Christ is the Only Foundation

I want you to turn with me here this morning to Isaiah chapter 28. We're taking a bit of a direction change, a needed direction change. I know over these weeks and months I've dealt a lot with leadership, but don't think that's not for you, it's for all of us, it's for all of you, and it's very important. Also we're dealing on the Wednesday nights with this issue of Israel, and again it's very, very important, but as we deal with those things, if we only deal with leadership and if we deal with Israel, that will not sustain you. Be careful of being a Christian that is utterly focused and emphasises things that are not central and foundational in the Bible. I have met Christians along the way. I met an entire family, a large family once in Scotland, and as newborn Christians, they got given an entire set on demonology by Derek Prince. I'm going to tell you, I met them 20 years into their walk and they had not grown right. They really loved Jesus, they were really born again, but because their focus was demons, demons everywhere, they had grown twisted. They hadn't grown in fellowship with other Christians, so be careful of being a Christian that only emphasises Israel or tongues or some other aspect. I've met people who only emphasise the sovereignty of God. They are strange. I'm telling you, they haven't grown normal. I've met others only emphasise responsibility and our works to stay saved. They do not grow right, and so we want to have a right focus. It's important all that we teach and preach, and we preach what the Bible says, but let me just bring you right back to the most essential, the most central, the most foundational, the most fundamental, the most vital for you and I. I don't care if you walk with Christ 80 years or 60 years, and I don't care if you've only been walking with him for one week. What we are dealing with here is most vital. It's the most vital thing, and so I want you to turn to Isaiah chapter 28. My message here this morning, and I believe my entire series, we're starting a new series here. We're going to go right back to foundations beginning this morning. Many of you are saved two years, two years and less. There's some of you have been around a long time. Don't think this is only for the babes, the young believers, or the young Christians, and I'm not calling you a babe if you're saved two years. Paul wrote 1st and 2nd Thessalonians to entire churches that actually were less than two years saved, an entire church, and not one of them was saved over two years. They were not babes. He could give them sound, deep, substantial doctrine. You know what? How you estimate a babe isn't got to do with how long you're saved, but your state, your spiritual condition of maturity, and so here this morning, as we begin to look at foundations, I want you to hear me carefully. Whether you're young in the faith, you need to hear this. This is our focus. This is what we are all about as a church. The other things are important, but this is central, and you know what? If you walk with God for a while, and you think you know it all, you're in danger of losing this focus. You know what? We're told in Hebrews of those who once were meat eaters, once mature, who ought to have been by this stage teachers of others, and yet Paul says, I need to take you back to milk again, and begin teaching you the E, the Bs, and the Cs. Can you imagine some of you sitting here in your 40s, or your 30s, or your 20s, if I took you back to kindergarten, and started to get you going through, pointing at the letter A, and going, A, say after me, A, B, C. You'd feel a bit, how dare he? You know what? There's a lot of Christians in the church. They ought to be teachers of the word of God. They ought to be meat eaters themselves, and yet actually, they're in a condition where I actually ought to be going back and saying, A, B, C. Some of you teachers need to teach me how to teach the babes again, but you'll say, oh that's not for me. I'm beyond that. Really? Then why aren't you living in it? Why aren't you living it out? Why aren't you walking in this? And so you can lose maturity. Hear me very carefully before we read our text. You can lose spiritual maturity. You could have once had it, and you don't have it sitting here, and you're acting, feeding, living, talking, thinking, deciding like a little babe, and what's the answer to that? We'll take you right back to the ABCs again. So whatever condition you're in, saints of God, I delight. Our entire gathering so far has been built around the most basic essential thing. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ. My message here this morning, and I've changed my title on the way in driving in the car. It was going to be Christ, the one foundation. That's not good enough. I've changed it to Christ, the only foundation. That's our series that we're embarking here on, on our Sunday mornings. Amen. Reading from Isaiah chapter 28, verse 1. Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim. Ephraim is a tribe in Israel amongst God's people. Woe to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a feeding flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine. Behold, the Lord has a mighty and a strong one, which as a tempest of hail and the destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, should be trodden underfoot, and the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a feeding flower. And as the hasty fruit before the summer, which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in the hand, he eateth it up. In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory and for a diadem of beauty unto the residue of his people, and for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate. But they also have erred through wine and through strong drink are out of the way. The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink. They are swallowed up of wine. They are out of the way through strong drink. Doesn't he emphasize this very strongly? They err in vision. They stumble in judgment. For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean. When shall he teach knowledge? Notice this carefully. Notice the condition of God's people in Israel at that hour. What's the answer? What's the cure for the confusion, not living right, for the corruption that's come into the leaders, the priests, those in ministry, those who ought to have a God-given vision? When God's people is something that it ought not to be, what is the answer? Well, he gives it here. Whom shall he teach knowledge and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Doctrine is the answer. You know those who despise doctrine or reprobates? Do you hear me? Those that play down, oh, it's experience. I just love the Lord. I don't need doctrine. You're a reprobate. You're against God. You know God's answer is always to bring you back to sound doctrine again. Them that are weaned from the milk, babes, and drawn from the breast, for precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, hear a little and dare a little. For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people, to whom he said, this is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest. And this is the refreshing, yet they would not hear. But the word of the Lord was unto them, precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, hear a little and dare a little, that they might go and fall backward and be broken and snared and taken. Wherefore, hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men. You know, those who scorn the word of God, correction, rebuke, instruction, the Bible says you're a scornful man. What a terrible state it is that rule this people, which is in Jerusalem. They were leaders in that hour, yet they were scornful because they rejected God's word. Because ye have said, we have made a covenant with death and with hell, are we at agreement when the overflowing scourge shall pass through? It shall not come on to us, for we have made lies our refuge and under falsehood have we hid ourselves. