The Cornerstone

The Cornerstone Isaiah 28:16-18 Introduction Every building is built on something. Jesus told the parable about two buildings one built on sand and one on bedrock. When the storms came and the flood waters rose, the building whose foundation was shifting sand, fell. But for the house built on the bedrock, because its foundation could not be moved, that house stood. Today, we examine our foundation stone, our cornerstone, Jesus, as described by the Prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 28:16-18a See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed. I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place. Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand. I suppose that it needs to be repeated, though just how often, I am not sure, but the prophet Isaiah had vision that far exceeded his day and his time, his immediate circumstances and those of his contemporaries. Isaiah looked forward in time to Messiah. The language is future tense "I will make justice the measuring line," which implies that something else is the measuring line at the time of Isaiah's writing. Justice was not the foundation of his culture, his society, his world. But God was already making plans, and revealing them bit by bit, piece by piece, to Isaiah, to the Jewish people, and to the world. We might think that the Law would have been sufficient. We look at the Law of Moses and we see that it is foundational. It appears immovable, unshakable. It was even carved on stone tablets. It is certainly not going to change. From that Law, the Jewish religion was begun. And it was given by God, how could it change. Yet, over the years it had been interpreted differently. And, it was not being observed. It had taken a back seat to idolatry. Still, we must also understand that that Law was only a shadow of what was to come. It was only a copy of what was taking place in the heavenly tabernacle. The Law of Moses, with all of its blessings and curses, was not the bedrock on which God was going to build his eternal kingdom. You cannot build on a shadow. That is even less firm than building on sand. Something else, someone else, was coming and was going to be the cornerstone of the great building that God was making for humanity, for salvation, for adoption, for holiness, for righteousness, for eternal life. That was going to be Jesus. Jesus is the Foundation Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He has overcome death and defeated the grave. How did Isaiah put it, "Your covenant with death will be annulled; your agreement with the grave will not stand," (verse 18). By his resurrection, he has demonstrated that he is the fulfillment of the prophesy of Isaiah 28. He is the cornerstone, he is to be our foundation. There are a great many options for us to use as a foundation for our lives. * We could build on philosophy and that would build a grand building with high ceilings, sweeping lines toward the heavens, beautiful chandeliers and serene spaces for thinking. * We could build on science. Science would build a great house with sharp lines, 90 degree angles and very useful spaces, but it would not inspire us. * We could build on politics and could seek to instill God's principles in law. Unfortunately, politics or reliance on politics builds great and grand structures from the outside, but on the inside, they are more likely to resemble Hollywood sets. There is simply no depth to the house that politics builds. It is simply a beautiful façade. * We could build on religion and many have attempted to do so. Religion builds great cathedrals, and spaces for gathering, but religion rarely leaves space for us to live or breath or simply rest. Religion becomes suffocating. The problem with each of these potential foundations is that they are no better than building on sand. Each generation reinvents philosophy after itself. And if you want to see contradictory information, look to science. What is understood today may be proved false tomorrow. Politics? If you ever want to find duplicity, just look to politics. Finally if we were to build on religion, which one would we choose? There are so many and all so contradictory. What we need to do is to build our lives on the foundation that does not, will not, cannot change: Jesus. Here is what he says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." If you and I desire to make it to an eternal life with God, we must go through the only authorized gate, the only door. We must build on this one foundation that cannot be shaken, or moved or destroyed: Jesus. Everything Else What does God tell Isaiah? I will sweep away your refuge: "the lie." The problem, it has been said, about the lie is simply that we will forget which lie we told to whom, and henceforth, we must keep lying. Besides, Jesus identified the source of lies for us: Satan. "He was a liar and the father of lies," (John 8:44). How can we build our lives, and have any stability, if we build on lies? In truth, we cannot. How much better it is to tell the truth, then we must only remember the truth, and we will only repeat the truth. Isaiah says, "Hail will sweep away your refuge." Hail storms are incredibly damaging. balls of ice tossed by the wind and pulled by gravity will travel in excess of 70 miles per hour. Generally, the largest hail we see is pea sized. But when the balls of ice reach the size of golf balls, they break windows, dent metal, destroy trees and damage crops in the field. They can render a person unconscious. Now, imagine the damage that can be done by the hailstones of judgment, like at Sodom and Gomorrah. Listen, if God wants to destroy our hiding places, he has the ability. Our lies will be revealed, whether philosophy, science, politics or religion. He continues, " Water will overflow your hiding place." Only two things are possible when flood waters invade: Everything will float to the top (exposed); or it will be drown (put to death). Our Path to Victory God is concerned about Justice and Righteousness. Justice is, of course, getting what we deserve. But I will be honest with you, I am not very interested in Justice for myself. Mostly because I know what I deserve. Thankfully, though it is not mentioned in this passage, God is also merciful. He gives grace to the humble, to the contrite, to the truly penitent. And, he knows that on our own, we cannot be righteous, and we cannot live in righteousness. So, he has built on the foundation of his only begotten son, salvation to everyone who will come to him for refuge. Additionally, he grants us his own Holy Spirit as a guide, living inside of us, helping us to live righteously in this world, as we submit to him. If you have been living in danger of the storms of judgment sweeping through the land, today is a great day to step up and build your house, build your life, on the only thing that will be standing when this world passes away: the rock, the tested stone, the precious cornerstone; Give your life to Jesus, today. If you trust , you will never be dismayed. 3