Building a Home

Great to have each and every one of your mother's here with us today and we are definitely honored by our mothers and if it wasn't for my my mother and my wife and my daughter who's a mother and my mother-in-law and my grandmother and great-grandmother that I spent time with I would not be the person that I am today. And so they had a wonderful role into my life in this making me who I am. You have your Bibles this morning turn to Psalms 127 127 want to thank sister Kay for my mask with the sheep in the shepherd on it. That's pretty cool. But I've got it on except when I'm preaching but I'm not going to fight with that in the microphone and everything this morning, but it's got a weird. I thought me and seeing everybody in their pews would be cool. But with all of you with your mask on I keep on to put my hands up or something. I think it's a holdup, but we are so glad that each and everyone of you are here this morning we have over

Purple Psalms 127 I decided to break away from 1st Peter for Mother's Day. And then I'll do it again here in a few weeks for Father's Day. And as we look at this, I want to talk about building a homemade really don't understand Psalms 127. We have to go back and remember about Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes Solomon. There were stressed a very crucial point that life is empty and meaningless without God and after I love the Lord Our God and Obey him and honor him without absolutely nothing. So he comes back later and we find that in spite of everything. That's all admitted learned and Solomon you go through the Book of Ecclesiastes.

How are you saying that you can imagine liquor food? I mean everything was at his beckon call if he achieved so much but yet he hated alive because he lived his entire life everything that the world had to offer from Pleasures possessions and power of it brought lasting fulfillment. We see so many people in society today that are so filled with searching for these goals. I think it meant if I just get this possession, then I'll be happy just get this job that will save my life and everything else. But yet we find people today that are hopeless and helpless safe. They have everything but they have nothing is ever going to look at that this morning or something 127 Solomon Echoes the message of Ecclesiastes and is Psalms 127. Three major parties in men's lives as Mother's Day 127 from Mother's we're going to do 128 for Father's Day go together that are there and really he refers to men but I want you to understand this morning. It is just as a prospective for a man as it is for a woman because God is a married couple. So the application this morning is good Mother's Day and Father's Day different songs down some 27 is the first of two songs of a sin and other words. These was when I would go to Jerusalem and they would gather these were Psalms that they was seeing as they were going up to the temple as they were going up the stairs. Play Wee Sing the song come back to Jerusalem after they saying it's kind of amazing because of the leadership of the Holy Spirit. If you look at the song, you'll find that there are 15 of the song. You will find chapter 127 dead in the center of these 15th. And really I think the Holy Spirit did that on purpose. I believe that the placement is appropriate because the home is the sea. Evolved society as the home. So goes the world and we see our world falling apart today. We see our church is falling apart today because we see the home falling apart if we can get our homes to come back together and we can get men to be husbands and fathers and we can get women to be wives and mothers we can get both of them serving and raising children for the glory and honor of God.

Carnation would become and could become then will I hear and forgive and heal this morning and this song of a see it as the Riemann if you remember back the ribbon, it returned to Jerusalem from Babylon and I come and I rebuild the city and Society this song held very special significance for them reclaim the promised land that God had promised to Abraham Isaac and Jacob Moses delivered them to let them in.

David expanded Solomon and all of a sudden the family fall apart and now they are getting to come back home towards the foundation of their lives their homes and their Nation without God's blessings everything that you and would be worthless for the most part men and women today still spend their lives trying to build home and family today many men and women still try to protect them and work to provide for them. I know we have several parents today at really small children that are not here this morning because of the protection of their kids because they don't understand that they run up and Somebody are Arby near somebody and they don't understand we have to make so many decisions.

Of our family but I also want us to understand we have a lot of people that are working to provide for their family a lot of parents this morning during the middle of this pandemic or worrying where they're going to get the people that have been handing out the food and different things.

