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[0:00] 1 Peter chapter 2. As you come to him, the living stone, rejected by men, but chosen by God, and precious to him.

[0:12] You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

[0:24] For in scripture it says, See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.

[0:37] Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, and a stone that causes men to stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.

[0:53] They stumble because they disobey the message, which is also what they were destined for. I invite you to open God's word to Isaiah chapter 28.

[1:05] A house was never meant to be built without a proper foundation. And a life was never meant to be lived without Jesus Christ as that proper foundation.

[1:23] And yet few things are more common than that. People who would never think of building a house without a foundation live day by day without the only true foundation that there is, the Lord Jesus.

[1:39] Now we're getting back to basics in this series of messages. Believing that we must pay more careful attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away.

[1:52] That it's not enough to hear. We must pay more careful attention if we would not be those who drift away from these truths. And so we're coming back to basics.

[2:02] And what is more basic, more foundational than foundations? And so this morning we're going right down to examine the foundation this morning.

[2:15] Now in Europe you can find very old buildings that have stood the test of time for years. And you can find other buildings that have not fared so well.

[2:26] I remember seeing an old Gothic cathedral that had been digged all around and underneath and was being shored up by huge timbers because it was sinking.

[2:40] It was sinking. It was sinking. It was not able to carry all the weight that was placed upon it.

[2:51] And so the safety of the whole building had been compromised by its faulty foundation. And just as no building is stronger than its foundation, so your life is no stronger than what it's built upon.

[3:05] Now every day you're building. Because to live is to build. And the question this morning is, what are you building on?

[3:16] What is the foundation of your life? And we find that God has not left this important issue unaddressed.

[3:26] Rather, we find that He has provided a sure foundation to build upon. And we read of it here in Isaiah 28 and verse 16.

[3:38] So this is what the Sovereign Lord says. See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation.

[3:51] The one who trusts will never be dismayed. Now what's going on in Israel that would prompt the Lord to speak such words to them?

[4:04] Well, there were those who were building their lives upon a lie. God's judgment was coming. The Assyrians were on the march and would be His hammer of judgment.

[4:17] An overwhelming scourge of destruction from the Lord. And yet, they thought that it could not touch them. They thought they were safe and secure.

[4:28] Invincible. As if they had a pact, a covenant struck with death. So it won't touch them. And they were trusting in Egypt for help.

[4:39] That's where their trust was. That's why they're so confident that judgment will not touch them. So you see, what you trust is your foundation. Foundation is what holds the weight of the building.

[4:53] What you put your weight upon. What you lean on. What you expect help from. That's your foundation. And they put all their weight on Egypt. In her many chariots.

[5:04] Her strong horsemen. They thought Egypt would keep them secure. But the Lord tells them otherwise in chapter 28 of Isaiah.

[5:18] He says, you will not escape. The overwhelming scourge will sweep you away. It will sweep away your refuge. The lie. The hiding place. The thing that you think is so strong.

[5:31] Egypt. It will sweep your refuge away. And sweep you away with it. Your foundation of lies will be exposed for what it is. And down you will go.

[5:44] When the Lord stretches out his hand. Both he who helps will stumble. And he who is helped will fall. Both will perish together. But in the midst of this prophecy of coming destruction.

[5:59] And insufficient foundations. The Lord tells them of one sure foundation to trust in. And the one who trusts on this foundation will never be disappointed.

[6:14] So let's look closer at this sure foundation in verse 16. First of all notice the mason who is doing the work. This is what the sovereign Lord says.

[6:25] The sovereign of the universe. See I lay this stone in Zion. So God himself is the mason. God himself is the one who lays this stone in Zion.

[6:40] God provides the stone. And he puts it into place. Salvation is always from the Lord. Never from man. It's always about him.

[6:54] It's always from him. And we see it again. I lay this stone in Zion. Now when we come to the New Testament. It's everywhere screaming at us. That this stone is the Lord Jesus Christ.

