Psalm 127, we have come into
this house and gathered in His name to worship
Him. Who are we worshiping? Christ
the Lord. Christ our Lord. We just had a Bible study. on
Christ being the only foundation that a spiritual house can be
built on. And in saying a spiritual house,
what that means is salvation. That's what it means, salvation.
Christ is the only foundation that salvation can be built on. A house of spiritual life, a
house of eternal life. You think about eternal life. Everything here revolves around
a death that's coming. It affects every day. You just
think about eternal life, eternal peace, eternal rest. A true dwelling place for God's
people. Christ has to be the foundation
of that. He has to be. What I want us
to see now is if a house is going to be built
on that foundation, Christ has to build the house. Christ has
to be the foundation of the house. And Christ has
to be the builder of the house. Psalm 127 verse 1 says, Except the Lord build the house,
they labor in vain that build it. If Christ is not the foundation,
there's nowhere to build a house. Can't be built on anything else. And if Christ is not the builder
of the house, the house is not going to be built. That's what I want us to get
a hold of. It's not just that it's not going to be a well-built
house. The house is not going to be built. There will be no
house. Now, because of today's occasion,
because this is the first service in our brand new building, clearly,
you know, we call this the house of the Lord. Our brother just
read, I was glad when they said unto me, let's go to the house
of the Lord. All right. Clearly these are
appropriate scriptures for us to use for texts today. Other foundation can no man lay
except the Lord built the house. But here's the truth. It does
not matter what we use for a text. It does not matter what portion
of scripture was chosen today for a text. And the reason is
because all scripture says this right here. All of it, doesn't
matter where you go, all of it says salvation is of the Lord. All of it says that. Salvation
is of the Lord. That's what I pray might be established
from day one in this place. I thought a lot about today. I thought about it for three
years. I really did. And I weighed heavily. What do I
want us to walk out of those stained front doors dwelling on. What do I want to
be established here in this place, in this building, day one from
this pulpit right here? What is it? Here it is. Salvation
is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. When
people come here, I want them to know. Salvation is of the
Lord, and I want them to know what that means. Salvation is
of the Lord. I want us to know that. I want
us to know that. I want our children to know that.
I want these little children to know. Salvation is of the
Lord. It's of the Lord. All of us,
and we mentioned this in the Bible study, but I'm going to
mention again, naturally speaking, and I'm talking about as we are
born into this world, We do not naturally know that salvation
is of the Lord. That's not a natural understanding
for men and women. We are all born into this world
with a nature that is contrary to God's nature. And we're all
born with a will You know, we talk about somebody being strong-willed,
or we're all born with a will that is contrary to God's will. We don't know that, but it is.
We're all born with a way. Well now, I'll tell you what
I think. We're all born with a way that is contrary to God's
way. And here's the truth. Anything
that is contrary to God is not going to stand. It's not going
to stand. It's not going to last. Anything
that's contrary to God. He will do away with everything
that is contrary to Him, His way, His truth. Solomon said, wisest man on this
earth, he said, there is a way that seems right
to a man. It really does seem, now, you
know, men and women always say, well, now this is what I think,
this is what I believe. Tell you what I believe. Doesn't
matter what I believe. I'm talking about Gabe Stoniker.
