God's Plumb Line

We had moved into our home in Rochester, Minnesota about 16 years ago, and the basement wasn't finished. And so we saw all this potential for more room downstairs and the possibility of expanding a little bit, making it a little bit nicer. And maybe you've been in this situation before. You've thought, well, I can do that. I can make that wall, and I can build that, and I'll be able to figure that out, and it'll be great.

So I figured, well, if we put a wall right here, this would make it really nice. Maybe we could have an extra, like, a family room over here, and maybe even a little office on the other side. And so I watched my dad do some of this stuff in the past, and, you know, I could always get a how-to book. But I thought, ah, who needs that? We can just make it happen.

So I started framing this wall and putting it up, and didn't necessarily think I needed a level or anything like that. So, yeah, some of you are laughing already. So when I got it up, it was kind of like, I suppose if you hung a picture on that wall, it would have hung away from it. It was so, it just looked, you know, you didn't notice it when you were working on it, but when you finally get that frame, frame two by fours up there, you stand there and go, wow, that is totally off.

And so it was, it was leaning, it leaned one way in one room and leaned the other way in the other side of the room. And so it was, it was something I had to, okay, that's not going to work. I have to start over and make sure we get the proper tools. That was one of the things I learned.

Without the proper tools, you're not going to be able to do the job. And I was amazed as I thought about this, how many times throughout the Bible it talks about building and the measures that we're supposed to use. There's an interesting section in Amos chapter 7, verse 7, and maybe if I had read this before I started working on my basement, I could have started out with a better beginning.

So in Amos chapter 7, here we see a vision that Amos is having. It's actually the third of five visions that are mentioned in the book of Amos. And Amos envisioned these things as it pertained to Israel. And in Amos 7, 7, notice what it says here. It says, Thus he showed me, so this is God showing Amos, it says, Behold, the LORD stood on a wall made with a plumb line. And with a plumb line in his hand, it said, The LORD said to me, Amos, what do you see?

And I said, A plumb line. Then the LORD said, Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel. It will not pass by them, or I will not pass by them anymore. Now, it's kind of interesting. Here's Amos in this dream, in this vision, and he begins to recognize that God's trying to tell him something. God, in a way, is judging Israel. He's going to tell them there are some things that need to be changed. And he sees God standing on this wall.

And he has something in his hand. You see what he has in his hand? He has a plumb line in his hand. Now, do you know what a plumb line is? This is a plumb line. So it's a line. This is the line part with a plumb bob, they call it, at the end. So this is the plumb, I don't know why they call it a bob, not a Henry or a Joe or something else.

I suppose because it kind of bobs around when you drop it down. But that's a plumb line. This line is perfectly vertical. A perfectly vertical line. And so this type of an instrument has been used for centuries. It goes back at least to the ancient Egyptians in their bricklaying, in their masons, and even their carpenters.

They would use a tool, something like this, in order to make perfectly straight lines. They would say it was square when they had those perfectly upright lines in their walls or in their masonry. And they would use a plumb line with a plumb bob at the end of it in order to make sure that they were straight. So imagine this vision that Amos is having. He envisions God holding something like this.

And where is He holding it? He says He's setting it in the midst of His people, Israel. And of course we know that applies to ancient Israel, but who is Israel today? Well, we're spiritual Israel, aren't we? So could this also apply to us, to God's people? Could God be standing holding a plumb line in the church? I think in a lot of ways it's true. It does. God is doing that. And because the way this instrument works, of course, the pull of gravity is what forces this down. It pulls it down. It pulls it toward the center of the earth's gravity perfectly straight.

And so this straight line then is considered a perfect vertical, perfect standard for a vertical line. And of course, Israel was supposed to be measured by God's plumb line, by God's law, His perfect standard. That's what they were supposed to be living by. That was how the nation was to be built. But now this vision shows God holding this plumb line, and it's indicating how far out of line Israel had become.

