Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to Proverbs chapter 14. Proverbs 14. I would like to look at verse
1 this morning. Proverbs 14, I've entitled this
message, Where is your house built? Where is your house built? And the scripture that we're
going to deal with today, beautifully, magnificently, sets forth the
effect of the evidence of God's work of grace in the heart. Everything we preach is going
to have to come back to this. Tell me where in lies my hope. Now let me tell you why. Number
one, there is no other message but that. There is no other message
save Christ. And secondly, as I mentioned
before I began the other message. This may be the last time that
somebody in this congregation hears the gospel. This may be
the last time. And if it is the last time, Lord help me not to preach something. Help me to not preach something
that was not truth. Lord keep me from preaching anything
other than Jesus Christ and Him crucified. If this is the last
message I preach or if this is the last message you ever hear,
may Christ be honored. May the Lord be honored. Believers are sinners saved by the grace
of God. And sinners, saved by the grace
of God, manifest wherein lies their hope. Now, that's just
the way it is. God's people manifest their hope. I want you to turn with me to
1 Thessalonians chapter 1. 1 Thessalonians And I'm going to
look at just a few verses of Scripture, then I'm going to
relate what we're going to look at right here in 1 Thessalonians
to Proverbs 14.1. Here's the evidence. Now, the
most blessed way to know how is a believer evidenced? I know
they are. In 1 Thessalonians 1, no greater
chapter. setting forth the evidence of
a believer. Then right here, 1 Thessalonians
1, verse 4, the Apostle Paul says, Knowing, brethren, beloved,
your election of God. Now, before that ought to rest
just right there. Knowing. Here's the evidence
of the election the Scriptures set forth. That God elects knowing
your election. Here is verse 5, For our gospel
came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the
Holy Ghost, and in much assurance, as ye know what manner of men
we were among you for your sake. Here's the evidence. The gospel
of God's free grace, meaning, as Mitch just read, We don't
walk after the flesh. When that scripture says that,
this is what it means. We don't walk, have our manner
of life trusting in the things of the flesh. That's what it
says. We walk not after... I mean, I know we're in this
body, and this is flesh, and we're living, and we... You know,
that's not what... It's talking about finding your
hope for eternal security. You don't walk after the flesh.
But you walk after the spirit. concerning. This is the evidence.
The gospel, our gospel, it wasn't just a word. A word that you understood in
your head, but it was power to you. You believed it. You rested
in it. This is the believer's life. God is doing something for me
that I couldn't do for myself. Verse 6, and he became followers
of us and of the Lord, and he received the word in much affliction
with joy of the Holy Ghost. He receives that word in affliction
from the world, but it is absolutely contrary to what he thinks by
nature. I'll be the first to tell you.
The first time I ever heard the gospel of God's grace, I felt
so sorry for that person that was talking to me. Are you kidding
me? Where did you get that? I've
never heard that preached before. But when it pleased God to reveal Christ to me, in me,
it was in power. You received it in much affliction. You don't follow after what you
used to believe. You don't follow after the preachers
that preach doctrines. The devil says what the Scripture
says for it. Relating man's words and self-righteousness
to man's salvation. That's not true. Paul said here's
the evidence of it. You became followers of us and
of the Lord. Received the Word in much affliction
with joy. of the Holy Ghost. I was reading
just the other day, I read that scripture and it says the joy
of the Lord is our strength. Back in Nehemiah. And I looked
at that scripture and I thought, and there it was, capital L,
capital O, capital R, capital D, the joy of Jehovah is our
strength. And I thought, The joy of Jehovah is the Lord
Jesus Christ. The Lord said, this is my beloved
Son, in whom I am well pleased. The joy of the Lord, the joy
of the triune God is Christ who is our strength. Paul says, you
receive the word in much affliction with joy of the Holy Ghost. The resting So that ye were examples to all
that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. Examples. You act, you believe, you walk. The walk of a believer. Amazing
thing. Struggling always in themselves. And always thankful, praising
their hearts, rejoicing in Christ. You ask a believer, you know,
What do you think of yourself? I struggle. I struggle. Struggle to read. Struggle to
pray. Struggle to preach. Struggle to study. I spoke to
Don Portner the other day. I asked him to pray for us. He said, Marvin, he said as best
I can. I'll try. I can relate to that. But from you soundly, verse 8,
out of the word of the Lord, not
only in Macedonia and Achaea, but also in every place, your
faith is God-filled, is spread abroad, so that we need not to
speak anything. Out of the abundance of a believer's
heart, they speak. They speak of Christ. They speak
of His glory. to converse with other believers
concerning the truth, God's grace. Come, David said, and hear all
ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for
my soul. God's people give evidence, give
a testimony of God's mercy to them. And in verse 9 it says, Show of us what manner of entering
in we had unto you and how you turned to God and from idols
to serve the living and true God. God's people, regenerated
by the grace of God, turned from the idols of pride, self-love,
self-will, ambition, rebellion against God. And they turned
because they had been turned by the Spirit of God. According
to God's will and God's pleasure and God's providence, they turned
to Him. Materialism, all other things
that would hinder a believer's walk, they look at those things
as playing second fiddle. It's just not. In verse 10, And to wait for
his Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus
was delivered us from the wrath to come. We know. We know this life is a vapor.
