SERMON: Spiritual Block Building
[Note: The following sermon used four 8X8X16 concrete Blocks with one
main point on each of them as a visual aid. The blocks were stacked
one at a time to emphasize the need for the person to build themselves
in the proper manner. Hope you enjoy --John T. Lewis]
SPIRITUAL BLOCK BUILDING
by John T. Lewis
INTRODUCTION:
1. Throughout the ages, the building industry has thrived.
a. Most of the time, when there is a business, there is a
building.
b. Where there is a family, there is a home.
2. And someone had to build these structures.
a. Today the preferred material of use is that of wood,
and some metal in buildings.
b. But in ancient times the preferred material was stone
or rock.
c. Every wall, every room from inside to out was made of
rock.
3. The work of Herod the Great is a fine example of rock
building in ancient times.
a. He was the one who built the new Temple in Jer. during
the time of Jesus.
b. Some of the stones on the Temple weighed over 80 tons.
And some of those 80 ton stones were placed @ least 100
feet UP from the foundation.
c. How was it done? Well, it certainly was not an easy
process, but their familiarity w/ the technology of rock
building made it possible.
4. The Bible, also, uses the imagery of rock & stone.
a. And no wonder.
b. It was something they saw every day and understood very
well.
c. Rock is strong, powerful and lasts a long time: What
better of a way to describe God, Jesus, the Church and
His Word.
5. So today we are going to do some block building.
a. Today we are going to build a spiritual structure.
b. A spiritual building, if you will.
c. This means that the plans (blueprints)
must be followed, the stones must be put together in
the right order....
d. And everything must be done right or the building will
not stand the test of time.
6. What kind of building will we build?
a. One which I want each of YOU to dwell in.
b. One which is to be YOUR spiritual place of residence.
c. One which you MUST be in if you are to be saved.
Discussion: The first rock we must lay is........
I. JESUS CHRIST
A. First, we must recognize Jesus as the FOUNDATION.
1. W/out the proper foundation, everything else on a
structure falls.
a. When building a house, the builder must make
certain that the foundation is done right: It is
probably THE most important part.
b. And where the weight of the building will rest,
footings must be dug.
c. The footings of today are several inches of
concrete or sometimes even several feet,
depending on how heavy the structure is.
d. Because think about the tremendous amount of
pressure put on the concrete from the weight of
the building.
e. If the footing is not thick enough, it begins to
crack under the weight. And when it cracks the
whole house starts sinking. And when it sinks,
the house is ruined.
2. Therefore, Jesus must be your foundation, your
footing.
a. If you build your life upon HIM, and Him alone,
the Bible says that you will NEVER sink, you will
never fall.
b. You will be like the "wise man" who built his
house upon the rock (Mt. 7:24).
B. Unfortunately, so many people try to use something else
as the foundation.
1. But folks, that's like trying to build a full blown
house on a 4" footing!
2. Any builder will tell you that it just won't work!
3. The house will literally fall apart!
4. And that's what people do when they try to use
another foundation in life.
a. They use money, job, recreation, or even their
family as the foundation.
b. That is, they use these things to try to sustain
them, to bring them happiness, peace, and
contentment.
c. Jesus says, "That won't work! If you want REAL
life, you must rest yourself upon Me and Me
alone!"
1. Jn. 10:10
2. Jn. 14:6
3. 1 Cor. 3:11: "For no other foundation can
anyone lay than that which is laid, which is
Jesus Christ."
4. Jesus Christ is the ONLY foundation upon which
you can build if you want to be saved.....In
this life and in the life to come.
C. In addition to thinking of Christ as the foundation, we
must also think of Him as the CORNERSTONE.
1. Mt. 21:42: "The stone which the builders rejected,
has become the chief cornerstone."
2. Eph. 2:20b: "...Jesus Christ Himself being the chief
cornerstone."
3. What is the cornerstone?
a. Simply put, it is the most important stone in the
whole building.
b. [explain using blocks]
4. Folks, you must use Jesus as your cornerstone.
a. People throw up their hands, "Why is my marriage
in shambles?"
b. "Why did I get strung out on alcohol?"
c. "Why do I have hatred in my heart?"
d. "My tongue is out of control."
e. "My outlook on life is so negative."
f. "I've been baptized into Christ but everything
still seems messed up."
g. "Everything about me is wrong!"
5. Could it be, my friends, that you didn't use the
right cornerstone in your life?
a. If you use ANY OTHER cornerstone, you will go
this way or that way.
b. You will ALWAYS be going the wrong way!
c. But never the way that you need to go.
D. Christ MUST be the foundation, Christ must be the chief
cornerstone.