[7:06] Peter quotes this very passage. In the text that we read in 1 Peter 2. And refers to the stone as Christ. The Lord Jesus himself. In the parable of the talents.

[7:17] Identifies himself. As this stone. Paul. Paul. Paul. In his writings. In Ephesians 2.20. Says Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone.

[7:27] Of his people. Who are being built into a temple. In which God dwells by his spirit. There is no other foundation laid. But that which is laid. Which is. Jesus Christ.

[7:37] Christ. So Isaiah is here talking about Jesus. Though he lived some 700 years before he was born. He. Jesus.

[7:48] Is that stone that the sovereign Lord. Lays in Zion. Notice it's a tested stone. And that's good to know. Because if you're going to trust your life.

[8:00] To something. You want to know. That it will hold you up. Well. This stone has been tested. You want to be sure that.

[8:11] It won't fail you. Not to fear. Jehovah says. This stone has been tested. And tried. And we can read in the gospels. How he was tested for 40 days.

[8:23] Tempted by the devil. And we can read. How he was tempted. In every way. Just as we are. Yet without sin. He's been put to the test.

[8:35] And he hasn't cracked. This is the sure foundation. He's proven 100% faithful. And notice he's called. A precious cornerstone.

[8:47] For a sure foundation. We want to know. Will the foundation. Hold the weight. Of the building. Will it hold me up. In the storm of life. In the day of death.

[8:58] In the day when God's judgment. Falls upon the earth. And the sovereign Lord assures us. There's nothing iffy. About this. This foundation. It's a sure.

[9:08] Thing. It's a. It's a certain thing. It's a sure foundation. And he speaks of its intrinsic value. He's. It's a precious. Cornerstone. It.

[9:20] It's an honored stone. It. It. It. It's the. It's the. It's the. It's the. It's the. It's the. It's the headstone. Of the building. And once that stone was put in place. Everything was built off of it and upon it.

[9:32] And he's precious. He was precious to God. He chose him to be this stone. He looked him over and said. There's none like him.

[9:44] I'm well pleased with him. A precious cornerstone. But he's precious to men too. What is it worth to have a stone that you can build your life on and know that you will never be disappointed?

[10:00] Precious, precious cornerstone. To know that when things are falling apart all around you, you have an unmovable foundation under your feet. When others are finding their hopes crumbling, yours is standing firm.

[10:15] And when men's hearts are failing them because of fear, and when all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay.

[10:27] On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking stand. What a privilege to have the precious cornerstone as a sure foundation to build your life upon.

[10:39] And then this additional promise just keeps heaping up the statements. The one who trusts will never, never be dismayed.

[10:51] The idea of being dismayed is to be running hither and yon, to and fro, frantically trying to hold it together. Because there's no foundation underneath to hold you up.

[11:02] And so you're left to yourself to try to patch it up and make life work without the foundation. No, the one who trusts in him will never, never be dismayed.

[11:14] They will never regret having trusted in him. The one who puts all their weight upon this stone will find him faithful. It won't move.

[11:27] But notice, faith is required. Where are most foundations? Well, they're underground.

[11:39] They're out of sight. So, judgment is falling. What are you going to trust in? The many multitudes of chariots from Egypt and their strong horsemen?

[11:52] Or the invisible power of God? The foundation. The foundation. Underground. It's always a test of faith, you see. From beginning to end, the Bible speaks of one way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.

[12:09] Will you trust in what your eyes have never seen? Will you believe on him whom you have not seen and yet love? Or will your eyes need to see the chariots and choose something of this earth that's tangible to build your life upon?

[12:24] To ensure your happiness? Your security in life? No. The one who trusts. Yes, the one who trusts.

[12:36] The one who leans hard on Christ. Will never be put to shame. Now, with such a firm foundation to build upon, provided for us, we might expect to find that everyone would be building on this foundation.

[12:56] I mean, what are you building on? What are you going to build on? If you hear of such a foundation, you say, I'm building on that rock. I want that. But, you know, we don't find that.

