October 11, 2021 INSPECTION DAY IS APPROACHING
1 Corinthians 3:11-15, 15:58 “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man builds upon the foundation with goal, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.” “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
A sure foundation is necessary if you are going to have a building that survives the storms. The foundation for life has already been laid, and that foundation is Jesus Christ; there is no other foundation. Jesus came to teach us and show us how to build on the foundation that He has laid. The crucial question for us is what material we are building with-goal, silver, precious stone, wood, hay, or straw. I’m not professional builder, but know that building with straw is a bad idea! The truth that we must keep in the forefront of our mind is that our work will be revealed, and it will be revealed by fire; it is the fire that will test the quality of our work. In light of this revealing by fire, how do we know what material we are building with? Will our work survive the fire? When we love God with all our heart; when we die to our self, when we seek Him first; when we obey His words; and when we let our light shine before men, we are building with gold, silver, and precious stone-and that work will survive the fire. Even though there is joy in serving the Lord and we are blessed as we serve Him, there is also a ‘laboring’ in the Lord; and laboring can be tiring and we may be tempted to give up on the task before us. Verse 58 above encourages us to be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord-not doing the minimum, but abounding. I don’t know exactly what kind of fire the above verses are talking about, but I know that fire is fire-and it burns! I think that the ‘fire’ is referring to the difficulties we face in this life; how we respond to troubles and difficulties reveal where our heart is and reveals our level of faith and trust in God. These verses dealing with ‘being tried by fire’ are no reason for us to be fearful or to dread the day of inspection; rather, these verse give us a ‘heads up’ on what the future holds so that we might presently be building with the right material. If we build with the wrong material, we will suffer loss; BUT if we build with the right material, our work will survive and we will be rewarded. In light of what the future holds, let us be faithful to live according to the ways of the Lord and to always abound in His work.
Matthew 25:21, 34 “His master said him, ‘Well done good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.’” “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’”
Blessings,
Buddy
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