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God. Listen, this is my text, this is my verse for this morning and for our series. Remember what they're saying? They're saying, oh no, we'll be okay. We're fine. You can't tell us anything. We're secure. Things are going to come through our world. I'll be fine. I'll still be here. It's not going to upset me. I see the storms coming. I'll be fine. I'll endure. I'll make it. Always have done. Listen to what the Lord says. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious stone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make haste. You pray with me here this morning. Father, we love you. We bless you. We praise you. It's so wonderful. It is so lovely to be here in your house on the Lord's day around the Lord's table, just breaking bread with you, communing, loving you, worshipping you, praising you, ministering unto you. You're our foundation. You're our sure rock. You're the stone upon which you planted our feet. You put a song within our hearts and our lips. So God, even praise unto our God everlasting. And my God this morning, I pray, nor God lay a solid foundation in every single life in this room, in this church, O God. All those online, all those that listen later, Lord God, we pray for the moving of your Holy Spirit amidst the world chaos, a world on the edge of war, Lord God, a world in chaos and confrontation, a world that's morally depraved and confused, nor God a church that has lost its way. My God, we by sound doctrine, hear a little, dare a little, come back to the solid foundation. Where else are we going to find rest in time of need than the Lord Jesus Christ? We bless you this morning in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. Amen. Let me read my verse again, Isaiah 28 and 16. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tridestone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make haste. My message, Christ, the only foundation, the one foundation, the best foundation, the only foundation you want to be found building on here this morning. And I've got at least several points. I told you these points grow miraculously as I preach. I just don't know where they come out of. Sometimes after sacrifice, but sometimes they grow in the midst of a message. But don't get worried with me. I'm going to be concise, clear to the point here this morning. I want you to listen very carefully. Can I ask you, what is the foundation of your life? You as an individual before God, I'm asking you before I even preach, standing, sitting before God in this room, in this place, what is your foundation? What is your entire life built upon? What is your confidence in your faith, your actions, your eternal hope? What is your foundation? Are you sure your foundation can withstand the storms that are coming? Are you sure the foundation that you have built on, that foundation that is under your life, the thing that keeps you going, upholds you, do you think it can face death, eternity, God? Can it face hell? Can it face troubles? Can it face storms? I've got several points for you. Here's my first point. This foundation is a stone. That might sound very strange to say, but a foundation, you know what that is. Frequently in the Bible, the believer's Christian life is compared to the construction of a building, your entire life. What you do, what you decide, how you think, what you believe, how you function, who you are. And so your life is like a building. Your words, your decisions, all of that is a building for someone to live in. The first and most important thing when you think of a building is its foundation. And listen to this very carefully. This is the importance of foundation. The size of a building, the weight of a building, the height of a building depends totally upon the depth, the width, and the material of that foundation. If you build a foundation solid enough, deep enough, strong enough, you can build anything on top of it. Some of you, most of you know that Candice, basically built her house in Cork. She got a lot of workers in to do all the different parts. But early in the morning, she'd be up mixing cement. Then she'd finish up, clean up, and drive very early to work as head of strings in Cork School of Music. That's how she functioned. She'd be up on the roof doing something at a later stage. But down in those foundations, nobody I've met in my entire life knew more about foundations than Candice Malcolmson. Nobody. She understood the concept. She could tell you all about it. I've got a picture at home, I posted it before, of her standing in her dungarees, looking down below the ground at the foundation. She was so proud of the foundation of that house. We had an extension. She always wanted to build an extension. But there was a foundation laid there. She said, you could build a high-rise set of flats over this. It was only going to be for one room. But Candice Malcolmson, she'd built enough. You could have gone 100 floors up. It was such an extensive, solid, deep foundation. She overbuilt, I'm telling you. She went down, she went wide, she went strong. And she said, anything we do in the future can be laid upon this. It is a solid foundation. You can build high, you can build deep upon this. But I want you to see here, in our text, Isaiah 28 and 16, it is talking about a foundation that God lays. But look at it. This foundation is a stone. In other words, it's one singular stone, one entire foundation, and it's only one stone, one single foundation. This foundation is a stone. What does he say? I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone. When God wants to lay a solid foundation, what does he do? He lays one singular stone. Twice in this verse, it talks about this foundation. And it is a singular stone, a very large foundation stone. You know, when you go to the Bible, you begin to find out that men, if they could do it, if they had enough money, expertise, or wisdom, if they were going to build a house, they looked for a stone. Before building the house, before designing the house, see, most of you think about the outward makeup of the house, the building. You ladies are thinking of the style, the curtains, the fittings of it. You're thinking of the kitchen, what I need in the kitchen. No, you need to go back to solid foundations, one singular foundation. And when you go to the New Testament, the greatest thing you could do before you begin to build a house, before you embark, is to make sure your foundation is a singular stone. You build upon it. Not sand, not thoughts, not ideas, not religion, not your opinions, not even your faith. You've got to make sure that you have a foundation that is a singular, solid, strong stone that you can build anything on. In fact, that your entire