[13:06] When we turn to the scriptures or to the world we live in, that's not at all what we find. On the whole, the nation of Israel in Isaiah 28 refused to trust in their Lord.

[13:19] And instead, they trusted in Israel and its chariots and its horsemen. And so, when God's judgment fell, they found their hopes were false.

[13:35] It couldn't hold up the stress and they were destroyed. Only a remnant trusted in the Lord and were saved. Some 700 years later, this cornerstone visited our planet.

[13:49] And he was received with the same mixed response. Some came to him. Some believed on him. Some built their lives upon him.

[13:59] While others rejected him and refused to believe upon him. Turn to 1 Peter chapter 2, the passage that was read for us. We're now in the New Testament.

[14:11] Jesus, the cornerstone, has come. And notice what Peter has to say about him. In verse 4, we see him refer to the Lord Jesus as the living stone.

[14:24] Now, we're expanding on this precious cornerstone. He is the living stone. Strange thing to find a stone that's alive. But he's saying that the Son of God, this sure foundation, has life in himself.

[14:40] And life to give to others. He's the living stone, 1 Peter 2, 4. And those who come to him in faith become themselves living stones.

[14:53] Once dead in sin, they came to Christ and trusted in him. And by being joined to Christ, his life filled their lives.

[15:03] And now they're living stones. Notice how he says it in verses 4 and 5. As you come to him, the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him.

[15:15] You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

[15:28] For, it says in Scripture, See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.

[15:43] Now here, for the first time, we see what's being built on this foundation of Christ. What's the structure going up? Well, we find out it's a spiritual house.

[15:56] A spiritual house. A temple. A holy priesthood. Coming to Christ, the cornerstone, we're made alive and we're built into this spiritual temple.

[16:08] This spiritual house. And we become holy priests in that house who offer up our spiritual sacrifices of praise acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

[16:19] Notice how all life and virtue flows from the living cornerstone upon which these have built, to whom they've come, in whom they believe.

[16:32] And by coming to Christ, they receive life. And Christ makes us acceptable to God. Christ makes our lives acceptable to God.

[16:43] Makes our worship acceptable to God. Everything that we do becomes acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Through our attachment to the living stone. Now all of this, he says, is according to the promise in Isaiah 28, which he quotes.

[17:02] Peter's saying, Jesus is this precious cornerstone, the sure foundation. And all who trust in him will never be put to shame. They'll never say, oh, why did I ever trust my life to Jesus Christ?

[17:18] There will never be a point in time or eternity where they'll look back with regret. Why did I build my life on Christ? But I assure you, there will be many who will look back with regret and eternal grief and say, why, oh, why did I not build my life on Christ?

[17:40] They have built their life on the wrong world. They have built their life on things they could see and touch and taste and feel. They have built their life on things that are passing away.

[17:54] And the only eternal, sure foundation, Jesus, was despised and rejected. They will be ashamed forever and ever. But no one, no one who trusts in him will ever be put to shame.

[18:10] Now notice that twice in this passage, Peter speaks about the stone being rejected. You see it in verse 4? Rejected by men. In verse 7, the stone the builders rejected.

[18:22] Now here he's quoting Psalm 118 in verse 22. The stone the builders rejected. When Jesus quoted that verse in his preaching one day, the teachers of the law and the chief priests that were hearing him knew that he was speaking about them when he said the stone that the builders rejected.

[18:47] You see, the Jewish leaders were the builders. They were the ones charged with the responsibility of building up the kingdom of God. They were the shepherds of Israel who were to build God's kingdom here on earth.

[19:03] And they picked up, as the builders, they picked up the perfect cornerstone. And they looked him over and they examined him closely. And they threw him into the reject pile as being unfit for the building of God's kingdom.

[19:24] False Messiah into the clinker pile goes the perfect cornerstone. Rejected and crucified him and thought they had rid the earth of him.

