Building on The Rock

There's an interesting building in downtown San Francisco that has had a complex and troubled history since its construction in 2009, so not very long ago. At 645 feet tall, it's the tallest concrete structure in San Francisco, and it's their fourth tallest building in their downtown area.

For reference, many of us are familiar with the Renaissance Center downtown in Detroit here.

It's roughly about the same height as that center tower, which is the Marriott, the Detroit Marriott downtown, the center tower of the five buildings there in the Renaissance Center. It's roughly about the same height, just 75 feet shorter. So we've seen the pictures. You might have even been downtown. You've seen the Renaissance Center, and so you can get a reference of how tall this building is. Construction on the Millennium Tower in San Francisco began in 2005 and was completed at a cost of $350 million. It's a residential tower, which means that it's primarily intended to house people to be their their home in the downtown San Francisco area.

The residences are expensive. The penthouse unit sold in 2016 for $13 million.

So we're talking about pricey real estate in downtown San Francisco. What should have been a success story in real estate development has turned into a nightmare for all involved with the building. In 2016, the public was notified that the building was sinking and it was tilting.

So here's where you live. It's not just where you work, but this is your home. This is where you live.

And all of a sudden, 645 feet up in the air, you're starting to recognize the building is tilting.

The foundation of the main tower, this tower, it consists of a concrete slab that is built on 60 to 90 foot deep concrete friction piles that go through the soil. And they call it the young mud, bay mud of that area, and also through a certain part, a certain type of sand. It's a dense type of sand. But these columns extend down into that. While other buildings in the area were built in a similar fashion, the other builders drove these piles all the way down to the bedrock, which is 200 feet below, which is traditionally how most people build bridges, buildings. They wanted to be solid. You got to go all the way down to the bedrock. But the builders and the engineers here felt, oh, we can cut about half of that distance out and the building will be okay.

An examination in 2016 showed that the building has sunk 16 inches with a six-inch tilt at the top of the tower. As of 2022, so just a few years ago, the tilt had increased to 28 inches as measured from the roof. So we're two feet doesn't seem like two feet very often, right? But if you're in a building 645 feet up and the building is tilted a little bit over two feet, the question is, where does it stop, right? How far does it go? Do you want to live in a building that is tilting like that? Some accounts and what started to tip people off was there's a parking garage underneath in the basement of this building and big cracks started to form in the ceiling of this parking garage and pieces of concrete were falling off and landing on people's cars. And if you can afford a 13 million dollar house or penthouse, you've got pretty nice cars in the basement.

You're not happy. Concrete's falling down on, right? And so the building has actually torqued to some degree to where windows have kind of blown out. Glass windows have fallen all the way down to the concrete below. Thankfully, nobody has been hurt, but shards from those windows have been found over a block away from that glass hitting the ground and then just shattering and things. But the building is like being torqued and twisted as it's settling wrongly into the ground.

So what's one to do? Fix it, of course. A recovery plan was developed in 2018 and the 120 million dollar project was started to put new 250-foot pilings to stop the sinking. So this cost is about another third of the cost that they originally intended the building to cost.

An NBC Bay Area news article from June 10th of 2023 shared this about the ongoing corrective action.

Quote, engineers saw signs of progress when the building was partially supported by six piles sunk along the base on its north side along Mission Street. While the tower appears stable on the mission side, new rooftop base monitoring data shows that the tower is now tilting a half inch more to the west than being supported on the north side. So I'm not an engineer, but this doesn't sound good either. Sounds like the building's now going the other direction or an unintended way that it wasn't intended to do. It goes on to say, quote, as far as remedial work goes, this is just a mess.

Says veteran geotechnical engineer Bob Pike, a long-time skeptic of the 100 million dollar plan to fix the troubled tower. You spend all this money, but you still have an uncertain result long-term.

In 2016, as I mentioned, that grand penthouse sold for 13 million, but in 2024, just last year, the same penthouse now is selling for just 9 million dollars. Now, there's some debate. Is it just lower property or lower real estate costs in San Francisco because of businesses moving out, or are people just now gun-shy to spend that kind of money or to live in this type of a building in downtown? The Millennium Tower has a nickname, the Leaning Tower of San Francisco, obviously in reference to the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy. Quite a mess. Makes me thankful that I'm not a building engineer or an architect because somebody is being left holding the bag on this one.

There's been multiple lawsuits started from residents, from contractors and other people who are now already doing the work. Even San Francisco apparently somehow passed like a levy to help finance part of this. So people are saying, why are we paying for something that should be paid by others? But they view this as a bigger global issue than just one, they don't want the building to fall down. That's not something they want to see, but also just where do you go to fix it? How do you finance it? There's lawsuits, there's all kinds of problems with it. How does this tie in with the sermon? Well, we are once again in the midst of our summer teen camp program with our first pre-teen camps that have already occurred and in this past week and even still going on to the Sabbath is our first teen camp, Camp Catubic in Ohio. Camp Catubic is wrapping up. This is their Sabbath and then tomorrow they'll close camp and then campers will return back home. And as I mentioned, we're getting ready for our camp to start in just one more week.

