Home - Part A

There are some people who just love to build and organize and accomplish but just slow down long enough to ask why we give you three questions to ask yourself three little questions that help self-evaluation something of value or something thing questionable. How has God most gifted me to meet the needs of others. How is God uniquely gifted me to meet the needs of others.

Now I'm turning my focus on others quest once I have the answer to that question how I'm uniquely gifted to meet the needs of others, ask yourself this question how my exercising and honing those gifts, according to God's plan for my life.

There are numerous shows that are solely devoted to house design and decorate its nothing new that people want to improve the appearance of their houses today on connect with Skip like scriptures, practical tips and tools to help you improve the spiritual health of your home before we begin, here's a resource that will equip you to live in God's true. A recent study the cultural research center, Christians are almost just as likely to reject the idea of absolute moral truth. The article, except for American adults believe in absolute moral truth is eroding across all age groups and political ideologies with other church or unchurched. What that means is that over 75% of Christ followers are those who purport to be Christ followers are saying that nothing can be known for certain. There is no absolute truth about you. We want to help you understand the nature trip to you to pursue God through and apply your life to brand-new booklets, but why truth matters in God and suicide if you fall under that category. What you do with the claims of Christ Jesus, that I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the father except through me. These booklets are our thanks for your gift of $35 or more today. They'll keep this ministry on the air, connecting more people to God's word to give.

Call 800-922-1888, and securely connectwithskip.com/off. Okay, let's dive into today's teaching will be in Psalm 127 escapades begins for decades. The American dream has included owning your own home. That's four years what was said to have your own house so many cars in the garage etc. etc. today the American dream is more like being able to keep the home that you're in, and unfortunately we have seen over the past few years and economic downtrend where people have lost homes in this country and that they estimated about 5 million foreclosures in the United States of America.

Since that since that slump began, but though you may lose your house, you never have to lose your home and there is a difference between those two entities that I want to show you out of Psalm 127 now you know to get back on this page Psalms the book of Psalms is essentially a list of worship songs that was sung in the ancient temple or on the way up to the ancient temple, as is the case of this song so were dealing with the lyrics of the songs. It's the word of God, but these are song lyrics for the most part. Usually I would never recommend that a person govern their lives based on the lyrics of songs. If you know what I mean.

You have great songs with happy little melodies by the advice and songs.

I would say is, and always the best, to say the least.

If I go back to 1970. There was that Stephen stills song that said if you can't be with the wind all if you can't be with the one you love them love the one you're with. That's not good advice.

If you want a long term relationship with anybody or Bob Dylan song is that humans get stoned, not good advice. In general there is a country-western title a song that says drop kick me Jesus to the goalposts of life. I don't want to be dropkick by anybody to the goalposts of life's lyrics of all that, I think that were ever penned were written by Curtis Mayfield in 1970 and the lyrics go like this. If there is a hell below where all going to go.

So don't worry see what I mean by the worst lyrics if you're going to govern your life. Don't listen to that song to do it, but we are in God's playlist and here are some lyrics that I would recommend you get not only good advice from you govern your life according because Psalm 127 tells us what is not important and what is important that no matter what kind of a house you live in. You can have a great home so Psalm 127 begins in my Bible by saying a song of a sense that is, as people would ascend up toward Jerusalem, they would sing this refrain and then notice to the authoress it says it was written by Solomon. It's of Solomon any rights unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.

It is vain for you to rise up early to set up late to eat the bread of sorrows for so he gives his beloved sleep. Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward, like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth.

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them. They shall not be a shame, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate if you caught just the reading of the Psalm shows that there are two different parts as the vision started right in the middle, but more lopsided verses one and two is different from verse three, four and five. The first component or this trophy of the Psalm as it's called lyrically. The first trophy deals with things that are vain, and the next trophy verse three, four and five deal with things that are valuable vain versus valuable or let me divided this way house built on vanity versus home built on value.

We notice that the author is Solomon.

Solomon is uniquely qualified to write about these matters for two reasons. First is that he was very wise.

The Bible says in first Kings chapter 4 that he had great insight and understanding that God gave him wisdom. In fact it says in that very same chapter that he was wiser than any other person. So he's uniquely qualified because of his wisdom. The second reason Solomon is qualified is that he failed to heed the wisdom God gave him and he was himself, though a great builder. He was also a failure relationally. Solomon I like to think of him as the Donald Trump of the 10th century BC. That guy was an incredible overachiever. He built the Temple in Jerusalem.

He built his own house in Jerusalem. He built another palace in the forest of Lebanon just for the summer. He built another wife of his.

Another palace to live in. That was the daughter of Pharaoh. Besides all of that. He built cities.

