Foundations of Sapphire
Pastor David T. Elms 7/12/2026
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39:14
Summary
Pastor David T. Elms explores Isaiah 54, encouraging those facing affliction and discomfort that God is building a beautiful, enduring foundation of sapphire beneath their lives. He challenges the congregation to move beyond shallow 'happy talk' and material security to find true stability through the Holy Spirit and the Word.
Key points
- •Isaiah 54 outlines a promise specifically for those who are 'afflicted, storm-tossed, and not comforted,' promising foundations rebuilt with sapphires.
- •There is a distinction between facts and truth; while facts may include current struggles or failures, the greater truth is found in God's promises and our identity in Him.
- •A godly foundation is an engineering necessity rather than a cosmetic luxury, designed to withstand the wind, gravity, and seismic shaking of life's trials.
- •The heritage of the servants of the Lord is rooted in the Word and the Holy Spirit, not in material success, noise, or social connections.
- •True spiritual growth requires leaning into 'uncomfortable' moments, such as intentional silence, repentance, and standing firm in the Word during storms.
Scripture
Foundation
Suffering
Truth vs. Facts
Spiritual Discipline
Hope
Life application
Commit to one hour of silence each day this week to listen for God's voice, moving beyond 'noise' to seek true communion. When faced with a challenging fact about your situation, intentionally speak the greater biblical truth that overrides it.
Reflection questions
- In what areas of your life are you currently 'tempest-tossed' or 'not comforted,' and how does the promise of a sapphire foundation change your perspective?
- How often do you mistake 'noise' or 'activity' in your spiritual life for actual progress and communion with God?
- Are there 'facts' in your life right now that are trying to hijack your belief in the deeper 'truth' of God's love for you?
- What does it mean to you personally that the power of prayer lies in the name of Jesus rather than the status of the person praying?
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Full transcript
0:00Amen. Amen. Amen. Well,
0:00it's good to be in the house of the Lord
0:02with you, all thou afflicted. Isaiah
0:0454:7,
0:07I mean 547-17
0:09was our text. But Isaiah said something
0:11very curious in this scripture. Oh thou
0:15afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not
0:18comforted.
0:19Behold, I will lay thy stones with fair
0:23colors, and lay thy foundations
0:27with sapphires. I'm going to unpack
0:32uh the word foundations
0:34with sapphires for to for your hearing
0:37today. Uh this is a month of
0:40consecration
0:41and that means you're praying prayers
0:43that nobody hears.
0:45You are practicing an integrity that no
0:50one necessarily applauds.
0:53You are granting forgivenesses
0:56that really no one will know about. And
0:59you are this week embracing
1:02the idea that you're going to turn
1:04everything off for an hour a day. and
1:07listen
1:09for what the Lord would say unto you. We
1:12interpret prayer as speaking so much of
1:15the time.
1:17But listening is just as important as
1:20speaking. But because we're Americans,
1:24we think we've got to be making noise to
1:27be making progress.
1:30We think that noise is progress when
1:32sometimes
1:34the Lord says, "Be still and know that I
1:37am God."
1:39When I assess the messages that I preach
1:43to this congregation,
1:46I'm not here to try to bring to you
1:49things that make you want to shout. I
1:52hope sometimes I do. I don't always want
1:57to bring you words that make you feel
2:00happy.
2:02I hope many times that the words I give
2:05you make you feel happy. But I I I'm not
2:09trying to be a great preacher as much as
2:13I am someone who communicates truth to
2:18you.
2:19And I this past week, I don't know who
2:23all I said it to, but it was in my
2:24spirit very much. And if I prayed for
2:27you, you might have heard me say this.
2:29God put in my spirit that the facts are
2:33not always the truth. And when the enemy
2:36shows up and talks to you, many times he
2:39does have facts. And what you hear him
2:44say are actual truth facts I should say
2:49that are a part of your life story.
2:52Things that happened this last week,
2:54things you're facing, moments that that
2:58that's happening right now. But the
3:00facts are not always in the same context
3:04as the truth. And you can be hijacked
3:08with a few facts that can take your mind
3:12off a bigger truth that is far more
3:16important.
3:18My wife can talk to me sometimes with
3:20the tone
3:22that the facts of that tone feels a lot
3:25like disrespect.