A week from today, I'll share a sermon in St. Louis and then we'll have our orientation a week from today after the sunset ends or a sunset comes to a close, the Sabbath comes to a close, and then a week from tomorrow, then 124 campers arrive and along with our 71 staff.

This is the season that we're in and as we continue to do every year as we continue to explore a Christian living theme with our teens to help them build their relationship with God. And this year's theme is building on the rock. And we capitalize the word thee and put all caps on the word thee and then a capital R on rock, building on the rock. The opening illustration highlights the importance of having a solid and secure foundation beneath the buildings we construct today.

This understanding dates back thousands of years. I joked with the other congregations.

I think Adam and Eve might have been the first builders that didn't build maybe on a solid foundation and they erected something and put it together and then it just fell over. And then suddenly like, oh, we need a foundation, right? This is something that mankind has learned and understood for thousands of years, the importance of a solid and secure foundation. It's not just a good idea for buildings. It's an excellent idea for our lives. And so today we'll explore this topic of building on the rock, which again is our teen camp Christian living theme for this year.

The opening illustration shows just why Jesus Christ shared a specific idea at the end of his sermon on the Mount. This is in Matthew 7 and verse 24. Matthew 7 and just in verse 24.

And as you're turning there, just a reminder, this is just maybe 40 minutes, 45, 50 minutes of a message I'll share today. And we're going to be covering about five hours, breaking this into about five hours of instruction that we'll be sharing with the teens. And so this is just kind of a high level overview, but I hope is, as some of you I know have grandkids and nieces that are coming back from Catubic here soon and others that might be on staff and in serving in other ways, maybe this is something that will spark some conversation with them. But at the end of the sermon on the Mount, I mean, we read through Matthew 5, 6, 7, and 8, or 5, 6, and 7 many times that sermon, the wise teachings from Jesus, it opens up with the beatitudes that we looked at earlier in this year. It continues with some hard instructions like, love your enemies, pray for those who spitefully use you, like some really hard, deep things that we will work on for the rest of our lives. And then at the very end, I mean, this is kind of that mic drop moment for Christ. What does he leave them with? The listener to the sermon, he leaves them with Matthew 7 in verse 24 through 27. He says, therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock.

The rains ascended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall.

For it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell. And great was its fall. I think sometimes we can finish reading that passage and read those last five words, and great was its fall, and not really recognize the magnitude of what the impact of what a failure looks like. I think we've all seen buildings or bridges fail. We've seen videos. We know that many lives have been lost when buildings have failed or bridges have failed. Watching that type of a structure go down, it's unsettling because we drive over bridges. We live in buildings. We're surrounded by what we hope is a solid structure, but it doesn't take a lot of power, whether it's a tornado, whether it's an earthquake, whether something else that impacts that building, to allow it to fail. And when it fails, it fails in a catastrophic way. And so if we look at what Jesus is saying here and bring it back into the spiritual context that he wants us to consider, how great is the fall when we fail in our lives? Like, truly fail. When we're not founded on a secure structure, Jesus is saying that's a great failure for our lives. And so this topic is critical for all of us to understand and also for us to share with our teens. It's one thing to understand why we need to build in this fashion, but equally important is what are we actually building on this foundation? And that's what we're going to continue to explore with our teens all week. Going back to the beginning of mankind's time on this earth, we see that God has a plan for humanity that he's working out.

We've spent a considerable amount of time looking at this plan for many different angles this past year. And so I'm not going to get into a lot of that. We probably rehearse it through the Holy Day periods that God gives us as well as we remember the plan that he has in place for all of humanity.

This plan is so important that it runs as a backbone throughout Scripture. From Adam and Eve to the end of Revelation, this plan of God is present. And when this physical universe comes to a physical end and it's ushered in a fully spiritual kingdom, that plan will come to its end and to the fulfillment of everything that God wants for his people and for his family.

This plan for building a spiritual family, which of course includes you and me and everyone else, begins and ends with the Son of God, our Lord and Savior being the Creator, being our Sustainer, and the giver of spiritual life through his own life and the sacrifice he gave for the whole world.

