I am an Architect. One of my jobs is preparing drawings for contractors to bid on and construct buildings. An Architect is responsible to protect the public health, safety and welfare of people. It is an architect's job to design buildings that are structurally sound.

Today, I am going to give you an architectural lesson in structural engineering.

PART 1 of our Structural Engineering Lesson

After the preliminary drawings and sketches have been approved by the owner, it is time to begin the working drawings.

One of the first things we have to do is: DESIGN THE FOUNDATION.

We must determine the Soil Bearing Capacity of the soil.

How much load can the soil support?

Loads must be determined and calculated for:

The FOUNDATION can then be sized and steel reinforcing bars designed.

There is an old saying that goes: A building is only as good as it's foundation.

A bad foundation can result in wall cracks, floor and walls settling.

Now let's ask a question: HOW IS YOUR SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION?

Let's read: Matthew 7:24-27, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on rock: {25} "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on rock. {26} "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: {27} "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

NOTICE: The wise man built his house upon the Rock! Who was the Rock?

The apostle Paul says, 1 Corinthians 10:4 "and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ."

We all have had major trials and tests in our lives. Sometimes a major trial can even shake our religious foundation. It would be like having a spiritual earthquake.

Did you repair your Spiritual Foundation? How did you go about repairing it?

You probably made sure it was built upon the Rock - Jesus Christ.

You reinforced your foundation with lots of:

C Prayer

C Bible Study

C Meditation

C Fasting

As an Architect, I must make sure a building meets code. As a Christian, our code book is the Bible.

As an Architect, I use a checklist to try to make a building perfect. As a Christian, we must strive to become perfect. Our checklist could be the Sermon on the Mount - Matthew 5, 6 & 7.

What is the first thing you look for at a restaurant? The Front Door! How do you find the front door? Usually the front door is a focal point of a building.

There may be a PORCH. What does a Porch usually have? A Porch usually has COLUMNS.

What do the COLUMNS do?

The Columns have two (2) functions:

C Carry the Roof Load

C Beauty

Columns could be made of wood, aluminum, steel, stone or marble.

The more prestigious the building the more beautiful are the columns. Think about your local county courthouse. The Scioto County Courthouse is a beautiful stone building with Ornate columns.

I want to cover some scriptures that describe PILLARS in the TABERNACLE: Notice the beauty of the materials related to the PILLARS.

Exodus 26:32 "The four PILLARS are of acacia wood overlaid with GOLD. Their hooks shall be GOLD, upon four sockets of SILVER."

Exodus 26:37 "You shall make for the screen five PILLARS of acacia wood, and overlay them with GOLD; their hooks shall be of GOLD, and you shall cast five sockets of bronze for them."

Exodus 27:10 "And its twenty PILLARS and their twenty sockets shall be BRONZE. The hooks of the PILLARS and their bands shall be SILVER".

I would like to QUOTE an old ‘Good News’ article (January 1982, page 8). "Every visitor to the ruins of ancient Persepolis in southwest Iran is struck by the sight of 13 soaring stone pillars. Of 100 original columns in Darius the Great's APADANA, or Audience Hall, only these 13 have stood firm and unmoved through two and a half millennia of ravaging desert winds, scouring sandstorms and exhibit hunters from various museums!"

Why did a few pillars remain standing, while others fell? Columns must be Structurally Independent.

Let's read: Revelation 3:11-12 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. {12} "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name."

In the World Tomorrow, we will be the Pillars in the Temple of the Kingdom of God. Our beauty will be our righteous character and glorification as sons of God.

Columns are designed to be: structurally independent and carry loads. As pillars in God's Government, we must be able to stand on our own, reinforced with the strength of God's love, God's law and God's way of life. We must be able to carry the load of God's Government. We are Ambassadors for Jesus Christ.

In Conclusion:

Let's read: Ephesians 2:19-22 "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, {20} having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, {21} in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, {22} in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

We are a part of the whole building that is being joined together.

We PILLARS must stand with Jesus Christ our cornerstone.