They hadn't been living by God's way. They were kind of like that wall that I tried to build in my basement. They were so out of whack, they didn't even realize. But here God is standing in the midst of them, and they had become completely crooked. They had become completely unbalanced in the way that they were doing things. And so imagine God holding this plumb line in the midst.

It's an important lesson as we begin to think about how important it is to have the right standard, to have a straight, solid line that we build upon. Well, there's a passage back in the book of Luke. You're familiar with it. Luke 6, verse 47. I think most oftentimes we'll read this section out of Matthew. Matthew is a parallel chapter here. But in Luke 6, Christ tells a story, and He tells us a little bit about how to make sure we use a plumb bob. Maybe you don't think about that when you read this particular passage, but it sure harkens back to what we read in Amos.

So here in Luke, Luke 6, we'll pick it up in verse 47. Luke 6, verse 47, Christ Himself is saying these things. He says, whoever comes to me and hears my sayings and does them, I'll show you who He is like. He's like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. You see, Christ begins to say, when we start building, we better have the right foundation. We have to have the right foundation. So that's the first thing that must be done when we're building.

If we're going to use the plumb line that God is holding, and we're going to make that building straight, we better make sure we start with the right foundation. And that's what Christ is telling all of us here. He says, when we're built on the right foundation, He says, when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.

But, this is what Israel had become back in Amos. He says, but he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great. So God says, we'd better start with the right foundation. That foundation better be on the rock. It better be on Jesus Christ. It better be built straight. Because if you don't start with the right foundation, it's going to end up a mess. We learned that lesson very clearly when we moved to New Orleans. We had been in New Orleans for a number of years, serving the church down there. And as we began to try to find a place to live down there, we heard all these warnings about how in many subdivisions the ground wasn't real solid. And it was built on a lot of swamps and drained lakes and different areas that had many, many concerns. And so they had this thing called subsidence, where they would build and then the ground, because after taking the water away when it would dry up, it would just fade away from the houses. So you could go in some neighborhoods and drive around, and people would have to put these – what do they call those things? Those little – yeah, little ramps that would have to lead their car up into their garages because all the ground had faded away from the house. And so you could see right under the entire house because all the ground had subsided and it was gone. And that wasn't the – that wasn't the worst of the problems. In other neighborhoods, because they put these floating foundations in, the houses would begin to tilt. And there were some neighborhoods where the rooftops were touching the ground and they were totally vacated neighborhoods because the banks – people couldn't make their payments, nobody would ever buy their house and it was a mess. In fact, we put an offer in a house down there. We couldn't believe – wow, they accepted our really low offer. And in order to get a bank loan, you had to check the foundation. And when they ran these water lines all over, they could tell that the foundation had actually cracked and that it was beginning to sink more on one side than it was the other side because there was no foundation under there. In some neighborhoods, we found that they would put these pilings in and they would drive pilings into the ground to try to set the foundations on. And as they did this in some neighborhoods, the pilings would go down so deep and then they would vanish. They'd actually be inside the water table is what happened. And so there was nothing to build on. And so some of the builders weren't deterred by that at all. They just put the slab down there and then it is hoped that it would stay. And in some of those neighborhoods, it didn't at all. And boy, does that make this passage come to life in my mind when we would look at those neighborhoods down there. And that was one of our biggest fears that we would get into something that, you know, would begin to tilt and then we'd never get out of it. But we were fortunate, very blessed that that didn't happen.

But what a reminder. Here's God with His plumb line saying, you better be sure and build on a solid, firm, stable foundation. Because if that foundation sags, if it moves, if the ground under it flexes at all, and you don't have solid pilings that you're building on that are attached to the rock, to the base, He says, what's going to happen to the structure? What's going to happen to the building that is built on that foundation?