Turn with me to Romans 8 and verse 12. I have in my notes John 3 verse 16 and 17. It's a passage that would be good to turn to as well that is equally applies, recognizing that this plan centers around our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who gave his life for all of mankind. But I'd like to look at what Romans chapter 8 and verse 12 also says. Romans chapter 8, as you know, is one I enjoy a lot. It's one I find a lot of encouragement through. I know it's here in my Bible somewhere. It's also one of those chapters that if you want to kind of get a quick overview of the plan of God, this is a great one to turn to and to read one chapter because it really starts to encapsulating all the aspects of this plan that God is rolling in the process of working out.

But we'll just read an excerpt from Romans 8 and verse 12. And he says, Paul says, Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

But if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Again, kind of tying back into the end of the Sermon on the Mount, you build on the rock, you'll live. You build on the sand, you're going to struggle. You're going to have some difficulties. He goes on to say in verse 14, For as many are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. So the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

Then verse 19, it says, For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. And verse 21, Because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

This is that plan that God is rolling out and that we are part of. And we've considered this plan a lot this past year. We see that God is going to bring this plan to completion. It's a glorious plan that will impact all of humanity, and everyone will have a chance to be part of God's family. But with this overall plan in mind, it leads us back to the foundational concept of building. What are we building? What supplies are used in the building process?

And what tools do we use to then build? Got a question. This is going to be interactive a little bit. Anybody ever built a shed, a house, a chicken coop, a dog house, maybe even, anybody, tree house?

Anybody ever? What is one of the most, what is the thing that you have to put the most energy into right off from the back from the start? Foundate well the plan. But the foundation, I heard that's that's where I'm kind of going with this one. The foundation, right? Because if you don't have a foundation, if you don't start building there first, I should have, that's what I should have asked.

What do you start building for? Because you do have a plan. I think one of the neat or the interesting aspects of whatever you're starting to build, what is first in your mind? Is it the foundation or is it the finished product? To me, when we built a house once, I had the pictures.

I knew what the house was going to look like, what the siding was, where the windows were going to go.

Two story, one story, you start getting snapshots of the finished product. But if you don't have a secure foundation going back to the plan that we need, if you're not recognizing that the foundation has to be secure, then the nicest of buildings are doomed to fail, right? It doesn't matter how nice it looks on the outside. If there's no foundation, if that's not where we started, I remember being a kid and you start building. Lagos was probably the best one because it wasn't until I became an adult that I started really building something and recognizing the need of a solid foundation.

But I started playing with the Lagos a lot, and when you're a kid building Lagos, if you don't have it on one of those big green squares that you build on, when you pick it up and you go to show your parents and then everything just falls apart, you realize it's not rigid enough, it's not secure enough, it's not reinforced enough. And so I learned that you get those big green squares that you build upon, and then I can put my hands underneath that, lift it up, and then go carry that and show somebody what I built. And so very quickly, as we start playing with toys, you start building with blocks, you start doing different things, we learn about how secure a foundation must be in our lives.

I did a, as an older teen or young adult, I can't remember, it was right on that age, like 17, 18, 19, 20, somewhere in that range. A church member who owned a construction company offered some of us, some of us teens in that age group or young adults, if we could wanted help with a project he was building. He was building a home, he needed some manual labor, and two things. One, we come pretty cheap because we have good backs and we can pretty much do what we're told. The other thing is, to us, like the money that they were offering was good money, much better than I was going to make any place else. So I'm like, yeah, I'll go help for a day, help you build a foundation for this home.

So we show up at the site, it's already been dug out, and the builder had already, the church member had already had the footers poured. Everybody familiar with like a concrete footer that they put down before the walls? So this is, well, Michigan's a lot like Ohio, so a lot of homes have basements. And so the footers, concrete footers had already been poured. What he needed help with was us bringing the forms that you take down into the pit, and then you start putting them together, these huge. The best way I could describe them is you guys remember the old school folding tables, the ones with the metal edge on them, and the wood on top that weighed like a truck?

And every time you pick them up, your fingers dig into the metal on them, and they're just horrible to carry. They're like each each piece was about the size of one of those tables, a little bit taller because those tables are about eight feet long. And so these forms are usually 10 to 12 feet long, about the same width as those tables. But you have to carry each one by hand down into this pit and then start assembling them together. And there's two sides to it because the concrete gets poured in the middle. So you've got two sides, you start putting them together.

That's where I learned the fun fact that if you have a hammer at a construction site and you hit it hard enough, things will come together, right? They may not want to go together, right? But that's where the hammer comes in. You just beat it into place. And that's a fun life lesson to learn.

So we're setting up all these all day long. I've never been so tired in my life, I don't think.

Got home. You know when you're so tired, it even messes with your sleep. You don't even sleep well at night, even though you're exhausted. That's how I was that night. Where am I going with this story? The foundation! I almost forgot. The footers. The thing is, after we built this concrete wall and it was poured and we take the forms back off and put them back out on the truck the next day or two days later, then a bulldozer comes in, right, and it backfills the foundation. They usually put like a drainage line around the base of the home so any water will drain away. But then it gets covered up. And you don't see the footer anymore. And that's part of the plan, right?

