1 Corinthians 3:10-15
A Superstructure Or A Shed?
Do you know what this is? Its name means "Crown of the Palace." It
is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna
river. It was commissioned in 1632 by the emperor to house the tomb
of his favorite wife. The building is a centerpiece of a 42-acre
complex, which includes a mosque and a guest house, and is set in
formal gardens bounded on three sides by castle-like walls.
It is the Taj Mahal. Although almost 400 years old, the Taj Mahal was
designated as a United Nations’ World Heritage Site in 1983 for being
"the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired
masterpieces of the world’s heritage." It is regarded by many as a
symbol of India’s rich history. The Taj Mahal attracts 7-8 million
visitors a year and in 2007, it was declared a winner of the New
Seven Wonders of the World (2000-2007) initiative.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal
Why talk about the tomb of those who worshipped false gods? Because I
would say that Taj Mahal is a superstructure, a building recognized
for its beauty, design, and admiration.
But believe it or not, you and I have the privilege of building a far
more glorious superstructure than the Taj Mahal. The superstructure
that is to be build is our life. Our lives are the most important
structure we will ever build, and that is saying a lot. We build
careers, families, reputations, and heritages. As a body of
believers, we are building a church; but all of them fade in
comparison to the life that we build.
Perhaps as we go along in the message, you might come to the
conclusion that your life is not so much a superstructure but a shed.
If that is the case, I pray that you will do something to change that
this morning. Life is a precious gift from God—every day of it. Yet
for many, our lives are like small sheds: begun with little fanfare,
used for the mundane, decayed by time, eventually reduced to rubble,
and forgotten after its gone. That is not what God wants for our
lives. They should be superstructures which increase in beauty,
usefulness, and glory throughout all eternity.
Let’s see if we what we are building.
I. \\#10-11\\ A Superstructure Must Have the Right Foundation.
A. Notice some things about the Foundation, and its laying.
1. Verb tense - It is in the past tense, meaning that the
Foundation had already been laid.
1Cor 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay
than that is laid….
a. You and I do not lay this Foundation.
b. The Foundation Paul was speaking of had already been
laid.
c. We are invited to build upon it, but we do not lay it.
d. People spend enormous amounts of time getting an
education because they think education is the right
foundation to build your life on.
(1) I am not against the right kind of education.
(2) However, no amount of reading, writing, and
arithmetic will provide a foundation that you
can build a superstructure upon.
2. There is only one Foundation.
a. This may not sound true for in our world, everything
is built on a separate foundation.
(1) The complex that we are worshiping within was
built in four separate time periods.
(2) Each of them rests upon their own foundation.
b. However, our lives can only be built on one Foundation
for if they are not, they are actually built on the
sand.
Matthew 7:26 And every one that heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be
likened unto a foolish man, which built his house
upon the sand:
3. Jesus is the Foundation.
1Cor 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay
than that is laid which is Jesus Christ.
a. This is a reference to Jesus as our Savior.
b. No life has a foundation if that life is not built
on Jesus Christ.
B. Most of this message is directed to the saved, but just in
case you are not saved, let me tell you how you can be
saved.
1. Believe
2. Repent - This last one will tell on you.
a. You have not repented if you lay out of church.
b. You have not repented if you forsake the Bible.
c. You have not repented if you have the devil’s tongue.
d. You have not repented if your life is a contradiction
of the Bible.
II. \\#12\\ A Superstructure Must Be Built on Purpose.
A. Superstructures are not just thrown together. They must be
designed, planned, and carefully build.
1. The Taj Mahal and grounds took more than 20 years to
complete.
2. 400 years later, it is still winning awards and has been
designated one of the wonders of the world.
3. That required some thought and purpose.
4. So does a superstructure life.
5. The foundation is sure and complete.
a. There is nothing else to do to the foundation.
b. However, every Christian is charged to build a
structure upon it.
B. There are some questions we should ask about our lives and
the Foundation we have claimed.
1. Are we building anything at all?
a. I am not asking if we are building something strong
or beautiful. I am asking if we are building
anything at all.
b. Some do not.
(1) The sum of the life of some people is little of
nothing.
(a) They are not very good to their mate.
(b) They are not very good to their children.
(c) They do not work very hard.
(d) They do not have much ambition.
(e) They do not get involved in the lives of
others.
(f) They do not take stands on important issues.
(g) They have no cause which is important to
them.
(h) They have few friends because they have
never been friendly.
(i) Like the tearing down of an old shed when
they die, a few may visit the cemetery;
but more than likely, they will get planted
in the ground without any fanfare,
visitation, or recognition.