Well, it's not going to be very valuable. In fact, 1 Corinthians 3, verse 10. Here, the Apostle Paul tells us how we can start with that right foundation. How we, in fact, he tells us what that foundation really is. Let's notice that. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 10. He says, According to the grace of God which was given to me as a wise master builder. You see, God's opening our minds that we should be a master builder. Now, He's not talking about physically being this mason or this carpenter, but a spiritual builder. Aren't we all called to be a spiritual builder? I think we are. He says, Paul, he says, I was a wise master builder. I've laid the foundation and another builds on it, talking about the teachers, the apostles, those ministers that are serving the people. But he says, Let each one take heed how he builds on it. So, Paul's not building your building. The ministers weren't building their building. They're helping. They're assisting, maybe supplying a little bit of the materials. But who's doing the building? He's saying, Each one of us. Each one of us. And it says, Take heed. Verse 11. No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. That's where we start. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and straw, each one's work will become clear. For the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire. And the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he'll suffer loss. But he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. So, as we're building a spiritual structure, we want a foundation that's not going to sag. It's not going to crack. It's not going to crumble around us. And if we build on the chief cornerstone, that's a test that we can pass. When the tests come, when we're built on the right foundation, you could write down Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 20, it talks about Jesus Christ as the only spiritual rock that can be built. Anything else is going to be like New Orleans, built on the swamp. That's going to start to sway and crack and tilt. It's not going to hold up. And so we must use Christ as the starting point from which we plumb.

It's got to have that perfect foundation to start with. Now, of course, Paul is also telling us here you can't just have a foundation. You've got to have the structure. What good is a house that doesn't have any structure around the foundation? You've got to have something to live in. So we've got to build on that foundation. We've got to make sure that Christ is our foundation and now start to build on it. We've got to use those spiritual materials to build. And of course, that begins to remind us, you know, is our spiritual building going to be like my basement wall started out? Or is it going to be straight? We saw Israel, you know, in Amos' vision. It was totally out of line. It had become a structure that God couldn't allow it to stand. And Israel had to go into captivity because of their disobedience. They wouldn't follow God's blueprints for how to build. And so he said, this isn't going to work. This isn't going to work, just like the wall in my basement. It wasn't going to work. Had to take it down and redo it and fix it up so it was right. And so we begin to think about this whole concept of building the structure.

And so every wall of life that we build, that has to be built. If it's going to be a spiritual creation, if it's going to last, you know, like the apostle Paul said, we've got to build it by that spiritual plumb line, don't we? God's plumb line. We've got to use his standard to build that spiritual house. Now, in 1 John 2, verse 15, he tells us about the standard. He tells us about the blueprints that are involved in building a spiritual structure. If we're going to build every wall of life by God's plumb, then we've got to make sure that we're doing it according to his blueprint. Let's notice that. 1 John 2, verse 15. 1 John 2, 15. It says, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Say, wait a second, that's the wrong plans. Don't build by those plans. He says, it's easy to get taken in. It's easy to get off track and have that wall be crooked. He says, all that's in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, he says, that's not in the Father's plans. That's not going to give you a straight wall. He says, that is not of the Father, but is of the world. And here's the amazing part. What kind of structure are we building?

We're going to build a spiritual structure that's going to last?

Boy, we look around us and we see this world and we see every... and we begin to think that that's reality. That this is going to somehow last. That this is going to continue on.

But we see here very clearly, John says, the world is passing away. Just like one of those structures in New Orleans that just started tilting or like those pilings that just went in and then were gone. You see, that's the way of the world. It's not going to continue if we don't build by God's plan, if we don't build every wall by God's plumb line. He says, the world's passing away. But, the end of verse 17, he says, he who does the will of God abides forever. Boy, that building is going to stand. Now, if you look back to verse 15 again, in the New Living it says, stop loving this evil world. It says, when you love the world, you show you don't have the love of the Father in you. You're missing the foundation. You're going to build the wrong kind of walls.