It does not matter what I believe. All that matters is what is said
right here, written right here. And Solomon said, every man and
woman has a way There is a way that seems right to a man, but
the end of that way is death. Our Lord said to all of mankind,
He said, your ways are not my ways. He was talking to everybody. Not just some people, not just
the hard to get along with people. Talking to everybody. He said,
your ways are not my ways. And he said, your thoughts, your
natural thoughts, thoughts about God and thoughts about salvation
are not my thoughts. And the way that man naturally
thinks is, this is what people naturally think. Salvation is
up to me. I need to do something about
this. It's time I get in church and do something about this. This is my decision. This is
in my hands. I'm going to have to do something
about it. That is not so. That is not so. Salvation is
of the Lord. It's up to Him. It is His will. It is His decision. It is in
His hands. Except the Lord build the house,
they labor in vain that build it and think about that little
line right there. They labor in vain. They labor in vain. That's what men and women spend
their lives doing. Preaching the truth to people
comes from a deep loving desire for men and women to not get
to the end of their life and find out that all of their efforts
were in vain. David wanted men to be saved. I love the law and I want men
to know the truth of it. The Apostle Paul wanted men to
be saved. My prayer to God for Israel is
that they might be saved. I want to be saved. Men and women
go through this life thinking they are building their salvation. They spend their entire life
working on what they think is their spiritual house. Laying
what they think is their own foundation. Raising up what they
think are their walls of salvation. Hiding under what they think
is their own covering from the blast. Only to find out on the
day of judgment, it was all in vain. No house was built. No house was built. And it's
because salvation is not of man, salvation is of the Lord. He
is the builder. He is the doer. He is the accomplisher
of it, start to finish. Start to finish. Now, when we
set out to build this house, the house we're all sitting in
right now, We knew that there would be and
there was three main components in the process of building this
building. Three main components. The first
component was we drew up a set of plans. We had them printed up. We all sat down together. And
we looked at all these walls and rooms. But what should we
make that one? Should we make it this? How should
we change that? We established our purpose. That's what we did. We established
our purpose in this. What we purposed to accomplish. It was all on blueprint before
we ever brought a hammer over here. It had to be stamped and sealed. We selected what each one of
these rooms were going to be. This room's going to be that.
And this room's going to be that. We chose finishes. We established exactly what we
were going to do, all right? We established this is what we're
going to do. And then we did it. That was the second component
of this process. According to the plan, and for
those of you who saw the plan, you're just gonna have to understand
that, gotta go along with my illustration
here. Every time we came to do something,
I'd say, you know, Jared, what are we gonna do with it? He'd
say, well, what does the plan say? We just go according to the plan.
How high should this be? What does the plan say? Where
should this be put? Well, what does the plan say? According to the plan, we carried
out exactly what had to be done. We counted the cost. We kept
counting the cost and we kept counting the cost. We paid the
price. We endured the work all the way
to the end. And what I mean by that is, Every
requirement that had to be done, that's what I'm talking about
if you're going with my illustration. Every requirement that had to
be done, we fulfilled the task that was set before us. We did
all the requirements that had to be done. And then we moved
in. That was the third component.
Let there be light. The moment that we turned the
lights on to this place, we were so excited. We were taking pictures,
texting them to everybody. We had light in a place that
was only dark before. We turned these HVAC units on
in the wintertime, so we said, let there be heat, warmth in
a cold place. Let there be life. Let life be
in this building. Let there be us. Let's move in. Let's live and move and have
our being in this building that we have built. That is exactly
what God Almighty said and did. That's exactly what God said
and did. He built a spiritual house. Not out of wood, not out of shingles,
not out of those things. He did it out of people. Sinful men and women just like
you and me. He did it out of sinful people. Look with me if you would at
1 Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter 2 verse 5 says, You also, as lively stones, are
built up a spiritual house and holy priesthood to offer up spiritual
sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. He said, you
have been built up a spiritual house unto God. Don't turn, but
1 Corinthians 3, where we were, verse 16 says, know ye not that
ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells
in you? The Lord God Jehovah, Father,
Son, and Spirit. They built a spiritual house
out of the souls of men and women from all over this world. Every
tribe, nation, kindred, and tongue. And this is how they did it,
okay? God built a house, and this is how they did it.
There were three main components. A decision was made. A work was carried out and an enjoyment of ownership
was made known. God the Father elected a people. God the Son redeemed those people. And God the Spirit regenerated
those people, brought life to those people. The Lord built
the house. The Lord built the house. We
can see that blueprint. If we look at those three components,
we can see it everywhere in Scripture. No matter where we turn, we can
see that. Let's see it right here in 1
Peter. We're already here. Look with me if you would at
1 Peter 1, verse 1. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout. That's who God built His house
out of. Strangers scattered throughout. Just nothings, nobodies, like you and me. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
to the strangers scattered throughout, Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, Bithynia, Kingsport, Who are they? Who is he talking
to? Who is this letter written to? Verse 2 says it's to those
who are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.
God the Father elected a people. What does that mean? That means
God the Father chose who would be saved. And it's not like many
have interpreted that to mean. It's not that God the Father
cast a vote for you, and the devil cast a vote against you,
and now the decision is yours. That's not it at all. God elected
a people. Period. God elected a people. 2 Thessalonians 2.13 says, God
hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation. Ephesians 1
verse 4 says, God the Father chose us in Him, in Christ, before
the foundation of the world. Romans 8 verse 29 says, Whom
God the Father foreknew, He also did predestinate to be conformed
to the image of His Son. God the Father chose a people. He can do that because He's God.
