Jentezen Franklin - How To Be Unshakable - Part 1
If you have your Bibles open them with me to the book of Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12 is where I wanna go this morning. Let's go down to verse 27 of Hebrews 12. "Now this, 'Yet once more,' indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and Godly fear". I'm so thankful today that what He's saying in the first verse is everything that's manmade and temporary, it's being shaken.
We're living in that time. We don't know what the next seven months are going to bring. I feel an uneasiness just a little bit. What is coming? Got wars all over the world. We've got things happening internally. Everything that can be shaken is being shaken. But we have received the kingdom. Now, if you haven't you can shout on that part, but if you have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and my family is in that kingdom. My marriage is in that kingdom. My life is in that kingdom. And it does not mean that we're immune from trouble, and storms, and difficulties, and adversities. But whatever life brings I have received a kingdom, a structure, a foundation, that cannot be shaken.
I wanna preach today on how to be unshakable. Because you see, the foundation that we build our life on matters. That's why in Matthew 7 it talks about, there are only two foundations that people build their homes and their lives on. He talks about building your home on the rock. And He said, "And when the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house, it didn't fall, for it was founded, it was structured on the rock. But to every one of these sayings of mine who hears it and they don't do them, they're like a fool who builds their house on sand and the rain descended, the floods came".
Notice they go through the same thing. We're not immune. We don't get out of jail free, get out of pain free, get out of suffering free card because we're Christians. We're gonna all go through it in life. But the only difference between the two is what they're building their lives on. One is sand and one is the rock. And it said that the one on sand fell and it was a great fall. The other one stood through the extreme storm. You walk into a room like this in any of our campuses or any home, you seldom think of structure. You seldom think of foundation. It really doesn't matter to you. You don't care about what's under the cement, the robar, rubar, the... I'm not a builder, obviously. But you don't think about all that stuff. Even this building, there's steel, and stuff, and kinds of things that you can't see. It's the structure of the building that makes it stand.
The amazing thing about storm shelters, extreme storm shelters, is when they are giving the way that they have to be constructed, they're told not to use air nail guns. I thought that was interesting that when you're building a hurricane shelter, a shelter that must absolutely guarantee that it's gonna be there, it'll be there through terrible storms and hell-force winds, there's nothing wrong with an air nail gun, a nail gun. There's nothing wrong with it. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and it's up quick. I think it's a brilliant invention. And that's good if you want something for 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. It might last 50 years with a nail gun. Pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. But if you're gonna build something that's gonna endure the most extreme worst storms, you gotta go not with the new modern tools that run on batteries, but you gotta get the old hammer and nail out.
It's pretty amazing. The old method is the one that you wanna trust when the storm comes, when all hell is breaking loose. I don't need to know that my whole life is built on just a pop, pop, pop, of a little bit of religion. But I need that old hammer, and that nail, and that cross. I need something that will outlast the storm. If you're just building a temporary church pop, pop, pop, the latest, greatest whatever. But Free Chapel is not a temporary church. I am not a cutting-edge preacher. And I'm not up here trying to build a flyby, drive by church. I still believe the church is essential. I still believe that without the church, the nation goes to hell. I still believe without the church, the family disintegrates. I still believe without the church, the gates of hell will prevail.
And if you're just building a temporary church, and we've seen 'em pop, pop, pop, pop, use the air gun and it'll be fine, and it'll last for a little while, and then like the tower of Babel, it'll fall. But we're not interested in building that kind of church. If you're going to build a safe structure that will withstand the storm, you don't need new gadgets, you don't need new methods. You need a hammer, and you need a nail. You need something that you know will withstand the storm. I'm not building a garage. I can't just have pop, pop, pop, religion. Just come on Sunday, pop, and that's it and I'm good. But it's the hammer and the nail, because the carpenter's Son, said, "I will build my church," in Matthew 16. "I will build my church and I'm not gon' use a nail gun. I, God Almighty, I'm gonna come in a skin suit to planet earth".
