✝️ Sermon Title: If the Foundations Be Destroyed

Text: Psalm 11:3

“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

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🗣️ Introduction:

Church, we are living in a time where the ground is shaking beneath our feet.

And I’m not talking about earthquakes—I’m talking about ethical erosion, moral meltdown, spiritual collapse.

   •   The courts rule, but justice is still denied.

   •   Corporations profit, but families can’t afford groceries.

   •   Churches are packed, but truth is missing from the pulpit.

SOMEBODY SAY, “FOUNDATIONS ARE BREAKING!”

Psalm 11:3 doesn’t hide from this reality.

It dares to ask the question many whisper but few answer:

“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

This psalm was written by David during a time of personal and national upheaval.

His advisors told him to run.

To retreat.

To fly away like a bird.

But David said, “In the Lord put I my trust.” (v. 1)

SOMEBODY HOLLER, “I STILL TRUST THE LORD!”

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📖 Exegetical Framework:

“If the foundations (שָׁתוֹת — shatot) be destroyed…”

This Hebrew word refers not to buildings but to the spiritual, moral, and civic architecture that holds life together.

   •   Justice

   •   Truth

   •   Integrity

   •   Compassion

   •   Reverence

When these are dismantled, when what is right becomes ridiculed and what is wicked becomes normalized, the soul of a people is in jeopardy.

📌 And yet, the question remains: WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?

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🔥 Point 1: Name the Cracks Without Losing Your Calling

We must begin with truth-telling.

The foundations are being destroyed.

And silence is no longer sanctified.

As James Baldwin said:

“Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

TOUCH YOUR NEIGHBOR AND SAY, “FACE IT!”

The righteous cannot afford to cover up systemic sin with shallow sermons.

We must say what needs to be said:

   •   That racism still runs red beneath policy

   •   That the big beautiful bill is suffocating the working poor

   •   That mass incarceration is the new plantation

   •   That voter suppression is dressed up in democracy

Angela Davis said:

“I’m no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I’m changing the things I cannot accept.”

SHOUT, “NO MORE ACCEPTING IT!”

“WE WON’T STAY SILENT!”

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🔥 Point 2: Return to the Foundation That Cannot Be Destroyed

Psalm 11:4 declares:

“The Lord is in the holy temple, the Lord’s throne is in heaven…”

David doesn’t deny the crisis—he redirects the focus.

WHEN EARTH SHAKES, LOOK TO HEAVEN!

Dr. Gardner C. Taylor said:

“God may change God’s methods, but never God’s purpose.”

We are not adrift—we are anchored.

We don’t cling to systems—we cling to the Sovereign.

Langston Hughes said:

“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.”

🎶 “On Christ, the solid rock I stand…”

SAY IT WITH ME: “ALL OTHER GROUND IS SINKING SAND!”

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🔥 Point 3: Rebuild While Others Retreat

Psalm 11:2 says the wicked shoot from the shadows.

But the righteous are not shadow workers—we are sacred builders.

SAY, “I’M A BUILDER, NOT A BREAKER!”

Martin Luther King Jr. said:

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

📌 The righteous don’t run—we rebuild.

📌 The righteous don’t fold—we fight—with faith, not fists.

SHOUT, “I’M REBUILDING!”

“I’M FIGHTING WITH FAITH!”

Dr. Cornel West said:

“Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public.”

And we love too much to quit now.

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🔥 Point 4: The Reward Is Not Just Restoration—It’s Revelation

Psalm 11:7 ends with this glorious promise:

“The Lord is righteous… the upright shall behold the face of the Lord.”

📌 The reward for standing is not popularity—it’s presence.

📌 The faithful may suffer—but they shall see the face of God.

Fannie Lou Hamer said:

“I am where I am because of the bridges that carried me over.”

SOMEBODY SHOUT, “THE LORD CARRIED ME!”

“I’M HERE BECAUSE HE’S FAITHFUL!”

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🙌 Closing Celebration:

So if the foundations be destroyed…

WHAT CAN THE RIGHTEOUS DO?

We can:

   •   NAME THE CRACKS

   •   TRUST THE THRONE

   •   REBUILD THE WALLS

   •   LIVE WITH PURPOSE

   •   AND SEE THE FACE OF GOD!

We are the children of Harriet’s prayers,

The fruit of Frederick’s fight,

The echo of Sojourner’s truth,

The answer to King’s dream.

🎶 “Like a tree planted by the water…”

SHOUT IT: “I SHALL NOT BE MOVED!”

🎶 “Be very sure… your anchor holds…”

🎶 “My soul has been anchored…”

Let the world shake.

Let the bills come due.

Let liars lie.

Let systems fail.

But THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL STAND!

THE UPRIGHT SHALL BEHOLD HIS FACE!

AND THE FOUNDATION OF GOD SHALL NEVER BE DESTROYED!