Christian life, for however long you live, whatever trials or troubles that face you, whatever can happen, you see, we think short term. We think about next week. We think about tomorrow. We think about next year. But when you begin to think, can this foundation that you lay, will it keep you throughout life? Will it keep you into eternity? Throughout eternity, there's no end. Do you realize there's a foundation you've got to lay at the beginning? Not halfway through the day, not way down your walk. You can't say, well, I'll just build my life and I'll try and get a right foundation in there. Have you seen anyone building a house where they lift up the house and they slip in a solid foundation? Have you ever seen a house being built beautiful and everyone comes and says, oh, look at the building. And they come from all over, but there's no foundation. And you go, you know what? I'll do it in five years time or 10 years time, or when troubles come and storms come, or if the house looks like it's going to fall down, then I'll go and check the foundation. You know, at that stage, you need to tear everything down. If you leave the foundation to a later time, you may have a beautiful looking building. You need to tear all that down and you'll have to start from scratch. There's people in the church, they never, ever laid a solid foundation. They cared about what people thought about them, their words, their actions, what I'm doing for Jesus. What about your foundation? Did you lay down before you ever began in the Christian life? On day one, did you lay a solid foundation? And so we see here that it is, this foundation is to be a stone. In Matthew chapter seven, it talks there, and this Jesus speaking about a wise man who founded or built his house upon a rock, singular. So, Jesus talks about a wise man. He actually found the rock before he builds the house. If you begin building the house before you find the rock, you're really in trouble, you know. You don't have anything. You can't do anything. You can't give anything. You can't be anything unless the foundation is there. And I want to tell you, this foundation finds you. You don't just find this foundation. This is the beginning. And you better be sure, don't build anything. And don't build anywhere where it's not a rock. In Matthew seven, Jesus is the wise man, built his house upon a rock. He built everything. You know what? If you're building everything on one singular foundation, if you started by making sure the foundation was right, it was a stone, a certain kind of stone, a solid stone, a stone to be trusted, then you're very wise. But if you try to find God and begin building everything without being sure of the foundation, do you know what you are this morning? And I didn't say it. I'm not calling you it. The Bible says, the foolish man built his house upon the sand. In other words, you're not even thinking of the foundation. You only care about the building. You only care about what you look like. You only care about your own feelings and emotions now. You're not dealing with foundations. And yet foundations is the most important thing. Think about when Christ was going to be buried. In referring to the tomb that was shewn out of the rock, Matthew 27, 60, the tomb where Christ was going to be buried had been shewn or dug out of the rock. Do you realize how secure that is? To have a tomb within a rock, that rock isn't going to move. It's been there an awful long time. You know, when you find a rock to build on or a stone to build on, it's been there way before you ever existed. Most stones, solid foundations that you'll find within that ground, it was here eons before your ancestors were around, way before your grandparents. Why not build on something solid that's been here through every storm, every trouble, every generation? And I'm not talking about natural stones on the ground. I'm talking about an eternal foundation laid of God. You're here for a moment. You better build your little tiny house, fragile, frail, temporary, because I tell you what, every house begins to crumble. If you don't maintain your house, I assure you, in a very short time, you start to see the signs of decay. This is the first thing. The foundation is a stone. Second of all, this stone is a person. What is this foundation, this stone that God laid for you to build your Christian life on? It is a person, not a church, not a system of belief, not a right theology, not your confidence. Your faith is not the foundation. Let me tell you, your repentance is not the foundation. This foundation stone is a person. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3 and 11. For other foundation can no man lay that is laid, which is Christ Jesus. This is the great apostle Paul. No other foundation can be laid. Do you know what? If you are building on anything else than Christ, you built wrong. You better tear everything down and start again. If the person of Jesus, if a loving relationship with him, I mean the person of Christ, if you're merely building on religion, churchianity, your hopes, your expectations, your desires, your works, what I'm going to do for God, if that's your foundation, you are going to crumble. Let the right trial come. Let the right crisis come. Let the trouble come. Maybe it'll be the hour of your death as you face eternity. I watched my wife face her last days. I never seen anyone more at peace, filled with the joy of God, more confident in God. As they approached death and my wife, I actually looked at her and went, who is this that I am living with? I watched her face death, stare death in the face. She didn't blink. I want to tell you there was a solid foundation. That wasn't Candace. Don't commend her great faith. Don't look at her and say she was some sort of super Christian. No, absolutely not. Do you know who her foundation was? It was a person, the Lord Jesus Christ. She had built solidly and I was there. I had the privilege on that day to be there to witness the transformation of her life. Born again, repenting of her sins, believing in the blood of Jesus. She was birthed right, born right, and she lived right, and she died right, and she finished well. Saints, to finish well, being built on the right foundation. This foundation is a person and the apostle Paul says there is no other foundation. You can work out your own foundation. It'll crumble. It'll crumble. Your foundation will crumble. You go, I want to go live my own life. Fine, go live your own life. I don't want to obey the word of God. I don't feel I need to obey the word of God. Fine, well your house will crumble one day. You could get 30, 40. You could get a lot of mileage out of this. Oh, everyone could think you're great. Everyone could praise you, but one of these days when the storm comes, you're going to find you've got no foundation. Everything that you've chosen, all the things you pursued, all the things that you gave everything for, you say, I want that, and I want that, and I don't want to miss out on the things of the world. I want to enjoy my life. Fine, go and enjoy your life, but you know what? You'll enjoy temporary things, and you know what? Sin, you can't enjoy it. I've heard some preachers saying there's no joy in sin. Rubbish. Oh, there is. Oh, there's fun in sin. Oh, it can bring you temporary joys and delights and satisfactions. You can taste it like Eve, taking up the fruit of the tree. She