For their families and so for the most part these things have come yet at the end of the day a good number of these families feel empty inside even though they're doing their marriage crumbled their families are falling apart and everything. They have worked for vanishes. Why tragically because they left God out of it all as we look at Psalms 127 this morning is very simply just 5 versus this morning and we're going to look at three points in the 5 versus but if you have your Bibles this morning, it would stand in honor of the reading of the word of God will begin inverse one except the Lord build the house. They labor in vain that build it except the Lord keep the city the Watchman waketh, but in vain it is vain for you to rise up early and just sit up late to eat the bread of Sorrows for so, We give it to his beloved sleep low children are a Heritage of the Lord in the fruit of the womb is his reward as arrows are in the hand of the Mighty Med. So our children of the you have fears the man that has his quiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed but they shall speak with the enemies in the gates there. My father we thank you so much for your lovely. Thank you so much for the family and that first institution that you made when you brought Adam and Eve together and made them to become one flesh with population and are my father. We've been seeing that fulfillment going on for six thousand years now and every father, we don't want to be the generation that stop that does not put you forward for a first in our lives. It does not Prosper because of our obedience and service of you. You're my father just guide us through this message today Use Me Hide me behind your cross to to challenge us to exhort To be the type of husbands to be the type of wives the fathers and mothers that we need to be that our country and our church and our nation will Thrive because we are we are individuals that are submitted to you. And your most precious name. We pray. Amen as we look at this passage of scripture. You may be seated Solomon tells us the very first thing is he gives us the blueprint for building a home in Israel. They were returned to Jerusalem and there were very few houses available. If you remember studying in the book of Nehemiah and chapter 7 verse for that the first thing they did was build the wall and then they provided for their protection and everything and the men labor to build dwellings for their families. This song exhorted them to build their home on a firm spiritual Foundation just as they built their homes on a solid physical Foundation we noted.

boards and sheetrock

all of these differ go into building a house, but I want you to

but this morning what we want to talk about is not building a physical structure. We want to build a home. We want to build a home. We want to build some place that has lots of sayings about the home home is where you hang your head home is where you can go when problems of life if it's surrounded you with disappointment and despair are there it's home, but you can turn back to it. We need to build a home and how do you build a home you take that house? That's that structure and you begin to establish family. You begin to have children and grandchildren and all of a sudden you build a home one of the things that I am going to miss this year and and and I miss every year, but it's going to be a little bit different this year is I can always remember back on Mother's Day. You always get it around grandmother's house or grandfather's house. Right and we Fellowship together it and it was home and you would have all these people together and that's what home was it was it The Strokes?

We were all blood and we were all key and we all related together and so this morning.

A Heritage that goes along with us after since I was Solomon gives us a blueprint for building a hole and noticed a very first thing he says except the Lord build a notice the very first thing building a house without the Lord is vain we have to build have our house we have are the Lord that Hebrew words for in vain is different from which is translated vanity are totally meaningless. However, the meaning of the word that used hear the Hebrew word is the same meaning it means to be empty or Feud or unfulfilling are worthless without result and it's amazing, you know a home that is not built on the Lord starts out with a very In fragile based only God can give us a firm foundation and that's why I spend so much time in counseling and instructed letting people know when you're young women and I want to get to Mary Mary and I want to come together with God as your foundation. You can't wait until you can't wait till your home is being built and then all of a sudden want to try to bring God into the mixture because it's too late. The foundation is bad. It's like building a the most wonderful structure that you can be hold on saying just what it doesn't matter, how bad wonderful If it is OST, and eventually it's going to deteriorate. In fall apart and that's like building a home without the Lord in this message was very crucial to Israel's future. The nation did follow sprawling previously do the spiritual failure returned after idles at turn to worship other gods and the family the basic unit of society was broken down and they needed to be restored. They needed to be restored as strong as his family's in his family's would only be strong as their spiritual foundation in your reading their family groups amongst their home. How do you rebuild a phone the Lord? How do we allow the god the center of our lives in our home? We live by the principles of God's holy word. We conduct our homes by his Troost and instill them in our children. We build on a solid foundation. Forms of life the pressures the challenges the trials The Temptations crisis has everything that happens will undoubtably beatophone us. It will rock it will change our world will change our situation are resting on the solid rock of God and his word. We will not fall. We will weather this pandemic we will weather the problems that we have this foundation will support us through every storm of life and protect us when God's judgment sweeps over this sinful World preserving us both and now throughout all eternity notice not up not only in this blueprint does it have to home has to be built by the Lord but it also has to be barricaded by the Lord the Lord provides our protection. The Lord is the one that protects us. He gives us the security that is there. We noticed that Jerusalem if you think back at fall into a foreign Invader, they've been just To Babylon and then a Siri at is to secure the CD was top priority for the men as they brought their families back to the promised land. In fact just says that they built the wall before they focused on building their houses that they got so involved in building the wall. The Bible says that I completed the wall at sin begin to build their houses and just 51 days amazingly, you know, that's just about how long we've been quarantined right now. Have you been building a wall? Have you been getting closer to God if you've been allowing his protection during this quarantine see one of the greatest needs. I feel like America needs today is an opportunity just to be with family just to spend time with each other again to unplug to unwind do projects together to work together to live together. We are interviewed on TV and how they're struggling because they're having to educate their

