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Henry Omotayo

The Power of Foundations

Jeremiah 35:1-10

Message No. 0612 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

Last year, a storey building was reported to have collapsed in a large African city, killing its owner and tens of other people including friends and construction workers. There were many rumors surrounding the collapse, including that the building had risen far above its approved level, and people began to ask how it was possible for the builders to have ignored the approval of building authorities by adding several floors to what was approved.


In the story that emerged after the rubbles, one could not but notice two foundation issues in the disaster. One was the physical foundation. It was reported that an engineering company had pulled out of the project as they could only guaranty the safety of the first three floors of the building, but the powerful owner had insisted on mounting more than ten additional floors. This was a disaster waiting to happen as the weight of the building was in several multiples above what the foundation was capable of supporting. The other foundation issue was moral, as there appears to have been a complete disregard for rules and regulations which could have been made possible by going through the back door.


Foundations are very powerful and do affect both physical and human structures alike. As a faulty foundation can destroy a building, so can a faulty foundation destroy individuals and families. Few years ago, I watched on TV the story of a 35-year-old man who had fathered children almost as many as his age. He did this by sleeping with several women and by never committing to any in marriage, thereby breeding children without ideal homes. One of his children who was about 12 or 13 years old was said to have told his mom that when he grows up, he would do exactly what his father did.


In Proverbs 22:6, the Bible says:


Train up a child in the ways he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.


What the Bible is instructing us to do in this scripture is to lay a solid foundation for our children so when they grow up, they will continue / build well upon that foundation. So, what foundation are you building for your children? Are you building a foundation that is based on righteousness and holy living or one based on fraud, deception, and outright disregard for God.


Foundations are built by words, by actions and by inactions. While a man who maltreats and beats his wife tells his sons that it is good to beat women, his words may only have added to the more powerful evil that the children are witnessing at home on regular basis, and who would blame any parent who never want to see their daughter married to any member of such family. Children learn more through what they see than what they hear. You are probably wasting your time if you are a smoker, drunkard, drug user and abuser of any kind but at the same time asking your children to not do any of those – a case of do what I say but not what I do. You are also not a friend of your children if you tell them to work hard but all they see you do is cheat and look for money through fraud and dubious means. Is this not a huge problem in some societies today where children as young as 12 or 13 are looking for ways of making money through rituals?


The foundations built today can run in the family for many generations. The descendants of Rechab told Jeremiah that they have continued in the instructions of their father for generations, and not even Jeremiah the prophet could make them to deviate from their way of life. If any of us has been building a faulty foundation for our children, we need to first repent, ask God and our families to forgive us and turn a new leaf in the presence of God and man. When our children see a sustained change in us, they will, with God’s mercy, begin to change their perspective to life as the Holy Spirit repairs the faulty ground upon which they have been raised.


Foundation is, unfortunately, not only laid at the family level, it is also laid at societal level. A society that does not know God cannot lay any good example for its young ones. Where children see that positions are only acquired through bribery and rewards obtained through the back door, the youth is systemically indoctrinated into the same way of doing business and it might take centuries for things to change.


As God’s children, we need to pray and play our roles not only in our families but also in the societies where we live. We need to show our children the way of righteousness and also stay above reproach in our dealings with the rest of society. We need to pray that God will heal our land and cleanse our societies of the evil that seems so entrenched and so difficult to defeat. May our God help us to build faultless foundations that will last generations to come, in Jesus’ name. Amen. Have a blessed week!


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 If you are yet to give your life to Christ, you do not have a covenant with God and His promises do not apply to you. To come under these promises, please surrender your life to Christ today, by praying this prayer:
 Lord I know that I am a sinner and I am unable to save myself. I am sorry for my sins and I pray that you please forgive me. I am aware that Your Son Jesus died for my sins and I accept Him as my Lord and savior. I surrender my life unto you from this moment. Please take control of my entire being and help me to be obedient to your Word, going forward. Thank you, Lord, for hearing me. I have prayed in Jesus’ name. Amen.
 If you prayed the foregoing prayer, you have just been born again. Please find a Bible believing church in your area and ask to see the pastor. Let him or her know that you have just given your life to Christ and s/he will guide you on next steps in your journey as a child of God. The Lord bless you!
 
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