The city of Hayes are the city of Megiddo. The city of Gaza air. The city of Beth horror on the city of tad more out in the desert and other towns. This guy built a lot. However, though he did all of that he failed to take his own advice.

Many times, and he failed relationally. Anybody remember how many wives he had 700 wives, on that's messed up 700 wives +300 other women called concubines. He had a thousand women in his life. Socrates used to tell his young students.

By all means get married if you find a good life you'll be extremely happy if you find a bad life, you become a philosopher. Interesting how much philosophy Solomon gives out. But God preserves some of it as the very inspired word of God. Psalm 127 is one such item and as we go through these five verses I want to offer you for decisions that you should make for decisions for values that will turn any house into a home.

These are values to build your life on now. Whether you are starting out and just starting to get your own family together or you're single and you don't yet have your own family.

Or maybe you've grown up and raised a family, or you made a mistake relationally and God will give you a do over.

I'm not sure wherever you're at. These are all values for every one of us to turn the house into a home to give you the first reject empty activities.

That's the first reject empty activities. Look at verse one and verse two, he says, unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain vain means empty or valueless, they labor in vain who build it unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is vain for you to rise up early to set up late to eat the bread of sorrows for so he gives his beloved sleep other words, we need to learn the difference between what is vain and what is valuable and you'll notice in verse one.

The two structures are mentioned house in a city or house needs building a city having been already built needs to be guarded in writing that Solomon mentions or realizes the basic drive that all of us have for fulfillment and that there are many people who strive to attain fulfillment by building things, making things, doing things and then preserving the things that they have created, which was Solomon's case as soon as Solomon got to the throne of Israel. He made a treaty with the king of Tyre, whose name was Hiram and it was the deal you give me all the work that I need to build all the things I want to build that is the Cedars of Lebanon Cypress from Lebanon and I in exchange will give you oil and wheat and wine from Israel so he gets all of that word from Lebanon and lots of local stone around the area and he goes on a 20 year building spree take some 7 1/2 years to build the house they called the temple the house of the Lord. It took him 13 years to build his own personal house shows his priorities right there and he just goes on. This 20 year building spree after building the temple. The house of the Lord when he dedicates the temple listen to what God wants him about the Lord says to Solomon if you Solomon or any of the kings who succeed you ever turn away from following me this house the temple this house will become a heap of ruins. I don't know if it was because the Lord said that or not but there's there's an interesting archaeological discovery that they have found over and Israel in all of the cities that Solomon built there's a special gate they call Solomon's gait shows us that he was just a builder but he was a preserver. He wanted to guard the cities that he built so there's a game called Solomon's gait and if we were at Megiddo today. I would show you this gate it's it's a structure that has four interlocking gate so if you were an invader and you got to the first gate you would now be in a corridor door facing three more gates so that sort of a stop go through stop go through and on either side were air areas for archers to shoot at you with arrows and to give you a warm welcome they would pour hot oil on you if you are an invader, that's a warm welcome and this data.

Solomon was unique to his building process in the cities that he occupied to trap the enemy. However, one thing we know is for certain, as we look at biblical history.

Solomon turned away from following the Lord, and the kings after him turned away from following the Lord and all the things he built all the houses he built, and the cities that he built were all left in ruins. It was all you might say vain.

You'll notice the threefold repetition of that word in verse one, they labor in vain who build it. Also in verse one.

The watchman stays awake in vain and look at verse two. It's vain for you to get up early in the set up late and eat the bread of sorrows when not when you see that word here. It should ring a bell for you because it's a very specific Solomonic word on if that's an adjective or not. Solomonic word. It's peculiar to Solomon. He wrote a book called Ecclesiastes in which you use that word a lot right. 22 times he uses the word vanity two times he uses the word vain two more times in the book uses the superlative phrase vanity vanity all is vanity. He wrote that little book of Ecclesiastes when he was at a very dark period of his own life. Everything. It lost its luster. He seemed to be going through lots of activity, lots of motions and no accomplishments.

The word vain means empty, fruitless, vapid, whatever word you want to assign to it all of that has the idea of just nothingness, nothingness – something do you ever slow down long enough for stop long enough to evaluate yourself. Do you do you slow down enough to evaluate the activities that you are doing and simply ask yourself, are these activities significant are they significant are these vain activities or valuable activities ever feel like you're in a rat race and the rats are winning the race. I have a lot of hobbies there's a lot of interest that I haven't because of that I know my tendency to get distracted and and him and and off course and I have to evaluate myself regularly because my distraction levels are much higher. There are some people who just love to build and organize and work and accomplish but just slow down long enough to ask why we give you three questions to ask yourself three little questions that help in self evaluation to see if something is of value or something is vain question number one. How has God most gifted me to meet the needs of others. How is God uniquely gifted me to meet the needs of others.