He says, the world, verse 16, offers only the lust for physical pleasure, physical things, the lust for everything we see, the pride of possessions. These are not of the Father. He says, this world is fading away. But, if you do the will of God, you will live. And so, it becomes very clear, what are we building on? Are we building the walls by the standard of God? You see, the only way those walls can be straight, the only way they're going to be true, if we're following that wall that God set us for an example. What is that wall that should be in our life?

We've got examples of how those walls should be built. It should be by the character of God, by the character of Jesus Christ. You see, it's got to be built by God's standard, by His blueprint. And so, we have that blueprint, don't we? Here it is. We've got the blueprint of God. We've got His Word. And so, our thoughts, according to His Word, our actions. If we don't measure Him by the Word of God, if we don't use the plumb line, and that plumb line is pointing straight to the blueprint of His Word, we're going to miss the standard. And so, we've got to follow that standard of God. That is the standard. And so, when we follow that, we're going to make sure that wall is going to be straight. Because we know that Scripture's got to be the example and the standard that we use. You remember 2 Timothy? It's a memory verse, 2 Timothy 3, 16. It says, all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God. It's God-breathed. And it's our standard, isn't it? Because it's good for reproof. It's good for correction. It's good for instruction in righteousness. And we're building a spiritual building. And so, we want our instructions to be in righteousness. So, we want that wall to be a righteous wall, a right wall, a true wall, that stands up straight to the measure of Jesus Christ. And there in 2 Timothy, it reminds us that if we're going to have a complete building, that the man of God, that the woman of God may be complete, that we'll have a spiritual structure. And so, God's Word is profitable because it provides everything we need to build that spiritual house. And so, when we use that perfect standard that God has given us, when we use that standard to build our wall, we're going to have a wall of solid character. It's not going to be crooked. It's not going to start to tilt. It's not going to lean over. You know, because like any building that's built out there, you know, guess who usually shows up in order for you to occupy that building? Yeah, that building inspector's going to show up, and he'll say, let's see, do you build this right? Now, how's the wiring in this place? Now, look at all those things. And it's no different, spiritually, is it? We're going to have to stand before the building inspector, right? We're going to come before the judgment seat of Christ. And if we're not building according to the standard, just like Israel, you know, imagine God standing next to us, holding that plumb line. Are we straight? Are we with the standard of Jesus Christ? That's what the building inspector's going to check. He's going to notice that. In fact, over in Ephesians chapter 4, here we have a little bit of that indication of the great building inspector.

In fact, the great part about this is Jesus Christ is not only the building inspector, He's also the architect. And He's also the architect. He's the one that shows how we should build this spiritual structure. Ephesians chapter 4, 11, we see in the church these wonderful gifts, these responsibilities in the church. He gave some to the apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, some teachers. And it says, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the work of service. So we're equipping our buildings, for the edifying of the body of Christ. So we're building up the body overall as well. Verse 13 says, till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man, to a perfect spiritual creation. It says, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. So as we add walls to that foundation, it has to be according to Jesus Christ. That it's going to be a solid wall. We're not going to be tossed around like it says, almost harkening back to what Christ said about that building that's on the rock, that when the rains come and the floods come, it's not going to move. We're not going to be children tossed to and fro or carried about by every wind. Why? Because we've got solid foundation. We've got solid walls that are built on Christ, and they are right, and they are straight. And so that's what we are imitating. That's fullness, the measure of Christ. Verse 16, it says, from the whole body joined and fit and knit together by what every joint supplies. So we take that analogy a step farther than a church, and each one of us supplies a part of that building. And so the part that we're supplying, what's it look like? Does it look firm? Does it look solid? Does it look straight? You know, it will be. It will be. He talks about the fact that if we're doing our part, we're doing our share at the end of verse 16. It says, it causes growth of the body for edifying itself in love. We're going to have a firm, right structure. And so we're going to be following the directions of the master builder, of Jesus Christ, and we're going to build it according to God's plans.