3:31But the truth of her life is that she
3:34immensely
3:36respects me.
3:39The facts of her tone can hijack my
3:42response
3:47because I hear that tone as being
3:50disregarding,
3:52dismissive, and disrespectful.
3:55And I have to stop myself. I know I've
3:58got a lot of men wanting to say amen
4:00right now.
4:02I have to stop myself and say that fact
4:06that I'm facing is not the truth of this
4:09relationship
4:11because I know her life speaks
4:15all day every day. This is my man.
4:23>> [cheering and applause]
4:29>> But when I come to preach, I do
4:33[applause and cheering]
4:37I I I'm I'm tired of happy talk. Have
4:40you ever been around somebody that
4:41always is talking happy talk? It it gets
4:44worrisome. It's like, come on, let's
4:46deal with the reality, okay? I I don't
4:50want happy talk all of the time. And
4:52when I come with a message, I don't want
4:54to just get a message to where I feel as
4:57if I am just providing you a chance to
5:00agree with me. I want to give you
5:03something that's substantive and and
5:06gravitas and with gravity and with power
5:10and with reality and with truth, the
5:13kind that sets one free. You shall know
5:16the truth and the truth shall set you
5:20free. My praise can be a noise maker. I
5:25have been in churches where I felt like
5:28all they were trying to get was noise.
5:31And the more they pressed, the more they
5:34real I felt like maybe I was wrong, but
5:36I felt like they thought that noise
5:39meant that it was all good. And there
5:43are sometimes that I want to give noise
5:45and make it to the Lord, but I want to
5:48do it not because I have to do it, but
5:51because I want to do it. And I'm just a
5:55little bit fleshly enough that when I'm
5:57told to do something, sometimes I want
6:00to push back a little bit. I'll get
6:03around to doing it, but I don't want to
6:05do it just because you told me so. But
6:07if you'll let me just give my praise to
6:10the Lord, then you're not going to shut
6:13me down because he's worthy of my
6:15praise. Now, he's worthy of my praise,
6:17which is noise, by the way. Praise is
6:19noise. That's the reason the the people
6:21who were trying to tell Jesus that they
6:23had gone out of sight, they said it's
6:25too loud. Praise is making a joyful
6:28noise unto the Lord. And so, that is
6:31praise. But it's not noise that the
6:33church is built on. It's built on
6:35praise. It's built on people who want to
6:38give the Lord expressions of
6:41thanksgiving and gratitude.
6:44And yet there are times that I'm facing
6:48circumstances that are not always
6:51uh simple.
6:53And in the context specifically of our
6:56text, it's a unique context because it
7:00it it is addressed specifically to
7:03people who are not in tranquil places.
7:06places that are in a storm, people that
7:08are not comfortable and content. There
7:11are three descriptions in 54:11 of
7:14Isaiah that the Bible says are
7:17precursors to the promise. And that is
7:20the afflicted, the storm tossed, and the
7:23not comforted. Those three strange
7:28setups, those three descriptors that are
7:31the precursor to this promise which
7:34requires us to look at what's coming to
7:38the afflicted, to the storm tossed, and
7:41to the not comfortable.
7:50Me and my wife love each other,
7:54but she's got this new thing in for the
7:56bed
7:58that blows cold air under the sheets.
8:04This is not a free deal, but I have to
8:09tuck extra blankets.
8:13And even then, I at times am not
8:16comfortable.
8:18I wake up cold.
8:22So I got to put all these barriers
8:25between me and that
8:30not comfortable.
8:33Why am I telling you that?
8:36Have you ever been not comfortable?
8:39>> Have you pretended like you're
8:41comfortable and you're not?
8:43Have you ever sat in a place? It's not
8:46comfortable, but because you're gracious
8:48enough to endure the thing that is not
8:51comfortable because you cherish the
8:53relationship, you cherish the
8:55friendship, you cherish the the the
8:57communion that you decide, I'm going to
9:00stay not comfortable even though it's
9:03not comfortable. I'm going to stay right
9:05here because I'm not just living for my
9:08comfort.
9:10This is what you have to raise your
9:11children. Learning that life isn't
9:13always about your comfort.
9:15>> This is why you got to hold down a job.
9:17Just because your job and your boss is
9:19not comfortable doesn't mean you got to
9:21quit.
