Building the way God Builds

Psalm 127:1 says, "Except the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain who build it." Other translations say, “Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted” – “Without the help of the Lord it is useless to build a home.” Hebrews 3:4 declares, "God is the builder of everything." Hebrews 11:10 reveals God as both Architect and Builder, therefore, God will assign it, design it, and then build it.

Notice, except God assigns, designs and then builds the house, the work of the builders is wasted. God is in the business of building, and what He builds will survive the test of time (and the trials of life). And everything God builds He watches over (He guards closely). If you desire to create, fashion, construct or establish something enduring in life, you must build according to God's divine pattern. Therefore, the best way to build anything is to build the way God builds, by using His building procedures and materials. However, God doesn’t just build lives, He desires to build a spiritual house. This is a divine paradox. God wants to build your life but He also wants to live in it!

In John 14:23 Jesus said, “All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make Our home with each of them.” As well as building a life that is full of blessings for all His children, God actually wants to build a home with each of them! When you think about it this makes absolute sense! God builds our lives so that we can effectively do what Jesus did when He walked this earth. He wants to be present and involved in everything we do. Didn’t He say I will never leave you or forsake you? Back to the way God builds… He builds a house using distinct procedures and specific materials. The materials God uses are (1) the rock of Revelation, (2) the stone of Consecration, (3) the pillar Relation, (4) the beam of Generation. Notice, the foundation is made of rock, its frame is made of pillars and solid beams, and the walls are made of living stones.

The divine building process is this: God first lays a foundation on the “rock of revelation” (Matthew 16:18); He then finds and separates the “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5); next, He builds a legitimate “family relationship” by becoming the Father (Psalm 2:7; John 8:41); and finally, He builds upwards (on solid beams) from “generation to generation” (Exodus 3:15). Scripture tells us that God is building a spiritual house, from spiritual stones, for the Father to live in. This house is built on the solid Rock of Revelation. So before God builds He lays an unshakeable foundation on which His family can remain, and this is the revelation that Jesus is the Christ. Outside of this truth there’s no foundation.

Thereafter, every living stone in the spiritual house (the temple) is separated, measured and cut according to the Chief Cornerstone – Jesus Christ. This is the act of consecration – declaring each stone sacred for divine purposes. The next stage in the building process concerns “family,” because every stone must mature and grow out of a joining. There needs to be a ‘Father relation’ created. It’s only by being “joined together” in relationship with the Father that the living stones can be effectively and correctly placed, and then set. These multiplied family relationships, and the effectual joining together of each member, is what makes the spiritual house strong. But it doesn’t end there; God always builds from generation to generation. It’s like building a tower block. Each floor represents another generation, sitting on top of the previous one, and reaching toward heaven.

Revelation; Consecration; Relation and Generation – this is how God builds His house.

I earlier mentioned a divine paradox – God wants to build your life and He also wants to live in it. We’ve examined how God builds a house for Him to live in, but how does He build lives? As with any builder God looks for a suitable piece of land in His kingdom on which to build. In Hebrews 6:4-8 the apostle Paul uses land as an illustration of the way you should conduct yourselves after you have experienced the saving grace of God… “Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned” (verses 7 and 8).

Quite simply, God builds on your life because this is the land He wants to bless. How you conduct yourself, what crop you produce, and how you ‘walk’ out your salvation is important to God. Without your testimony God has very little to work with. God is interested in physical lives – just as a builder is interested in physical land. Yes, there’s a spiritual dimension to everything that God does.

However, it must manifest in the natural for it to be effective. Otherwise we may as well all go to heaven right now!

First, God finds land in His kingdom. Notice, anyone who is not in the kingdom of God is rejected. God loves the lost but He cannot build on their lives. Once God has selected the piece of land, He clears the area and lays the foundations. This is done through His word. God’s word not only removes the debris in your life, it also lays the foundation on which God can build. Hebrews 6:1 (AMP) “Therefore let us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ, advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works and of the faith by which you turned to God.”

Now, after God has found the land, cleared the area, and laid the foundations, He moves on to the business of building lives. But how can we be sure to receive His blessings? By building the way He expects us to build!

Here are 7 ways we should build our lives.

(1) Build on solid ground. Matthew 7:24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.” By being obedient to the word of God, you build your life on solid rock. And you become storm-proof!

(2) Don’t build with human instruments. Exodus 20:25 “If you use stones to build my altar, use only natural, uncut stones. Do not shape the stones with a tool, for that would make the altar unfit for holy use.” Deuteronomy 27:5 “Build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones. Do not use any iron tool upon them.” Resist the temptation to cut and shape your life according to your own plan, need or desires. Don’t lean of your own abilities but on God’s. God has already laid out stones on the path of your life that are perfectly shaped, and do not need any adjustment. After all, He is both Architect and Master Builder. So trust Him!

(3) Build a dynasty. 1 Kings 11:38 “If you do whatever I command you and walk in my ways and do what is right in my eyes by keeping my statutes and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you.” Start thinking about what you are going to pass on to the next generation. What is going to be your legacy? You’ll be amazed at how God honors this attitude in your life. It is one of the most powerful prosperity principles in the Bible.

(4) Always build fresh. You cannot put new wine in old wine skins. Matthew 9:17 - “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.” If you want your life to be protected, you cannot bring the baggage of your past into the present. What housed your life yesterday is unable to safeguard your future.

(5) Rebuild the old ruins if necessary. God is not in the business of refurbishing lives. He rebuilds or renews lives, and most often, He builds from the ruins. Isaiah 61:4 - “They will rebuild the places that were destroyed long ago. They will repair the buildings that have been broken down for many years. They will make the destroyed cities like new again. They have been broken down for a very long time.” Ruins represent brokenness and God loves to build your life from brokenness. Why? Because He can trust you with great cities. Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.”

(6) Build everything on a foundation of generosity. 1 Timothy 6:18-19 “Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.” Generosity is a good foundation for your future, and through it, you will experience true life. When you are generous with everything, not just material things, your future will become “rich” in every area of life.

(7) Do everything in love. God is love, and using love to build your life guarantees that God Himself will get involved. 1 John 4:16 declares, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” What’s more, “love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8). In other words, love is your promise of success!

Chris Demetriou, 19/04/2009