Unless The Lord Builds | Short Sermon Series
When was the last time you achieved great results or success? How did that come about? Was it because of the hard work you put in, your natural talent or a lucky circumstance? We often attribute the great things we do to our own efforts, forgetting that it is God Himself who breathes life into us and provides us with the necessary resources and capabilities to be successful in our endeavours. As Psalm 127:1 says, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain”. Without the favour and grace of God, none of our pursuits, no matter how noble they are, will come to pass because of our own strength or efforts. If God is not with us in the process, we will labour in vain – perhaps we might see initial fruit, but that fruit will not remain if God does not will it to last.
Jesus once told a parable about two men – one built his house on the rock, while the other built his house on sand (Matthew 7:24-27). As you can imagine, when the storm came and the rain beat down heavily on the house, the house built on sand fell apart quickly.
Are we building our lives upon the solid rock that is Christ, or upon the sand of the world? And is Christ partnering with us in the building of our lives? May we remember that the earthly kingdoms of wealth, success and reputation that we build for ourselves will not last to eternity. Rather, what will last is our love for one another and for God, shown through the little acts of kindness and the gentle words we speak to one another each day.
Let us commit to building and living our lives with God, and for God – looking towards storing up treasures in heaven that will last forever, instead of treasures on earth that will fade away!