9:24>> Why? Because sometimes you got to stay
9:26in the not comfortable place.
9:30>> Now, what what's going on here? The Lord
9:32is recognizing that there are times and
9:35seasons in your life when it's just
9:37going to feel not comfortable. And here
9:41is this strange statement which requires
9:44an excavation. And it is behold the Lord
9:48said "Behold
9:50I will lay thy foundation with
9:53sapphires." This is not a cosmetic
9:55upgrade. God addresses this thing called
9:59a foundation. It's beneath the obvious
10:02and it's not just a curiosity, but it is
10:05something that he's trying to get you to
10:07understand. When you're facing tempest
10:10tossed, when you're facing afflicted,
10:13when you're facing not comfortable,
10:17those are that that's not a word you're
10:19used to reading in your Bible, is it?
10:22The not comfortable.
10:25When you're facing not comfortable, the
10:27Lord gives us this unique
10:30truth.
10:32I will lay your foundation with
10:35sapphires. The word foundation is a word
10:37that is an engineering term. It's the
10:39language of construction. And yet, when
10:41we hear the word foundation, it's
10:43something we're very familiar with both
10:46metaphorically and in reality. When this
10:49church building was built, the
10:51foundation was poured. They put in
10:53footings. But as the foundation was
10:55poured, people brought their personal
10:58Bible and laid it in the concrete, as
11:02the concrete was poured throughout this
11:05entire building. So no matter where
11:07you're sitting, you might be sitting on
11:11someone's Bible.
11:13What was that all about? Well, we hope
11:16it stands in a storm. It's made it
11:18through a few, but we did it because
11:20it's more than metaphor. It's the
11:22reality that we're going to build our
11:24life on the word of God. We're going to
11:28build our life not just steel and mortar
11:31and footings and all of the anchor bolts
11:34that make a beam stand strong, but we're
11:37going to build it on something more than
11:39just the material structure of
11:42construction. But my life, my family, my
11:46marriage, my friendships, they need a
11:49strong foundation. I don't want them to
11:52be built just on the frivolous and on
11:55the cosmetics of life. I I've always uh
11:58been wary of those who who only like to
12:01walk around with pretty people.
12:05Can I just deal with that for a moment?
12:07I'm always wary of the people. And of
12:10course, it doesn't show when people get
12:11older. But in middle school, you see it
12:14in middle school. There's those clubs
12:16that it's supposedly the pretty people.
12:18And it's so cruel and it can be so mean
12:21and so unbecoming because they are
12:24revealing how shallow of a person they
12:27are. They don't see the value of
12:29humanity if they're just measuring by
12:32the cosmetic that is surrounding
12:35someone.
12:36I want to have a deeper walk with
12:38somebody. I want to have a deeper
12:40relationship with the Lord than just
12:42does it always look good? Does it always
12:45seem to be good? Some people have got to
12:47always have things that look good around
12:50them. Ladies and gentlemen, that is not
12:52life. The truly stable and the truly
12:55enduring are those who have built it on
12:58something that cannot be seen. And that
13:00is a foundation that is sure and
13:04steadfast.
13:08The Lord asked through David, "If the
13:10foundations be destroyed, what are the
13:13righteous to do?" For no one can lay a
13:17foundation other than that which is
13:18laid, Paul told us. And that foundation
13:21is Christ Jesus. So when I praise and
13:24when I pray and when these prayer teams
13:26come up here to pray, the power is not
13:29in the individuals who come lay hands on
13:32them. And I love how people will come,
13:34not just the people that are prayer
13:36teams, but Lex Emmers know it. And this
13:38is why there's been a growth in this
13:39church of those who are quick to get out
13:42of the aisle and walk down and pray for
13:44individuals during this time. But the
13:46power isn't the size of the crowd. The
13:49power is in the name of Jesus Christ.
13:52And if you have the cool group or the
13:54other group or you're just your friends,
13:57the reason we don't have no spectacular
13:59superstar teams is because the power is
14:03not in the the the authority of the
14:05person standing there. The power is in
14:08the name of Jesus. And if it's a child
14:11that says his name or if it's an elder
14:13that says his name, the power is in the
14:16foundation which is Jesus Christ. No
14:20other foundation can be laid except that
14:23which is laid. I will lay in Zion a
14:26foundation stone, a tested stone, a
14:30precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.
