Text: Hebrews 11:10, 13:14; Matthew 6:19–21
Hebrews 11:10 (KJV): “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
Hebrews 13:14 (KJV): “For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come.”
Beloveth, we are living in a city without foundations. The only city that has foundation is the city of our God. The current one we are living in now; the Bible calls it “A city without foundation.” We are accumulating and accumulating, but into a pit.
If your place of abode has no foundation, it will soon collapse. Human beings are now putting the whole of their trust in vanity. Vanity upon vanity, all is vanity. Because the world is a city without foundation, as the Bible puts it, this whole world is sinking fast.
Look at these eternal words in the book of Matthew 6:19. You will do well to listen to me very carefully this morning.
Matthew 6:19–21 (KJV): “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
This is a very serious matter. Here in this world: Friends fail you,
money becomes worthless,
metals rust, garments wax old, flowers fade, beauty goes, stones crumble
gold and petroleum fade, treasures are stolen , very good men get corrupted with time, man gets a lot of disappointment, health fails and wealth disappears.
Beloveth, nothing lasts. The Bible is very clear that we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we will take nothing out. No matter what you accumulate, you brought nothing into this world, and you are not going away with anything. The Bible says, “The day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night, to whom the heavens and earth will be melted by fire.” So you should know that all these things will be melted by fire. All these things that we are running around to gather are all raw materials for fire.
The Bible says, “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness”.
The maximum you can live here on earth is around 120 years, 150 years, or even 200 years, if you can even stand on your feet by then. But eternity is longer. Here, you have the opportunity to tell God that you are qualified for heaven. Wealth disappears. Why? We are living in a city without foundation, in this particular world, where the money of today may not carry you till tomorrow.
This World Where: The surest is absolutely unsure. Sadness and joy are lying on the same bed.
Strife and peace are in the same boat.
War and peace are drinking from the same cup.
Parental witchcraft hindered and sat up their own children.
Evil and good wear the same uniform.
the line between hatred and goodness is very thin.
Even the man at the top is not too far from the bottom.
The man being hailed today is stoned tomorrow.
It is a serious matter. People fail to learn from history. This is a situation where you find that the person who was bleeding for people before is now bled for. The judge will become the accused, and the accused will become the judge. Thieves will jail thieves. Robbers will jail robbers. Fornicators will jail fornicators. This is a very serious situation.
This is a world where those who were being hailed before as kings and chiefs ended up in prison. Men sow seeds to bring fruits they will not even like to eat.
People shout praises loudly for somebody, but their hearts are far from the person. Why? We are living in a city without foundation. Man came from the dust, and as a matter of necessity, he must return to that dust. The Bible says, “Dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return.” The beautiful things of the world came from the dust, and back to that dust they must go. This is a very serious matter. Every life whose foundation is not in Christ will collapse.
The Bible says, “Other foundation can no man lay except that which is laid, which is Jesus. The foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” Why should a person want to sink with this sinking world where things are changing? Where you think something is glorious today, and tomorrow, it becomes something else.
The other time they rushed a lady here, a former “Miss Nigeria,” who all of a sudden ran mad on the streets. They brought her for prayers. We prayed and prayed before she could get herself a little bit. Then I asked her, “Do you now see that beauty is vain? Was that beauty able to deliver you now?” This is a very serious matter.
Many people think that everything is in this world. The Bible says, “Here we have not a continuing city.” There was a time we used to talk about the oil boom. Where is the oil boom now?
There was a time when we had financiers, but what are those financiers doing now? There is a general convulsion among political people now. There is a gradual community breakdown. Where is the old Russian Empire? Where is the old British Empire? Everything that would happen in the latter days began in the last days. We are in the latter days; nothing is permanent. Righteousness has diminished.
While I was in the University of Lagos many years ago, vendors who used to sell newspapers never used to sit by their newspapers.
They would just put the newspapers down, and people would pick what they wanted to buy, then drop their money. People were honest and righteous. Nobody had to sit down and watch what was going on. But now, even if you put your child beside the newspapers, they may steal both the newspapers and the child.