Sleep with their kids they can't drop them off at daycare. They can't take them here take them there and it's amazing how they are learning to do what we're supposed to already have been doing all alone, and I can just speak for myself. But I know as far as our family we are closer in tighter now than we were before the pandemic ever started. We're we're having a ball working together and doing projects together. It's eating together and fellowship in together at watching the occasional TV show together volume games in the afternoon and doing different things. That soaks man. It is amazing when we get that protection of the Lord and when that wall was finally complete Nehemiah organize the guardian of the city and its people Jerusalem was a strong will protect the city when the Babylonian Army had invaded it, but it despite of all of its seamless Is five of his scaling towers and around the clock Watchmen the city nevertheless was destroyed. Listen to me very carefully mother and father this morning. You can have the most money you can have power you can have the most things but listen, you cannot pour fully protect your family by yourself. The only reason that my family has survived this Penta Dimock is because of the protection of God, we pray for his protection. We pray for his guidance. We pray for his leadership as we go in. The historical fact is we look at the proves that Solomon statement here to be haunted Lee prophetic unless the Lord God guards the city the diligent work of the Watchmen is in vain. It does not matter how much I pray for my children are my grandchildren or how much projection I try to provide only God can fully protect them. It's out of my hands. I do what I can do. I work to provide I try to protect I try to guard I try to do what I can do. I am scared to death of snakes. I hate snakes but this week we were cleaning up and and working on some stuff and there was a piece of 10 there and I said my son around to get it in the minute that he moved it. There was a a copperhead about this long way in there and I immediately go to find out once they're at and with a shovel and a stick butchered that Copperhead and I don't like being around them. I usually run the last night that I killed. I was standing on top of the seat of the tractor with a very long pole, but when I got in there because he came too close to my family and I can still be harmed under our protection. They can still be hurt even under our watchful eye. You cannot do everything. I cannot keep my children from this pandemic. I just have to trust that God is protecting us while it is wise to do everything we can to protect our homes and our families. We need to remember that are true security is in the Lord we make him in the center of our lives and homes. He surrounds us with his hedge of protection UC building our lives and homes on God and His holy word provides a significant measure of protection that occurs. Naturally. How does it occur naturally because God Imports his wisdom to us and in his word He commands us and instructs US probably live a good life how to live an Abundant Life how to live above an exceedingly beyond what we can even begin to imagine. But listen anybody who will obey God's instruction even unbelievers if they read the Bible and apply the principles of the Bible even to their life. They're going to reap the benefit of wise living and so all of us whether saved or lost and benefit From the word of God from understanding and knowing what God has for us when we fully commit our lives and our families to the Lord. We also receive the supernatural protection. You see as it so often stated throughout Psalms. The Lord is a shield. He's a fortress he's a refuge to those who trust him and when we explode the Lord from our lives when we turn away from living fully for him. We cannot expect to receive his protection. He leaves us alone if

We are Leone as long as you follow me as long as you obey me as long as you honor me. I will protect you I will bless you. That is a blessing in the protection of God. But God first the first commandment is to Lorde the love love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul with all your might and with all your strength many of us Believers and unbelievers alike. Use lox. We use Gates we put fences up we have alarm. We have camera system. We have dogs. We have guineas we have geese that I'll chase you around the yard, whatever it is. What are we doing? We are protecting our home Square protecting our families were protecting our businesses. But all of these are in vain if the Lord is not standing guard over us all of these are totally useless. We are only truly secure when God is protecting us. And so that's the blueprint for a home and if we put that blueprint into practice notice what he says in verse 2

Look at what he says it is vain for you to rise up early to set up late to eat the bread of Sorrows for so he giveth his beloved sheet sleep working Longhorn hours without the Lord yields. No lasting satisfaction. You see only God can give true rest in Eternal fulfillment. You can work you can labor you can do all you want but when Nehemiah first arrived in Jerusalem, he found the people were eager. They were willing to work an amazingly as I mentioned while ago they completed the Reconstruction of the city walls and only 52 days. I believe I said 51 while ago but it was only 52 days a testimony to their tremendous work at they come in. Can you imagine building a wall? I told my wife the other day. I stopped for 6 weeks now and I'm not even be much less get ahead. But they built an entire wall around the city. I'm just trying to fix up and repair a house in the yard, but amazingly they completed that there were theft you can like the hard worker Solomon describe. They rose up early in the morning. They stayed up late laboring to provide for their families and their food with iron by painful or difficult work. In other words, like they've received their food by hard work you remember that's part of the curse the Browns and the thorns and thistles and all of this.

