Build On The Right Foundation

(Hebrews 1:10) "And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:"

(2 Timothy 2:19) "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

(1 Timothy 6:19) "Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

(Isaiah 28:16) "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste."

(1 Corinthians 3:10-11) (10) "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon." (11) "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

(Matthew 7:24-25) (24) "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:" (25) "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock."

(Matthew 7:26-27) (26) "And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:" (27) "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

(Luke 6:47-48) "Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:" (48) "He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock."

(Luke 6:49) "But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great."

Dear Saints, when I begin this message, I think of an old song which began with "Hold to God's unchanging hand, build your hopes on things eternal, hold to God's unchanging hand."

Beloved, one verse said "when it looks like the sun will not shine anymore, hold to God's unchanging hand."

Beloved, I'm on a roll now as I hear another song in my spirit that goes something like, "Put your hand in the man who walked on the water, put your hand in the man who calmed the sea, take a look at yourself and you will look at others differently, put you hand in the hand of the man from Galilee."

Dear Saints, I shall never forget my first encounter with the Holy Spirit of the Living God and as I recall, it was in the late 1970’s in a mighty revival at my home church in Lynn Garden, Tennessee.

Beloved, my Pastor had arranged a church revival that would allow the young preachers at our church to exercise their gifts and I was one of those newly called preachers.

Beloved, I had sat under his powerful preaching for over three years hardly ever missing a service and when my time came, I remember standing and taking my text from (2 Timothy 2:19) ‘’Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the lord knoweth them that are his, And let everyone that nameth the name of the Christ depart from iniquity”.

Saints, I began my sermon thinking of the times I had helped my dad construct a foundation to support a structure we were attempting to build which was going to become a large garage to do maintenance on large heavy trucks.

Beloved, I spoke of how we would dig deep until we hit solid rock or a hard texture in the dirt, then we would secure the digging measurements with wood to keep our concrete intact like a mold which would be poured in its formation and my job was to get the sand and concrete mixed up with the right amount of water until it was ready to be poured into our foundation.

Dear reader, dad would always instill into me that the foundation of our structure must be strong enough to support the weight of the building or it would collapse while taking his time to carefully calculate how much concrete we would need and he did this by figuring the height and the width of the intended structure.

Saints, did you know that dad would carefully insert metal rods in our mold saying to me, "Jerry, these metal rods will serve to give our foundation greater strength which will support the weight of the heavy trucks we intend to drive into our building for maintenance to be performed on them."

Dear reader, when I was a young Preacher, I remember preaching a message on the Foundation of God and spoke of the Apostle Paul and Silas being beaten with stripes including being cast into the jail cell at Philippe which can be found recorded in the 16th chapter of the book of Acts. (Acts 16:33-40)

Beloved, in this chapter, we find these men of God in the inner prison with their backs no doubt still bleeding from the recent beating however even in their suffering condition, they began to lift their voices in a song of praise unto the Living God and saints, suddenly without warning, a strong earthquake shook the foundations of the prison.

Church, all the bands of confinement were supernaturally loosed from the prisoners which caused the jailer to awaken out of his sleep and pull his sword to take his life for he became afraid that some the prisoners had escaped in the quake which would cause the authorities to demand his life for theirs.

Beloved, in my sermon, I could not remember what the jailer said when Paul informed him that they were all there and none had escaped causing the jailer to tremble bring a light saying, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved as he later washed their wounds from the beatings.

Saints, my mind went into an elapse state and I could not think of anything and everyone in the service seemed to know the scripture that I was trying to quote, including the pastor’s wife which was trying frantically to use her mouth in slow motion to quote the scripture to me.

Beloved, this embarrassing situation was overwhelming and just as I was about to give up and cry, out of nowhere there was an airplane appeared in my mind pulling a sign with the message embedded in bold letters “Sirs what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30)

Church, when this happened to me, I almost had to laugh as the living God let me know right then and there that he had chosen me and would be there with me wherever he would send me to do his work in building up his Kingdom which he has faithfully done these many years of ministry through my magazine, radio, and Television programs.

Dear Reader, did you know that many times in our Christian Pilgrimage, God will allow trouble to come our way to test our inner strength and we can liken this to contractors hired to refurbish or restore an old house.

First they must strip the house to make sure the foundation is not cracked and do a check to make sure the structure is secure but beloved, to an outsider, the work they are doing would look like they are destroying the house when in reality, they are making sure that the joists are strong, are secure in their proper place and checking to make sure that no termites have damaged the old wood.

Beloved, once they are satisfied that the foundation and structure is ok, they can begin the process of restoring the home to a beautiful dwelling that will stand for many years and beloved, this is exactly what God will allow to happen to those whom he has purposed to be leaders in his service especially in the end time outpouring of his glory that is soon to be released upon his church throughout the world.

