Where Does The Spiritual House Sit? 2

--> My bride has a great aunt who used to have a house in the rural town of Robinson.   It had it’s own fishpond and several acres that she rented out to people who needed pasture space for a cow or a horse or goat. 

The house was a normal house but on several visits I noticed a particular situation with the floors of the house.   On one visit the floors seemed in unison and then on another visit some of the floors were in a discord of several inches.  

What was causing this sinking and rising of the floors? 

Come to find out part of the house sat on a fault line.  This fault line was not only causing problems to certain floors in the house, but cracking in the exterior brick, doors to drag or not close, windows to not open, cracks in the walls and ceiling, and so on….

I don’t know if the house is still there for when a house sits on a fault line there is no choosing of sides…  there is just separation.

House on Fault Line.

"If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. Mark 3:25

So where does your spiritual house sit?

Is your spiritual house sitting on a fault line where there is this occasional or continual rising and sinking of disharmony?  Do your spiritual doors drag or not close or maybe they don’t open at all? Doors that don’t open don’t allowing God to come in and have satisfying meal with us.  Doors that don’t close allow everything to come in and overwhelm the soul.  Is there cracking in your ceiling and walls?  Are you continuing to have to go back and repair damage?  Damage you have allowed by not trusting in God? Do your windows not open, not allowing God to refresh your soul during the day?   Is there bowing in your floor jousts? Causing you to trip and misplace your steps? Where there is no knowing of assurance or security.  Is there this continual unsettling and unrest?

Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-27

Every human being, being Christian or not have found his or her spiritual house on a fault line.  Some people continually live on a spiritual fault line never finding rest. 

Many Christians have come to a situation where they have found their spiritual house isn’t firmly sitting on God and His word but a little on this world or people of this world or even themselves.  

Why the illustration of a fault line?  Because a fault line symbolizes two rocks not one.  God is one rock not two. 

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2

God does not share His glory with any other type of rock, gravel, sand or dust.  God does not share His glory that stabilizes us and keeps us unwavering and persistent in Him.  He alone needs to be our strength.

"I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols.” Isaiah 42:8

Jesus said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Matthew 6:24

Let’s look at that word, “mammon” for a moment.  A lot of bible translations translate “mammon” as money/riches but looking this up in the concordance and seeking the Lord I find it encompasses a lot more:

·      Idols (Can’t serve both God and idols/lifeless objects.)

·      Things done for personal gain such as lies, deceit, slander, falsehood…

·      Religious activity that seems devoted to God but is not true in our heart & Spirit. 

·      Things done in selfish pride.  

·       Deeds done to prove one’s own self-righteousness to God and others.

·      Thing done to receive human praise or acceptance (To fit in, or to fit into a people’s standards.  To  make self look good by actions, appearance or material wealth.) 

·      To find security in our human ability or in the things of this world instead of God.)

·      Putting people before God in our heart, mind and soul. 

·      To “serve” anything that is not of God.

These things are considered mammon.   When we find ourselves trusting more in them then God, it leads to “faulty” damaging and a dangerous reasoning.   

And if we look at the entire section of where “mammon” is found, we find this to be true in Jesus’ very own words.

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6&version=NIV

People build on fault lines not realizing these things are not only faulty but are temporary and even dangerous.  

“The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” I John 2:17

Thus says the Lord, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:5

When we allow people and the things of this world to have a greater emphasis in our heart over God -we have put our house on a fault line and if not realized and corrected will cause our spiritual house to crack and fall…   Hope in the things that are not lasting seems very irrational but yet people do this in a lack of real understanding of WHO is Life and what is not life.   Ever act irrationally, felt depressed, lost hope, feel deep wounds of hurt, live in only the mundane feelings of life- never inspired? Why?  Is the answer because we have trusted in our own feelings, others, and the things of this life more then God?  These things can have a powerful faulty effect on our life if we are not set firmly upon God who is to be our only ROCK.