We know that our time here is just short. We like to believe
that we've got many, many years to go. In my mind, I think, well,
I've got many, many years to go. Who knows? Who knows what this might be?
The last day. Now, knowing the evidence of
a believer, Paul turns back to Proverbs 14.1, and let's just
look at this for just a minute. Proverbs 14.1, every wise woman
buildeth her house, but the foolish plucketh it down with their hands. Now, I noticed something. It
said every wise woman, not most, not some, every wise woman. Now that right there ought to
just stop us for just a second. We ought to just ask ourselves
this now. I know that that's saying something
more than just talking about construction. Now you know what
it is. Not even construction within
the workings of the interior of a home, I think. One, here, a key to this, here
again, how profitable it is to look at the God's Word and find
out what does that mean? Why? Why? wise wife, buildeth her house. Now I know this, spiritually
speaking, there is but one wise woman. There's but one. Who is it? It is the bride of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And her wisdom did not originate
with herself. The scripture says Christ to
be the wisdom of his people. Christ, our wisdom, who is the
wisdom of God. Wisdom speaking. So any wisdom
that there is to be had concerning the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ,
he has to be it. Now here, this scripture sets
forth that every wise wife, every wise woman, buildeth her house. But where does she build it?
Turn with me to Matthew 7. Our Lord set forth, I believe,
the absolute truth of this scripture. Every wise woman built her house."
Matthew 7, verse 24. Therefore, whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a
wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended,
and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that
house, And it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. Surely the only place of refuge
of any spiritual building, wise building, lively stones built
upon the foundation of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the chief
cornerstone. Where are you going to build? The aim of this message is where
is your house built? Every wise woman, I will liken those that
hear these words of mine, I will liken him unto a wise man that
built his house. A wise woman built her house. The only place, no refuge. is going to be found on the Lord
Jesus Christ who is our rock, our foundation. But I know this,
I know that the wise woman back in Proverbs 14 that built her
house, she wasn't the originator of that building. hope that's in him. She didn't
construct it. It is Christ himself who has
built his church upon himself. He is the builder and has given
his people a heart, a will, a joy to come to him. When they came
to Him, why did they come? Father drove them. But did they
come? Yes, they did. Where is your house built? He
said, My house is built on nothing less than the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Did that originate with you?
No. But you did by the grace of God. He gave you faith, the woman
that came to you with the issue of blood. If I can just touch
Him with His garment, I'm going to be made whole. Where did that
faith come from? He gave it to her. It's given
unto you to believe. But did she do it? Yes, she did.
Yes, she did. Are you believing? Are you trusting?
Are you building your house upon the rock? If you are, it's by
the grace of God. But bless God He gave you. Hard
to do it. God's people walk after Him.
They truly walk after Him. We're not robots. God Almighty
gives us a new heart, a mind, a will, and we do exactly what
we want to do. I want to pray. I want to trust. I want to love. I want to be built on Him. I
want to hear His Word. I want to believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. So I know that I can by no means
lay claim to the origination of this house, but in what sense can it be said
that every wise woman builds her house? Only in the sense
that we build upon Him by faith. Scripture sets forth, ìTherefore,
whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will
liken him unto a wise man, a believer in Christ, which built his house
upon the rock. And how, Lord, will we know those
that are made wise?î The rains descended, the floods
came, the winds blew. That house that was beat upon,
fell not. It didn't fall. It was founded
on the rock. Why didn't it fall? Because it was kept by the power
of God. Built upon Him. Trust in Him. God's people are going to be
tried and tested and proven higher by this work, by this work. Oh, I do understand. We will
suffer. I do know that. We'll suffer
in this life. We'll suffer emotionally and physically and financially. I know that. But these scriptures
set forth the truth that God will keep us The winds, the rains
beat on that house and it does not fall. I'll tell you the ultimate
trial. I'll tell you the ultimate test
is in that day of judgment when all things are going to be judged
in righteousness. The wise woman, Scripture says
forth, builds her house, but the foolish plucketh it down
with her hands. with her ability, with her will, with her works, plus family,
friends. The scripture says, Everyone
that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall
be like unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.
And the rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat
upon that house, and it fell. And great was the fall of Those
who hear the sayings of the Lord Jesus, the gospel of God's grace,
and doeth them not, doesn't hold them, doesn't believe them, doesn't
trust them. That house that they built, that
house of refuge upon the sand, that which is not stable, that's
what it's setting forth. A rock is setting forth that
which is stable, the sand is not stable. That which has its
foundation based upon anything except the Rock of Ages. Those
that believe themselves to have established their own righteousness
will in that day. And that's when they're going
to know it. They'll stand before God and say, we prophesied in
your name. We cast out devils in your name.
marvelous works in your name." He'll say, I never knew you.
Almighty God is pleased in His Son, and those found in Him,
those that trust Him, trust Him for life and salvation. Building
upon the foundation of man's impotence is actually spiritual
suicide. The foolish plucketh it down
with her hands. Oh, that we might be found, grounded
and built upon him. Psalm 61.2 says, From the end
of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed,
lead me to the rock that is higher than I. May the Lord bless these
words to our hearts.