It is impossible to build a durable house without first laying a solid foundation.  Yes, you can build a house on the sand without a foundation, like the Lord Jesus said, but when the rains come, and the floods come, the house will be destroyed.  But, he who builds his house on the rock, when the floods come, and they will whether you think so or not, the house will stand.  You see, it isn’t a question of whether you will face hard times in your life, but WHEN.  The foundation you have laid will determine if you will stand or suffer great loss, and that’s the subject today.

You may not think of your life as having a foundation, but it does.  Everybody has a foundation, that is, what all your decisions are based upon.  Some have a party foundation; that is, eat, drink and be merry, do what you want when you want.  And they never think about what lies ahead.  And when the bottom falls out of their shiny little bucket, and everything they have is suddenly gone, they look to others for help, for they are totally unprepared to survive.  And many of them won’t ever recover, and if they do, it’s because someone else made it happen.

Then there is the one who gets into God’s word day after day, and builds their life on every word of God, basing every decision they make on “And you shall love the Lord God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself.” And wham, the flood hits, and the bottom falls out of THEIR shiny little bucket.  Only, the bucket doesn’t leak.  THAT’S THE DIFFERENCE!  They have built their house upon the rock, and when the hard times hit, they are not moved.  Now, which scenario best describes YOUR life?

Many people place all their trust in other people, or in their money in the bank, or their investments, or the surety of the government.  And then when the stock market goes down, or when they have to spend their money just to survive, or a job is lost, whatever the cause, their life goes under because they were invested in the wrong system.  Now I’m not saying don’t have investments or money in the bank, I’m saying DON’T PUT YOUR TRUST IN THEM!   For they can overnight sprout wings and be gone, and NOW, what are you going to do?

If you put all your trust in the LORD, then HE becomes responsible for your life, not you.  Which of you as a parent will not do everything in your power to feed your child and assure its wellbeing?  Now, think about God, who created everything and has no limit to His power or resources; if you are His, do you really think for a moment that He will not make provision for you?  And if you, an earthly parent with all your weaknesses and problems so does for your own child, how much more will God do for those who are truly His?

I minister to sick people all the time, and most all of them want to get well.  Once in a while I run into someone who uses their illness to get sympathy, and they don’t really want to be well because they like all the attention, but that is only one in a thousand.  People don’t like being sick or in pain.  They don’t like not being able to work and make a living.  They don’t like being home-bound or hospital-bound, they’d rather be out living life and doing things. And to a great extent, how they have laid the foundation of their life determines how they are living today.

Some live in fear of when things will go wrong.  Some live in fear of poverty.  Some worry their health will run out and they will be sick and weak.  Some just spend every day worrying about the future.  That’s because they know their house is built on the sand, and sooner or later it will cost them big-time.  But just because your house it built on the sand, doesn’t mean you can’t jack it up and put a sure foundation under it!  You can, and you can do it today!

The Word of God is sure; it will do exactly what the Bible says it will do.  It doesn’t take twelve years of training to put it to use.  However, it DOES require a PhD to make the Word of God work for you.  WHAT??? YOU HAVE TO HAVE A PhD?  YES.  I call it “Past having Doubts” You CANNOT have doubt in your heart concerning God’s Word and expect it to work for you.  Sorry, but God does not allow doubt.  And why would you doubt God, anyway?  When was the last time He lied to you?  HHMMMMM?  Hasn’t, huh?  Then what is the problem?

Well, maybe someone said, “So and so prayed for Brother John, and he didn’t get well, but he died, so God didn’t come through for him, what makes me think He will come through for ME?”  Maybe you don’t know all the facts: maybe the one praying HOPED, but didn’t BELIEVE.  There IS a difference, you know.  “Believe” is a powerful word, meaning to be absolutely convinced of, fully persuaded, with absolutely NO DOUBT WHATSOEVER.  Water that down with any doubt whatsoever is like a glass of pure water that you’ve dropped a tiny bit of doggy doo-doo in; will YOU drink it?  Why not?  Would you offer an offering to God that you just robbed from someone else?  Would God accept that?  No, God requires PURE things from you.  And faith must be pure, both on the side of the one doing the praying, and the one receiving prayer.

You may say, “My faith is the best I can conjure up, but it may not be pure enough for God.”  If your faith is built on the Word of God, believing what He has written there, then it’s pure enough.  It’s when you mix DOUBT with the Word that it becomes polluted and impure, and you’ve crippled it from working for you.  Here, let me show you what James wrote:
Jas 1:5  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
Jas 1:6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Jas 1:7  For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

Do you see that?  God will freely give wisdom to ANYONE who asks in faith, not doubting, and He will not argue with you about it.  BUT, he who doubts will do without, period.  So, what does that tell you?  FEAR NOT, BELIEVE ONLY!  God has made His entire Kingdom available to whosoever will take Him at His Word and act upon it.  Do you need provision? Ask without doubting, and you will receive.  How would you ask your Dad?
YOU:  Dad, I need help, will you help me?
DAD:  No kid, go away, you bother me!  You ain’t good enough for me to help, I’m BIG, you’re SMALL, so tough luck, kid.  Besides, I don’t wanna waste my beer money on you.

Is THAT how your Dad would answer you?  No. You know when you go to Dad, he will give you whatsoever you need.  And your heavenly Father is without limits to His resources, and He is not stingy.  He loves His kids.  Are YOU one of His kids?  If not, why not?  God is inviting you right now to be one of His very own.  Will that mean you will never have problems again?  Nope.  But it DOES mean you will never go through a problem alone again. He who owns the entire universe backs you with everything He has because He loves you.

So right now, stop what you’re doing and get rid of all your doubts.  Put them all in the trash can and leave them there forever, you’ll never need them again.  Don’t go checking the trash can to see if they’re still there in case you need them.  Receive what you need from God, for it is not He that is withholding it, but rather your own doubts.  All you have need of is right there in God’s hand, outstretched to you, waiting for you to reach out and take it from Him.  Healing, peace, forgiveness, provision, whatsoever it is you need, He is holding it out to you right now.  HIS WORD IS SURE!!  He has already made it yours.  Now YOU need to make it yours.