It reminded me of a story I had heard about, an architect. Architects, of course, design buildings and all those kinds of things, houses. Well, this particular architect, some people had come to him and asked them to design a house for them. And so he started working on this, and as he was working on it, the clients would come over and they'd talk about it. And they said, well, no, you know, we really want this bedroom to be a little bit smaller, and we want this bedroom to be bigger. And rather than put the hallway there, we'd like to move it over here so that we can have the bedrooms. And so every time the architect came up with something, the people came and said they didn't like it at all. So what the architect found is that they really, he, they didn't want him to design the house. They wanted him to confirm the plans that they had for their house already.

They had their house totally figured out before they went to the architect. They said, here's how we want you to design our house. Rather than saying, you're the architect, you know how these things work, what's the best way to do this? And so instead of seeing him create the plans for this structure, they already had it planned out in their own mind. As I heard that story, I wonder how many times that's true for us. You know, that we've got, we've got our plans all in mind already, you know, and we have a great architect that says, you know, this is the way it needs to be. We say, yeah, yeah, but, but this is the way I'd like it. This is the way I want to go. This is what I want to do. This is what I'm thinking would work best, you know, for my house. But see, the great architect says, no, no, here's, here's the real blueprint. Here's the one that you really need to follow. I know your plans, your plans aren't going to hold up. So you need to build your structure the way that I'm telling you to build it. And so, as we think about that, are we really seeking our own ways? Or are we really looking to God's ways? You see, if we're not careful, we're just looking to God to approve what we want. That's not the way we should be. You know, we should be approved because we're fulfilling God's Word and His way. I mean, when you think about it, no wonder there's so much confusion out in the world. You know, what standard does the world live by? About anyone you can imagine. Everybody seems to have their own standard. They've got their own level of ethics or morality. They have all their own religions, and they don't recognize God's standard. They don't recognize God's plumb line. They don't realize what His expectations are. So, if you think of it a different way, imagine if you were having a house built, and you're having a brick wall put up on the outside of your home. You wanted to really make it look nice. And so, the mason comes, then they start to lay those stones, and then he gets out his plumb line as he's checking the different courses of that building. He gets that out, and he measures it, and it's totally off. So, you just happen to be there when he's making that measurement, and you realize, wow, that is off.

How'd you feel if he just said, ah, close enough? That's all right. Nobody will really notice that much. And he just shrugs it off. You wouldn't be very happy, would you? You probably want to make him take it down and start over. But I wonder if we take that kind of a serious approach when it comes to God's Word and our life. Do we have that kind of a casual attitude? That, well, I know I've got that problem, but it's not that bad. It's okay. I'll work on it, but, you know, I've come so far. Well, would that be the kind of attitude that we're supposed to take? Well, I think God expects something a little more, especially since He's given us the tools to accomplish great things, hasn't He? And we notice that back in Amos and, well, have you go to next, turn over to Isaiah 28, 16. Isaiah 28, 16 brings us to a third aspect of this concept of the building with a plumb line and how God holds that plumb line up in the church, or He holds that plumb line up in Israel. You see, it's showing His standard. And you see, when a Mason does that, when a Mason has his plumb line out and he's noticing how those bricks are going up, He bases it on that plumb line. And He makes a judgment. Am I straight? Am I right?

Or not? You see, when God is shown holding up that plumb line, that's what He's doing. It's an illustration of judgment, isn't it? He's judging. Are my people right? Or are they crooked?

Are they doing the things that measure up to my standard? Or are they just doing things by their own judgment? See, God makes it very plain here. In Isaiah 28, 16, He says that He judges everything by His exact standard. Notice that. He says, therefore thus says the Lord God, behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation. We know what stone that is. We just read about that, right? A triad stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation, whoever believes will not act hastily.

You see, that was me trying to whip up that framed wall in my basement. Now, let's just get it done. I can do this. No problem. God's laid the foundation of Jesus Christ. Do we just want to get done so quick? We just go as fast as we can and slap it up? Nobody likes those houses that they just slap up. They just threw it together. I can't believe they finished that thing in a week. You've seen the places like that just go up. You wonder, wow, what kind of quality is that? How long is that going to last? Well, here, God says He's laid that stone, and it's a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. Verse 17, He says, Also I will make justice, the measuring line, and righteousness, the plummet, the hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will overflow the hiding place.