saw that it was good. She saw it would be tasteful. She saw it would be satisfying, a thing to be desired. Oh yeah, believe me, the devil doesn't point out things that are horrible and disgusting and unpalatable. You know what he says? He says, you'll enjoy this, and you'll enjoy this, and you'll enjoy this, and you can have this, and you can, but you can have all that and no foundation. Go have those things. Live your life. Let me come knocking on your door at 70 years old. Let's see where you are. Oh, age has caught up with you. I thought sex was your thing. I thought you were looking for satisfaction in a relationship. So where are you now? Your age is gone. Your beauty is gone. You probably put weight on. You've definitely got wrinkles, unless you're like Sarah, who was eternally youthful. What a lady. Remarkable. What are you going to do when your hair color changes, and you lose everything, or things happen in life you never expected? What is your foundation then? Did you build right, or did you build wrong? You see, the foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember in Matthew 16, this old dispute of the Catholic church? You remember when Peter said unto Jesus, thou art the son of the most of the living God? And Jesus in answer said, blessed art thou, Simon, Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto you, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say unto thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church. What does the Catholic church say? Peter's the rock. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? You're going to build an entire global worldwide church upon Peter, a man? Oh yes, I have said the stone is a person, but I don't mean Peter. Do you think I would honestly build my entire eternity, my life, my Christian walk in Peter? Peter never helped me, I want to tell you. You remember who Peter was? He's the one that cursed, denied that he knew Christ to a little girl, round the fire, late at night, warm in his hands by the fire of this world. Peter, you're compromised. You remember he denied Christ three times, then he ran, then took the other disciples back to their nets. You want to build upon that man? Or what about Peter years later at Antioch, who, he's sitting eating with all the Gentiles, then here come the Judaizers. Remember we dealt with it a few weeks ago. Here come the Judaizers, and he gets scared, and he says, oh I can't eat with you unclean Gentiles. Peter, what's wrong with you? Do you honestly want to build a church on him? I wouldn't want to build this church on Peter. Saint Peter, we'll build on the rock, Saint Peter, then you're going to be in serious trouble. Do you know Peter got in trouble? Remember he walked on water. Wow, he walked on water. He also sank when he began to look at the storm. When he began to look at the troubles, he's like you and me. Peter, one of the greatest of apostles, he walked on the water. None of you have ever done that. Some of you may claim it, but I'm telling you, I know none of us have done that. But you know what great a man as he was with great faith. He, when he looked at the storm, he's like you and I. We look at the storm. We get worried about things. We begin to sink. Our eyes are on the storm. Then we go, help Jesus. You know who his foundation was? Jesus Christ. Oh, his faith got him walking on the water, but his faith didn't lift him out of the water. It's going to be the hand of a person. What are you going to do in the day of trouble? Is Christ your foundation? You see, this foundation is Christ. When you go to the Greek word, what did Jesus say? Thou art Peter. Do you know the word Peter there? There's a word game play here in the Greek language of the Bible. Peter's name is Petros. Petros. What's the Greek word Petros mean? It's a little rock that you hold in your hand. You're going to build a house on that. Are you serious? Forget a worldwide church. Are you going to build your own personal house on a rock? I wouldn't. Listen to what Jesus says. Thou art Peter, a rock. And upon this rock, what does that word rock mean? It's the whole foundation stone mentioned in Matthew 7 that you build an entire house on. He's saying, you're a stone. You're a pebble. I can hold you in my hand. But the rock you build your entire life on that I'm going to build the church on is a massive foundation stone. I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I'm not building on Peter the stone. I am building on the revelation of who Christ is, the person of Christ. Have you had a revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ? I'm not saying have you mentally said, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I agree. Tick, tick, tick, doctrinally. Yeah, I believe in God. I believe Jesus died on the cross. I believe the Bible's true. I believe I want to go to heaven. Yes, I trust. That's not enough. Do you have a relationship with the Lord Jesus? Are you trusting in him? Third of all, it is laid by the Lord God. Notice that this is God speaking. Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation stone. I want to know who laid the foundation in your life. Did you lay the foundation? Did you lay the foundation for this church? Did I lay the foundation for this church? Paul said there is no other foundation. Oh yeah, you're responsible for what you build on it in the church. There is no other foundation. Well, we're just vineyard churches. Well, we are a whole new network of churches. No, absolutely not. There's only one foundation. No preacher, no apostle, no prophet, no pastor has the right to lay a new foundation. There is only one foundation. Who laid the foundation? It says here that God himself, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone. What a remarkable thing. See, if God lays the foundation, it's a remarkable thing. Notice in this verse with me, who it says says this, the Lord God. Notice name there in the Hebrew. I'm going to take you into the Hebrew here for a second. It actually says the Lord God. Notice that God is in capitals. That's deliberate in your Bible. That means it's a certain Hebrew word. Lord God. Or let me say it another way. Jehovah Adonai or Adonai Jehovah. This first name for Lord God, Adonai. You see, name denotes character in the Bible. When God reveals himself through names, he isn't just telling you something he's known by. He's revealing his character. Every name of God reveals an aspect of his character. That's why there's lots of names of God. From Genesis, you get a revealing of who God is. If he's going to reveal himself to you as a God of love, as a God of mercy, in some way, he reveals his name. He said, this is my name. So name denotes your character. It's not just a word. It's not just a name. That's why in Bible times, they named you a certain way. I think even in Africa today, they call someone Emmanuel. They call them all sorts of names. God helped the Spanish speakers. They call themselves Jesus. I would not want to be called Jesus in this hour. I want to tell you. But look at the name. Who is this? When we say that it's the Lord God laying this foundation, I want to know who he is, what his character is, what his nature is. First of all, he's called Adonai, our Lord. The first time we ever read Adonai, our Lord, in the Bible is in Genesis chapter 15. Listen to what it says. God speak in Abraham, fear not