Church did you not know that God sometimes will allow people, circumstances and things to come into our life that designed to strip us of everything we are holding onto and the reason he does this is because he knows what he wants especially in those he has predestined to become leaders in the coming clash with the kingdom of darkness.

Beloved, it is not so bad if we fail short of the mark during target practice because the trials of life are stripping us of all our desires, plans, stubbornness and impurities that the master designer can pick us up out of our shame, up out of our ashes and rebuild us to be steadfast, unmovable abounding in his grace love and purpose because after this process, we no longer fear what others may think or say about us for we have become hardened to the temptations and schemes of the enemy.

Dearly beloved. did you know that day after day enduring the inward pressures of life will soon take its toll wearing us down both physically and emotionally but thank God, his word declares in (Romans 5:20) "where sin abounds ( free reign), the Grace of God did much more abound;" therefore saints of God, I want to re-emphasize again that we are not in this alone for Christ is in this place of hard trials to deliver us by his Grace, mercy and love also assuring us that we are completely grounded in him therefore saints, when we realize this in its fullness, we do not feel the pressure of the trial, but we feel his abiding presence and grace. Glory!!!

(1 Corinthians 3:11) “No other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ."
(1 Corinthians 8:3) "But if any man loves God, the same is known of him."
(Psalms 61:2) "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

Saints and fellow peers, did you know that the trials we face every day help produce patience in our life, and patience beloved, is the crowning glory of grace in our life and ministry.

Beloved, when we show that we have patience in a trial, especially while waiting on God to deliver us out of it knowing that he will in his time.

Saints, this waiting will help produce patience which will help develop character and that is what our God is after because this process gives us more courage to be examples to others by showing what Christ has done through us including what he can do for his children.

Beloved, the bottom line to this message is, "We are not in this alone and when we know him as Lord and Savior, we can rest in knowing that we have a firm foundation, for we are standing on the rock of ages which is an anchor of our soul.

(John 15:16) " Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go out and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you."

Dear Saints, did you know that those chosen before the foundation of the world to be leaders in the end time revival, are usually the ones that have had to brave the hardest trials in life and have become overcomers because the Lord stated in his word that he knoweth them that are his and we are never alone.

(2 Timothy 2:19) "Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his, and Let everyone that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

(1 Corinthians 3:10-11) (10) "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon." (11) "For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

Dear reader, we have just expounded on not only the need to build upon the right foundation but the importance of taking heed on how we build upon that foundation and is this study, we have discovered that that foundation is speaking volumes to us concerning the gift of life we have been allotted by a holy God to fulfill his cause and purpose in the earth.

Beloved, I believe to give this message some clarity, we need to go back to the preacher of all preachers and listen as he speaks this parable to his disciples.

(Matthew 7:24-25) (24) "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:" (25) "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock."

(Matthew 7:26-27) (26) "And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:" (27) "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

Dear reader, to better understand these important scriptures, we must come to the realization that many times the Lord used the physical things happening in his day to reveal spiritual truths to his disciples which would be much like us reading the daily paper to keep up on the latest news, and here in this setting beloved, the Lord is walking down a washed out road where the torrential floods have washed away the houses in its path.

Beloved, people know this is a flood prone area but they keep building back their houses only to have them washed away in the next flood, but notice as the Lord is using this setting to speak a parable unto his disciples that he looks upon the hillside and notices the rock houses that have stood firm for many centuries.

Dear reader, when I read this, I often think of the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf that is going to make them his next meal by blowing their little houses made out of sticks down, but beloved, one pig was smart and build his house out of stone therefore when the wolf blew upon his house, the house stood firm.

Beloved, do you remember the story of how the wolf got the idea to come down the chimney but what he did not know was the smart pig had built a fire in the fire place which was waiting to burn up the would be intruder called the bad wolf?

The bottom line to this message would be to not only listen to the preaching of Jesus but also to heed the warning of the Paul found in 1st Corinthians the third chapter speaking of how our works shall be tried with fire.

(1 Corinthians 3:13-15) (13) "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is." (14) " If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward." (15) "If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."

(1 Corinthians 3:21-23) "Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;" (22) "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;" (23) "And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's."

Beloved reader, in closing and the bottom line to this message is to understand that financial institutions may fall, relationships, and even our faith may sometimes fail but beloved, there is no other foundation that will stand the test of time than that which is built on maintaining a relationship with Jesus Christ..

Beloved, the scriptures mentioned above tells us that in doing God's work, we do not place our faith in man for Paul tells us that whether life, death, things present or things to come, if we need the provisions to complete the work, they are already ours and all we need to do is to claim them by faith.

Dear reader, all we have to do is grasp them by faith and not believe what we see, but see what we believe for God's blessed word declares that we shall have it.

