Thursday, February 9, 2012

What's Your Foundation - Preached at GGC January 15, 2012

What's Your Foundation?
Psalm 11:1 – 7

Introduction:

In 1968, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale hit Casiguran, Quezon (now a part of Aurora province). This earthquake was so strong that around 268 people in Manila perished, 260 of them killed due to the collapse of the six-story apartment building called the Ruby Tower. Many structures were severely damaged during the earthquake, especially those that were located near the Pasig River. Now, the cause for the collapse of the Ruby Tower can be attributed to the use of substandard materials; however, the severe damage done to buildings located near the Pasig River can be attributed to poor foundation. Volcanologists call it alluvial deposits. Alluvial deposits are loose soil and sediments. They may look sturdy on the surface, but deep within, they are so loose, they will move at the slightest earthquake or flood. These deposits also come loose when there is rapid movement of water that causes the soil to loosen. In August 9, 2009, a six-story hotel building located beside a river in Taitung County, in eastern Taiwan, started leaning towards the river during a heavy typhoon and eventually fell down. When I looked at a video footage of the collapse, I noticed that the foundation on which the hotel was built upon was just soil. No wonder, when typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan with such intensity, the soil eroded and the hotel building just leaned over and fell.

Civil engineers, architects and building contractors all know that the foundation on which you build your house or your building needs to be sturdy, such that it can take any earthquake and flood without collapsing or falling. In fact, I think many would even recommend that you build on top of bedrock because bedrock will not erode like soil. Bedrock is a good foundation on which to build your house or building.

In this morning's Psalm, King David utters words not really intended as a prayer to God, but rather, as a declaration of confidence in God addressed to everyone who will listen. Although it is unclear as to what was the specific occasion for the writing of this Psalm, what is good about this Psalm is that it applies to all occasions when evil powers threaten the security and well-being of God's people. The Psalm begins with an affirmation of faith - “In the Lord I take refuge.” David makes clear that God is his shelter, his hiding place. However, there were people who gave counsel to David that ran contrary to his affirmation of faith. In verses 1b to 3, these so-called friends were advising David to flee like a bird to the mountains, for his enemies have surrounded him and they were ready to shoot arrows on him. In effect, they were telling him that it isn't practical to keep one's faith in God when you are surrounded by your enemies. There is no point in taking a stand for God or to believe that God will deliver you.

An interesting thought brought out by these so-called friends can be found in verse 3. Here we read, “When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” What is this statement all about? According to scholars, the idea behind the statement is that everything nations and typical people put their hopes on have failed. During David's time, kings and rulers put their hopes in their military might like the number of horses and chariots one has in his arsenal. In today's era, nations put their hopes in their stockpile of what are known as weapons of mass destruction. That is why people acknowledge nations like America and China as being powerful nations because of the size of their army as well as the number of planes, ships and nuclear weapons they have. Others trust in their wealth and economic strength. In David's time, wealth was measured in the amount of land, slaves and money that you possessed or in the amount of gold you have in the national treasury. Today, it is no different. We measure wealth by the number of people that are employed by us, by the number of businesses we own, by the amount that we have stored in banks and investment companies. Nations measure wealth by how much they have in their reserves and how much surplus they have. There are also people who trust in their positions. Back then, people aspire to be the leaders of their community or the leaders of the religious establishment. Powerful empires want to be known as the conqueror of other nations. David was in a position of power in King Saul's cabinet. In fact, we could say that he held a very high position, for he was a military commander as well as a court musician to the king. Today, we aspire to be the leaders of our industry or to be the head of our department. Some seek for public office not only because of public service but also for the ulterior motive of making a name for one's self. Nations want to be in the forefront of leadership in this world. Other foundations we build upon include our human relationships – our spouses, our children, our friends, our parents, our siblings. David was related to King Saul by virtue of his marriage to Michal, the daughter of Saul. In the eyes of some people, this would have seem like a marriage motivated by politics and, it may have bestowed a certain degree of respect for David. We also build our foundation on our careers and we pour all our effort, our time and energy into it. These are the things that lots of people build the foundation of their lives upon. Unfortunately, these things can be destroyed by others.