All right, what's He talking about there? The foundation is Jesus Christ. He's talking about this plumb line again. He's got a measuring line of justice. That's how God sees everything, whether it measures up to His standard. And He's got the plumb line, He says, of righteousness, to check the walls that we build. He says, if your building looks good, if it looks strong, it's going to hold up. But if there's lies within that spiritual building, what does He say is going to happen? It's going to be swept away. It's going to be knocked down by a hailstorm of lies. And so if it's made out of things that aren't truth, if it's deception, He says, there's going to be a flood that will come take it away. And so we think about how we're building. God holds that plumb line, and it hangs—how does it hang? Perfectly straight. Perfectly straight. And so we're going to be judged by that plumb line. And so when that mason holds it up and decides whether that wall of bricks is perfectly in line, if he finds out that it's not, imagine if he's holding up that plumb, and he says, oh, I'm off. What does he do? Well, let's get rid of this. What good is that? See, that's what some people do, though, don't they? They say, well, okay, I don't measure up, but that's okay. You see, you don't throw away the tool that shows whether the building is right or not. You don't do that. And so we see God's judgment is according to truth.

You can't discard the standard, but instead we've got to align ourselves to God's standards, because His truth is revealed in the Bible. We're going to be judged by what's written in the books, aren't we? Revelation 20 talks about that. We will be judged by that. And so the interesting part is, God doesn't read the instrument incorrectly. He knows exactly how to use the tools. He knows how to use the plumb, and He knows how perfect structure should be built. He's given us the guidelines in order to do that. And so it's an amazing connection that He makes. There's an interesting passage over in the book of Micah. Maybe we can flip over to Micah for just a minute towards the end of the Old Testament. And in Micah 6, notice this section of Scripture as it starts out. And it reminded me of the building that God wants us to build. Micah 6, verse 8 is where we'll begin. You know this section of Scripture.

It says, "...He has shown you, O man, what is good." He's shown us how to build, hasn't He? "...What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" And so He says, "...the Lord's voice cries out to the city, wisdom shall see your name, hear the rod." Who has appointed it? Well, God's appointed it. God has set things right. Now, are we going to follow that pattern? Verse 10, He says, "...Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked, and the short measure that is an abomination?" All right, that's holding up that plumb and saying, well, good enough. It's close. You know, my dad used to say, is good enough for government work.

No, that's not right. That's not right. You see, God's measuring here, isn't He? Verse 11, He says, "...shall I call it pure, those with the wicked scales, and with the bag of deceitful weights?" It says, "...her rich men are full of violence, her inhabitants have spoken lies, their tongues deceitful in their mouth." You see, that can't be the structure that we're building.

He's saying, the justice, the mercy, walking humbly, that's a solid wall. Any of these other things just don't measure up. We're not in line with that measure that God is holding up.

And so, it's a stark reminder. Did Israel survive? You know, when you read the history of the Old Testament, what happened? What happened to Israel? What happened to Judah? You know, as God held up that plumb, they were out of whack. And that building, when the flood came, the flood of the Babylonians, the flood of the Assyrians, that building was carried away. It was destroyed.

And so, would it be any different for us? You know, if our spiritual building is out of whack, can we be a part of the kingdom? Is that possible if we're out of line with Jesus Christ?

If we don't measure up.

Now, the great thing about this spiritual building is the way that a plumb is used.