14:35Foundations are not decorative. They are
14:37systems built to deal with loads. built
14:40with a wind load, with a a shaking, a a
14:44gravity, a seismic shaking, then
14:47disregarded foundations lead to
14:50catastrophic failures. We know better
14:53than just about any place in the world
14:55about a a foundation that was eroded
14:58right here on our beach in Deer uh is it
15:01Deerfield Beach where that came down?
15:03Where was that that came down, Brother
15:04Garfinkle?
15:06>> Surfside. Surfside, which is all South
15:09Florida to me, okay? But right there in
15:12Surfside, just 10 miles from here,
15:14because that foundation had slowly been
15:17neglected. It had not been kept. And
15:19little by little, the erosion of that
15:22foundation finally brought that building
15:24to a devastation because it had been
15:27neglected. Oh, thou afflicted or thou
15:31tempest tossed and not comforted.
15:33Behold, I sayeth the Lord will lay stone
15:37thy stones with fair colors, and lay thy
15:40foundation with sapphires. Now, who is
15:43this for? You know, there's some verses
15:45we like in this chapter. I love the 54th
15:49of Isaiah. I I quote it all the time.
15:52Stretch forth the curtains of thy
15:54habitation.
15:56Lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy
15:58stakes. It's the beginning of 54 of
16:01Isaiah. We know that one. I love the
16:03part where the Bible says, "This is as
16:05the waters of Noah. I will never again
16:09flood the earth as I did Noah's
16:11generation." That makes me have
16:13happiness. Every time I see a rainbow, I
16:16think he said he will never do it again.
16:20I love that verse. I also love that
16:22verse that we all love to quote. A bunch
16:25of folks quote it. No weapon formed
16:27against me shall prosper.
16:30But that's where they stop quoting
16:33because the verse also says, "This is
16:36the heritage
16:38of the servants of the Lord." If you're
16:42not a servant of the Lord, don't be
16:44quoting, "No weapon formed against me
16:47shall prosper."
16:50That is not yours.
16:54You can quote it and sing about it and
16:56dance about it, but if you're not a
16:57servant of the Lord, that is not your
17:00heritage.
17:02>> There's people that have lived like hell
17:04all week long and show up at church and
17:07dance that there's no weapon formed
17:09against them that shall prosper. That's
17:12not yours. Get that out of your pocket.
17:16>> That's the heritage of the servants of
17:18the Lord.
17:20>> The authority of this church is not on
17:22the building. we've got or the property
17:24we've got or the music we have. The
17:26authority is am I built on the word of
17:28God. That's what I'm going to be judged
17:30out of. It's not how loud I can shout or
17:33how high I can jump or how long even I
17:35can talk in tongues. What matters is am
17:38I walking in the word. That's the reason
17:40this week there's going to be a whole
17:41bunch of folk that's going to have an
17:43hour of silence because they're going to
17:45sit there and say, "Lord, talk to me. I
17:49want to know what you have to say. I'm
17:51not in the business of building a social
17:53club. I'm not in the business of putting
17:56together another nonprofit. This is not
17:58a church that's just built to be called
18:00a church. This is the church of the
18:03living God. And it's got to have
18:05something built for us by God, not by
18:08men.
18:10>> If God's not building the house, the
18:12Bible said, "Except the Lord build the
18:14house, what? What? Tell me. Tell me."
18:17You know what the scripture says. If the
18:19Lord doesn't build the house, what
18:21happens?
18:22>> They labor. How?
18:24>> Somebody say, "In vain."
18:27>> It's vain. If the Lord doesn't build the
18:29house, I don't care how much concrete we
18:31pour and how much asphalt we have and
18:34how much land we're building on. If the
18:37Lord doesn't build the house, it's a
18:39vain house. That's the reason I'm not
18:41shouting because of carpeting and and
18:43all of the equipment and the accutrants
18:45of religion. I am in this place because
18:48there's some folks who understand the
18:51Lord is building this house. The Lord is
18:54building my marriage. The Lord
18:56[screaming] is building my children. The
18:59Lord is building my family. The
19:02[screaming] Lord is building my company.