Because our end goal is not to really stare at that footer and say, that's a really nice looking footer. That's a really nice looking foundation this house is on. No, our final goal is to inhabit a house, to look at the outside structure, to see that it's been well put together. But if that foundation, that footer, isn't poured right, if things don't come together in that early stage, again, that house is doomed to fail. I don't know how many people have ever seen the footers of your home. Other than when it was built, I've never seen them. Now, if you do need to see them after they've been built, it's because you've got a pretty big problem, right? Somebody has to come along and dig down. And then they send, then they tell you, this is going to cost several thousands of dollars what we need to do here because it's a lot of work to go back down to that foundation. It's a lot of cost. It's not an easy project. And so if you've ever seen the footer of your home years after it was built, it probably wasn't a highlight moment of your time in that house. It goes back to another example. If we don't secure that foundation early on, and we continue to build our life on a false foundation, a couple things, it's going to fail.

And if we try to go back and repair, it's going to be a lot more work, right? Because we suffer damage along the way. We struggle, we have things that we have to unlearn, we have hurts that we have to heal from. And so going back to this solid foundation and where we start, it's critical that we understand from a spiritual standpoint what it is that we must be building on.

Scripture speaks of the spiritual cornerstone that we should build our lives upon so that our lives do remain secure and stable. And we're going to dive into this subject with our teens about Jesus Christ being the chief cornerstone. The primary construction method during biblical times was stone masonry. As people built structures, they would lay a large cornerstone that would then, all other measurements of that house, would come off that stone.

You've probably seen ceremonial cornerstones on some of the older buildings when they make a building even today. In the corner of one corner of the building, they'll have this, usually it stands out as a special colored or a different type of stone, and often they'll put maybe the name of the building or the builder, they'll put a date on that cornerstone. That's just a ceremonial cornerstone because deeper underground is where they would have laid that original cornerstone.

Again, not visible to the human eye, but critical if that structure is going to stand.

Off of that cornerstone, deeper into the ground is where they would make all measurements, they would make sure that the that's and to set that stone, since all other measurements of the building come off of it, that stone itself has to be placed perfect, has to be completely plumb, which is vertically straight, it has to be level, which is horizontally straight, because then everything else coming off of that stone, all the other measurements for the building will be either be good, or you'll get a building that is tilted or not square. And so it's critical that this cornerstone is set properly. Scripture builds a spiritual analogy, of course, to the body of Christ as a holy temple being built up with Christ as its foundation. Let's turn to Ephesians 2 in verse 19.

Ephesians 2.

Ephesians 2 in verse 19. Paul writes here to the church in Ephesus, Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and the members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. He's saying that that cornerstone is set, Jesus Christ, but then the rest of the stones that started being laid, these are the prophets, these are the apostles, these are those saints who have gone before us as that building started to come to life and to go up. He goes on in verse 21 that says, We know that Jesus Christ, being that chief cornerstone, he didn't just breeze through life.

It wasn't easy peasy for him, right? He was tested. He was tried. He went through temptations, similar to what we go through, but in some of them in much greater fashion.

He overcame the world to become our Savior. He never sinned, even though the temptation was there in front of him, even though he was tested in all ways as we are. This is a special distinction that makes him the cornerstone of a magnificent temple. Scripture also refers to him as a precious cornerstone. This is in 1 Peter 2 and verse 4.

1 Peter 2 and verse 4. And this is going to build into our next, as we continue to build on this premise. 1 Peter 2 and verse 4. The apostle Peter writes, Coming to him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.

He then says, You also, as living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house.

This is an important note that we have to make, an important designation. We've all done building projects or worked with materials. The material has never talked to me. The material is dead, right? The material is stone, brick, wood. It might have been one time alive, but it doesn't talk to me.

But God is referring to us, Peter is here, saying that we are these living stones. We're not just dead building supplies that are being brought together, assembled into this glorious temple.

When you go back to the temple that Solomon built, that didn't speak to God's people.

The temple didn't. It was just dead stones, just physical building materials. But the analogy changes, is where every analogy breaks down, right? Christ is that alive and living cornerstone.

And then each of us are part of those living stones that come together. He says, you also, verse 5 again, as living stones are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, it is also contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion, a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes in him will by no means be put to shame. And which brings us to this other aspect, this important aspect of the theme which we'll explore with the teens as we continue through.

As we read through here in 1 Peter chapter 2, we are called to be the temple collectively.

There is a special responsibility and a special calling that sets us apart to do and to become great things in the name of God. While we're here in Peter, I want to go back to 1 Peter chapter 1 and starting in verse 13, because I want to build up to what we just read in chapter 2, because there's an important calling that you and I have received. There's a responsibility that we have not only for our own life, but to each other together. Notice what Peter was talking about before he even got to the living stones in the temple coming together.

