Ezra 3:1–6 (ESV)

When the seventh month came, and the children of Israel were in the towns, the people gathered as one man to Jerusalem. Then arose Jeshua the son of Jozadak, with his fellow priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel with his kinsmen, and they built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, burnt offerings morning and evening. And they kept the Feast of Booths, as it is written, and offered the daily burnt offerings by number according to the rule, as each day required, and after that the regular burnt offerings, the offerings at the new moon and at all the appointed feasts of the Lord, and the offerings of everyone who made a freewill offering to the Lord. From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. But the foundation of the temple of the Lord was not yet laid.

Check the Foundation

Introduction:

Where are all my homeowners at? I remember buying the house that we now live in back in 2015. We bought this house, and we were told by the selling agent that the seller had put quite a bit of money into the upgrades in the home.

I did go back and fact check him. Thank God for Zillow.

And the Agent was not lying… the house that we now live in today is completely unrecognizable from when he bought it.

Do you all remember the market collapsing and how that made the housing bubble burst? People who defaulted on their mortgages started to completely tear apart their homes on the way out? Do you remember that?

I looked at these phots of my home, and it was crazy what they did. Hole punched in the walls, the stuff that they drew on the walls, the backyard just not kept up at all...

Now thankfully, we didn’t get the house in that condition. It was redone, repainted, new flooring, new appliances, and the list goes on and on.

But how many of you know that the paint, the landscaping, and the flooring are not the most important thing you want to know?

The most important part of buying a home is when an independent inspector comes and they inspect the house. And in this inspection, what you really want to know is, how is the foundation?

Paint comes and goes. Carpet, flooring or kitchen cabinets, easy. But if the foundation is inadequate, you want to know that heading in.

And here in our text, as Zerubbabel is getting ready to rebuild the altar, we read that he had to set the altar in its place.

Find the Foundation

Zerubbabel knew that the altar needed to be set on the proper foundation. That foundation was the previous foundation. They went back into the ruins of the temple, and they located the exact place that the previous altar was built.

Someone say, “they went back.”

Sometimes in order to move forward, you have to take a look back.

You don’t stare backwards, but you take a look backwards.

That’s important.

Staring backwards will cause you to ruminate. Some of you ruminate a little too much on social media… “I wonder what she’s up to… I wonder how she looks… I wonder if she’s happy...” Brother you are married, what are you doing staring back? There’s a reason your rear view mirror is smaller compared to the size of your windshield.

Nonetheless, looking back should serve as a reminder of your why.

Why did I get into this? Why did I agree to this? Why am I on this journey?

Looking back should create just enough sense of clarity that it moves you forward.

In this case, Zerubbabel knew that the location of the Altar was given to him directly from God. I think that matters, right?

This wasn’t the direction of just another one of the priests, but this exact location was given to Solomon by revelation from God.

Zerubbabel knew that if it came from God, then he would be faithful to build upon it.

Build Again

In the same way, some of you who are here today need to go back and make sure your altar is in the right location.

What I love about what has happened here at Lighthouse Church is that many of you have come back to a church. We noticed really early on here at Lighthouse that we were reaching de-churched families. Families that did not give up on God, but they gave up on the church.

There are many men and women who want to raise their kids in church, becuase you understand the value in that. There are things that you want for your kids, and I absolutely love that.

But I also see some of you who have a calling on your life, and you need to get back to that calling. God called you, and he gifted you, and while prioritizing your family is important, God is not done with you.

Look at your neighbor and tell them, God is not done with you.

Just becuase that altar was abandoned becuase Israel was led away into captivity, that does not mean that the place and the space has been abandoned.

An abandoned calling does not mean a completed calling.

Just as they went right back to the place of the first altar, and began to build again, I believe that God is calling some of you to the place and the space that he first called you and is telling you to build again.

Philippians 1:6 ESV

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

So I don’t know who I am talking to right now, but some of you need to build again.

If you need a place to start, start by leading a Connect Group. Step into a Dream Team. Ask to increase responsibility in your Dream Team. Talk to our Pastors about what God has called you to do.

Whatever it is that you have to do, make sure that you get going again. God is not done with you, he is still calling you, and you were made for so much more.

Check the Foundation

So the location mattered, becuase the Foundation matters. What you build on matters. It does not matter how nice the structure looks from the outside, if the foundation is compromised that structure is compromised.

I think about the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. Now, you know that the name of that tower is simply, the Tower of Pisa. The reason we all know it as the Leaning Tower of Pisa is because it leans. The foundation was placed on soft ground and it subsequently began to lean.

What you build on matters.

Someone tell your neighbor, "the foundation matters.”

What I love about this story, and their efforts to rebuild the altar is that it is mirrored in Ephesians, and the New Testament church.

Ephesians 2:19–22 (ESV)

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Paul is now speaking to the new believers in Ephesus and he tells them that they are no more strangers and foreigners.

Isn’t it good to know that we have a place?

I think that there are a lot of people who go through life looking for a place to call home and a place to call their own. They wander through life looking for a home, and more importantly, looking for their people.

Here’s the deal, when you come to the church, you aren’t joining a brand. You aren’t joining a movement. You are joining the Household of God.

This house is not like the house that some of you grew up in. Maybe you grew up in a house that lacked love. It lacked acceptance. It lacked affirmation. The foundation wasn’t set properly, and like the leaning tower, you feel as though there is a lean to your life. You feel like there is some set backs that will also be with you as a part of your story.

But let me tell you about the foundation that this church has. This church is built upon the foundation of the Apostles, and Jesus himself is the chief cornerstone. He’s the one piece of this foundation that everything else is built off of.

Jesus is the perfect foundation. When Jesus is your foundation, you can know that there is nothing more sure in this life. There is nothing stronger. There is nothing more stable for you to build on.

We aren’t a perfect Household, but we have a perfect foundation.

And here is what I know about this house, we are growing. I’m not talking about numerically. Yes, God is adding to the church daily, but this is a church that is growing into a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

Keep Your Eyes on the Foundation

I recently met with someone about the church and everything that was goin on here at Lighthouse Church. It truly is remarkable what God is doing here. I won’t deny that there is a move of God that is going on.

But we’d be in danger if we started looking at the structure and took our eyes off of the foundation. Yes, I know that most people don’t come to a building too look at the structure, but the church is built different.

Shout out to our students who are in a series called Built Different.

The reach of the church has everything to do with our foundation, which is Jesus.

So when people see the church, and when they see what the church is doing, our job is to tell them, “but you really need to see the foundation! You really need to not get too caught up in everything that we are doing, and everything that you are seeing, you need to look at Jesus.” He’s the author and the finisher of our faith.

I think this is why in the Kingdom of God we know that the way up is down. If you want to increase, you need to decrease.

So we don’t posture ourselves with our eyes up marveling at what we’ve done, but we get to the altar where we look at the foundation. We don’t look up, we look down. We go back to the foundation and we stay in this posture.