Sermon Notes

Practical Lessons for Understanding the Word of God

If the Foundations Are Destroyed

KEY PASSAGE: Psalm 11:1-7 | SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES: 1 Samuel 18:7 | John 3:16 | 2 Corinthians 5:8
Hebrews 13:5 | 1 John 1:9; 5:14-15

see us through it. This doesn’t mean we won’t

SUMMARY
experience suffering or disappointment, but the
God’s Word is a stabilizer in our lives. Lord walks with us every step of the way. His Word
is our compass and guidebook for every hardship,
Within its pages we find comfort, strength, and heartache, and problem. As long as we follow His
guidance for every situation in life. But if we instructions, we will be able to face every situation.
choose to live without the Bible, we won’t have the
David likened the foundation of a nation to that
assurance of God’s promises to help us through hard
of a building. If a house is to last, it must be built
times. These are some of the most difficult days
on a strong foundation. Otherwise, it will begin to
we have ever faced in our country. We’ve lost our
crumble, and the house will fall. In the same way,
oneness, stability, strength, and care for one another.
a nation whose foundation is weak cannot endure.
Now our nation is suffering from uncertainty,
A strong national foundation consists of law and
uneasiness, conflict, and distrust. If ever we needed
order, justice, truth, morality, decency, integrity,
to rely on the Scripture, it’s today. Such times
fairness, and trustworthiness. When these are
should lead us to cry out to God, asking Him for the
abandoned, the foundation begins to crumble, and
wisdom, courage, and obedience to do what’s right.
the nation is in danger of collapsing.

SERMON POINTS How should we respond if the foundations are

destroyed?
David was familiar with difficult situations, and
through them all, he learned to trust the Lord. n Turn to God. Like David, we can choose to say, “In
the Lord I take refuge” (v. 1). This means we place
When he faced Goliath, his confidence was not our confidence in God and become attentive to His
in himself but in the faithfulness of his God. And voice. He has given us unshakeable, absolute truth
when King Saul became jealous of David and tried in His Word. When we place our trust in what He’s
on several occasions to kill him, David fled for his said, we will receive stability and direction for our
life, hiding out in the wilderness. Psalm 11 gives lives.
us a glimpse into David’s heart at a time when his n Don’t run. David said, “How can you say to my
world was falling apart. His main question is found soul, ‘Flee as a bird to your mountain’” (v. 1).
in verse 3. Instead of trying to run away from our difficulties,
we should run to God. He’s all-powerful and knows
“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the
righteous do?” all our struggles and needs. There is no stronger
or safer refuge than almighty God. He loves us
When everything is crumbling beneath us, we must and intends for us to stand strong, firm, and true in
remember that God’s Word is our true foundation. the midst of hardship, suffering, and loss, knowing
No matter what we face, Scripture assures us that He is trustworthy. The foundations of our
that we are children of God, and He promises to physical world may crumble, and we could lose

SERMON NOTES | SN160710

 every possession we own, but even then the Lord is away from that sin and to the Lord. If we don’t
sufficient to carry us through. deal with our sins, they will hinder our prayers.
Only after our lives have been cleansed will He
How does God respond when we turn to Him? be able to use us in whatever ways He chooses.

n The Lord places us under His divine protection.

n We must be willing to encourage others.
When we are in a right relationship with Him People who don’t know Christ become frightened
and walking in obedience and submission, He when the foundations around them crumble and
determines the limits of our trials and suffering. circumstances become difficult. They look for ways
This doesn’t mean He’ll remove all pain and to protect themselves, but we can encourage them
trouble from our lives, but He guards us through it. to look to the Lord, who is the only true source
And even if we lose our lives, He promises that we of security. He will show Himself strong to those
will immediately be in His presence (2 Cor. 5:8). who are willing to trust Him. As believers, we
have a responsibility to share the teachings of
n God is available. “The LORD is in His holy
God’s Word.
temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven” (Ps. 11:4).
Nothing is beyond His control, and He is ready to
n We must pray for revival. The difficult times
hear our concerns and requests when we come to we face are larger than our own issues; our entire
Him in prayer. Whatever our needs may be, He has country is in trouble. The solution is not found in
provided assurances and promises in His Word. voting new candidates into office, but in pleading
with God to send a revival. According to history,
n God sees. “His eyes behold, His eyelids test the
revivals always begin with just a few people who
sons of men. The LORD tests the righteous and the
humbly seek the Lord. If we’ll sincerely turn away
wicked” (vv. 4-5). From His divine perspective, He
from sin and to God, a handful of individuals could
sees and knows everything, and He uses our trials
become a crowd joining together to cry out to the
to test us. We have no reason to fear evil because
Lord for our country.
we are secure in our relationship with the Lord. He
hates violence, and promises that one day He will
punish the wicked (vv. 5-6). RESPONSE
What attitude should God’s people have? n When the foundations begin to crumble, whether
personally or nationally, do you turn to God and
n We must trust the Lord. No matter what our His Word? What effect would it have on your
circumstances may be, we can believe God. emotions, thoughts, and reactions if this became
It may seem as if He’s inactive, but He’s not. your first choice?
When situations get worse, He is not sitting in
n As our society abandons its former foundation,
heaven wringing His hands. The Lord rejoices in
will you commit to interceding for our nation and
the opportunity to intervene and show Himself
asking God to revive His church?
strong for His children. Therefore, instead of
running away, we should learn to wait upon the
Lord and seek His direction.
n We must ask God for cleansing. When the
foundations around us crumble, it’s time to look
within ourselves, asking the Lord to reveal any
To purchase this message on CD or DVD,
sin in our lives. Then we must confess it and
please visit store.intouch.org or call 1-800-789-1473.
repent by making a determined choice to turn To download these Sermon Notes, visit intouch.org/sermonnotes

intouch.org

Copyright © 2016 by In Touch Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. In Touch grants permission to print for personal use only.

SERMON NOTES | SN160710