1 Peter 1 and verse 13, he says, therefore gird up the loins of your mind. Be sober or be serious. Recognize the seriousness of what we have before us. He says, and rest your hope fully on the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Notice, as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to your former lusts, as in your ignorance, but as he who has called you is holy, you also be holy in your conduct.

You also be set apart. Be different. Be a follower of Jesus Christ. He says, because it is written, be holy for I am holy. And if you call on the Father who without partiality judges according to each one's work, he then says, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear. This is that awesome respect, that admiration of God that we're to have. He says, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your aimless conduct received by traditions from your fathers, but we were redeemed, he says, with the precious blood of Christ as a lamb without blemish and without spot.

He goes on in 1 Peter chapter 2, beginning at verse 1. So we're about to catch up to what we read previously. But again, notice this instruction that we're giving on how we are to conduct our lives. 1 Peter 2 verse 1, he says, therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, all hypocrisy, all envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. And that's when he then leads into that we are these living stones. We are the temple of God.

As we do these things, as we make these choices, as we allow God to work with us from the inside out, not just dead material that has no opportunity to advance or become greater, like a building after 100 years, 150, 200 years, things start falling off that building and decaying. He's saying we're living stones.

We're to go on and change. We're to become greater. And I recognize this is a high bar. There's no question about it. God wants us to individually allow him to work inside of us, to change us into these living stones that he desires to build his temple from. But it takes work to build something. We had the blessing of building a house once, and we contracted with the builder. We had the plan laid out, and then the day came when they start working on the land, they start clearing it.

And we came by one time, and there's building supplies dropped off. There's lumber from a local supply company dropped off a whole bunch of lumber. And then we saw the roof trusses sitting there, and other supplies. There was an eye beam that was going to support the first floor of the house in the basement that was there.

And there's pallets of bricks, pallets of shingles, pile of supply wood. All these supplies come together, but they don't just come together on their own, do they? I mean, if anybody, any of us built a house or was contracted with somebody, and we drove by and were there's the supplies, and then three days later we drive by again, and those same supplies are still sitting there, and then a week goes by, still sitting there, we're probably going to pick up the phone with the contractor and be like, so what's the delay?

Right? Why haven't you done anything yet? Because we know that they're not just going to come together on their own. It takes effort. It takes craftsmen to come together and to begin putting these pieces and shaping them into what they need to be. It's amazing to see the skill involved as professionals come together, as tradesmen, craftsmen, come together and begin putting things together and bringing that finish, that house, or that building to life.

It's amazing. The boards, they need to be trimmed. The bricks, they need to sometimes be chiseled.

The shingles need to be trimmed so they fit the right dimensions of that roof. If everything went together without cutting, boy, would that be a funny looking house. Imagine that. Like, two by four is just whatever length they are, you just figure out how to make it work.

I was trying to think the other day of that art style, where they do the drawings and the paintings, where there are just weird lines and weird dimensions. You can make out what it is. I believe it's cubism. It's like Pablo Picasso had an era where he did paintings like that. You can make out what it is, but boy, does it not look like a human being. Like, the angles are funny, the nose way out of proportion, but that's how this house would look. If there was no trimming of the boards, no craftsmanship coming together, it may resemble a house, but boy, it's going to be one of the funniest looking houses. Nobody's going to admire and stand back and say, that's a well put together house. If God just took us where we were from our past and just placed us together into a building, the glory wouldn't be there. That should be. That building, that structure wouldn't become what it needed to be to house His Spirit, to be where His presence would be found. That's why He went to great length with Israel when He gave instructions on how this temple was to be built.

He didn't leave things to their imagination. He gave a lot of details and said, this is how my house, because that's where His Spirit was going to reside, must be built.

And so if He put that much effort into a physical temple that He knew would only stand for a limited amount of time, how much more effort do you think He's putting into us to place us where He wants us to be as these individual blocks in His temple? Again, we looked at it during announcements, we looked at the magnitude of the universe and how awesome our God is and how He's working this plan out. And then realize that each one of us are individual stones in this construction project.

Some of us have those rough edges, right, that need to be chiseled off. I'm a work in progress.

I won't ask you guys. I have some rough edges that God has been working out, just like those boards that some of those edges get cut off to trim down to the right size. So when they get placed, they're supporting that wall in the perfect way that it needs to support. And this is where remembering this responsibility that we all have to one another to be placed and to allow ourselves to be placed in this beautiful temple that God is building. Much of the shaping and transformation that occurs in our lives is a result of our obedience to God. It's easy to live life, but to be purposeful about who we are becomes who we are and what we become takes energy.