In the 1960s and early 1970s, a university degree was an access to the good things of life. They would come to campus and get you a job before you even graduated. Within six months, they would get you a car.
But now, people go to school, travel abroad, get Masters degrees or PhDs, and still they are roaming the streets. Things have changed, and things are changing. The things of yesterday cannot apply again to today. In the late 1960s, no one talked about armed robbery. Now it has become very popular. The kidnapping and ritualism are terrible.
Oh, you may think you have friends, but those friends can disappear overnight or even turn against you. Marriage may be your consolation, but the rate at which marriages are breaking up now is terribly alarming.
The only person you can hold on to, and you are sure you will not sink, is Jesus Christ. No position is permanent. The most trusted can also be the most dangerous. So what I am telling you this morning is very simple: give up what you can never gain for what you can never lose. Give up all the running after the world, because you will lose it all. When you die, your degrees, houses, and cars are all useless. Once that happens, it is all totally useless. Give up those things that are occupying your time and try to get what you can eternally keep and that you cannot lose.
Set your affections on the things above. All those things that many are running after are all in vain. They will eventually disappear. What you are going to hold is what you did with Jesus.
Nobody will ask for your degree, or your baptismal certificate, or whether you went to Bible college, or whether you were a general overseer or a pastor. The question is, What did you do with Jesus? Give up what you can never gain for what you can never lose. Why? You are in a city without foundation. That is why you see the world going the way it is going. It is sinking. It has no foundation. The only city with a foundation is the city of our God, where we should aspire to go.
The Bible says something very interesting, which many people do not think deeply about.
It says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” But men have put the cart before the horse. They are putting those other things in front. They are demoting the kingdom of heaven. Whereas, your priority is to find God and find heaven. Do not just come to church for coming sake.
Do not come to church just because: You want a miracle, you want answered prayers, you want to have children, you want to marry, you want to have a job. They are good. But those things end here. You cannot take them beyond this planet. What will last is eternity.
If you pick a single ant and ask it to carry sand from here to the Bar beach in Lagos, by the time that ant loads the place with sand that is as tall as a three-story building, the time it will take that ant to do all of it, eternity has just started. Give up what you can never gain, what is temporary, and what is not permanent, and grab what you can never lose!
Seek first that kingdom of God. So I will like you to examine your heart this morning. Is your heart in heaven or on earth here? Whether you like it or not, hell is real. Heaven too, is real. You need to strive for that city with a foundation whose maker and builder is God; this is the city of our God. That is what you should seek.
This year has started now and is moving at a very fast rate. You need to prioritise your spiritual life.
Spiritual growth is no longer a luxury. It is crucial and important. Can you really call yourself a Christian? Can you say you are born again? Can you really say that your heart is clean and holy? Can you really say that if, all of a sudden, as we are here now, the trumpet sounds, are you sure you will fly to meet Jesus? These are crucial and important things. Secure your salvation and the kingdom of heaven. Other things you are running after will just come by themselves.
PRAYER POINTS
- I challenge every long-term arrow in my body: pack your load, get out, in the name of Jesus.
- I disconnect my joy from every evil altar, in the name of Jesus.
- Powers fighting my progress, you are liars; die in the name of Jesus.
- Blessings that money cannot buy; locate me now, in the name of Jesus.
- Every dream programmed to limit my life, die, in the name of Jesus.
- Powers assigned to rubbish my testimonies; your time is up; die, in the name of Jesus.
- Yoke breaker, Jesus Christ, break my yoke now, in the name of Jesus.
Sing: Send down revival, Lord.
Let it start within my soul.
Holy Ghost revival
Pentecostal fire.
- O God, arise; make me your battle axe, in the name of Jesus.
- Spirit of backsliding, I bind you and I cast you out, in the name of Jesus.
- My buried projects, I command you in the name of Jesus: reappear, in the name of Jesus.
Sing: My lifetime, I will give God my lifetime, (x2)
If I give God my lifetime, He will take care of me.
He will never never let me down,
I will give God my lifetime.)
God bless you🙏
