The Cross – The Crescent Series
Preaching Portion: Psalm 127
Subject: The House of the Lord
Theme: Unless The Lord Builds The House
INTRO: The real problem was not Katrina! The problem was
that the levees broke and resulted in millions of tons of water inundated the
city of New Orleans.
·
When it was all said and done 1000 people died.
If only the levees had been strong enough, perhaps the city would have been
spared such devastation.
·
The church of Jesus Christ in the West has already
felt the first stirrings of a storm that is coming against it. The speed of the
wind and the height of the waves will intensify as time moves forward.
·
People have declared it in the national security
forces of our country that Muslims view Americans as physically weak, morally
soft, and lacking principled courage.
·
While I am grateful for national security forces
that are putting all on the line to protect us, I must acknowledge these forces
are not equipped to deal with the spiritual conflict that a growing Islamic
presence poses in Europe and America.
·
At the same time I must acknowledge that the
church is not equipped with high tech cameras and weaponry to keep a track on
terrorists. However let me be clear, we have the both the resources and
responsibility of working the front lines of this spiritual battle. Only the
church can engage this war.
·
We are engaged in warfare that the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds – we
are not fighting flesh and blood, but principalities and forces of darkness in
this present age.
·
There is a sobering fact that I believe the
church misses – there are forces beyond our ability to foresee and forestall.
The psalter will remind us that unless the Lord is watching over the house,
guarding it becomes a futile exercise.
·
This sobering fact ought to send a chill down
the spine of every pastor and member. At times we can become so engrossed in
our programs that we loose sight of the Lord’s presence among us in real and
literal ways. This is His church not ours!
·
The church for too long as been reacting
defensively to the movements of hell as opposed to the pace of heaven.
PROP: A church on a respirator cannot rise and run.
T.S: A healthy church is needed in the face of the coming
conflict – Psalm 127
1.
Who Is Building The House? Psalm 127: 1
a.
“Unless the Lord builds…” is a powerful way to
open a song of ascent, a pilgrimage song while on the journey of life. What
other source would be used? Who else but the Lord would build the church?
i. This
Psalm teaches us that only human enterprises succeed by divine blessing.
ii. In
a Gallup Poll on Monday September 16, 2013 it was reported that 77% of
Americans claim to be Christian, yet George Barna from the Barna Research group
states that only 6-8% of people are truly born-again by the blood of the Jesus
Christ. After all of our programs and small group anything, that is it?
iii. In
a Barna 2012 report states that nearly ½ of the people that attend church state
their life has not been impacted by attending – nothing changed!
b.
I am all for churches looking their best I am
not for churches vesting themselves is designer looks without paying attention
to the spiritual design of
the house – My house shall be called a house of prayer.
i. We
cannot afford to have Christ-less sermons and powerless altars.
ii. Churches
on a respirator cannot rise up and run.
c.
“When I am high and lifted up…I will draw all
men unto me” the Lord says. Just like
the serpent on the poll in the Old Testament – Look and Life was the command!
When we decide to look to the cross and live –then we are going to experience
the manifest presence of the Lord in the house and in our homes.
2.
Who Is Building The City? – v.1
a.
“Unless the Lord watches over the city, the
watchman stays awake in vain.”
b.
Does the Lord desire for Frankfort, KY to be
saved? YES! Are there territorial spirits that have staked a claim on this
city?
i. Consider
Larry Lea in 1990 at Candlestick Park – invested millions to pray for a
spiritual break-through over San Francisco.
ii. Consider
the Brazilian pastors mobilized to petition President Ferando Coller de Mello
to remove a day of national homage to a religious statue stating that their
nation was under a curse because of institutionalized idolatry to the demon
behind this statue.
c.
We must entreat the Lord’s involvement over our
city. We are noted for our distilling that dates back to the civil war even
being allowed to distill during the prohibition for medical purposes. Do you
think there is an acceptance of alcohol within our community?
i. Violent
crime rate is 2x higher in the Indian Hills area than in the state of Kentucky.
ii. There
are 3x the rate of crimes committed in the Indian Hills area per square mile
than in the state of Kentucky
iii. In
fact Frankfort is below the national average of crimes statistics in six of the
fourteen categories measured. Versailles is even worse than Frankfort.
d.
Who are the spiritual power brokers over the
city? What churches are making an eternal impact for the city? This is not a
denominational argument – this is a move of God, Bible is true, everything else
is a lie, move of God in the city.
Conclusion
·
A church on a respirator cannot rise and run to
the battlefront of the community. There are enough signs of the times screaming
for our attention that we should be power-packed and ready to step forward as
evangelists.
·
The church for too long as been reacting
defensively to the movements of hell as opposed to the pace of heaven.
·
Unless the Lord is building the house – our
efforts are unfruitful and temporal!
·
Unless the Lord is watching over our city, then
watching for trends and signs are unproductive. This revival of the Cross-and
The Crescent will show that existence of a church does not prohibit extinction.
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