It takes effort, takes thought, and takes time. And God has a direct hand in all of this.

The analogy of the potter with the clay is another one that God gives us as an illustration to bring this aspect home. Turn with me to Isaiah 64 and verse 8.

Isaiah 64.

Verse 8. Part of the beauty I love about God's Word is he uses these illustrations like Jesus did about like a foundation being built on the sand or stone. That is something that every single generation that's ever read that can apply immediately and say, I get what he's going, what he's getting at here. The potter and the clay is another beautiful analogy that just brings home the reality of what our lives are like. And every generation that's ever lived and worked with clay or used pottery or knows what it is understands exactly what God is inspiring through the prophet Isaiah here. He says, but now, this is Isaiah 64 and verse 8, he says, but now, Lord, you are our Father, we are the clay, and you our potter, and all we are the work of your hand. This beautiful project that God as that master craftsman is doing of building this pottery and changing that clay from something that is worthless, just a lump of clay that you could go out and find and dig up into something that is useful, something that is beautiful because he is making it in a beautiful fashion. This verse highlights the intimate way that God is working in our lives, this intimate relationship that he has with each of us, showing that he's the one that smooths out those rough edges. He's the one that takes us from where we were once in our past to where he wants us to be for our future. But staying with this analogy, Isaiah also warns us about our own nature fighting against the plans of the master craftsman, the master artisan. And this remains a constant theme through the book of Isaiah. Turn to the beginning of Isaiah 10 in verse 15. It's interesting how many times Isaiah brings this thought or this imagery to life throughout the book of Isaiah.

He's not talking about pottery here in this verse, but he's talking about tools. He's talking about implements that are disagreeing with the craftsman. And then he's going to continue to build more into the pottery aspects in here a little bit that we'll look at. But notice Isaiah 10 in verse 15. He's talking about these implements. Shall the axe boast against him who chops with it? So somebody's using an axe to chop down wood, and the axe says, I don't think you're doing a very good job here.

Or this isn't how it would work best to cut down this tree. He says, or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it, as if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, or as if a staff could lift up if it were not wood. He's using this again, these physical illustrations. Any of us who've done work and we've used a shovel or used an axe or used a hammer, and now all of a sudden the object starts talking to us and says, I don't know if you really know what you're doing. It's silly, right? But I think the spiritual point is how silly is it when we then get upset with God for the work that he's doing, right?

I get it. We've all had times where we've questioned God or wondered what he's doing in our lives, or even maybe told God this isn't fair. This doesn't make sense.

But we have to make sure that we understand the relationship we have with him and with him being master craftsmen, that artisan, because we can fall into the trap that Isaiah is saying here, where we think we know better than God. Turn forward to Isaiah 29 verse 16. Here's another example that Isaiah shares, getting back to the potter and the clay. Isaiah 29 verse 16. He says, Surely you have things turned around. Shall the potter be esteemed as a clay? For shall the thing made say of him who made it, he did not make me. Or shall the things formed say of him who formed it? He has no understanding. Again, this clay pot, it's silly. It's talking back to the master saying, he doesn't know what he's doing here. I could make myself better than this artisan could. Notice another verse, Isaiah 45 and verse 9. You'll see where this is continued theme throughout the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 45 and verse 9.

Again, the prophet Isaiah is inspired to write, Woe to him who strives with his maker!

Let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him who forms it?

What are you making? Or shall your handiwork says, He has no hands. Many translations say, Your work has no handles. It's like you're making a mug and there's no hand on it.

This guy doesn't know what he's doing. It's a silly imagery. It's a silly analogy, right? Because we would never put ourselves in the shoes of the clay talking back to God, would we?

Yeah, at times we have. Paul adds to this thought in Romans 9 and verse 20.

I don't know what was in Paul's mind exactly when he wrote this in Romans 9 and verse 20, but maybe he was thinking of the book of Isaiah. He obviously was thinking about God making and transforming our lives. Romans 9 and verse 20. Paul writes, But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it?

Why have you made me like this? We are a tremendous work in progress, or at least I'll admit that I am, okay? I'm not going to speak for you.

I am a tremendous work in progress. I have been since the day I was born.

And since the day I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, God said, Well, buckle up. We're going for a ride. And it's been a ride, right? It's been an adventure.

It's been one with ups and downs, not from my own life, not because of God. God hasn't let us down.

But ups and downs from my own choices, my own times where I wanted to fight back, or I'm like, Are you sure I need to be shaping this way to fit in your house in this beautiful fashion?