[19:38] He came to his own and his own received him not. And so here's the only sure foundation to build on for time and eternity. The only sure foundation for acceptance with God, to make us accepted with God.

[19:52] The only sure foundation to save us from our sin. And rather than trusting him and building their lives on him, they rejected this stone. And so he becomes to them, he became to them what Peter says, quoting again from Isaiah, he becomes a stone that causes them to stumble.

[20:13] A rock that makes them fall. He's no less the stone, the cornerstone. But now rather than building upon him, they're stumbling over him. They're taking offense at him.

[20:25] And so they stumble and fall. How sad that the very cornerstone, which if they had trusted him and built their life upon him, would have lifted them up to heaven and eternity with God, was the very stone that they stumbled over into hell.

[20:41] Jesus is the divider of mankind. They come up to this stone as one mass and they leave as two companies. Those that build on him and those that reject him.

[20:55] And those that reject him have just stumbled over the only cornerstone that could have given them life and have stumbled into hell. Those that build upon him receive life eternal.

[21:10] Could it be that some here this morning are still stumbling over this stone? God has presented him as the chief cornerstone and you're looking him over and there's some commands that you don't like.

[21:22] And so you're taking offense at this cornerstone. You're not willing to let go of the controls of your life. You don't like some of his teachings. You're still distrusting him thinking that your own security and life and happiness is better off in your own hands rather than his.

[21:40] You're building a house without a sure foundation. You're stumbling over the cornerstone. Acts chapter 4.

[21:56] We're at the temple. Peter and John have just healed the crippled beggar by the power of Jesus Christ. And they tell the crowd don't think that we by our power and godliness have done this.

[22:09] No. It's the same Jesus that you handed over to be killed. You disowned the holy and righteous one. You asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life but God raised him from the dead.

[22:21] And this man has been healed by his virtue and power. And the priests and the Sadducees were around and they got all upset when they heard what Jesus was teaching the people because he was teaching them about the resurrection of the dead through Jesus Christ.

[22:38] So they seized them and they put Peter and John into prison. And the next day the religious leaders of the Jews all met in Jerusalem and they questioned Peter and John as to whose authority they were healing by.

[22:55] Notice in chapter 4 in verse 10 Peter says well it is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead that this man stands before you healed.

[23:09] He is the stone you builders rejected which has become the capstone. I call that personalized application of scripture.

[23:20] He doesn't he doesn't just read the scripture the stone that the builders rejected the builders no the stone you builders rejected. That stone has become the capstone.

[23:40] Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name given under heaven no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. So these leaders of Israel acting on behalf of the whole nation scrutinized the cornerstone rejected and killed him and guarded the tomb glad to be rid of him.

[24:07] But there is a stubborn promise back in Isaiah 28 16 that says the sovereign Lord says something. the one who always gets his way in the universe the sovereign the king of kings and what has he said?

[24:25] I lay a stone in Zion. You've rejected and crucified him and guarding his tomb and what does the sovereign Lord do?

[24:35] He goes over to the reject pile of the grave and he picks up this cornerstone and he lifts him all the way up to heaven and makes him the capstone the chief cornerstone for the kingdom of God seats him at his own right hand the stone you builders rejected has been made the capstone and there he is today seated at God's right hand for I have laid the stone in Zion and anyone who trusts in him will never be dismayed.

[25:09] the only savior of sinners from the reject pile to the sure foundation on whom the whole house relies for its salvation.