We do it in order that we can eat just as building a house and safeguarding it are in vain without the Lord. So is working LaRon hard hours without him it yields No Satisfaction. I'm not had one single individual laying on their deathbed. I wish I would have worked more in my life. Not one single person, but you know what I've heard over and over and over and over. I wish I could have spent more time with my family. I wish I would have went with him on more vacations. I wish we could have done more stuff. You see working hard and working long hours without God being the center and being the focus of your life has no lasting satisfaction. No matter how hard a person work how exhausted he or she may be at the end of the day only the Lord can give the individual piece satisfaction and contentment and true rest and that's what wrist symbolizes is to be content in all things. You know, we don't practice the Sabbath day on Saturday the day of rest anymore because now we rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. I am satisfied with everything Christ is done. I don't have to work for that on the cross of calvary.

It doesn't mean that I don't study. It doesn't mean that I don't like her but it means that I am safe and I

with a life in the progress that Christ is made in my life many people seek satisfaction and fulfillment for the work. They work long hard hours going to work early and coming home late and often working weekends. Their most important priority is their jobs and careers and they are convinced that they will be happy and fulfilled when they achieve a goal or get a raise but yet when I reach that goal and received that promotion or earned that business they still feel empty inside and then they want to drive and go for more and higher and further see true satisfaction and fulfillment cannot can only be found in the Lord and we trust the Lord when we live for him then do our best and all things because we want to bring glory to him at the end of the day if we have done we can get a good night sleep and we can rest in the Lord because he alone can grant such a piece. So we seen the blueprint of the We seen the blissfulness of the home the satisfaction in the wrist that only God can give and God can provide it. We're just about out of time this morning put as we looked there and verse 3 through 5. He says low the children are a Heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward. The last part of the home is the bequeathment the bequeathment. What are we talkin about Solomon concludes this song emphasizing that children or a wonderful gift of God. They are a Heritage notice what he says their inverse three children are a Heritage of the Lord. They are your bequeathment. You can leave them possessions. You can leave them money. You can leave them a house. You can leave them Lynn, but guess what every bit of that is going to deteriorate every bit of that is going to eventually fall away or beast. But guess what everything that you have built with your kids with God starting with the blueprint putting God first living satisfied and content with what God has protected you and provided for you and continuing to have children. Listen. They are going to become the inheritance. They are going to be what is left from generation to generation. They become your hand me down your inheritance your future for a home, you know, the one thing that I know that as long as Daniel lives for God first and he is he grows and he gets a life and he has children. I'll tell him the same thing that my father told me son. All you have is your name Hanes keep it clean let people be able to trust you. Let your yays be yay is in your knees name because after my dad's gone after I'm gone Daniels going to be here and his kids are going to be here, but guess what they are going to be a testimony.

I was raised and we passed that on from generation to generation. You see him building a home protecting it in providing for the family is generally for the children, but the message of the previous versus is not stated here, but it is certainly applied. We must make the Lord the center of our home for our children's sake without God all of our efforts will be in vain. It's amazing to watch.

