House of God, Building the Temple, Walls

Walls of Faith.

Jesus tells us that He will come to us, and dwell in us. {John 14:23} Paul teaches us this in his letter to the Church at Corinth.

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;" 1 Corinthians 6:19

Last time we talked about the importance of building a solid foundation. Jesus Himself taught us that this is important because storms will come.

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

Jesus teaches us here that storms will come. His message of the Sower, He taught us that those who have no foundation, will fall in these Trials and Tribulations. {Matthew 13:20-22}Why is this? Because the Walls have no grounding. When the Storms, Trials, or Tribulations come, they "blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

It is an absolute necessity to have a solid foundation. However, it is also an absolute necessity to build Walls. Now I know some of you are thinking "How do we build Walls?" You, or should I say WE, and Human Kind, do it all the time. Most of the time, the Walls are not a great thing.

Ever hear that old classic Pink Floyd song "Another Brick in the Wall?" It is all about dealing with the negativities in life by building a Wall. Losing loved ones, bullied at school, deep depression. I know right? Great Family Song. But it is true. We do build Walls all the time. Someone or something hurts us, we build a Wall to make sure that no one, or nothing like it, will ever get close enough to hurt us again.

Walls, however, like many other things, are not evil or good by nature. They just are what they are. Tools. Protection. Saftey. They are where you visit from time to time? Nope. They are where you live. I actually really enjoy rainy stormy days. Why? If my family is home with me, we get to stay inside and spend time with each other. If they are not home, I love taking a nap from time to time.

Let it storm. Let the rain and wind blow "and beat against that house," I am so safe I can actually go to sleep. Remember that story of Jesus sleeping during the storm?

"And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”" Mark 4:37-40

He was sleeping why? He was tired. Also, He did not worry about the storm. Why? He knew it had no authority whatsoever on Him or those with Him or His Mission. He was in total control.

We are now, I hope you have accepted Jesus, children of God. We can claim Romans 8:28.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."

That storm in your Life? {ALL THINGS}
Trial and Tribulation?     {ALL THINGS}
Loss of Job or Home?     {ALL THINGS}
Death of a Loved One?   {ALL THINGS}

What does that mean? It means individually, all these things are bad. Of course, they are. However, when God gets involved, He can use these things, added with other things, to bring about GOOD, for you. HE IS IN CHARGE!. God is in charge at all times, in all situations. He knows the outcome. The big picture. All we can see at the moment, is what? The moment. The Storm or the Tribulation. All His Disciples could see was the Storm. They were so fearful that they cried out "we are perishing." Jesus responded to them, "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”" If they had Faith, they would have most likely slept through the whole thing.

Nothing has changed. All things are the same. God is in charge of all things. Jesus knows the outcome and He tells us to simply have faith. Romans 8 ends like this.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:35-39

That storm in your life will come and it will beat against your walls. The wind and rain or negativity, or even outright evil, may swirl around you and beat on every side of or house. It does not matter how fierce it may be. Trust in God. Know that God is right there in it with you and He is so unconcerned that He is sleeping. Why are you now following His lead?

Remember God chose you. He called you out. He called you to Christ Himself.

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

Never forget or doubt this simple fact.

"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." Philippians 1:6

There is nothing, no matter how dark or strong the storm maybe, if you have walls of Faith erecting in the Foundation of Truth and Righteousness, you, or you as the Temple or House of God, will not fall. EVER.

Next time we will talk about the last step, the roof of the Temple. The Ceiling of the House. This one is not even really up to you to build.

Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will heal you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a Sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus and His Sacrifice for me. I believe that He raised from the Dead. I repent my Sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is just that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." {Romans 10:9} You need to find a Church that God leads you to, and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A New Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." {Colossians 3:10}

If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.{2 Corinthians 13}

Until next time, be Blessed, be a Blessing, and Jesus is Lord!