19:06There's some great companies built
19:08without the Lord's help. There are. I
19:11live in a great neighborhood and all up
19:13and down my neighborhood are people that
19:15they don't go to church
19:18and they've got a wonderful house. But
19:20let me tell you that house can come down
19:22just like that.
19:23>> Just like that. We're all going to die
19:26one day. I don't know if you follow the
19:27news, but Senator Lindsey Graham was
19:30talking in Ukraine just yesterday and
19:33now he's visiting the judgment hall
19:36today because he died last night. And
19:39they say they believe it was a a heart
19:42uh blood clot that traveled from being
19:4613 hours in an airplane yesterday. I'm
19:49just I'm just saying I don't know
19:51exactly what it was, but he can be
19:54standing and reported on the news in one
19:57day and and fly away the very next day
19:59because if you build your house down
20:02here, I promise you it's not going to
20:04stand. But when I go to my on my knees
20:07in prayer and when I give of my first
20:10fruits to the king, this is what I'm
20:12doing. I'm laying up from the material
20:14world and I'm putting it into a heavenly
20:17world. He said, "Lay not up treasure for
20:20yourself on earth where where moth and
20:23dust doth corrupt or rust doth corrupt,
20:26but lay up for yourself treasures in
20:29heaven." When I love a lost person, I'm
20:32putting treasure in heaven. When I pray
20:35for my neighbor, I'm putting treasure in
20:37heaven. When I hold up the light, when
20:40I'm facing a bad client and they've been
20:43saucy with me and I don't get saucy
20:45back, I'm laying up treasure in heaven
20:48where moth and rust.
20:52>> See, people can build on this earth down
20:55here below. And I'm trying to build down
20:58here below. My wife's wanting putting
21:01new tile in my house. We haven't got
21:04flooring since 1997. For some reason,
21:07she thinks it needs to be adjusted. I
21:09don't see any reason for it. I think
21:11it's I think 1997 tile is plenty good. I
21:16mean, I was there when it was laid. I
21:18think it last perfectly. But let me tell
21:21you, if you're laying a floor on this
21:23earth,
21:25but you're not laying a foundation in
21:27heaven.
21:29>> Here's the thing. You can't lay that.
21:31Only the Lord can lay that for you. And
21:33he said, "You who are tempest tossed,
21:36you who are afflicted, you who are
21:38uncomfortable, behold, I will lay thy
21:41stones with many colors. I will make
21:44your foundation out of sapphire. The
21:47tabernacle on this earth, they had no
21:50floor in it. You read about the
21:52tabernacle that Moses had constructed,
21:54that God had instructed him on, and it
21:57was laid with gold underneath these
22:00badger skins dyed red. And there were
22:02many cherubam and serarapum and articles
22:05of gold and and a altar of brass and a
22:08labor of brass which was made from the
22:11mirror work of the ladies. And they
22:13built these phenomenal instruments. But
22:16when you went into the tabernacle, while
22:18there was specific garments that was
22:21situated and sewn for the priest to wear
22:24that were eloquent and beautiful and
22:27white in their colors with various
22:29splashes of color in them. And the high
22:32priest would wear a vesture and a
22:34breastplate with precious stones on it.
22:37And yet when they walked in, there was
22:39no fancy footwear. They were to be
22:42barefoot when they walked in the
22:44tabernacle and they were to have their
22:46feet in the dirt. And I'll always
22:49remember in 1995 when I was ordained as
22:53a minister, the message that was
22:55preached by brother Crabtree was the
22:57message about the footwear of the
22:59priest. And he said, "Remember the
23:02kingdom you're going to be a part of has
23:04many beautiful things in it, but don't
23:06ever forget that your feet are still in
23:10the dirt." Why did God do that? He could
23:13have had some phenomenally constructed
23:16shoes for his priests, but he wanted
23:18them to remember something. On this
23:20earth, there's no real foundation. If
23:23your foundation is trusted in things
23:25material, in things of this earth,
23:27you've got a flawed foundation. But if
23:29you build on a sure foundation, if you
23:32build on a tried stone, a tested
23:35cornerstone, a sure foundation, then you
23:39are building on something far more
23:41beautiful and more glorious than
23:43anything you can have on this earth.
23:46>> Anything.