It's a process that at times is messy, and it's difficult. But God gives us a choice in the process to cooperate or not. And He's given us the example of His Son as that cornerstone to show us what we are to be like. And it's through His law, statutes, judgments, and Christ's example that we know how to be living stones in God's family. Which brings us kind of as we begin to move towards the end, it brings us to this final aspect that we're going to talk with the teens about what God wants us to become. It's not just enough to know our beginning, what God wants us to be and to build, but what are the tools that God has enabled us to use to become what He wants us to become? We have to go forward, right? He didn't just call us to come into the church and be the same as we exit out of this life. He wants to see us transform, and He gives us tools to help us in our journey. This is where spiritual tools of prayer, Bible study, fasting, meditation, they all come into play. These spiritual tools are the power tools of the construction industry today, right? I know many of you have used saws and you've used hammers and you've used different tools to do that work, but when you get a power tool, that's fun. I used to go... one of the best days as a kid was when mom and dad would take us to Toys R Us. We wouldn't necessarily get to buy something, but you could just walk around looking at everything you wanted to buy.

Well, my Toys R Us is now a Menards, Home Depot, those, right? I could spend hours just walking around that store looking at all the fun things, especially the tool section, because I'm like, oh, I could use that tool. And then I recognize what Laura would say to me when I come home with another tool. If it's really needed, it's okay, but if it's just fun to have, well, that's right.

We've all had those conversations. There's only so much room in the garage, right? I have to buy another house to swirl my tools. But when you get one that works, like I remember we had to install something into concrete, like to mount it to concrete one time. And I'm thinking, well, I've got to drill, and I've got concrete drill bits. This will be nothing. I'll just go ahead and do it here. And started drilling into this concrete, and I got about half an inch down, and I think I must have hit a stone, you know, the aggregate that they put in with concrete. And that drill bit just spun and spun, and I'm putting as much pressure as I can. And I'm like, I'm gonna be here because I had to drill probably 16 holes or something to mount something. I'm like, I'm gonna be here to like forever trying to get this project done. So I called my brother-in-law, and I'm like, do you have any tricks? Like, I know other people drill through concrete. He goes, well, what are you using? And I told him my drill. He goes, you got the wrong tool. He goes, you need a, and I didn't know these existed, you need a rotary, um, uh, what is it? Rotary drill? No, hammer drill, a rotary hammer drill. And I said, what is that? And he goes, well, come over. I've got one here you can borrow. And then he pulls it out and shows it to me. And I'm like, and it's a big drill, and it's multiple handles. And I'm like, this is, and I pick it up. And I'm like, I feel like I'm building something. And so I go back to my house and I put it in that little hole that I'd already started with the, there's this drill. And I put my weight on it again, because I'm thinking this is going to take a lot of effort. It may make it a little bit easier. I almost sent that drill to China because all the difference was that tool when that hammer action started happening with the drilling process, nothing in that concrete was going to stand. And I got this big goofy smile, because I'm like, when you do when you have the right tool for the job, it is just like, now this is fun. Like all those hours I would have spent maybe not even being able to do what I needed to do with that other drill. And I'm like, oh, this is going to be fun. I'm starting to look for other things to drill through because I'm like, I just want to keep using this. Thankfully, I never bought one. My brother-in-law had one, so I knew where to go when I needed it. But the right tool for the right job, right? I know Brandon knows this very well with construction and all the work he did.

You don't just pick up a tool and start banging things with it if that's not its intent. But when you need that tool and you get the right tool for the job, it makes all the difference in life. And when you consider how many people are struggling with no tools in society, or they've got elementary tools, right? Basic things that maybe they've just picked up through life. And then God says, let me show you, let me give you a tool, and let me give you prayer, a relationship with me.

So that when you encounter this aggregate and the concrete that you can't drill through, I'll empower you to be able to handle that. I'll empower you to be able to get through that.

I'll give you what you need so that you can continue to build your life on that rock, that cornerstone, and you can continue to go forward in a powerful way.

God has asked us to become more involved in this building project because he knows the thoughts he has towards us and what he wants us to become. He doesn't just force us like a craftsman would with that two by four or that brick. They use hammers. They force that material to become what they want it to become, right? That's where these analogies break down because God doesn't force us. But he enables us through his spirit, which gives us the mind of God and allows us to understand the things of God. And he invites us to apply his wisdom and knowledge, and he invites us to have a deep and personal relationship with him. Turn with me to 2 Timothy 3 and verse 14 as we start to wrap up. No more stories, right? I gotta stick to my notes. I always love sharing God's Word with you guys. You know that. It's a blessing to be able to do this. And so I can get long-winded as any good pastor, right? 2 Timothy 3 and verse 14. No more stories. We're gonna state of the notes. But notice what Paul tells Timothy here and reminds him of, and as he is beginning his ministry and continuing in his ministry, he says, But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, that from childhood. And maybe you weren't a child that grew up in the church, but whatever point God's called you and started working in your life. Notice, you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.

