FAITHFUL AS FATHERS

I Corinthians 3:10-23

¹⁰ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. ^11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ^12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ^13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. ^14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ^15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

 

^16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? ^17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

 

^18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. ^19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; ^20 and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”  ^21 So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, ^22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ^23 and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. 

INTRODUCTION:   

This morning, we want to distribute a set of tools for each father in attendance.  If you are a father, would you please stand so we can get your gift to you?

 

OK, I know this isn’t a set of Craftsman wrenches or DeWalt power tools but it is a pretty handy set of screwdrivers.  And they served to illustrate a point: to construct a quality home, faithful fathers will employ all the tools and techniques at their disposal.  They do this because they recognize that in homebuilding, the sacrifice is not an expense, it is an investment; it does not cost, it pays.

 

Now, I am not much of a carpenter.  Or plumber.  Or electrician.  Or… 

 

Come to think of it, it is probably a blessing that I live in a parsonage because I am not very good at maintaining a house.  But I could still be good at maintaining a home if I would learn from an old tentmaker by the name of Paul.  He teaches us the importance of:

I.            EXCELLENT FOUNDATIONS (3:10a)

^10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it.

When Paul wrote this sentence, he was referring to his ministry for Christ.  Paul understood that, in the church, no one person does all the work.  No one person can.  No one person should. 

 

Paul was an evangelist and his primary ministry was starting new churches.  Typically, he did not stay and work with a church for a very long period of time.  He would come to a city, preach the gospel in public places and introduce people to Jesus.  Then he would leave someone else to help the new Christians to organize themselves into a church and mature into Christlikeness.  He would check back with them from time to time and, when appropriate, send letters of instruction to let them know when they needed to change some belief or practice.  But his primary mission and ministry was laying a foundation for new churches.

 

Now since Paul had invested himself so heavily in starting new churches, don’t you suppose he understood and appreciated the importance of good foundations?  You know he did.  In the church, Paul said the only sure foundation is Jesus Christ. 

 

And in a home, the only sure foundation is Jesus Christ. 

 

Construction on the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy began in 1773.  It was built next to the Cathedral of Pisa as a bell tower.  After only three stories were completed, work stopped because it was already beginning to lean.  Eventually, it was completed to a height of 8 stories: 179 feet.

 

Over the years, there has been concern that the tower would topple.  So in 1990, work began to try to arrest the list of the tower.  Scientists had reported that the tower was moving at the rate of about one-twentieth of an inch per year and was 17 feet out of plumb.  They further concluded that the 833-year old tower would have leaned too far and collapsed onto the nearby ristorante unless drastic measures were taken.  In the end, almost 40 cubic yards of soil was removed from underneath the higher end.  This action moved the tower one inch towards the center.  While one inch does not seem like much, it is hoped that the action makes the tower stable for at least another 300 years.

Do you want to hear something interesting?  The word "pisa" literally means "marshy land," which gives some clue as to why the tower began to lean even before it was completed.  Also--its foundation is only 10 feet deep.  It is no wonder why the building never stood entirely erect: the foundation was flawed from the beginning.  How foolish!

And how foolish to build a home the same way!  We can make sure our children are well-educated, well-clothed and well-groomed; we can make sure we are well-trained, well-paid and well-respected and still see our home collapse due to a weak moral and spiritual foundation.  This is not just a story about Scooter Libby, Paris Hilton or some other public figure.  This is the tale of people great and small in cities, suburbs and rural settings.  This is the narrative of homes in communities just like ours.

On what foundation can you build that is not shifting, fluid and changing? Jesus Christ is the sure foundation for your life and for your home.

II.                  DEPENDABLE TEAMWORK (3:10b)

^10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.

Hillary Clinton said, “It takes a village.”  A lot of people have poked a lot of fun at her because of that.  But I think I know what she meant.  The phrase is originally an African expression meaning that we all need to help one another and we all need the help of on another.  Who can disagree with that?

 

I don’t know about a whole village but I know it takes teamwork to build a home.  One man may actually be able to build a house by himself but it takes teamwork to build a home.

 

Ask any single parent and he or she will tell you that there are times they wish they had help.  Building a home is a big job for two parents; it is an almost overwhelming job for one.  It takes teamwork.

 

But the team does not begin and end at the front door.  When it comes to building a home, the team includes the circle of friends that surround the home. 