(2) Friend, a life that doesn’t give to anyone is a
shed not a superstructure.
(a) It is sad when you come to the end of your
life and realize you never did anything
with it.
(b) It is even sadder for the people who don’t!
(c) Lest you misunderstand, I am not saying that
a life can or should be measured by the
attendance at the funeral.
i. Rather, life can and should be
measured by the impact had while
still alive.
ii. Are you impacting anyone at?
2. Are you building anything spiritual?
a. Even more common than having NO impact is having no
spiritual impact.
b. Like a gigantic structure with girders and beams but
no floors, walls, or ceilings, so a life without no
spiritual impact is missing the point of life itself.
c. You have all the necessary components: salvation,
mates, children, job, wealth - but you aren’t using
to accomplish God’s work in your life.
d. A life lived with no service to God is a building
with no walls—impressive and expensive as far as it
goes, but it isn’t serving its purpose.
e. Perhaps I need to say again, but I am still speaking
to the Christians here. I say that because you might
wonder.
(1) You see, some will be missed more at work than at
the church.
(a) They showed up faithfully to make a dollar
but seldom if ever to worship.
(b) They have promoted themselves through hard
work at the jobsite but never lifted a
finger in the things of God.
(c) They have fishing or shopping buddies in
the neighborhood but don’t know anyone at
church.
(d) They write checks out of every charity
under the sun but never give to the cause
of Christ.
(2) If you can skip out on church and no one misses
you, it is not the fault of the church of the
pastor.
(a) It’s your fault for not making yourself
important to the work of God!
(b) The church is not a warehouse where a
pastor takes inventory.
(c) The church is factory where workers build
for the cause of Christ: lives, families,
ministries that win the lost and help
people.
(d) God’s people need to quit being a part on
the shelf and be a worker in the field.
3. Are you building with the right materials?
a. Here’s a riddle.
(1) What is large and religious, but won’t stand up?
(2) Anything spiritual that is built with worldly
materials.
(3) Why? Because you can’t build a spiritual
structure with worldly materials.
b. Paul specifically addresses that in the text.
(1) He described the spiritual materials - gold,
silver, and precious stones.
(2) He also described the worldly materials - wood,
hay, and stubble.
(3) Paul left the message as a picture.
(a) He did not tell us what things might be
considered gold, silver, precious stones
or what things might be wood, hay, stubble.
(b) Why? Maybe because the wood, hay, and
stubble changes.
i. worldly music
ii. indecent dress
iii. carnal entertainment
iv. And that is in the worship service!
v. a diet of Bible-less sermons
vi. powerless prayers
vii. unqualified ministers in spiritually
devoid churches
viii. Supportive of sinful—even abominable
actions in a world where common
sense has taken a permanent holiday
(4) This is not the kind of life that God intended we
build on His foundation!
III. \\#13\\ Both Sheds and Superstructures will Be Tested.
1Cor 3:13 Every man’s work shall be made
manifest: for the day shall declare it, because
it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall
try every man’s work of what sort it is.
A. Paul does not give a lot of details on the topic of the test
either.
1. There is such a spiritual test coming, one that will test
the very structure the life we have built.
2. It is called the Bema Seat or the Judgment Seat.
\\#Romans 14:10-12, 2Cor 5:10\\
3. Those references give that judgment a name and most feel
that our text gives its purpose.
a. Christ will put His righteous fire to the structure
of our lives and burn away every worldly
thing that was laid on that foundation.
b. Sheds won’t stand at all, but even the
superstructures will be tested.
B. However, most of us won’t have to wait that long to find out
what kind of life we are building.
1. Typically, when you build a house, you live in it.
a. When you are living in a house, you don’t have to wait
for some spiritual test to see what it is made of.
b. You can see it on a daily basis.
2. So it is with life.
a. There will be one final spiritual test, the Bema Seat,
but I suspect that we are going to know a long time
before that hat kind of structure our lives are.
b. The winds of life—the tornadoes of problems, the
hurricanes of disappointments, the floods of
problems—these will test our lives on a regular
basis.
c. If you we building a shed, these ill winds will leave
our lives in broken shambles.
C. But the good news is that you don’t have to wait or fear the
tests that come.
1. You can build a structure today that is strong, solid, and
sure.
2. Build it upon Jesus.
3. Build it upon the Bible.
4. Build it by investing into others.
5. Build it with love, kindness, forgiveness, and with
righteousness, equity, and truth.
6. Build something that you can live with all the days of
your life in contentment and happiness.
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