And we kind of intimated at it a little bit. When that that mason holds up that plumb, you know, there might be just some little variations as that brick wall goes up. But as he uses this tool, you know what it reminds him to do? To check that measurement and make sure and get right online. And so what they do when they lay those different layers of brick, they call that a course, right? When they use this plumb, they check every single layer. Every course is checked to make sure it's in plumb and it's a straight wall. Shouldn't we be doing that spiritually speaking? That at every step of life, we're checking that course. We're going to make sure and check to be sure it is straight. Wouldn't it be foolish for us to build a wall of character and never check the plumb line? See, we should be like a spiritual mason. We could keep checking that course. There's an interesting section of Scripture back in Lamentations. We don't often go to the book of Lamentations because it's kind of a depressing book, actually. The book of Lamentations, most likely written by the prophet Jeremiah, it's after the destruction of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is laying in waste and it's reduced to rubble.

The Babylonians have wiped it out and Jeremiah is lamenting over its destruction.

But there are a couple of interesting things here. If you turn over to chapter 3, and we can look at a couple of interesting sections of the Scripture. If you look at verse 31, here Jerusalem is devastated, and yet Jeremiah says in verse 31, the Lord will not cast off forever. Now that's a powerful, positive thing that God doesn't give up on us, right? No matter what, He doesn't give up. He cares about us. It says, yet in verse 32, though He causes grief, yet He'll show compassion according to the multitude of His mercies.

God is merciful. So even if our course of bricks begin to get a little off, we can straighten it up. We can take that course off and make it right. And God justifies us. And He sees us then as a straight, solid wall. So when we get down a little bit further here to verse 40, He says, let us search out and examine our ways and turn back to the Lord. Let's notice that plumb line, and where we're off, let's make that examination. Let's notice how are we measuring up to the standard of God, and let's make sure we're right. Examine those ways and turn back to the Lord. Let's lift our hearts, He says in verse 41, and hands to God in heaven. Now the great part is, we can't change. We can't grow. Verse 55, it says, I called on your name, O Lord, from the lowest pit, and you heard my voice. So God hears, even though our wall may be getting off, He can fix that. When we turn to Him, when we turn to Him, it says, verse 57, you drew near on the day I called on you and said, don't fear. So in a sense, the ball's in our court, isn't it? That when we check that plumb, and we find that it's off, when we call on God, we turn to Him, we look to Him and His perfect standard, He didn't turn His back. He doesn't condemn the building. He hears us, and He helps us. And so verse 58 says, O Lord, you have pleaded the case for my soul. You have redeemed my life. He can straighten up that building and fix it so that it meets the building inspector's code. That's what God can do. And so Paul said the same thing to the Corinthians, didn't he? He said, examine yourselves as to whether you're in the faith or not.

So I think we all have to stand back every once in a while and say, well, am I right? Am I right with God? Am I straight? Am I measuring up to His standard? It's easy just to say it like that and wonder, well, yeah, I'm doing okay. But I think sometimes we've got to ask some pretty tough questions. How much am I actually praying? Am I really putting prayer into practice? Do I really get out my Bible? I actually read it every single day? How many times did I read it this week? Did I look at His Word at all or just pulled out my Bible on the Sabbath?

How much do we really show up at church? You really can't keep the Sabbath if you don't come to church because if you read back there in Leviticus 23, it says this is a commanded assembly. You know, part of Sabbath observance means that you get together with people of like mind. You know, don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together. Hebrews 10 is very clear. You know, that hasn't changed. We need to be here. That's keeping the Sabbath. You just stay home all day because you're tired. You haven't really kept the Sabbath. Oh, yeah, you didn't work.

But part of the Sabbath's command is the assembly. It's coming together at the service. This is the only time we all get together and we collectively worship and praise and honor God. You can't do that at home by yourself. You just can't do it. And so, are we at church?

Now, that's a pretty tangible thing that we can measure. Are we really keeping the Sabbath holy or are we kind of fudging? Are we overlooking things? Are we just taking those things for granted? Are we fellowshiping? And, of course, we can turn around and look at those positive things as well. Am I really concerned for others? Am I really helping others? Am I serving others?

Am I honoring others? Those are the kinds of things that we can use as that plumb to have a beginning of a measure of how we're actually building that spiritual wall.