23:49I I I I've been told in Ocala where our
23:51district conference is about this
23:54amazing hotel. Sister, come. I'm
23:56closing. It's called the WEC
24:00and uh in the Pentecostal
24:03language we know WEC as World Evangelism
24:08Center which among the ministry it's
24:10sort of a comedy. We use that as jokes
24:14with one another. Have you checked in
24:15with the WEC? You know this one of our
24:18jokes back and forth. Pardon me with my
24:21gallows humor among the ministry, but uh
24:25you know, have you really checked with
24:26the WC on that? But up there in Ocala,
24:32you need to go see the World Equestrian
24:37Center.
24:39It is the Super Bowl of the Horse
24:42Jumping World.
24:44And I didn't know how amazing it was,
24:49but I went this week. Brother Zach and
24:52Sister Winter got their ministerial
24:54license and as a little gift to them, I
24:56took them to dinner and I said, "I want
24:58you to meet me at the yellow pony." And
25:01I took them to the Yellow Pony. Now,
25:02there's another place there called
25:04Stirrups that some of you who have a
25:07little extra coin, you can go to
25:09Stirrups. But for those in my category,
25:12you go eat at the yellow pony. But when
25:15I went into the foyer of this WEC, it is
25:18worth if you can't afford to stay there.
25:21I think it's about 260 a night if you
25:22get special Florida rates. Okay. But out
25:25of Florida rates are I think 350 a
25:28night. I haven't spent the night there
25:29yet. But uh although we did let brother
25:33Sean Hick and I sent them after his
25:34sister died, we sent them there and uh
25:37and that they had a little bit of time
25:39for the gr the kids to see the horses.
25:41But y'all know when you enter the foyer
25:44of that place, it's like white marble
25:47and it's and it's got this black
25:51framing. It is so beautiful. The whole
25:53thing, a fireplace that's almost as
25:55white as this platform. I mean it is the
25:58most eloquent, beautiful, elegant,
26:01eloquent and elegant both of them. Foyer
26:05of a hotel you will ever seen. In fact,
26:07I was sitting there with brother Fuller
26:09who's a construction man and he looked
26:11up at the uh at the framework and all of
26:15the fancy molding up there and he threw
26:19two words at me. I still don't know that
26:20I've got them right, but he said that's
26:23that's 13. Was it 13 levels? I don't
26:27know. It was 13. Brother Marty, do you
26:30know the construction word when you have
26:32new molding and then you go another
26:33level of molding and another level of
26:35molding? Anyway, it was 13 levels of
26:40molding.
26:42I looked up and I thought, man, I I have
26:44one level of molding in my house.
26:48And that's nice. Listen, it's nice. If
26:51you've ever been in my house, that one
26:53level's nice.
26:55But 13 levels of moldy.
26:59Andrew, I know you're going to get at
27:00least six for Madison.
27:03Six levels of moldy.
27:06I mean, you you know what I'm talking
27:08about.
27:1013 levels. And I looked up. He said,
27:13"Uh, that's probably $6 million worth of
27:16molding right here. Just here you
27:17million." I thought six million just for
27:20the Is it called molding? Is that the
27:22right word?
27:22>> Trim.
27:23>> Trim.
27:24Glory. Trim. Got another word in my
27:27lexicon.
27:28Trim. I always thought that's the way I
27:31looked. Trim. Now, now I'm finding out
27:33there's other descriptions for it. I
27:36appreciate y'all smiling at me. Y'all
27:38are such a kind church. Hear me. Hear
27:41me. Crown tool. Is that
27:44>> crown round?
27:45>> Crown.
27:46>> Crown molding.
27:49I'm going to wear a crown. I'm going to
27:51wear a bright and shining crown.
27:56Let me tell you the Lord said,
28:00"You tempest to
28:02you afflicted,
28:05you servants."
28:07He's talking to the servants of God.
28:09That's who he's talking to. The whole
28:1154th chapter of Isaiah, he said, "You
28:14who are afflicted, you who are tempests
28:16tossed, you who are not
28:21comfortable.
28:24Behold, I will lay thy stones, [music]
28:26and I will lay thy foundation,
28:29sire.
28:33What I'm saying is on this earth you
28:35shall have tribulation,
28:38but be of good cheer.
28:41I go away to prepare you a place that
28:44where I am,
28:47there you may be also.