[25:21] Hallelujah. You know what David said when he in Psalm 118 22 and 23 when he was given to speak of that day he says the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone the Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes and that's what we say with him rejected by men the Lord has made him the capstone it's marvelous let's rejoice and be glad at what the Lord has done so we're back to basics this morning that's the whole purpose of the message to get back to the foundations Jesus Christ the only sure foundation for time and eternity we're going to have a lot more things to say in this series but if you've got a faulty foundation we're not ready to build anything on it so we're down at the foundation level this morning what are you doing with this sure foundation right now you're either building your life on him or you're rejecting him it's the only two positions given to you now Jesus once ended his sermon by talking about two builders and their two houses and I want to end this sermon with that same story that Jesus told and the lessons coming from it it's Matthew 7 and it helps us to discern whether or not we're building our life on the foundation of Jesus

[26:56] Christ we've heard all about him we've heard of what happens to those who don't build on him and those that do what happens and the issue is then am I building on him are you building on him and this is a passage in Matthew 7 that helps us to answer that question verse 24 through 27 the Lord Jesus the cornerstone now is speaking and he says therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock the rain came down the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock but everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand the rain came down the streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell with a great crash now some of the youngest children here have heard

[28:08] Jesus tell that story and it has a message for the youngest to the oldest here are you building your life on the Lord Jesus Christ now there are certain similarities and certain differences between these two builders and their houses I want to notice two of each first similarity number one both builders are hearers of the word they are hearers of the words of Christ that means that both of them regularly attend church and listen to the same sermons both believe in God both claim to be Christians indeed in Luke's gospel they are saying and before this passage they are saying Lord Lord to Jesus Christ calling him Lord so that's true of them both they both want to go to heaven and both think they are going to heaven but don't be fooled don't be fooled by that because there is a vital difference between them and difference number one is that only the first builder is putting

[29:14] Christ's words into practice they both hear his words but only the first one puts them into practice therefore only he is building on the sure foundation of Christ the rock the other is content to be a hearer only not putting God's Christ's words into practice he calls Jesus Lord but he does not do the things that he says so his house has no real foundation indeed you can read the account that Luke gives of this story and he tells us that he built his house directly on top of the ground without a foundation the sand is no foundation it's just laying there on top of the ground now it's critical that you get this straight it's basic yet many have drifted from this teaching of Christ you are only building your life on Christ if you are hearing and obeying his words you are only building your life on this foundation of Christ if you're obeying

[30:26] Christ's words only these have Jesus as their sure foundation it's not the person who comes to church and gets emotionally moved by the sermon and resolves to do different goes home and carries on life as usual no foundation there it's not the person who walks an aisle and says a prayer and is baptized and joins a church and attends church regularly and hears the word of God and then just continues to live the way he did before or only obeys the word of Christ when it suits his fancy there is no foundation that's building on sand my friend that's building on a house with no foundation under it no it's the person where the words of Jesus hold the supreme place in their lives he listens to them and he actually puts them into practice he not only calls Jesus Lord he does the things he says he stops doing certain things simply because Jesus forbids them he starts doing other things simply because Jesus commands them he believes certain things just because

[31:37] Jesus teaches them he's a man being transformed by the words of Jesus Christ now he comes to that word he's not skittish about that word simple I don't want to get too close to that no he comes to it he comes to it to be searched to be tried to be tested he comes to it to be rebuked and corrected and trained and built up in his holy faith he welcomes this business you see search me oh God try me know my heart know my thoughts he's concerned not just with outward appearances but with his thoughts and his heart he wants it all to conform to the words of Jesus and so when you look at this first builder if you lay the teachings of Christ on one side and you put his life on the other there is a clear correlation between the two and it can't be missed his life is becoming more and more like the words of God his thoughts his words his attitudes his priorities his values his desires it's it's it's it's resembling what we find Jesus teaching in this sermon on the mount and throughout the word of God for there is but one lawgiver one king one judge the Lord

[33:13] Jesus there's no doubt that he is building his life on the foundation of Christ because Christ's word is being fleshed out in him there's this incarnational principle on a lesser scale than in the Lord Jesus but in a real way the word is becoming flesh in his life it's it's taking hands and feet and eyes and ears and mouths and it's being fleshed out in his life you've come upon a construction scene before the house starts being built there's only a foundation there it sits may Does he have that role in your life?

[34:28] Are you building your life on him? It all comes down to this. What are you doing with his word? His word.