Over in 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 13. I wonder if Paul had this in mind when he wrote to the young minister, Timothy, about this idea of the plumb line and the blueprint and building this spiritual house. Let's note in 2 Timothy chapter 1 verse 13.

Here, even though he's writing to Timothy as a minister, he's really writing to all of us by extension. And he makes sure to tell Timothy where to look as you're going to build on the foundation. What are we supposed to do? He told Timothy, 2 Timothy 1.13, hold fast the pattern of sound words which you've heard from me in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. So we have the words that he heard from Paul, don't we? We have those words. The pattern of words. He has the blueprint. He has the standard. He's been given the model that we build by. The true teachings. That's what he's talking about. The pattern of the truth. He's got that outline that Paul gave him that was certainly inspired by God. He has the scripture that he can hold on to and not let it go. Don't ever let it go. Hang on to it. That's what he's saying to Timothy. Timothy, don't lose your grip on the standard. Don't lose your grip. And so he's not just saying, hey, this would be a nice idea if you hang on to this. You know the way that that sentence is written in the Greek? He's not asking him. He's telling him. This is an imperative. You have to do this. It's like a command. He's saying, this is so vitally important. The battle for truth is the most vital one we are fighting in this life. And so he says, hang on to that. Hang on to the standard. Measure your life by the standard of God. And when you do that, you will succeed. You will succeed. And so we have to measure ourselves by that standard. We have to hold fast. And so we have to look at every course of our life. We could even ask ourselves, you know, when's the last time that I actually memorized a scripture passage?

Is that an indication of anything? I don't know. It could be. It could be. You know, do we think of those practical things when it comes to measuring our lives?

Now Paul was very clear about that. He said that we've got to fight that fight. Don't be just like the boxer that's beating the air. Don't be a shadow boxer. But get into the fight. Really get into it. Bring yourself into subjection to the Word of God. That's 1 Corinthians 10. He tells us that. Or, I know, that's 1 Corinthians 9, verse 26. You can check me on that one. But he makes it so clear. He makes it so clear. In fact, just over a little bit, look at chapter 2 in 2 Timothy 2, 15.

Let's notice chapter 2 in 2 Timothy, verse 15. He tells us to be diligent. Be diligent to present yourselves approved to God. That we are tested and we are tried. That's what that approved word means. To be tested and tried. When they would look at different stones back in the New Testament times, they would put an A on a stone that wasn't a quality stone. And it meant not approved. A, dochimos. Not approved. Not fit. But we can be presented fit. We can be presented tested, tried, and true. It says, a worker of God who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Now, if we read over that really quickly, we miss this concept of being rightly divided. Rightly divided. That's a word that the Masons used back in New Testament times. If you were to look at what this practical use for this word, rightly dividing, meant that that Mason cut that stone and he squared it just right to fit perfectly in that space.

That's what rightly dividing means. That like that Mason, we can cut the word of God and use it perfectly fit in our life. We don't have to be ashamed because God's word fits perfectly in our life. And so we've got a study to make sure we're in line. And we've got to keep checking our life by the standard of God. So that's what we continue to do. That's what Paul urged Timothy to do. That's what God told Israel, that they needed to be lined up with him. And so it doesn't really matter what area you talk about, whether you're in sports. Yeah, there's rules in the game, aren't there? If you're in science, you've got weights, you've got exact measurement. If you're like a carpenter, you've got a ruler, you've got a level. And God has a spiritual plumb line, just like the Mason has. And so when we start with the right foundation, God's given us that foundation to build on. Now we've got to make sure that we're building every wall of our life straight and true, because God's going to judge by that exact standard. So let's be testing every single layer, every level, every course as we go through our life. And as we do that, we know that we can succeed spiritually as we put that into practice, as we use the spiritual tools that God's given us. So let's get to work. Let's get to work building that spiritual frame for our lives. And let's do that on the perfect measure, the perfect plumb line of Jesus Christ.