Abraham. I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. Abraham speaks to the Lord, says you're the Lord God. That term had never ever been used before in the entire Bible. Abraham was the first one to use it. He called God the Lord God. And God responds to him saying, fear not Abraham. Look where Abraham is at. He's actually got a lot of fears, a lot of worries, a lot of concerns about his life. They can't have a child. His wife is barren. He is barren. They're now old. God gave them a promise. Do you know what? Your children are going to be more than the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore. You are going to have a child. He's going, I don't have a child. What am I going to do? You know what the Lord says? I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward. This is the first thing you begin to find when you read the name Adonai or Adonai Jehovah or Yahweh. And Abraham said, Lord God. He used this repeatedly when interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah. Adonai. Do you know what Adonai actually means? It means Lord, master. You possess me. You own me. I am a servant. So when you call God Adonai, you're actually saying you're master, you're Lord. I'm submitted to you. You can't call him Adonai and go off and do your own thing. Then you're a liar. You're playing games. See, this is his character. God's nature and character is I own you. I possess you. You are my servant. I watch over you. I possess you. Is it amazing that this Lord God Adonai says, I lay a foundation stone. You know what? Who does he lay the foundation stone for? If you're possessed of God, does God possess your life? Have you submitted yourself to God? Have you yielded yourself? Then he's not your Adonai. He's not your master. He's not your Lord. Do you say, but I want to make my decisions. I did it my way. Many people in the church are singing that. That's how they think. There's a whole theology way of thinking in the church. I did it my way. I did this. I'm going to do this. What about Adonai? Adonai has laid a foundation. Do you honestly think you can say, I'm doing my thing. I'm living my life, but say, this is my foundation. When we say it is the Lord Adonai who lays this foundation. He says, if I possess you, then you can build on this foundation. If I'm your master, if I am your Lord, you see, if he's not Lord, then he's not your Savior. Lots in the church say, I'm forgiven. He's my Savior. He's my Lord. I have eternity in heaven, but I'm a rebel. I'm disobedient. I don't serve him. You're a child of the devil. Oh grace, I'm covered by grace. I'm forgiven. No, you're a child of the devil. If you don't obey him, you don't love him. You don't follow him. It's such a serious thing. So we say, who lays the foundation? Adonai. Adonai. And that's never changed for the New Testament. He's still master. He's still Lord. What you say you're going to build in this foundation and I'm not your Lord. On that day, who is that? Me master. Who are you? You know me. No, I don't know you. I never in any way or at any time ever knew you. Oh, but master, I prophesied in your name. I cast out demons in your name. I healed the sick in your name. I used to come and sit around the Lord's table. I enjoyed the Lord's table. I always loved the talks on the cross and the blood and forgiveness. I don't know who you are. Master, I love the teaching of the word of God. I love to hear Malcolmson preach. I don't know who you are. You can know Malcolmson and go straight to hell. I want to tell you. You know what he says? Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. They're saying, Lord, Lord, Lord, Lord. Adonai, Adonai, master. I'm a servant. You rebel. You disobedient servant. You had no love to obey me. You didn't follow me. I'm not Adonai to you. Adonai lays the foundation. And if he's not your Lord, if he's not your master, I assure you, he's not your foundation. What about the other word? It's the name Jehovah here. The word Jehovah, or it can be written differently. There's only four letters in this word. Don't get scared of the name Jehovah. That's what the old preachers would call it. It's only four letters. Nowadays they say Yahweh, or Jehovah, or Jehovah. The old preachers used Jehovah. The Jehovah's Witnesses stole that, okay? But don't get worried about them. They don't believe in the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. They're heretics. They're not born again. They live by law and legalism. But look at this word Yahweh. You know what the Jews used to do? They said it was the unpronounceable name of God. So they would spell it G blank D. They would not try to pronounce this name, but it's one of the redemptive names of God. And when you study Jehovah or Yahweh, listen to what you find. This name reveals his nature as being righteous. He is righteous. He demands perfect righteousness, but also he provides righteousness. God has never minimized holiness or purity or righteousness. And some people get scared because we preach holiness and purity. And they go, you're not preaching grace. Rubbish. We preach that Christ is our righteousness. He is our salvation. He is our holiness. And so you've got here Adonai Yahweh. He actually is the layer who's laying the foundation. Adonai is. Yahweh is laying the foundation. I demand holiness. I demand a changed life. I demand a pure heart. But do you know what? I provide it in the foundation. I will give it to you. I'll give everything you want to build in this foundation. I'll give you a changed life. It says over in the New Testament, 1 Peter 2 and 3, if so be that ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious, to whom coming as unto a living stone disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God. This stone, this foundation, the person of Christ is the only thing you can build your Christian life on. You know what God says, what Peter says? Men have rejected Christ. He's rejected from today's church, from Judaism, from religion. The person of Christ is rejected. But you know what? God has chosen. This is the only foundation I lay. This is the only foundation I build on. Number four, it is laid in Zion. I have laid in Zion. You won't find this stone anywhere else, only in Zion. The word Zion used here is used first in 2 Samuel 5 and 7. It says, nevertheless, David took the stronghold of Zion. The same is the city of David. What is Zion? The city of David, Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Zion, but only at certain times. When David took possession, it's called Zion. And Zion is the spiritual name of the city of Jerusalem when it's alive unto God, when it's spiritual healthy, when it is holy, when it is on fire, when it is walking with God, then God says, it's Zion. Then when it's not walking with God, he says, it's Jerusalem. So one name is the natural name. It's a bit like Peter Simon, you know, Peter who denied Jesus. You know, when he gets in trouble and does what's wrong, do you know what Jesus calls him? Simon, Simon. He doesn't call him Peter because Peter's a rock. He reverts to Simon because it means sandstone. You're not a rock anymore to be built into this house. That gets your attention. And it's the same with Zion. I lay into Zion. But you also see that Zion is the spiritual church, the real church of the New Testament. Peter in the New Testament, he says, wherefore also it is contained in the scriptures, behold, I lay in Zion. Then he goes