·         Parents play a vital role in the lives of their children but so do siblings if there are brothers or sisters in the home.  In the healthiest of families, siblings see themselves as part of the team that is building the home.  When parents manipulate children and force them to take sides in husband/wife arguments, the sense of teamwork is disrupted.  It is a wise parent who enlists the help of the children in building a healthy home. 

·         You know that the older children get, the more influence their peers have on their values, priorities and decisions.  Involved parents try to help their children select positive peers.

·         May I also suggest that the church is an indispensable member of the home building team?  God never intended for the church to take the place of the home in the nurture and the instruction of the family.  But He clearly intended for the church to play a part in the life of each member of the family.  If you haven’t made the church a part of the team for building your home, you have left yourself shorthanded.  To build the best home you can, you should accept all the help you can get – and that includes the church.

 

To help you build your home, Clay City Christian Church seeks to offer good Biblical instruction through Sunday School classes, Bible Studies and youth groups.  Special guidance with a Christian counseling service is available to families and individuals if they have that desire.  All of this is our effort to be part of your team to build a Christian home.

III.                SUPERIOR CRAFTSMANSHIP (3:10c)

^10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.

In building a home, bad craftsmanship may be hidden for a time but eventually it will show up.  Corners that don’t quite meet, walls that are not quite plumb, floors that are not quite solid and a roof that is not quite watertight all will eventually manifest themselves.

 

On Tuesday, Sandy and I stopped to see my sister on the way to Philadelphia.  She and her husband live in a most interesting apartment.  It is in a historic building that was recently renovated.  The owner of the building spent A LOT of money on the renovation including some very high-dollar materials.  When we first walked in, I was impressed.  But over the span of a couple of hours that we were there, numerous design-flaws and construction flaws became obvious.  You can’t hide poor craftsmanship – at least not forever.  Eventually, shoddy workmanship will reveal itself.

 

While this is true in building a house, it is even more true in building a home.  As Paul said, in regard to the church: “Each one should be careful how he builds.” 

 

Be careful how you build your home because lives are at stake. 

 

I’ve already confessed that I am not very handy around the house.  I don’t do carpentry, electrical work, plumbing or much of anything else very well.  And I am not a gardener.  Had you noticed?  But I know enough about gardening to know this: the only thing that comes up by accident is weeds.

 

The same principle applies in the home.  Fathers: good Godly children must be raised.  A Christian home does not happen by accident, it must be built…intentionally with quality craftsmanship.  Don’t cut corners where the souls of your family are at stake.           

IV.               QUALITY MATERIALS (3:12-13a)

^12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ^13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.

The old computer adage was “G.I.G.O.” (Garbage In, Garbage Out).  The point was that the information you get from a computer is only as good as the data you put into it. 

 

That principle applies to most areas of life.  And it certainly applies to houses.  General contractors, tradesmen and home improvement specialist know that there are different grades of materials.  Some materials are superior to others for certain tasks.  Municipalities have building codes so that homeowners and commercial business owners can have reasonable assurance that their building will not collapse due to sub-par materials. 

 

What is important for the house is even more important for the home.  Our morals, our conduct, our motives and our standards of excellence determine the kind of home we will build.  A person betrays his values if he insists on a level of excellence at work that he will not give in his home.  In that instance, it would be fair to conclude that his home is not as important to him as his work. 

V.                 RELIABLE BLUEPRINTS (3:18)

^18 Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise.

The apostle Paul put his finger on the pulse of a large problem in the church…and in the home.  He wrote about the deception of people who think they are wise “by the standards of this age.” 

 

The blueprint is the standard to which one builds.  If a room is to be twelve feet long, most of us would expect that the builder will measure, saw and nail to make the room twelve feet long. 

 

I would be very frustrated if I gave a builder a set of blueprints but he didn’t use them as his guide for building my house.

 

Don’t you suppose God gets frustrated with us (or worse) when we do not consult the blueprint He gave us for the homes we are to build?  God’s word is the blueprint for the Christian home.  If that blueprint is followed, the home will last…forever.

CONCLUSION:           

In 2005, the average American salary was $40,000/year.  If a man were able to put every dime of that into a house, he could own a $400,000 house in just ten years.  But even if he did, with financial reversals, severe weather, catastrophic misfortune or other calamity, he could lose his house in a day. 

 

On the other hand, any of us can invest our lives in a home too precious to appraise.  And if we build it right, it will last for eternity despite the trials, tribulations and troubles that life brings against it.

 

Will you pray with me, “God give us homes built firm upon the Savior”? 

 

 Back to Sermons