Although a nation may possess military might, it does not ensure victory. Germany and Japan were military superpowers during World War 2, and yet they were defeated in the end. Although a nation may be rich back then, but now it is bankrupt. Consider what is happening in the United States and in Europe. These nations used to be wealthy, but now they are heavily in debt. There are people who build their lives on the foundation of their financial wealth, but they will find that money does not really bring contentment and that it can easily be lost overnight. Those who build their foundation on their positions will find that one's reputation can easily be tarnished by one's indiscretion. There are those who build their foundation on their human relationships, thinking that it will be stable, but they soon find that spouses are not faithful to each other, children do not live up to your expectations, friends are not always loyal to you. Then there are those who build their lives on the foundation of their careers will find that job security can be threatened because the company goes bankrupt or you become redundant and not needed anymore in the company.

The so-called friends of David were calling on him to flee or to hide because the foundations around him were failing. The things that the nation depended upon for her security were being assaulted and destroyed. There was nothing that he could lean and depend upon. From the perspective of these bad advisers, they thought that one's life is built on the things that we've just mentioned – career, finance, relationships, position and might. Now that these things have failed David, it meant that he was easy target for his enemies.

David however affirmed his opening statement – in the Lord I take refuge. From verses 4 to 7, he spells out the reasons why his confidence, his foundation is in the Lord and not on the things of this world.

I. The Lord is still God and King (v. 4a)

The first reason why he is confident in God is found in verse 4. The Lord is still God and King. In other words, God is still sovereign. God is still in control of the situation. David states very clearly that God is still in his Holy temple, He is still seated on His heavenly throne. There is no one who can unseat Him from the throne. There is no one who can remove Him from His temple. David was telling his enemies and these bad counselors - “You know, the last time I checked, God is still seated on the throne and is still God.” The implication of the Lord still being God and King is that He is not a helpless being who watches the events of this world unfold but cannot do anything to correct the wrong; instead He is all powerful and He has everything under control. In fact, everything that happens here on earth is either the direct working of His hand or something that He allows to happen. What happens to us, the trials and testings we go through in life, the troubles that bug us, the losses that we go through, these are all under God's control. Even the attacks our enemy hurl our way are all allowed by God.

Isn't it good to know that the God we trust is sovereign? Aren't you glad that he has everything under his control? Even when the human foundations are shaken and they lose their ground, God is still in control. When you lose money or your relationships are shaky, when your career is not blossoming as you want it or your position in life doesn't really give you an advantage, remember that God has everything in the palm of his hands. He is still God and King.

II. The Lord's Eyes Are Always Upon Us (vv. 4b - 5)

The second reason for David's confidence in God is found in the second half of verse 4 and also in verse 5. Here, we find that God's eyes are upon all people and he examines everyone.

Now, I want us to take note that the idea of God looking upon us is not just to “look at us” but it means much more. When God looks at us, it means that he looks upon us with close scrutiny. He is assessing all people, taking note of their character and of their conduct before others.

From the passage, we can also surmise that when God looks at the righteous in particular, he looks upon them with favor. It is because the righteous are those who trust in God and who fears God such that they will not go around doing evil deeds but will do those deeds that pleases God. God looks at the situation the righteous are going through and He intends to help them according to his might and will. God also sees the wicked, but his treatment of the wicked is different. In verse 5, God sees the wicked but he hates them. The wicked are those who refuse to trust God and turn away from their evil deeds. They have set their hearts and minds on opposing God. Their deeds are totally disagreeable to Him. What the wicked are doing against the righteous gets God very angry and very displeased. Thus, punishment awaits the wicked if they continue on the road of destruction.