The Bible said, "Jesus thought it not robbery to be equal with God". In other words, and then it said, "All of the Godhead was in Him". All of God put on an earth suit. And for 30 years, He did not preach a sermon. He created the universe. He hung the world on nothing. He spoke the world into existence. Created man. But now, He's on planet earth in skin and flesh and blood. Jesus was one hundred percent, the flesh part of Jesus was 100% man. The spirit part was 100% God. And for 30 years, He doesn't heal, He doesn't do anything, why? Because it's not a pop, pop, pop, nail gun deal He's building. And for three and a half years, He goes, and then He says, "I'm gonna build me a church".
And the devil didn't know that the thing that He was gonna use was a hammer, three nails, and two beams called a cross. And He said, "That will become the structure, that if you build your life on, if you flesh out your life, as long as the foundation and the structure of your life is that cross and that hammer, and those three rusty nails, and the blood that I shed, I promise you, it's a storm shelter that will withstand anything hell can bring against you and your family". The Bible put it like this Isaiah, "No weapon formed against you shall prosper". I want you to clap your hands if you believe in the foundation that is unshakable. I want to hear, today, the words of Jesus, "I will build my church. The gates of hell will not prevail". The church is not these buildings. The church is you. The church is you and your marriage. The church is you and your family. The church is your children and your grandchildren. "I will build my church with a hammer and a nail".
The hammer and nail is sometimes you missed and it's bloody, and it's hurtful, and it's painful, and you're suffering, and you're going through long days and long nights and it's our, and it's just exhausting. But when God doesn't give you the quick pop, pop, nail gun answer, know that He's building a structure in your family for generations. This isn't a quick throw up garage. This is a generational blessing. And every time you open up this book, you're using the hammer and the nail. And every time you come to church, it's not just to pop, pop, but this is what we do. This is who we are. This is what family is supposed to do, is bring your family and worship. You are building an eternal house. "Noah was commanded by God to build an ark for the saving of his family," the text said. And it was not a nail air gun. It was a hammer and nail approach. And it took him a hundred and twenty years.
Can you imagine the people who were making fun of him? Can you imagine the people who were saying, "How stupid. Why do y'all still go to church? Why do you still pray? Why do you still fast? Why do you still read the Bible"? I'm telling you, we're living in that time where the little nail gun religion of just go to church on Easter and go to church and love God in your own way, and do your own thing. But there is something to the old method of the hammer and the nail, and just saying, "We are going, we're going".
And especially, if you want a house that's gonna endure. I cannot promise you you won't go through stuff. I cannot promise you your kids won't go through stuff. I cannot promise you your marriage won't go through stuff. I can promise you that if you're building it on the right structure and foundation, hell can hit you with its best shot, the old wolf, the devil, can huff and puff, but he will not blow your house down because Jesus himself, the carpenter's Son, said, "the gates of hell", it's a guarantee your family and your home will still be standing. Turn to somebody and say, "You've got the guarantee". That's a big deal. I love that when Noah built it, got his family inside of it, everybody was mocking him and making fun, but you know the storm came. And when the storm came, they went in a minority, but they came out a majority. And the only thing the storm did was get rid of their critics.
I'm telling you that we have a structure, folks. I can't even promise you the government. I can't even promise you the nation is gonna be remaining a hundred years from now. But should the Lord tarry his coming the church that He is building will be alive. It's alive in China. It's alive in Ukraine. It's alive in Russia. It's alive all over the world. They can't snuff it out because it's built to last. All of the adjustments the world wants us to make, they're messing with the structure of the family. God created them male and female. And when you tell eight-year-olds now, "Are you sure you wanna be a female even though you're a biological female? You can choose. And if you don't wanna be, we can get some surgery".
