When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?

Psalm 11.3

Wednesday, August 06, 2014

David said ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil’

Imagine holding precious items in your hands that keep on dropping one by one.

What would you do?

Psalm 11.3

 If the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do? KJV

Psalm 75.3 The earth and all the inhabitants here for be dissolved I  bear up the pillars of it.

Psalm 82.5 They know not neither will they understand, they walk on in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

Isaiah 58.12 And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places; thou shalt raise up the foundations of many  generations, and thou shalt be called the repairer of the branch, the restorer of paths to dwell in.

Acts 4.21-33

Do we have fundi’s in the house?

To you, understanding this will be a little bit simpler.

Definition of key words:-

Foundation

Destroy

Righteous

Foundation

› Hebrew

  Shathah pronounced as [Shaw thaw]

≡ a basis, mwanzo kwa Kiswahili

≡ Purpose

≡ a prime root- e.g. sycamore tree [main root]

Destroy

≡ Damage something so bad so that it no longer exists or cannot be used  or repaired

Righteous

≡ Morally good and fair

≡ In right standing with God

≡ Just, upright, virtuous, law abiding

Concise oxford dictionary

› Establishing

› constituting on permanent basis especially of an endowed institution

› Solid ground or base, natural or artificial on which building rests

› lowest part of building usually below ground level

› Basis

› Groundwork

› Underlying principle

 So let us define this scripture as broken down.

When the prime or main root is damaged so that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired, what should those who have a right standing I God do?

Longman dictionary

› The solid layer of cement, bricks, stones etc that is part under a building to   

   Support it

› Basic idea, principle, situation that something develops from

Basic features of a strong foundation

  › Depth

  › Type of soil

  › Design and architectural drawing

  › Purpose of the building

Have you noted then how many foundations are in the tartars today?

Picture this:-

− Rebellious children.

− Broken church marriages.

− High levels of corruption from all quotas and sectors of society.

− Covenants that have remained just to be lip service without commitment.

− Have you heard of gay marriages?

− Pastors who seriously drink and allude that this was our lord’s first miracle.

− Pastors with a couple of wives, they ague David had several and still managed to       

   to be the man after God’s own heart.

− High levels of incest {father sleeping with own daughter and foaming families}

   Rapes in families and the list is endless.

But these people leave with us and no one dares open up his mouth.

We protect them as our own kith and kin.

They come to church every day.

They are baptized John, Mark etc and some are even church elders if not the chief sponsor and or pastor in-charge.

They also fellowship on the Lord’s Table

Get marriage in church [big church wedding with lavish speeches]

But wait first!

What went wrong with the foundation?

Put another way on which foundation are these ones build upon?

Consider Luke 8.7

The sower went out to sow; some fell onto the rock on a thin layer of soil that covered the rock. Any moisture that filled the soil soon evaporated and germinating seed withered and died.

The cardinal teaching here, the foundation could not withstand the vagaries of the weather and soon it caved in.

Je wewe umejengwa Kwa msingi wa aina gani?

Tuache hii injili ya kupapasa papasa.

Friends’ wakati wa kubembeleza ulikwisha zamani.

It is time to teach children of God the requisite hard staff.

Leave milk for the babies.

If the adults are taking milk then what should we expect of our children if not malnutrition and of course deaths!

Ministers in quotes are springing up every day. Every one is  a prophet  and or doctor without any written thesis

 They show flushes of power and signs and wonders.

Today they are taking us by storm, tomorrow scandals are quickly withered.

Reason foundations are shaky.

Many of us do not want to sit down under seasoned servants of God.

So long as you can give a testimony lasting five minutes, then you count yourself anointed enough to give a one hour sermon for 52 weeks.

It does not work like that.

We have to dig deeper and understand onto what foundation you have been built.

And secondly we also demand to know how deep and rich you are drenched into the word of God.

 Imagine my daughter Cheryl refusing to sit under my tutelage and stand up and become my teacher.

Does it seem to work?

The answer you know better.

Her teachings might be good but they will not have flesh

There might be flesh yes, but then the muscles are not fully developed to withstand the rigors of such an assignment

The bones themselves are still developing and not yet ready to be subjected to such challenges. The bones are still weak and need time to develop further.

This can only be done under the anointed men of God sitting under the authority of Christ and the alter of the most high, even the lord Jesus himself.

Fundamentals of strong foundations

1. Foundations are planned for long before they are laid
2. They determine the stability of the structure
3. Cannot be seen or even thought of. Mostly people look at the finished structure and very little if any is thought of what is beneath
4. Determines cost and how far or wide the building will be. Colossians 3.16 ‘Let the enriching message of Christ have ample room in your lives as you instruct and admonish one another in all wisdom, with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs that are sung in your thankful heart toward God’.
5. cracks on the wall are an sure indicator that the foundation is wanting

But the lingering question and most disturbing thing is what do the righteous do amidst these circumstances?

If the foundation is the basic set up, the strength of the building is destroyed what do those who put their trust in Jehovah do?