on to explain what is Zion to Peter in the New Testament. He says in chapter two and nine, you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of him that has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light, which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God, which had not obtained mercy, but have obtained mercy. You know who he's saying? Zion is not Israel, not the Jews any longer. He's talking about the Gentiles. He said those people who didn't know God, didn't have mercy, the rejected Gentile nations. Now they have found mercy. Now they have found a knowledge of God. They have now experienced God and they've been raised up to praise God. Do you realize you're part of Zion now? In the Old Testament, it was confined within the walls of Jerusalem. It was the city of David. It was a physical place on the earth. But do you know now, we are Zion. Do you know this morning I woke up, I was singing, I'm marching to Zion. I'm in a singing mood today. I tell you, after dinner, we need to go back to singing and praising God again. I'm marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion. I'm marching onward to the beautiful city of God. Praise God. It is a mighty, do you know what? It's more than just a physical church. It's more than a physical destination. We're also told in Hebrews, we have come unto Zion, the city of God. Not told about a physical church, it's told about the church triumphant in heaven. Do you realize we're not all there is? Zion, those that have gone before us, they're Zion as well. Saints of God, there's Zion on the earth. We are that if we're in a right spiritual condition. Where does God lay this foundation? In spiritual Zion, a people redeemed by the blood, forgiven by God's grace. Number five, it's called a precious stone in this verse. This stone, this foundation, this person laid in Zion is a precious stone. The word precious there means valuable, rare. There's no one like him. Do you hear me this morning? There's no other name given under heaven whereby a man must be saved, born again. There's no other name you can call on. You can't call on the Holy Spirit. You can't call on Mary. You can't call on the saints. Only one name is given. There's salvation only in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only in Christ is there salvation. And so when it says this stone is precious, it's valuable. It is so rare. If you know Christ this morning, you have a rare commodity. You're one of the rich people in this city. I tell you, I could afford to have my house crumbling. No job, no money in my pocket. I could afford to have clothes that are tatters on my body. My shoes are worn out. I could afford that. My car's broken. We've got a few of those in our midst at the moment. But I'm telling you, if I have this foundation, if I have found this foundation, if I am building on this person, his name is Jesus. Do you know what? He is a precious stone. Don't let go of this precious stone. There's nothing in this world for you. You say you're being tempted. What can be more precious than this foundation stone? Everything. You know, the word precious here also means heavy, very, very heavy, very weighty. You know, if you lay this foundation stone and build, it's not going anywhere, okay? It's an eternal stone. It came out of eternity. It's going back into eternity. This stone is not going to move in the middle of the night. Why not build upon him? He is precious. He is weighty. It says again in 1 Peter 2 and 3, Have you found him gracious? Why not taste and see that the Lord is good this morning? You go, I wonder why they're all getting excited. I wonder how a man like Malcolmson can be happy in the Lord and joyful and singing and clapping his hands and glad to be saved this morning. I tasted and found that the Lord is good. You know, more than that, Peter says gracious. I found he's very, very gracious. Oh, he's a stern master. Oh no, he isn't. He's picked me up 10,000 times. When I stumbled, when I stooped my foot, when I lost my way, when I got confused, when I sinned against him. You know what I found? This stone is a gracious stone. And so he is precious. To whom coming as unto a living stone. He's alive. He's alive. Disallowed indeed of men. We don't need him. We reject him. Fine, I'm not going to. You can reject this stone. Do you realize what your eternity is going to be like if you reject this stone? Oh, I'm just passive. No, you can't be passive. Either you build upon him or you build your life on something else. Oh, I haven't rejected him. Then why are you building your life on other things? Oh, I haven't rejected him. Yes, you have. What are you building your life on? Your decisions on? Your hopes on? Your dreams on? All of that. Is Christ your foundation stone? No. Then you've rejected him. It can be remedied. It can start all over again, but not with all that trash. Oh, let's insert the foundation. I'll keep all my trash. Sorry, you can't do that. We start all over again. All the trash has to go. Your little wooden house won't stand up to one storm. It's good for nothing. But you know what? If you reject him, but I want to tell you, disallowed of men, but chosen of God and precious. I want to choose the foundation that God choose. You're a fool if you don't choose this foundation. There's no better foundation. God is the eternal creator. Won't he give you a good foundation to build upon? You also are lively stones built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices accepted to God. Number six, it is a tried stone. What does that mean? This stone, this foundation stone, this person, Jesus Christ, you're going to build your life, this church on Christ, the person. He's a foundation. He's the only means of salvation. He's a tried stone. Look at this stone very carefully. See the one I'm building on this morning. I look at it and I see it's been tested. The word tested means to do a full examination, to scrutinize thoroughly. In other words, when you look at this stone that's been here generation to generation, every generation of the church, you can actually look at its testing. Will it keep you in that hour of death? See, some of you have never faced death yet. Will it sustain you in that hour? What about if you lose everything? What if this world turns against you and persecutes you and says, unless you deny him, we'll throw you in prison. We'll take your house. Will you stand the test of time? Depends on your foundation. I'm not strong. I'm not courageous. I don't like pain. I don't like suffering. I don't like rejection. I don't like temptation. Then how do you know you're going to stand? Because of the foundation. That's how I know. You know this foundation. I don't have the power to stand. You say, can you stand against suffering? Absolutely not. Can you walk through storms? Absolutely not. You've watched me, how honest I am. I cannot walk through my prison trials. I'm a weak, frail man. Why am I still standing? It's the foundation. It's not Malcolmson's faith. It's not my great love. It's not my stick ability. Oh man, what a man he is. No, he's not. It's my foundation. You've watched this foundation. It'll keep you through darkness, confusion. It'll keep you when you're discouraged, when you want to give up, when you want to die. This foundation will keep you. I want to tell you. And so we see that Jesus Christ is this foundation. It is a tried stone. Do you