Now I'm turning my focus on others by the question.

Once I have the answer to that question how I'm uniquely gifted to meet the needs of others, ask yourself this question how my exercising and honing those gifts, according to God's plan for my life.

And then the third question is this. Am I trying to build something God doesn't want me to have. Those are good questions for self evaluation so that your labor and your watching is not in his words, for nothing vain so reject empty activities. Number one is the second decision, avoid unnecessary anxieties would you look more carefully at verse two. It is vain, empty, worthless profit less. It is vain for you to rise up early to set up late to eat the bread of sorrows for so he gives his beloved sleep.

What that little verse describes in poetic fashion is the artificial lengthening of the day by adding more hours to your workload and then on top of that, adding worry to the hours that your lengthening your day with.

That's the idea of eating the bread of sorrows. It's anxiety. It's worry, the living Bible translates it it senseless for you to work so hard from early morning to late at night, fearing you will starve to death. Some of you have discovered that anxiety is a tireless tyrant back in 1851 new member that far back.

Good some of your laughing.

I was a joke. For those of you worked back in 1851 in in London, England and Hyde Park there was an exhibition called the Crystal Palace exhibition and it was basically people gathering together showing off their inventions and in 1851. Steam was all the rage, not iPhones. Steam because I was with Howard.

Things and so they had on display there. Steam plows steam locomotives steam looms steam organs and even a steam cannon that shot real cannonballs all based on steam, but what got everybody's excitement up was one machine, one machine that had 7000 moving parts when you switch this machine on with steam power all sorts of things began to happen. Please began to pull whistles began to whine bells began to ring gears began to turn 7000 parts. The ironic thing is that machine did absolutely nothing. It made noise and it turned around and around inside of itself, and everybody who did not. Because, listen to that.

Look at that, but if you asked him what does it actually do the answer would be. It does nothing well. Worry is like that you expend so much mental energy that you accomplish nothing.

Solomon wants to point out that there's a few things about personal anxiety. First, it is unproductive. Just like that machine. It is unproductive.

Notice what he says it is vain. It is vain.

It is empty for you to rise up early in the sit up late. I felt a little study from the University of Wisconsin about about worry about anxiety. It did a study and it looked at what people worry about in life and here with her findings. They found that 40% of the things that most people worry about never will happen. They never actually happened. So that's pretty vain right your 40% of all that activity about things that will never happen. 30% of the things most people worry about our things regarding the past that you can't change anyway is pretty vain and empty to worry about that right. So now you're up to 70% 12%. Worries over the criticisms of others leveled at us. Most of it is untrue, but we worry about it. 10% of the things we worry about is about personal health issues which last time I checked doesn't improve. When you worry but actually gets worse, they discovered only 8%, about 8% of all the things people worry about things that will actually occur and are legitimate concerns so you get his drift is vain. It is unproductive. Second thing Solomon wants you know it's unhealthy because he says to eat the bread of sorrows.

That's a pretty poor diet is the bread of sorrows waiting for breakfast librettist sorrows are toasted blue butter and jam on something thank you.

It's on unhealthy diet eat the bread of sorrows medical science for years over and over again proves the point that anxiety, worry is bad for your help.

I looked up on the web MD the other day and at the sole statement worry will affect the body.

When worry becomes excessive it can cause you to become physically ill. Here some examples, a clinic in Great Britain examined 500 patients and they made the statement that one third of the visual problems exhibited by those in this study were due directly to worry and stress. Another study from Northwestern University, said that worry restricts the flow of saliva in the mouth. That's important because saliva neutralizes the acid in the mouth.

So when you restrict the flow of saliva in the mouth. Tooth decay increases. Another study of 5000 students from 21 different universities yielded this worriers get lower grades so I suppose if you want to be a flunky with poor vision and no teeth real worrier. It's unhealthy. It's unproductive. It's unhealthy and here's 1/3 it's unbecoming of a child of God that the message from the series.

Please use get to tell you about how you can keep encouraging messages like this coming your way to helping others to God. The Bible teaches how we can be better spouses, parents, friends and even citizens.

It's our guide to a higher, more meaningful life in relationship with God and we long to share these biblical truth with more listeners like you around the world, but we can't do it without your help. Your generous gift today means we can keep these encouraging messages coming to you and others. Here's how you can give right now to connect others to God's truths. You can get online and connectwithskip.com/donate. That's connectwithskip.com/donate or call 800-922-1888, 800-922-1880 thank you tomorrow Skip Heitzig shares the steps you can take to build your home with the love of Christ. Be sure to join were not dealing with the house built on vanity, but a home built on value relationship.

If you boil life down to its irreducible minimum you have at that base layer one thing only and that is relationship relationships good ones bad ones that you have, that's what life is.

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