Isaiah 28.16

Therefore, thus says the lord, GOD, ‘Behold I lay a foundation; he who believes he will not be hurried

The number one thing to realize is that I have a duty to perform

Let us note that the foundation has been laid by Jehovah therefore if it has been destroyed the only rightful person to run to and sort out is the lord God himself.

Mathew 7.25

‘The rains came down, the floods rose, the winds blew and beat upon that based on the rock’.

Where were the foundations situated? On the rock

The rock implies salvation, Jesus as He showed himself to Moses in the wilderness

Exodus 17.5-6, Psalm 18.2, 40.2

Luke 14.29-30

‘Or else, when the foundation has been laid and he cannot finish it, every one who sees it begins to ridicule, this man started to finish and he could not finish it’.

Most foundations have been started out of jealousy, envy,  strife, competition, show of.

There are people who are simply in ministry because it disturbs them to know that so am I.

However they do not reconcile themselves to the fact that mine is a vocation.

I am not here for show of, neither I am I here to compete with any one nor am I here simply because I don’t have what to do.

My foundation has been done of God. I am not my own. I am owned. Mimi ni mali ya baba.

Romans 15.20

‘So I endeavored earnestly to preach only where the name of Christ was not yet known, in order not to build on the foundation of someone else’.

 Foundations are falling simply because people have no vision they are following others blindly

There are people in ministry who are simply building on others foundations; they do not know the reason as to why they were born.

In fact there are those who were interestingly created just to wake up eat and go to sleep, full stop.

Unless you define yourself, beloved you cannot find yourself.

Who are you?

And why are you here?

Leave other peoples foundations and cost yours then determine fully to lay the foundation.

Remember foundations are determined by how much storm, floods and also winds they can withstand.

If and when you plan your foundations alone, then during times of reckoning utalilia chooni as they say in Kiswahili.

‘As you may well know ‘majuto ni mjukuu’

1Corinthians 3.10-11

‘Because of the grace of God which has been granted me, I have, as a wise master builder laid a foundation on which another builds ; and let each look out how he does the building. For no one is able to lay another foundation than the one already laid which is Jesus Christ’.

It is not just a matter of building.

You have to know how you are doing it.

The wisdom of God has to be involved

The builder himself must be a professional not any fundi

Do not take any one who does only mad houses and allow him build a stone house and for that matter a house with three floors.

Salvation and preaching the gospel is not just for any one

It is meant for those who have and are ready to invest time and energy in seeking after the face and things of God

That is why people do not understand the logic of harvesting quite a lot of food, yet ¾ of your time you are fasting and praying.

To the world this shear lunacy!

Ephesians 2.20

‘You are constructed on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, of which the cornerstone is Jesus Christ’.

Amazing staff!!

No wonder our big question.

If then the foundations be shaken, what should the righteous do?

You and I have none of our own foundations

We are a construction, the workmanship of the lord Jesus Christ.

And if this is not enough there is another addition to it

We are hinged onto the apostles.

It means you do not trust the word of Apostle Paul then you are in serious trouble

Simply put double minded persons and people with plan B in the kingdom do not qualify.

You either believe and sheep in or doubt and sheep out!

And this is final!

No debate is tolerated.

1Timothy 3.15

‘Incase I am delayed, you may know how we should behave in God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth. And, confessedly, the secret of our faith is great’.

It is the owner of the house who knows the secret of the strength of the house which is embedded in the foundation.

As we said earlier, foundations are deep down in the ground.

They cannot be seen easily.

Time and energy has to be expended for you to get to the foundation

What people normally see is the slab.

And if the slab is that strong, what about the foundation? Who can crack it?

That is what we are in the lord Jesus who is our cornerstone.

2Timothy 2.19

‘God’s foundation nevertheless stands sure [firm] bearing this inscription, “The lord knows those who are His” and “let every one who names the Lord’s name stand aloof from wickedness.”

Are you known?

Is it possible you sneaked yourself in the kingdom?

How sure are you when the foundations are shaken that you will remain standing?

Remember God knows those who are His.

I am blood marked are you?

The blood goes deep into my soul cuts across my heart.

It is marked washed by the blood of the sacrificial lamb of Yahweh.

Hebrews 6.1

‘Therefore, let us leave behind the elementary teachings of Christ and advance towards maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith in God.’

Time for elementary things is gone.

Friends please take cognizance of the fact that just as there is a babyhood stage, childhood stage, teenage stage and adulthood so is this true spiritually.

By know you should be deeply anchored in the word

You should be standing out as a moral example.

Unfortunately you are still craving for milk like a small child.

You what however my mother might be willing to take me back to her breast it will be a big struggle reconciling my mind to the same.

She might do it whole heartedly, but what will that milk aid me?

Nothing

Stop disturbing servants of God with childhood behaviors of irritation every now and then!

Grow up, mature out and go out show yourself forth!

AND MAY GOD ADD MUCH BLESSING TO HIS OWN WORD

AMEN!!

BROTHER GEOFFREY DOUGLAS OTUKO

22^ND OCTOBER 2010-25^TH OCTOBER 2010

Amended 9^th July 2011