Text: Hebrews 11:10, 13:14; Matthew 6:19–21
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.