You know what makes God, God? He can do whatever He wants to
do. That's what makes Him God. In His mind, in His will, in
His purpose, in His desire, He selected a chosen people to save. Before the foundation of the
world, He established a purpose that He purposed to accomplish. Put a stamp on it. This is my
purpose. He selected who he would include
in his purpose. He chose what the finished result
of his purpose would be. And then he put that purpose
in the hands of God the Son. All of his purpose. That was
the first component of the building of God's salvation. God the Father
made a blueprint. He established a purpose for
whom He purposed it. And He put it in the hands of
God the Son. So, Peter said in verse 2, I'm
speaking to the elect, the chosen, according to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, through God's
Spirit setting those people apart, unto obedience and sprinkling
of the blood of Jesus Christ." Unto the obedience of the Lord
Jesus Christ and the sprinkling of the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He said, grace unto you and peace
be multiplied. The gospel has something to do
with grace and peace. Grace and peace. So with God's
purpose being complete, with component one being complete,
Christ Jesus the Lord took the purpose of the Father concerning
His people and He accomplished that purpose. He did the work
that had to be done and that purpose was ridding God's people
of all of their sin against Him. All the sin they committed, all
the sin we have committed, all the sin we do commit, all the
sin we will commit. Oftentimes people see salvation
as ridding us of the sin we have committed. But I'm still stuck with the
sin I commit and will commit. All of the sin. cradle to the
grave, even the unfortunate sin, I will still in this wretched
flesh commit against him. He rid his people of all their
sin. God appointed Christ to be the
doer of that, the accomplisher of that. And Christ took the
appointment. He took the responsibility of it willingly. And he successfully carried out
that work that had to be done. Everything the father laid on
him. He did it. He did it. He counted the cost. What was the cost? Death. The wages of sin is death. He
paid the price. What was the price? Blood. His own precious blood. Look
right here at verse 18. 1 Peter 1 verse 18 says, For
as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible
things as silver and gold from your vain conversation, received
by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of
Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He endured
the work from the garden to the cross to the grave all the way
to the end. Every jot, every tittle had to
be done. And with Him crying to the Father,
it is finished. With Him crying, it is finished. God's Holy Spirit moved in. Verse 3, 1 Peter 1 verse 3 says,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
according to His abundant mercy, hath begotten us again unto a
lively hope, a living hope, born again, quickened again, to a
lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth
not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed, Here it
is, ready to be revealed in the last time. That living hope,
quickened together with Christ, that's ready to be revealed.
What that hope cries is, let there be light. Let there be
life. Let the redeemed building of
God's habitation be revealed. That's the building of the Lord.
That is the salvation of God's doing. That is the house that
will stand. That's the only work that's not
in vain. The work of Christ. It's not
by works of righteousness, which we have done. It's according
to His mercy. It's not by man's works at all. We are His workmanship. Salvation's of the Lord. Now,
if that is ever truly revealed to a sinner, we preach this word
and we preach this word and we preach this word and we preach
this word. You know why we do that? Because this word is what
God uses to give life to his people, to quicken his people. It's what he uses to turn the
light on, turn the warmth on. By nature, we're just so cold,
we're just so dead, we're just so empty. And it's the preaching
of this Word, and if God ever through this Word truly reveals
what Christ did for sinners in need, if He ever reveals that,
these will be the sweetest words they ever hear. Turn with me,
if you would, to John 14. John chapter 14, verse 1 says, Let not your heart be troubled.
You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house,
my Father's house are many mansions, If it were not so, I would have
told you." Now look at this last line. He said, I go to prepare
a place for you. I go to prepare a place for you. Except the Lord build the house.
