Don't Trust in Inconsistent Material

Ezekiel 13:10-11
Because, indeed, because they have deduced my people, saying, ‘Peace!” when there is no peace—and one builds a wall, and they plaster it with untempered mortar…there will be flooding Rain, a stormy wind will tear it down.

Untempered means not brought to a proper consistency or hardness.

There is a danger in building with the wrong material. Not long ago million dollar homes had to be torn down because of “Chinese dry wall.” Many contractors tried to save money by using cheaper foreign materials that cost them more in the long run. Something in the material was causing the cooper on electrical wiring to erode and sometimes cause fires in the homes. We can waste a lot of time and effort when we build with the wrong material trying to go a cheaper and faster route.

We can build up false hopes when we haven’t heard from God on what he wants us to build with. My hopes are built on nothing less than Jesus Christ and his righteousness but there have been times in my life when I took shortcuts, listened to the wrong people, and built my house on materialistic substance that folded like a deck of cards. One of the ways we build our homes with inconsistent material is when we listen to prophets who tell us what we want to hear instead of what God is truly saying. It is so easy to tell people what they want to hear but we must be careful to tell God’s people what he needs them to hear. For priests and pastors to prophecy peace when there is no peace is like plastering a wall with untempered mortar. There was a saying back in the sixties, “no justice no peace,” meaning until we do right by God and by giving justice to the oppressed there would be no peace no matter how we tried to pretend that everything was okay. When you build with untempered mortar it puts your house in danger of falling during a storm. Mortar is supped to hold the bricks in the wall together, to fortify the strength of the brick but before the mortar is applied it must reach a certain consistency of hardness in order to hold the bricks in place. When we fall in love with prosperity preaching, and new age spirituality we don’t allow our faith to reach a certain consistency. It can’t hold us in the time of storm. Just like you can’t rely on inconsistent people in your life that come in and out, and come and go, you can’t rely on inconsistent material.

If you are going to take your faith to the next level you got to use “Tempered Material”, you got to use stuff that has built up some consistency:

1. Our faith thickens through trials and tribulation. James 1:3 because you know that he testing of your faith develops perseverance, perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

2. Our Faith thickens through consistency. Galatians 6:9 let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

3. Our faith thickens through meditating on the word of God. Psalm 1 blessed is the man who meditates on the word of God, day and night for he shall be like a tree firmly planted by the rivers of water.

4. Serving others thickens our faith.

5. Being consistent in our giving. Malachi 3:10 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit.

When we build our homes with untempered mortar God will allow storms to blow and floods to pour in and if you have plastered your walls with untempered mortar they will fall. Only what you do for Christ will last.

Dear God, build me up where I’m torn down, strengthen me where I’m weak, fill me where I’m empty. Help me to be consistent so I will not fall in the day of storm. God build up my spiritual discipline so that through my consistency I can become more like Christ and not let you down in the time of storm. My anchor grips and holds the solid rock, That Rock is Jesus. On Jesus Christ the Solid Rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.

In Jesus Name,
Amen.