BUILDING RIGHT BY DR WILSON LIM

The burly man wiped the sweat from his brows as he admired his handiwork. His dream holiday home near the beach was finally completed. Nestled amongst a small huddle of houses perched upon a small cliff, it had a beautiful overlooking view of the sea. A great achievement, he thought to himself. And just in time too.

It looked like a big storm was brewing in the west and moving steadily towards his little piece of paradise.

He had just managed to close all the windows before the huge storm began lashing down. For hours the storm grew in intensity and the winds howled in anger. Suddenly he heard a loud crunching noise. Rushing to the window he saw one of his neighbour’s house crumble before the onslaught of the fierce storm. Its foundations were giving way, and the entire house groaned in protest before it gave up and slipped away down the little cliff with a terrible thud.

Dr Wilson Lim Video Interview

Building on right foundations

The foundations that we build upon are critical, as Jesus pointed out in His parable on the wise and foolish builders (Mt 7:24-27).

If we build upon the right foundations, we will be able to withstand the onslaught that may come against us. Build poorly and we may come crashing down.

Matthew 7:24-27 (New International Version)

The Wise and Foolish Builders

24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

The foundations of God's Word

May I exhort all of us to build our lives rightly upon the foundations of God’s Word.

Building upon it is not always easy for God’s Word will truly challenge the depth of our convictions and sincerity. Yet if we resolutely choose God’s way, great will be the rewards. The blessings of God’s favour will be experienced both in this life and the thereafter. Great will be our strength to fight the good fight and overcome this world. But if we choose to compromise and build upon a mixture of worldly convictions then our foundations will be uncertain and prone to caving in under the pressures of this world.

Overcoming the spiritual enemy

The Enemy will smell out the weakness of our compromised foundations and will surely exploit its flaws. Sadly, even some that have the reputation of being mighty have fallen under the schemes of the Enemy, because their foundations were not built properly.

Christ - Centred & Bible - based disciples

It is our heart to see Christ-centred and Bible-based disciples raised up across all our churches.

Thus, it is critical that we lay the right foundations in our lives. To build right, we must build deep. This takes time, this takes investment into discipleship, this takes an utter commitment to build Christ-centredness in our hearts. No easy task, but a critical one if we are to last the distance and finish well. Sometimes, it is easier to emphasize on the externals; the style, the charisma, the X-factor in our lives and in the church. Yet that is not what God seeks for. For God looks through all the external trappings to the deep issues of the heart.

May you build deep into your own lives and into the lives of others that we may develop strong churches to the glory of God.

Sincerely,

Dr. Wilson Lim
Chairman of Hope Oceania Churches