Introduction: We live in a society that majors on appearance. As long as something is built to look good it does not matter whether or not the quality is good. The sad thing is that many Christians live their life in the same manner. As long as others think that we are doing well, we are completely satisfied. A marriage may be falling apart, but as long as they can enter the services with a smile on their face everything is alright. In Ezekiel 13, the Lord begins to deal with the building of a wall. Whether this is a literal wall or an application to the wickedness of the prophets, there is much here for the believer to learn.
- THE PURPOSE OF BUILDING (Ezekiel 13:10)
- Building for Appearance
- We are not told about the appearance of the wall in this passage, yet we could assume that the wall probably looked acceptable.
- This wall was being built to look good, but sound structure was not important.
- Many today are building for appearance.
- Christians do things to make themselves look spiritual externally.
- Husbands and wives do things to make their marriage look good externally.
- Parents do things to make sure they look like good parents externally.
- Parents do things to make sure that their children look good externally.
- Churches do things to make sure they look good.
- Building for Endurance
- Building for appearance saved time and labor. The mortar would have needed to be mixed in order for the wall to be done properly.
- The wall could have taken twice as long to finish by doing it right.
- Building for endurance would not have had the immediate results that building for appearance carried.
- Compare this to the two men who built a house in Matthew 7.
- The wise man had to either take time to find enough rock in one area to build on or he had to make a foundation (Matthew 7:24).
- The foolish man didnt have to waste his time looking for rock, he began to build immediately. Perhaps he was done before the wise man ever started building.
- THE PRODUCTS USED IN BUILDING (Ezekiel 13:10)
- Inadequate Products
- The wall in this chapter had mortar applied, but the mortar had not been prepared the correct way.
- Much of what we build today as Christians is being built with inadequate materials.
- Homes should not be built on the latest psychology findings.
- Christians arent to build ministries for the Lord in the strength of their own flesh.
- Churches should not be built on worldly marketing.
- Adequate Products
- Building with the right materials will help solve many of the troubles that could be incurred.
- So it is with believers.
- Believers should be built up on the word of His grace (Acts 20:32)
- Believers should be built up in Christ (Colossians 2:7)
- Believers should be built up in the most holy faith (Jude 1:20)
- THE PROBLEMS FOR THE BUILDING (Ezekiel 13:11-15)
- The Coming Storms (Ezekiel 13:11)
- Troubles are part of this life. You can count on storms showing up.
- The storms came for the wise man (Matthew 7:25)
- The storms came for the foolish man (Matthew 7:27)
- Your life, family, testimony and ministry must be built in such a way that it will stand the test of storms.
- The Failure of a Weak Structure (Ezekiel 13:12)
- We do not know how good the foundation was but we do know that this wall had some sort of foundation (Ezekiel 13:14).
- It is possible to have the right foundation (which is Christ) and still have a faulty building.
Conclusion: In the design and production of a building, it just takes a mistake on one number for a building to collapse. It is the same way in the Christian life. If you are building for appearance, you will fall. If you are using inadequate materials, you will fall. If you are not strong, the storms will come and you will be left with a devastating mess to fix. Is your marriage built to last? Are your children being built to last? Is your ministry being built to last? Is your testimony being built to last? If not why not start afresh and build on the word of God.