(Mark 11:24) "Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them."

Dearly beloved Saints of God, I am glad that the Lord knows them that are his and beloved, this gives us hope and stability in our walk with God which is called the anchor of our soul, yes beloved, we have assurance in knowing that if this Earthly house were dissolved (which means our earthly body made of flesh) we have a house in the heavens not made with hands. (2 Corinthians 5:1)

Saints, did you know that the word of God teaches that the child of God may leave their body but they will never lose consciousness during their transition at death for God states in his word that the death of his saints are precious in his eyes. (Psalms 116:15)

Thank God beloved, I may be sown in weakness but I will be raised in his power, as death gives way to victory for this mortal shall put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:53-55)

Church, I what I am going to say next may cause some to think that I have lost my marbles, but beloved, rest assured that one day I shall be changed and bear the image of the Heavenly just as Christ bore the image of the Earthly in becoming our sin substitute which satisfied the law and wrath of God.

Yes dear Saints and fellow peers, I feel like singing part of a song that stirs my soul and it goes something like this, "I walked out of sins burdens, from my chains set free, I don’t have to pay sins awful penalty (of death), for the Shepherd gave his life, the wrath of God was satisfied when the Shepherd gave his life for the sheep."

Saints of God, I want to close this message with (Romans 8:35-37) “Who can separate us from the love of Christ, shall trouble, hardship, persecution, hunger, poverty, danger, or death, Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us."

Beloved, as we face the many uncertainties of life, the one who loves us, assures us that through him we can become overcomers even when facing all of life's difficult trials.

Church, we are living in critical times, yes beloved, we have reached a place in history where we have unsupervised children growing up in homes with MTV including social media and porn sites available to them.

Some have selfish parents wanting to satisfy themselves as they pursue the pleasures offered by the world which only last for a season, instead of teaching their children about God and Christian morals.

Beloved saints, this lost generation places no value on human life and why should they, because they have been taught evolution in our public schools therefore if they are a product of evolving from a protoplasm that one day had a thought evolving into a person, why should they regard any thought of a master creator who one day will require everyone born on this planet to stand before him and give an account of the lifestyle they were privileged to live on his planet.

Church, if we view the facts including the statistics of our world today, we would be correct in saying that we have lost an entire generation which at present is growing up to become teachers in our schools, including holding positions in our government institutions not realizing what socialism and communism tested in other countries has done to destroy civilizations, the institution of marriage including the freedoms we all enjoy.

Beloved, did you know that in the closing days of grace, we have come to a climax in church history and if we are going to continue to enjoy the freedoms we love so well, we must come to repentance and have a spiritual cleansing that will bring a visitation of God’s power to burst forth and vanquish the darkness of sin, declaring the righteousness of Jesus including his lordship honoring him as being the one true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world? (John 1:9)

Beloved, God is raising up people who will spend time with him in prayer and God’s plan for this hour is for his people to turn from their worldliness, living careless lives, yes, and repent of their selfish fleshly cravings for power and positions.

Saints, if we are going to see a change in our government, it must start in the church because God desires for people to repent of their church quarrels and denominational jealousy that is so prevalent in some churches today.

Dearly beloved reader and fellow Saints, God wants our pulpits to once again thunder and burn with the power of the cleansing fire of his Holy Spirit through men and women that have a made up mind not to compromise the truth for a meal ticket but people that are hungry for a move from heaven that will set the atmosphere for true revival in our land and nation because the I am God not only made the way, but he became the way making a way for fellowship that fallen humanity lost through the fall of Adam might be restored through the obedient virgin birth, sinless life, sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Dear reader, when we accept God's free plan of redemption, and have accept Christ into our life as Lord and Savior, we will be adopted into the family of God as Sons and Daughters of the most-high God.

Beloved this adoption will secure our position in his royal family and give us overcoming faith that when everything men would glory in fades away, God's abiding and providing love will be standing as a solid foundation on which to build our life and ministry.

Beloved, in closing, if this message has been used of God to enrich your life and your walk with God, or if you through reading this book have made a decision to ask Christ into your heart, please feel free to go to our website and feel out the contact form located on the contact us page and allow us to share in your new experience with God.

Beloved, when we come to the end of our life, we should be so empty from pouring into the life of others that we have nothing left to give and the bottom line is on this wise, we must come to the realization that it is not about us and who we are in the body of Christ, is far more important than what we can do and accomplish on our own. for in the end beloved, our works shall be tried by fire.

Dear reader, please go to the tab on our website that says free inspirational books and scroll down the page for the free PDF manuscript "A Day After Salvation." " www.witheredhand.org"

International Evangelist
Jerry W. Hulse Ph.D.
Miracle Life Church International