Convicted convinced of God and living for God and convicted to God. I noticed that they continue to have offspring that also true those families that live without God that are in Peril in shame and falling apart. You watches the next Generations begin to fall apart and do it. So what are we going to leave behind Next Generation Solomon's description of the blessings are the bequeathment of children bring to their parents is largely from a man's perspective. He was not writing from a Prejudice perspective against daughters equal equal value to the family. There are things that I am glad for my son. But there's also great things that I am glad for my daughter in our family would not be complete in our family wouldn't And I'm so very thankful that God has blessed me with both because they are both precious gift from God. They are equal value to the family their contributions to the family may be different but for God in His Infinite Wisdom made male and female with the street stinks dreams never the less. They are equally important every child whether a son or daughter is a unique blessing from God and so noticed that these children become the benefit of the home notice. It says they become a heritage heritage is a word that is translated from God's has nothing to do with Will for property or material acquisition its value is far beyond anything in this world are a Heritage of possession or property without question children are a gift from God. We need to remember that the Solomon stated that children are also a reward for god notice what he says. They're the latter part of birth. Maurices in the fruit of the womb is his reward. So not only are they valuable but they are also a reward to their parents when God created Adam and Eve he gave human beings the amazing responsibility of managing this entire beautiful wonderful Earth and all of its glorious resources, and he appointed them over his creation and he blessed them in Genesis chapter 1 verse 26 and he said to them be fruitful and multiply and replenish the Earth part of God's reward to humanity in return for tending to his creation is the unparalleled joy and thrill of having children the children are a benefit and we need to realize that they are gifts from God but notice also noticed what happened at the beach what I mean by being as arrows are in the hand of a mighty men so are the children of the earth is so Solomon mentions ways that children are blessing to their parents and no hear. The first thing is they're like arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior are men children born during their parents use early in the adult lives will mature earlier and parents lives and be able to help them for many years the family and just like that supposed to be stiff and hard with that Arrow has to have some been to it. It has to have some flexibility and when we have children that were raised in the blueprint of God, then guess what they all of a sudden later on in their life, they begin to want to help their parents many of us that are see sitting here today and in church service at and those that are not here

I praise God. To care for them to have that responsibility to be able to reach out to them and to help them if you see by the time that parents are old and that's what Solomon is talkin about here. They will be established date. Their kids will be established in life and able to help their parents in whatever ways they need. We laughed at Mandy this week because she said it won't be long before I'll be having to move in with y'all and take care of you after a few episodes and I was showing her age this week, but it's great that she's even thinking that the nest of wonderful thing about having kids man is so wonderful when we have these projects and we have to be done and to provide but notice the last thing is the backbone of children in verse 5. He says happy is the man that have his quiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate children or a demonstration of gods bless. And continuing with that image of Arrow Solomon declares that the man whose quiver or arrow cases. Man with many children is happy and blessed children are the demonstration in the backbone of God's blessings. What he has provided to you. He will provide for them and there's no greater thing than my life that I've ever done is to be able to look in to see my daughter and her husband and my grandchild in church worshipping God serving God living for God and I know that if they keep God is their Foundation that even if I died tomorrow, I know that when Parker gets married and Parker lives at guess what if God Terry's his come and he's going to have his family in church and serving God. They become the backbone of the Next Generation. And so we're Paul warned us that in the last days and 2nd Timothy chapter 3 that people would be without natural affection. They would be hard-hearted and unloving toward their own flesh and blood and today tragically. We see this played out in our world today across the globe many sinful selfish. People do not have natural love for their children. parents leave their children while still in the womb many abortion with abandon their children because they do not want to take care of them Untold millions of use their children while millions of others live recklessly in ways that damage their children for the rest of their lives still others neglect their children leaving them to their own ways and defend for themselves on a different note of the parents who overindulge their children who give them everything that they want while refusing to discipline them in and failing to teach them the value of hard work others feel resentful toward their children because of the time and the sacrifice that they require Every one of us is mothers and fathers this morning to thank God daily for our children. We need to love and appreciate them as wonderful gifts from the Lord while young they require constant care many sacrifices on our part It's hard work being a parent. It's not easy. There's two choices that have to be made sacrifices that have to be given but listen, we need to resist the temptation to think of our children as burdens rather than blessings. We need to love our children unconditionally caring for them the best of our ability and encouraging them to be everything that God wants them to be we need to the light in them devote ourselves to them discipline them when necessary direct them to the path of righteousness and when appropriate they are God's Gift God's reward to us. They are the joy in the present and they are hope for the future only time with them is short and it passes by me. Quickly than we realized when they're young. They're going to grow up and be on their own before we know it and we could never reclaim the years that we are blessed to have them under our roof. Every single day we have with them is a gift from God as well as an opportunity to change the world through them. How is your home? How is your home? What will it look like in 20 years from now? What will your home look like in 200 years from now parents the most one important thing that you can do in this life is to train your children to become what God wants them to be the holy task required faithful instruction consistent correction and loving discipline. You know, many commentators write about Solomon's comparison of children arrows noting that arrows must be precisely shaped and accurately directed in order to accomplish their purpose. How are you doing with making a home anyone can build a house but it takes God to build a home if we stand we have a verse of invitation this morning if you if you know now is the time to realize that it's you we can't blame it on our parents before us or grandparents. We've got to take responsibility at some point one of us as we sing. We will have Services Wednesday night at 6:30 course with the same social distance in the same stuff that's going.