You're messing with the structure of the family and even creation itself. You're messing with the structure. This is dangerous. These are perilous times. And if you don't agree with it and it and it goes against the core values of who you are and what you believe, you're somehow a bigot. "No, I'm a person of faith who's building my family upon the word of God, the rock-solid foundation". He created them male and female. And I'm sorry, but the marriage that is built on the rock is the marriage between a man and a woman. The marriage that is built on the rock is the marriage that honors God and says, "I believe in freedom. Live like you wanna live, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord". I cannot be silent about that. It's the structure. Anything else is sinking sand.
Come on, now. My God, we cannot just sit back and see the ten commandments mocked. "Thou shalt not kill". The Bible said, "If the foundations are destroyed, what will a nation and a church do, and the people of God do if the foundations", the foundations, are the foundations, the structure, we're removing that. We're saying, "Thou shalt not steal, but if you want to, go in, and take what you want because life's not fair". That gives you a right. "Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not sleep with your girlfriend, your boyfriend". "Thou shalt not lie". "Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother". "Thou shalt have no other God's before me". "Man, we don't need to be so absolute".
Yes, we do. "Neither is there any other name given whereby men can be saved, but the name of Jesus". I don't know what to tell you. That's the foundation. You cannot mess with the structure. If you mess with the structure, and what is wrong with the church is that we are allowing our foundations, and our structures, and we're so afraid that we're gonna be penalized in the workplace or wherever that we're not speaking up. But as Christians we're in a time where we have to say, "I'mma stick with the sure foundation". When you start dismantling the structure even of the constitution, the structure of the supreme court, the structure of justice, the structure is gonna be filled with abuses, but it's the structure that makes this nation great. It was built by people who came, and they were not flawless. They had terrible flaws. But they came saying, "We want one nation under God". On your money, "In God we trust," it says that.
Now, if you wanna move that structure out get ready for a collapse of the economy because in God we trust. O God, help me to preach. And I picked the wrong sermon to preach for the first time in a new church, but so be it. I'm tired of sugarcoating it, and I'm tired of being quiet. No, this book is right. This book is own. This book is real. This book is alive. Cultures should not change the church. Culture should not change the Christian. Love everybody, but stand for what you stand. I wanna ask you because the problem is you don't know, the sad reality is you will not know when you gave up too much until it's too late and the storm is upon you. Samson made a Nazarite vow that he would not drink wine. It was his personal conviction. It was a vow he made to God. And God said, "That's the deal. I will honor it". "I won't drink wine. I won't touch dead things. I won't cut my hair. And that's my vow to you of consecration".
The next thing you know. He's drinking a little wine. He's touching dead things. There's a lion slain, and he's reaching down getting honey out of it. Touching dead things. He's sleeping with his girlfriend, Delilah, oops. And I can see him going back in the gym, "I could still press 600". You won't know when your power's left you. Once you start messing with the structure of your relationship and convictions with God. Oh, come on, here now. Once you keep on compa...a little here, a little there, a little here, a little there.
And then one day, you don't know, Samson, how weak you've become because it can be deceiving. But suddenly the Philis...and he wished not...he shook himself like he did other times, but it wasn't there, because he had messed with the structure so much that the spirit had left. I'm simply trying to preach to you today that the structure really matters. The foundation matters. How much music, filthy music can you listen to before it affects the structure of who you are? How much filthy pornography can you look at? So, how long can you mess and dabble with stuff? How long can you run with the wrong friends? You still can come to church and feel God's presence and you still...
I'm not questioning your relationship with God. But what I am questioning is how long can you sustain it as you make more, and more, and more, structural changes about who you are and the convictions of what you were raised in that you know are right but somehow, shift this and change this, and change this, and before you know it you're not the person you used to be? I tell you, I fear, that's the fear of the Lord. We need the fear of the Lord back in the church. We need to understand that anybody can fall. But unto Him who is able to keep us from falling, if we stay connected to the skeleton, which is Jesus, the flesh may fail, but it'll always get back up because the structure and foundation is solid.