28:49I'm I'm I'm on this earth seeing the
28:52trouble and feeling the pain and
28:55experiencing the stress of a generation
28:58that's connected to everything. They're
29:01connected everywhere, but they're
29:02seeking communion.
29:05They have connection, but no communion.
29:07And when you come to the house of the
29:09Lord, as much as we're going to have an
29:11enjoyable time and greet one another and
29:13shake one another's hand, if you don't
29:16get communion with God, then you're
29:19going to walk out of this place still
29:21scrolling at 2 in the morning trying to
29:23find something to bring you joy
29:27because it's only communion. It's not
29:29connection. And when you get in his
29:32presence, it doesn't matter what you're
29:34facing. You got to understand if you're
29:36not comfortable, if you're afflicted, if
29:38you're tempest tossed, there's one Lord
29:41who's coming to tell you, I'm going to
29:44prepare a place for you right now that
29:47you may not be there, but I'm coming
29:49again. And the Bible said of these that
29:52follow him, they desire a better
29:54country, that is a heavenly wherefore
29:57God is not ashamed to be called their
30:01God. And so while we have carpet here
30:04and I don't encourage anybody to take
30:07your shoes off during church,
30:09if you were able to serve in the
30:12tabernacle of Moses, you would have to
30:15be barefoot
30:17in the dirt. And the whole time it was a
30:21reminder that this world is not your
30:25home. So when I open this altar for you
30:28to come and pray about a foundation, I'm
30:30praying that you'll understand. I don't
30:33need you to say fancy words to the Lord.
30:36I need you to come up here and be very
30:38real with God and say, "Lord, I want the
30:41Holy Ghost because the Bible tells me if
30:45that same spirit that raised up Christ
30:47from the dead dwell in me, not if I
30:49think I have it, do I have it?" Not if
30:53somebody told me I have it, do I have
30:55it? I know some people like brother Hail
30:57who got the Holy Ghost when it when he
30:59was a young man, but he never felt that
31:02confirmation.
31:04And he finally got that confirmation
31:06from God. All that we have is that they
31:09will speak with tongues. But there is
31:11more to this thing than just tongues
31:14because I've watched people talk in
31:15tongues and but there was no fruit in
31:17their life.
31:20Now, does that give me the license to
31:21see people who have fruit in their life
31:23but no tongues and say, "Wow, you've got
31:25the Holy Ghost." No. No. No. Because the
31:28Bible doesn't give us that authority.
31:31No. The Bible said, "You shall speak
31:34with new tongues after that the Holy
31:36Ghost has come upon you." And so, you
31:38can jump, you can give, you can love
31:40God, you can call me pastor, but if you
31:43don't have the Holy Ghost, when the Lord
31:45comes, you will not be changed.
31:51Did I say that clearly?
31:54If that same spirit that raised up
31:58Christ from the dead dwell in you, does
32:01it? Does it? Oh, well, I smile when I
32:04come to church. That's not what I'm
32:05talking about. Does the same spirit that
32:08raised up Christ from the dead dwell in
32:10you? Well, I believed on the Lord and
32:12I've received him on my heart. That's
32:14not what I asked.
32:16Do you have the Holy Spirit that raised
32:19up Christ from the dead? Because it's a
32:21big if,
32:23if that same spirit that raised up
32:27Christ from the dead dwell in you, it
32:30shall also enliven, that's the other
32:33word for quicken. It shall enliven your
32:37mortal body.
32:41The pastor, do you remember how old
32:43brother Gford was?
32:45He was in his 30s. A pastor from
32:48Jacksonville area passed away this past
32:51week. And uh there were many people who
32:54was at the funeral there in
32:55Jacksonville, Florida. I was talking to
32:56brother Tisdale this morning. He was at
32:59the funeral
33:0130some years old in a casket. Beautiful
33:04family.
33:07Cancer took him.
33:10I hate it.
33:13But folks, there's a reason why you're
33:15praising God today. It's not to get your
33:18feelood on.
33:20It's so that you know, [music] come what
33:23may, if I'm tempest tossed, if I'm
33:26afflicted,
33:27or if I'm not comfortable. You say, "But
33:31brother Elms, when you open the altar,
33:33you don't know how uncomfortable it is
33:35to come down to the altar."
33:38I realize that. I know it's not
33:39comfortable.