[34:40] Are you obeying his word when it tells you to repent of your sins and to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation? When he tells you repent and be baptized every one of you.

[34:54] Are you obeying him? When he speaks to you jump. Are you trusting in the Lord Jesus enough to live the way that he says you should and to leave the consequences with him?

[35:10] When is the last time you have changed the way you lived just because you found something in his word that tells you to do so?

[35:23] Does his word trump all else in your life? You see, both of these men, both of these builders heard the word of Jesus, but the wise man put it into practice.

[35:34] The foolish man did not. And so there's a lot about these two houses that look the same. But don't be fooled. One has a foundation.

[35:45] The other's just sitting on the top of the ground without a foundation. That's a big difference, isn't it? So we've seen the first similarity and the first difference.

[35:56] Now we come to similarity number two. Both houses experience the same storm. Both houses experience the same storm. You can read it.

[36:07] It's word perfect. Both times. The rain came down. The streams rose. The wind blew and beat on them. It's true of the first house. It's true of the second house. They received the same storm.

[36:20] What are these storms that Jesus is referring to? Well, they're the troubles of life that test a man right down to his foundation.

[36:31] Maybe the loss of a job. The loss of money. The loss of possessions. Prestige.

[36:44] Reputation. Maybe the loss of health. The loss of a loved one. The impending loss of your own life.

[36:56] Some major disappointment. Some setback or reversal. Some failure. Some temptation. Troubles come blasting upon your house and revealing it for what it really is.

[37:13] Right down to the foundation. Troubles are revealing things, aren't they? Showing what is there and what is missing.

[37:23] And these storms uncover the fact that one has a sure foundation and the other has none. It's the storms of life that reveal the difference.

[37:35] These two houses sitting perhaps side by side are now to be revealed for what they really are. So they have the same storms. What's the difference?

[37:45] Well, the difference is the effects of the storm upon the houses, isn't it? Only one, only the one house with the sure foundation stood firm. The other without the foundation fell flat.

[38:02] Because it was laid on top of the ground, the moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete. Luke 6, 49. So when the storms of life bring loss and pain and trouble, these folks have no foundation strong enough to hold them up.

[38:24] Should I say hold them together? They can't deal with it. They fall apart. Some turn to drugs and alcohol to escape the storms, to ignore the storms.

[38:39] Some people commit suicide. So last night I'm reading some of the suicide notes that have been left behind for others to read.

[38:51] And Jim says, as he's growing old, the future is just old age and illness and pain.

[39:02] I must have peace and this is the only way. And Tony writes, as his last words, things just went wrong too many times.

[39:16] Too many storms. I barely recovered from one and the other was coming on its heels. And a 52-year-old woman who lost her husband three months earlier writes, I loved this house once, but now it is so full of memories I can't stay here.

[39:37] I've tried to think of some way to go on, but can't. I'm so nervous all the time. I loved Ron too much. But is that a sin? With him gone, I have nothing.

[39:49] Oh, I have the girls and the family, but they don't fill the spot left in my heart. And she took her life. Others, on the very opposite end, could not stand their spouses and it was that pain that caused them to end their lives.

[40:08] Relationships gone bad, love lost, financial loss, loss of reputation to avoid embarrassment, harassment, and they chose to end their lives rather than to live on in troubles.

[40:20] You see, the storm was too much for them. It exposed what they were. They were a house without a foundation. They were a life without Christ. And the storm revealed them.

[40:31] But you know, the same kind of losses come upon Christians who are building their lives on the Lord Jesus Christ.

[40:42] Same losses, same waves, same floods beating upon their house. And though they feel the blast deeply, they have a foundation under them that holds them up.

[40:57] When the bottom drops out of their life, they still find solid rock under their feet. The character of God is unfailing love.

[41:09] His presence with them. His promises to never leave them. To never stop doing them good. To work everything, all things for good. For them who love God and are called by His purposes.

