested into the kingdom of God and they can be your brothers and sisters and fellowship and grow together with you or are we building things that are really empty and vain of wood hay stubble we can all think because the revealing time will come that that refining time will come and we'll see that that was wasted wasted opportunity let us pray to to to to to to to!