It's all in vain. He said, I go to prepare a place
for you. The foundation of God stands
sure. having this seal. The Lord knows
them that are His. And He says to each one of them,
I go to prepare a place for you. Verse 3, He said, And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive
you unto Myself, that where I am There you may be also. Coming
into this new building makes me have the thought of the experience
of going into the house of the Lord, the Father's house. What a day, glorious day that's
going to be. Can you imagine the beauty? Can you imagine the experience
of the congregation? Can you imagine? I go to prepare a place for you. A sinner who really gets a hold
of his sin and really sees the glory of the inheritance that
is being reserved for the people of God. This is what that sinner
will say. Do you really mean me? I go to
prepare a place for you. Do you really mean me? Do you
really mean me? Is he really going to prepare
a place for me? Self? Who did he say he would do this
for? Who did he say he would accomplish
this for? Well, he said he would do this
for sinners. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation. Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners. He said, I didn't come to call
the righteous, I came to call sinners. Are you a sinner? Yes, I am a sinner. I truly am a sinner. Well then,
yes, He means you. If you're a sinner in need of
a Savior, He means you. The foundation of Christ is for
sinful men and women who have nothing else to stand on. No foundation of their own. And
the soul who the Lord builds the house for is the soul who
cannot build his own. He has nothing to build it with.
The Lord does not help those who help themselves. The Lord
helps those who can't help themselves. He is the help of the helpless. That's who will hear him say,
I'm going to prepare a place for you. I'll go do the work
for you. And he said, if I go and prepare
a place for you, I'll come again and receive you unto myself,
that where I am, there you may be also. For every soul whose
only hope of standing before God is the blood and righteousness
of Christ alone. That soul is standing on a sure
foundation with a hope that is not going to fall. That is a hope that a sinner
can truly go meet God with. And I told you this illustration,
I mean very recently, but I'm going to tell it to you again.
New building, same old illustrations. Because this is a prime example
of the only hope that's going to stand. Alright, this is a
prime example. of the only salvation that's
not gonna fall. This is from a message by Charles
Spurgeon. He said, during this last week, I've been with Brother
Offord, conducting prayer meetings, and he told one evening a tale,
which I made him tell every evening afterwards, for I thought it
so good. Made him tell it every night.
He said, there was a poor man, living on Dartmoor who had been
employed during the summer in looking after horses and cows
and so on that were turned out on the moor. He was a perfect
heathen and that's what I'd love to run into, a perfect heathen. We're not looking for righteous
people, we're looking for sinners, perfect heathens like me. This
man was a perfect heathen and never went to a place of worship,
perhaps since he was a child. For him, there was no Sabbath.
After a time, he grew very ill. He was over 60 years of age,
and having nothing to live upon, he went into the workhouse. While
he was there, it pleased the mysterious spirit to make him
uneasy as to his soul. Oh, that God would make us uneasy
as to our souls. We don't even think about it.
Moses said, oh, that they were wise and would consider their
latter end. An end is coming. We're not promised
tomorrow. I'm only 45. We're not promised tomorrow.
It's amazing, I've lasted to 45. The Spirit made him uneasy as
to his soul. He felt that he must die. And the old man had just enough
light to let him see that if he did die, all was wrong with
regard to his future state. He was not right with God. He had a little grandchild who
lived in a neighboring town, Plymouth, I think it was, and
he asked leave for his grandchild to come in every day to see him. As he was very ill and near death,
that was allowed. She came in and he said to her,
read the Bible to me, dear. She complied, and the more she
read, the more wretched the old man grew. And that's what happens. Not more holy, more wretched. The more we really read of what's
in here, the more wretched the old man grew. Read it again,
said he. The more she read, the more dark
his mind seemed to be with a sense of guilt. At last, one day, she
came to that passage in the first epistle of John. You know it.
The blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin. Is that there? He asked. Yes, Grandfather, replied the
little girl, that is there. Is that there? Oh yes, Grandfather,
it is there. Then read it again. Read it again. She again read, The blood of
Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin. My dear, are you sure it is just
like that? Yes, grandfather. Then read it
again, dear. The blood of Jesus Christ, his
son, cleanses us from all sin. Then he said, take my finger
and put it on that verse. Is it on that text, child? Is
my finger on that blessed text? Yes, grandfather. Then, said
he, tell them, alluding to his friends, that I die in the faith
of that. And he closed his eyes and doubtless
entered into eternal rest. Spurgeon said, and I will die
in the faith of that truth by God's grace, and so will you,
I trust, brethren and sisters. Die with your finger on that
text. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth
us from all sin. Leave this world with that hope. The hope that Christ, He did
it all. He paid it all. He satisfied
it all. He gets the glory for it all.
Leave this world with that hope and you'll never fall. You will
never fall. You will stand in Christ alone
forever. Amen.