realize the full weight of everything came upon the stone? Look at Jesus in the New Testament. All the satanic powers of hell were released on him. Do you hear when he's hanging on the cross? Father, why have you forsaken me? Some of you feel deserted. Oh God, I don't feel him. I don't see him. I don't know his presence. Father, have you forsaken me? God, you don't know what I'm going through. What? Are you kidding? He's hanging there on the cross and he cries out. He is in pain. He is in agony, physical, mental, emotional. His body is strawed. He has been whipped, bones pulled in every direction. His back is lacerated. His face, you wouldn't recognize him. His beard has been plucked. He's got a crown of thorns. His hands have been pierced. He has been lifted up on the cross. You can hardly breathe. You've got to press down on your feet just to breathe. Your entire body is in agony. The bowls of Bashan have surrounded him. His poor mother stands before him. A sword has pierced her heart. She is utterly destitute and broken. Do you know what? He cries out, why have you forsaken me? Don't you dare tell me that God doesn't understand what you go through. The deepest heart cries. You say, I feel rejected. I feel deserted. I feel lonely. Let me tell you of a stone, a solid, precious foundation stone. You know what? He's been tested. This foundation stone, everything was thrown at him. All rejected him. Even his own disciples ran from him on that night of darkness. But not only can we look at the attacks of the enemy, every temptation, he stood through it all. Through the hour of darkness, he faced Lucifer himself. He faced the powers of demonic hell. But not only that, he was tested by his friends. Peter found this stone keeps you. His faith failed. Sorry, Peter failed, but his faith didn't fail. Do you know where his faith was? In Jesus Christ. You may have failed here this morning. It's your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Get back up again. Get back up again here this morning. What about Thomas who died? I won't believe until I can take my hand and put it in his side. Here I am, Thomas. Blessed are those who don't see and yet believe. Thomas is there doubting. I can't believe. I won't believe. I need the physical evidence. You know what Thomas found? That Christ was a sure foundation stone. If Christ was not the foundation, Thomas would have been wrecked. Or what about Matthew the tax collector? All of these disciples, Peter, Thomas, Matthew, would have ended up like Judas if Christ had not been their foundation stone. But they were building on the Lord Jesus Christ. Judas built on outward things. I've got the money. I think he's going to bring in an entire empire. I think he's going to do glorious things. 10,000. A crowd of 10,000. He's healing all the sick, delivering their press. I want to be a part of this. Then as he got closer to the cross, the crowds get fewer and fewer and fewer. Judas says, I'm getting out of this. I didn't sign up for this. I thought it was all blessing. I thought I'm going to be somebody. I thought God was going to use me greatly. But he sees a cross looming ahead of him going, you're going to suffer the loss of all things. You'll have to deny yourself and follow me. Judas went, I'm not in it for this. That's because you've got no foundation. You built on the wrong thing, Judas. Oh, Peter was weak. Oh, Peter was weak. Like me. Like you. We falter. We fall. We stumble. But I want to tell you, what is your foundation here this morning? A sure foundation number seven. What does it mean a sure foundation? It means to find, to establish, to raise up. It means sitting down and taking counsel together and forming a plan to establish and raise something up that can never be moved. Never, never knocked over, never changed. So what did God do? In his eternal counsel, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, there was a counsel. God says, I'm going to lay in Zion for a foundation, a person, my son. And so he lays in this foundation who is Jesus Christ. They said, he is a sure foundation. You know, this foundation can never move, can never change, can never be destroyed. My life is built. I'm very frail, saints. I am the weakest among you here this morning. I go up and down my emotions, my thoughts in my head. I wouldn't even like you to know the thoughts that pass through my head. I don't mean sinful thoughts. I just mean thoughts of utter chaos. I wouldn't want you to know. I wouldn't want you to feel my feelings. It's too much for me, never mind you. But do you know what? I want to tell you something. He is a sure foundation. Through it all, I've learned to trust in him. Through it all, I've learned that he is my foundation. You know, that's why with an older, mature Christian, you look at them and go, nothing moves them. Are you serious? What do you think you're seeing? Oh, we have all our ups and downs. We feel like throwing in the towel. We feel a thousand things. But Malcolmson, nothing touches him. You're utterly wrong. You know what you're doing is seeing the effect of a trust and a solid, solid foundation. Seven things I've given you about the stone. Let me close with two statements about this stone and a warning. It's also a stumbling stone. This foundation stone, this building stone, listen to what it says in Romans 9.32. Wherefore, because they sought it not by faith, as it was by their works of the law, for they stumbled at that stumbling stone. What is a stumbling stone to one man is a strong foundation to another. You see, you may stumble over this stone. You know what that means? You fall over it. It causes you to trip. You get offended. Peter goes on here to say that. As it is written, behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone, a rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. So notice this strong foundation that upholds the righteous, that is everything to us. It withstands every storm. To another person, it is a thing of offense. They get offended over it. They stumble over it. So the way of salvation, simply trust in Christ. They can't do it, but I've got to do something. I'm trying hard. I've done everything. I've prayed. Trust Him. No, but you don't understand. I'm doing everything. That's not salvation. You know what this stone, if you haven't come to faith in Christ, it's a stumbling stone onto you. You're pride. I've done this and I've done that. You've done nothing. You're stumbling over a stone that can be your salvation. And you know what? This very stone that is my help, my security, it is precious to me. Suddenly it becomes a thing that offends you, the simplicity of the gospel. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. No, it has to be more than that. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Trust Him. What does Peter go on to say here? And whosoever believeth in Him shall not be ashamed. That means disgraced. It means to blush, to be embarrassed. Do you realize if you put your faith, your trust in Him and say, I can't trust in myself, my good motives, my pure motives, my righteous deeds. I can only trust in Him. Do you realize we've got to cry out against our own hypocrisy, our own attitudes, our own thoughts. You dare not trust yourself. Not one of you dare trust your own religion. You can't even trust your own motives or your own heart or your own ingenuity. You've got to trust to the Lord Jesus Christ. You will never be disappointed. You'll never be ashamed. So look at this stone that is salvation. The entire worldwide church is being built on the little woman of Samaria. She came and built her house on this stone. The Gadarean, remember he had about 6,000 demons in him. The demonic, the Gadarean, he's cutting himself. He's crazy. He lives naked in a graveyard. Do you realize if you go to him, you'll say, this stone will hold you. My life was such a mess. I didn't even have intellect, coherence. I was so destroyed. I want to tell you there's a good foundation. The woman of Samaria, I messed up five marriages. Then I was sleeping around. I had a moral problem, but I found this foundation. What's hindering you this morning to come and build? It's not the righteous who come. The righteous can't be saved. I don't have a message for the righteous. I've got a message for those who need Christ, who have failed, who are broken, who cannot live the Christian life. Then come and believe like me. Trust on this everlasting foundation. Ninth and lastly, it is a crushing stone. The same foundation stone that when you lean on, you'll never be ashamed. Jesus said it's a crushing stone. Matthew 21, 42. Jesus said unto him, did you never read in the scriptures? I really dislike preachers who don't quote the scripture. You think it's a tradition when I get up, I go, turn in your Bible. Let's read the scripture. Do you know who had done that? Jesus said he went into the synagogue, took the scroll, opened it up, and when he found the place from where he's preaching, he said, then he preached. Then they tried to throw him over the brow of the hill. That's the order of it. I'm just following his pattern. But do you know what he said? Did you never read in the scriptures the written word of God? Oh, I got a revelation. The Lord told me. Oh, I'm being led of the spirit. Jesus said, have you never read in the scriptures the written word of God? The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Then two verses later, listen carefully, Matthew 21, 44, and whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken. That's a good thing. I fell on the stone and I was broken. You can't encounter this Christ. If you say your life's intact, I've come to Christ and I keep my life intact. You'd never met him. He broke me of my self-will, my ambitions, my plans. I fell on that rock, but it was a good brokenness. I broke. My whole life just broke on him, but that's a safe place to be. Some of you are scared to break and lose control. Why not do it on the stone? Why not do it in this rock? You're wanting to keep it all together by your power, and you know what? You're offended at the rock. Maybe you don't trust that he'll keep you. People have so misused you that you don't even trust this rock. You know what? I can be real. I can just fall on this rock and break. There's hope for you if you can do that. Listen to the second half of it. There's Jesus speaking, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. This stone, all of you are going to have a dealing with it. Either you fall on it and you break. Your life just breaks, and you go, but I'm on the stone. I'm on the rock. He's my foundation. I'm a broken bit of material, I want to tell you. I'm not clean cut. I'm not smooth. I'm not all of those things. I'm an utterly broken vessel, but I'll tell you what. I'm on the foundation, and I'm on the rock, and it's him that broke me. It wasn't just the circumstance of life, but if you don't fall on him and allow your life to be broken, the only other option is this stone one day, maybe not today, is going to fall upon you. This is Jesus's theology. This is Jesus making mild, riding on a donkey. You know what he says? You can either fall on me and break. If you don't do that, one of these days, the day of grace is going to close for you, the day of opportunity. You won't get any more opportunities. You're on a day of grace. You're on a day where I'm holding back my wrath. You played around with me. You played around with my grace. You've imposed on my patience. You've even begun to go, maybe nothing will ever happen because God hasn't judged me for what I've done and thought and said. Maybe I'll be fine. Do you know what he says? It will fall upon you and will grind you to powder. You're going to have, all of you in this room, are going to have a significant dealing with this rock. But if you don't have it now, will you make him your foundation for your entire life? A day is coming where this Jesus Christ, God's only son, this foundation stone, this precious stone, this sure stone is going to grind you into powder. And what that means at that point, you'll be cast into hell for all eternity. Who's going to cast you into hell? Jesus. Jesus will cast men. Don't fear him that can hurt your body now or persecute you. Fear him that will cast you, body and soul, into hell. One of these days, God will. You reject his stone, he'll give you years, decades, maybe even a hundred years of grace. Then he'll grind you into powder and judge you and say, you will be ashamed. You will cry tears and no one's going to wipe those tears away. Remember what it says in hell? Remember in heaven, we're told he shall wipe away every tear, all tears. There's an end to my tears. But see them, it says there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Do you realize for the sinner, they never stop crying ever, ever, for one second, for all eternity. I'm going to go to hell, be with all my mates. No, you will not. You won't see them. They will curse you that you were a tool in the devil's hand to take them there. And I want to tell you, weeping, weeping, my weeping will endure for a night. Joy cometh in the morning. That's, that's those that are built on this foundation stone. But those who reject Jesus Christ, they're going to live through not a millennium of tears, not millions of years of tears, but an eternity. You pray with me. Saints of God, what is your foundation? Please stand here this morning. What is your foundation? We're coming back in these messages. Saints of God, this is the most important thing, not Israel, not Jerusalem as a physical city, not all the things going on around about us, not leadership. What have you built on? What is your foundation? Have you come to rest on the Lord Jesus Christ? Father, we love you. We bless you here this morning. Lord God, no other foundation but the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we're asking that you establish us, that everything we build as individuals, as Christians, oh God, as an entire church will be upon the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not want to hear on that day, hearing the voice say, I never at any time or in any way knew you. Depart from me. My God, we desire to hear those sweet, precious words from our foundation, from our Christ, from our Savior, from our Lord saying, enter into the kingdom that was prepared for you from before the foundation of the world. Lord God, I pray, help my friends. Lord God, open our eyes, oh God, to see that we're broken vessels. Lord God, found, resting. Lord God, trusting, believing, believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, broken on this rock. My God, it's your job to keep us kept by the power of God through faith. And Lord God, we ask that you bring forth your people in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.