II. THE CHURCH
A. I want you to notice that all of these blocks go
together.
1. You cannot have the church w/out the foundation.
a. Nor can you have anything else w/out the church.
b. The spiritual house which you build MUST include
the church, as we shall see.
2. First notice 1 Tim. 3:15 [explain]
a. Now, do you want truth in your life?
b. Do you want an absolute knowledge of right and
wrong?
c. And place where morality, goodness, peace and
justice flow forth?
d. If so, then God says that the CHURCH is the
foundation of that truth.
B. Now, some would suggest that you don't really need the
church.
1. That you could just take this block away: it is
optional.
2. But I want to suggest that omitting the church from
your spiritual building is as silly as leaving the
walls out of a house!
3. Matt. 16:18: (comment, is this not necessary?)
a. Eph. 5:23 (comment, do you need it to be saved?)
b. 1 Tim. 3:15 Paul said the church was the pillar
of truth & Jesus says that the truth makes us
free (saves us) (Jn. 8:32)
1. The truth saves us, but the church is the
pillar of the truth.
2. Therefore, you NEED the church to be
saved.
c. Matt. 6:33 w/ Matt. 16:18-19 (church is kingdom)
4. Therefore, you must be IN the church, ON the church,
and actively A PART OF the church in order to be
saved.
5. People say, "Give me Christ, but not the church."
a. But you cannot have one w/out the other.
b. Ac. 20:28
III. APOSTLES/PROPHETS
A. In the OT, God told the people what He wanted them to
know.
1. And the way He told them was by the prophets.
2. God delivered the Word to the prophet, and the
prophet gave it to the people.
B. One of the prophets told them, Hos. 4:6
1. That is, "If you don't listen to the words of the
prophets, you are going to destroy yourselves."
2. The Word of the prophets was a necessary building
block in building themsevles up.
C. The NT contains the same message on this point.
1. Eph. 2:20
2. Eph. 3:3-5
a. This passages tells us that the apostles/prophets
revealed to us the mystery of Christ.
b. This is another way of saying that they spoke to
us God's plan: what we need to do to be saved and
to stay saved.
D. Look at V4 again: Paul talks about "reading."
1. That is, what Paul WROTE and what they READ was what
God wanted them to know.
2. And what was it that Paul and the other
apostles/prophets wrote?
3. They wrote the NT
4. And so when we say that it is necessary for us to
have the apostles/prophets, it is proper for us to
say that we must have the BIBLE, since the Bible was
written by apostles/prophets.
5. You MUST have the building block of the Bible. You
will not spiritually survive w/out it!
E. For example, the Bible says that you must have it to be
saved.
1. Js. 1:21
2. 2 Tim. 3:15
3. So do you want to be saved?
a. Well, you don't find the answer from a manual.
b. You don't get it from a feeling. "Oh, I feel..."
c. You don't get it by saying a "sinner's prayer."
d. You don't get it by obeying what a man says
(including me) unless what he says can be backed
up by what the Good Book says!
e. Rom. 10:17
F. So friends, if you are saved by knowing the Bible, then
why don't so many know it?
1. 1 Pet. 2:2: A lot of Christians are drying up &
blowing away because they don't feed.
2. Hos. 4:6: A lot are committing spiritual suicide.
They are destroying themselves because they find
themselves too busy to study.
G. "B.I.B.L.E. that's the book for me........."
IV. YOU
A. After you've put Jesus, the church, & the word in its
proper place, then it's time for you to move in.
1. But how do you move into this fantastic house?
2. By obeying the plan of salvation.
a. Hear, believe, repent, confess, be baptized.
B. I like to use a house as an illustration for being
saved
1. You must DO SOMETHING to get into a house (walk)
2. In the same way, you must DO SOMETHING to get "into
Christ."
a. Rom. 6:3-4
b. 1 Pet. 3:21
c. Bible never says you can walk into Christ by
merely believing, sinner's prayer, asking Jesus
into your heart.
d. No, the final thing that puts you "into Christ"
is baptism.
C. And not only must you get in this spiritual house, but
you also have to stay there.
1. Jn. 8:31
2. Rev. 2:10
3. This means worshipping, studying, living morally,
getting involved, and trying to teach your friends &
neighbors.
D. You must have yourself "in Christ" or upon the
foundation of Christ to be saved.
Conclusion:
1. I hope we have seen that building the proper spiritual house
for yourself is absolutely necessary.
a. Build a worldly house, and it will fall.
b. Even if one of these is missing, the whole thing will
fall.
c. For example, if the church is missing........
2. [summarize main points]