Isn't it great comfort to know that the Lord is looking at all peoples, paying attention to what they're doing? It means nothing escapes his sight. Both the righteous and the wicked are closely observed by God. He looks at us with his favor and grace. He looks at us with the aim of helping us. But for the wicked, he looks at their deeds with the intent of judgment against them. So, even if we are going through moments of great trial and testing, when the wicked laugh and ridicule us, take heart, because God sees his people, loves them and cares for them.

III. The Lord is A Just God

Finally, the passage tells us another thing we need to know about God, and this is found in verse 7. In verse 7, we find that God is a righteous God, that He is a God who loves justice. Righteousness and justice are two words that we could say are virtually synonyms. When we say that God is just, we are saying that He always does what is the right thing consistently and without partiality. Since righteousness is a key attribute of God, He will act or treat people with righteousness or justice. His action will always be consistent with His character. He is the one who sets the standard of righteousness.

Because God is a God of righteousness and justice, He will not let evildoers get away with their sins. Remember what the enemies of David were plotting to do? They were planning to kill him. They wanted to kill God's anointed king. They wanted to go against God's plan for the nation of Israel by plotting to kill the man whom God has made king. This is nothing less than rebellion against God. Thus, God intends and will surely bring punishment upon the evildoers. The punishment is mentioned in verse 6 where David wrote, “On the wicked he will rain fiery coals and burning sulfur; a scorching wind will be their lot.” Those who plot evil against God and against His righteous people will not escape the fury of God. If they refuse to turn from their wicked ways and seek God, they will not escape God's wrath.

Blessing however belongs to the righteous. In the second half of verse 7, David wrote that upright men will see God's face. This means that those who have turned away from their sins and have trusted God will one day see God face to face in heaven. For the present, it means that the upright will be able to approach God, through prayer, with confidence and will be able to experience God's presence in their lives, almost like being with and seeing God in person. A second blessing, one that is implied by the text, is that God will vindicate the righteous from their enemies. He will be the one to correct all the injustices suffered by the righteous at the hands of the wicked. Now, this may or may not happen in our lifetime, but this is God's promise to us - The wicked will surely be punished for their ill treatment of the righteous.

What's Your Foundation?

This morning's message is entitled, “What's Your Foundation?” The enemies as well as the bad counselors of David thought that the foundations of his life were things like political and military power, financial and material wealth, positions and key relationships. Now that these things were crumbling before him, they advised him to flee. David however reminded them that his foundation wasn't built on these things. He did not build his life on shifting sand. Instead, he has built his life on the solid bedrock that is God. The reason why is because the Lord is and will always be God and King who reigns sovereignly. Second, it is because God's eyes are fixed upon his people, looking upon us with his favor and love and with the intention of helping us in our time of need. Finally, it is because the Lord is a just and righteous God who will act consistently with His character. He will punish the wicked and vindicate the righteous.

I want for us to now briefly look at the New Testament as we continue to answer the question, “What's Your Foundation?” In 1 Corinthians 3:11, Paul clearly tells us that no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the second person of the Triune God, is the foundation on which Paul had built his life on. It is the foundation on which every true believer builds his life on. Aside from the person of Jesus Christ, we must also consider that the teaching of Jesus Christ is the solid bedrock on which we must build our life on. In Matthew 7:24 – 27, Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount by telling the people who have heard his teaching to put them into practice. Jesus knew and obeyed God's Word. We can do no less. When we choose to trust only in Jesus Christ for our salvation and strength, and when we put into practice the pure teaching of the Bible, we will be building our lives on a foundation that can never be shaken by the storms and the floods of life.

I would like to close this morning's message by singing a hymn that I think many are familiar with. It is the hymn, “The Solid Rock”, words written by Edward Mote and set to music by William Bradbury. Before we sing this song, let me just point to the refrain of this song – On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. Is your life planted on the Solid foundation that is our Lord Jesus? As we sing this beautiful hymn, I pray that you will commit your life to being firmly built on the person of Jesus Christ, on what he has done for us, and on what he has taught us.