For those who unintentionally find themselves in those situations, I hope they fall into the care and discipline of the LORD who is full of hope and mercy.  For I have seen and heard of many with resentful, hopeless hearts who have put their trust in people/things and when the things they trust give way they are broken, damaged and some even do the unthinkable in taking their own lives and the lives of others.   Some even blame the LORD.  They also lash out at innocent by standers and those who represent God.  It wasn’t God who told them to trust these faulty frailties but they did, giving over a trust that only God should have had.  I myself have been guilty of this more then a few times and it has been a hard lesson to learn and God has gracious helped me repair the damages.

Apostle Paul wrote, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Romans 7:15

Why do we occasionally fall into this, “I do what we hate”?

·      We do what we hate because we fall into a faulty understanding of the flesh.  We find we haven’t secured our spiritual house as secure as we thought to God our immovable rock.  Instead we have slipped some on to faulty soil or ground.   If we find ourselves in this position we must repent/apologize to God and He (God/Jesus) is who just will forgive us of our sin.  But we can’t continue to return or practice that sin.

“Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.” Galatians 6:8

“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.” 1 John 3:9

·      We do what we hate because we have not allowed the Carpenter (Jesus) to build and/or orchestrate His understanding in us through His life giving Word in that situation. 

·      We do what we hate because we take things in our own hands (even momentary)   not really comprehending the results and consequences of our actions.

 “Furthermore, it isn't good to be ignorant, and whoever rushes into things misses the mark.” Proverbs 19:2

·      We do what we hate because we don’t listen and obey the Spirit of God. 

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.…” Galatians 5:22-23

As we read last time, “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor is in vain.  And unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards watch in vain.”  Psalm 127:1 

We are spiritual house that is being built and we must let the Carpenter of our life build our spiritual house and not be tempted to take things into our own hands and build on things that are unstable and even dangerous.

For man may build and may even build quickly, but if it isn’t built in Spirit and truth/ the resonating empowering foundation of Christ, a man’s desires will not last.

“Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.…” Psalm 37:4

Spirit and truth. 

A person may believe in the truth but they may act contrary to the way they believe because he/she is not living and submitted to the Spirit at that moment, time, and  understanding.

Have you ever done so?  Of course, we all have at several different points in our life.

Be glad God corrected you then instead of later for everyone’s work will be tested.

“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. ¹⁶ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.” 1 Corinthians 3:10-16

Our spiritual house and God

“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him, Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him.  Then you your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7

Just as the house of God (the people of the church) cannot stand and do what God wants and wills if it is not submitted to God’s Spirit so it with our spiritual house.  We must always be cognoscenti to see if we have allowed our spiritual house to slip and straddle that spiritual fault line between Jesus Christ and this world and the ways of the flesh.

We find ourselves in a cultural story, a family story, a story of circumstances and situations but though we may be in those stories that is not our story.  That is not our hope. 

This soon to be history and a future will come to an abrupt end but we are just passing through this experience- our story originates with our eternal God, our Heavenly Father and our LORD Jesus Christ who made us and transformed us as individuals in Christ and He will one day take us up into eternity in heaven where all is made right. That is our identity.  That is our hope.  That is our peace.  That is our assurance. That is our source of empowerment.  That is our story that lives in us if we allow it.  That is our life and our lasting foundation.  Anyone Christian who believes this experience is life is missing out.  They are missing the point that we died with Christ and our life is in God.  It is hidden from view to those in this life, those who only put an emphasis on the cares of this short experience or hold on too tightly to these days but one day our real life will be revealed to all those who were blind to this truth. God is the author of our life.   He breathes into the hallways and rooms of our life and transforms the mundane into something good, pleasing and perfect because our foundation is firmly standing upon Him.   

God alone brings stability to our Spiritual house.

“Just as it is written, "BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." Romans 9:33 

Friend, remember where your spiritual house is to sit.