33:42You're not going to stop it. I'm going
33:45to keep opening the altar every Sunday
33:48for those who are willing to get not
33:50comfortable to say, "Lord, I'm not doing
33:53this because I want to be
33:55uncomfortable."
33:57No, we're doing this because I want to
33:59stand on
34:03truth. [snorts]
34:06Baptized in his name. Not wet. Baptized
34:11in his name.
34:13filled with the Holy Ghost with the
34:15initial sign [music] of speaking with
34:17other tongues.
34:19Repentance all the time. Repentance.
34:24You say, "Pastor, please let us go.
34:31Can't you see it's almost noon?
34:37Shall we stand?"
34:40Heavenly Father,
34:44you're building us a home that has a
34:47foundation of sapphire.
34:50It's beautiful. It's not just strong.
34:53It's not just hard. It's not just
34:56lasting. It's not just enduring,
34:59but you said it's beautiful, too.
35:02And yet in this [music] life, we shall
35:04have tribulation.
35:06We're going to serve you in the good
35:08times
35:10and we're going to serve you [music] in
35:11the bad.
35:13Tempest tossed, afflicted or
35:15uncomfortable, I'm going to serve you
35:18because you went away to build me a
35:21house and you're [music] coming back
35:23again.
35:25You're coming back again.
35:27Heaven is beautiful, folks.
35:30Heaven is glorious.
35:33Why sapphire? Well, it's blue.
35:39It's blue.
35:42Is it because it's blue? No. It's just
35:45one of the beautiful things that God
35:49made.
35:51That's where we're headed.
35:57Somebody here needs to make a new
35:59consecration to the Lord and say, "Oh
36:02God, in the middle of my world, I want
36:06communion."
36:08I'm opening this altar for those who
36:10would like to come and pray for just a
36:11[music] little while this morning.
36:13You would like to make sure your
36:15foundations
36:17are sure
36:19that they are beautiful, that they are
36:22true, that they are just. They're coming
36:26right now. Keep coming. Keep coming.
36:29Keep coming. Don't wait for the music.
36:32Sometimes we get mood music. No, we
36:34don't need mood mood. No, we don't need
36:36any mood music. We just need a decision.
36:40I just I just want to make a decision.
36:42I'm just coming to serve you, Lord. I'm
36:45just walking down as [music] a symbol.
36:49It's just a sign that I'm not building
36:53on my company. I'm not building on my
36:55investments. I'm not I'm not building on
36:58the things that you've done for me
37:00financially. I'm not building on my
37:03home. I'm not building on the material
37:05things that I have around me. [music]
37:08I am here in this house to tell you
37:11Lord, build me a house. Only you can
37:16build it. Will you build me a house,
37:19Lord? [music] I want the house built by
37:22you. I don't need a home builder on this
37:25earth. [music] I need a home builder in
37:27heaven. I don't need a general
37:30contractor on earth. I want a general
37:33contractor in heaven.
37:35Oh Lord, I don't care what they're
37:37[music] doing in Bickl. I don't care
37:39what they're doing downtown Fort
37:41Lauderdale. I don't care how they're
37:43building homes up in West Palm. I want
37:46somebody to build me a house in heaven.
37:50Build my house, Lord. Build my house,
37:53Lord. [music]
37:54Fill me with all of you. I don't want
37:57feel-good religion. I want to [music]
37:59build my house on truth. I want to build
38:02my prayers on honesty. [music] I want to
38:05build my prayers on integrity. I want to
38:08build my praise, on a thoughtful [music]
38:12approach to your majesty. I want to
38:15build my life not so I can get a raise
38:18here at my job. Not so that I can get a
38:21promotion from my boss. Oh God, not so I
38:24can just upgrade my home. I want to
38:27build a foundation and I want you to
38:31build me a house, oh Lord. Build [music]
38:34me a foundation of sapphire.
38:37Oh God, in the middle of my trauma, in
38:41the middle of my roots of challenge, my
38:44moments of bitterness, my times of being
38:49tempest tossed, [music]
38:50my times of suffering affliction.
38:54Oh Lord, in the middle of my affliction,
38:59build me a house. Oh Lord, in [music]
39:02the middle of my discomfort,
39:05build me a house. Build me a foundation
39:08of sapphire. [music]
39:13Yes, Lord. I'm not just trying to get