[41:25] They know that the Lord's goodness and mercy will follow them every day of their life. And after that, they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. They've got something to stand on.

[41:36] And they're standing firm. Though the storm knocks them low, perhaps lower than the belly of a snake, yet underneath are the everlasting arms of God. There's something solid under their feet that keeps them and holds them.

[41:52] and they just keep leaning their weight upon the Lord Jesus. They keep looking to Him. Keep drawing life from the living stone beneath them.

[42:05] And so there's Asaph. And he tells us in Psalm 73 that he wakes up every morning to troubles and they last all day long.

[42:17] Every day, all day. But when he came to his senses, he said, Yet I am always with you. And you hold me by my right hand and you guide me with your counsel and afterwards you will receive me into glory.

[42:34] I've got it made. Didn't always say that, but he got his feet back on the rock that he was slipping off of and he was able to say that.

[42:46] And so we've got our elderly Jamaican pastor Oscar Bloys having served the Lord many, many years into times of when others of you have retired.

[42:59] And he's serving alongside with his dear wife Dolly and she comes down with ovarian cancer. And the joy of his life is snuffed out. But he's on the rock.

[43:15] And so he's drawing strength from the living stone to go on serving Christ with joy in Jamaica this morning. Preaching there, pointing people to this rock.

[43:29] A sure foundation to the end. The Kansas wheat harvest was just days away when a terrible wind and hailstorm blew through. and one farm family went to the basement for safety and waited out the storm and when it all stopped the father and his young son went outside on the porch to survey the damage and they just went out there and looked and looked and it was entirely a lost crop.

[44:01] The wind and hail had pounded it onto the ground where it could not be harvested, where the whole harvest would be lost. And they just looked without speaking a word.

[44:16] And then through his tears the father began to sing. When peace like a river attendeth my way When sorrows like sea billows roll roll Whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say It is well It is well With my soul And that little boy learned what it was like to stand on a rock to build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ Because you see the Lord had taught this man That if his sins not in part but the whole were nailed to the cross and he bore them no more Then whatever else is happening in my life It is well with my soul I'm doing well in the things that count And this little son learned the biggest lesson on building upon a foundation that will not move when everything is stripped from us

[45:25] The storm did its worst that blew and beat upon him but he found himself upon an unmovable rock Yes that is the life that survives the shocks of the storms of life There is but one sure foundation It is Christ Pity the man who builds his life on some other foundation Pity the man and they may have more than you've got Pity him Pity him He doesn't have Christ He is rich in things but poor in soul He is not rich toward God What kind of house is it that is only okay when the sun is shining but as soon as just as soon as a storm comes up it collapses and is completely destroyed You know the resilience of man is quite remarkable

[46:28] I am talking about men who do not build on the Lord Jesus Christ and the storms of life hit them and they go down and they get up and they go down and they get up perhaps a little more cynical a little more bitter but they get up and you wonder how do they do it without the Savior without the living stone to give them life you know men may tough it out in this world through all the storms this world will throw at them but there is one final perfect storm coming and it's the final judgment of God and no one will stand in that day but those who have trusted in the sure foundation Christ kids sometimes you lean upon mom and dad for security you'll stand alone in that day before your maker and you'll not be standing after judgment unless you're building your life right now in this life upon the Lord

[47:32]  Jesus Christ on Christ the solid rock I stand let's pray father father thank you for the frankness of your word it does not hide the troubles of life from us rather you tell us that in this world we will have troubles and some troubles indeed there will come a trouble in all of our lives that will be so severe that it will launch us right out of this life into the next and how thankful we are that in that day we can have such a sure foundation a savior to lead us into your presence and to present us acceptable faultless by his blood and righteousness and the savior who is with us every day here and now would you help those who are being severely tried to glorify you by showing what a great foundation they have beneath their feet show yourself to them to be strong and would you please expose in this life those that have no such foundation and bring them to the savior we ask in jesus name amen