And he says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. It's a power tool.

It's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness.

Why? That the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped, for every good work.

This is that power tool that we need that makes a difference from a rough finished job to one that is done properly, done right. We know that this journey comes with its ups and downs.

It comes with trials and difficulties that test our willingness to follow God, and it tests our faith, sometimes even, that God will see us to the end. He has started this journey in us.

And as we heard again in the sermonette, He will not fail us. He will not forsake us. He will not abandon us.

Our journeys are not easy, but if we remain steadfast to finish our race to the end, then He will complete this beautiful, perfect building project that He has started in all of us.

This is why Philippians 3 and verse 12 is such an encouragement to all of us.

Paul writes to the church in Philippi an important reminder of this journey of life that he was on.

Paul had these amazing miracles occur in his life. He was zealous for God in his way, and then he had that rhododomascus moment where God turned him around and placed him in a new direction to more fully serve him in a way that Paul never envisioned he would be called to do. But then he embraced it and he started it. And even though Paul had these amazing accounts, miracles, he battled through persecution, shipwreck, being beaten, being stoned, you would think that he would be like, this like, I've got it! I'm never going to quit! I'm going to remain faithful! And he was, but notice what he says at the end. This is how he continued his journey. This is how he continued his race. Philippians 3 and verse 12. He says, Not that I have already attained, after everything that God had done and shown him and worked with him, he says, or I'm already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Jesus Christ has also laid hold of me.

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upper recall of God in Christ Jesus. So as we wrap up, this all brings us full circle to where we started. Without a solid foundation in life, we simply will not stand the test of time.

Any building project, any pictures that you've seen of a bridge or a building or a home, it looks great on the photos and it looks wonderful and we can envision that finished product coming together and being beautiful and being useful. But if that building is not on a secure foundation, then it's destined for doom and for failure. It may last a year, may last a couple of years, but it will not stand the test of time.

As you can see, I hope you can see from what I've shared with you today, we don't water down our Christian living that we share with the teens at camp. We're very blessed that they have sat in our midst and in congregations for a lot of years, that God has been working with a large majority of them for a long time and showing them that His way works. And so we share with them a message worthy of any Sabbath, as I hope you found this helpful and just a good reminder for us today.

Our teens are willing to be pushed and to be stretched and we are happy to be able to push them in ways we don't have to sugarcoat things, we don't have to water it down, we can talk to them where they're at in their life and then be that support, though, that walks alongside.

It's one thing just to be told this, it's another to be walked alongside and mentored, right? Just like many of us have been. They see what God is doing in their lives, they see what mankind is capable on our own. So what they need most is solid biblical instruction and encouragement to continue on their path and as they go forward with God. At a high level, you could say we're building another layer of bricks upon the foundation that was laid previous in their lives, whether it was at home, in their congregations, or previous years at camp. And we're reminding them, again, that God has an eternal plan for their life and he wants a deep and powerful relationship with them. The final scripture I'll leave you with is in 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 10.

This is kind of an umbrella scripture, kind of encompassing the overall concept and idea of building on the rock and what we'll share with them this year.

But it's a beautiful and powerful reminder for us as well. 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 10. Paul writes, According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it, but let each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. In verse 16, Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

If anyone defiles this temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

Thank you for letting me share this with you again as we get ready for camp and to leave for camp. I hope that this is again encouraging to you to go through what we're going to be sharing with the teens and is a beautiful lesson that God has given to us. I invite you to please pray with us this coming week for protection. There's a lot of things that we can do in our own lives to prepare for things. You guys know that. But then there's several things that are outside of our ability. One is our adversary wants nothing more than to disrupt and to bring his influence to our camp environment because he sees and knows what we're doing and it's powerful and it's good. So please pray that God will keep Satan away. Other things we can't necessarily always control with sickness illness. We could use prayers for that. Safety. We do as much as we can, but then we need God's protection. And then other things like the weather, like some of the things we've seen this week. We have contingency plans for a lot of things, but knowing the weather is also those areas where we could use prayers for because we don't want to see our plans get disrupted. A lot of people put a lot of time and effort. We have some great things in store for the teens. We want them to be able to enjoy all that, but then also the extreme weather.

Tornadoes, which then could cause power outages or fallen trees, which are very dangerous. So those things, like please pray along with us this coming as we leave, this coming Wednesday, and even safe travel for everyone. All these things we do as much as we can, but we need God to definitely bring his support and his blessing, and he does. But I thank you for your prayers for us. Thank you for your support that we could put so much energy into camp again this year. We'll come back tired, as you know, but that's a good tired. But thank you for your prayers. Thank you for your continued support, and look forward to seeing you guys on the flip side when we get back home with the stories and the adventure of our summer there in Missouri at Pinecrest.