Minister Hayden Cagle preached a powerful sermon on the three steps in building our spiritual house: Foundation, Structures, and Filling the House. These are some highlights from his message. 

Have you ever considered your spiritual life as a house? One that needs to be built, repaired, and filled? This powerful analogy can help us understand how to cultivate a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God.

Let's start with the foundation. Just as a house needs a strong foundation to withstand storms, our faith needs to be built on something solid. Matthew 7:24-27 tells us about the wise man who built his house on the rock, and the foolish man who built on sand. When the storms came, only the house on the rock remained standing.

But what exactly is this rock? It's God Himself, His Word, and His promises. These form the bedrock of our faith. Interestingly, in ancient times, builders had to dig beneath the surface sand to find the solid bedrock. This reminds us that we need to go deeper than surface-level faith. We must dig into God's Word, understand His promises, and truly internalize them.

Once we have this foundation, we can start building the structure of our faith. This involves putting our beliefs into action. As James 2:26 reminds us, "Faith without works is dead." Our actions and responses should be faith-filled, based on the foundation we've laid. This might mean stepping out in trust when God calls us to do something challenging, or responding with love and forgiveness in difficult situations.

But here's a crucial point: just because we've started building doesn't mean we can't continue to expand our foundation. We should never become complacent in our understanding of God. There's always more to learn, more depths to explore in our relationship with Him. This might involve studying a new aspect of God's character, or discovering a fresh application of a familiar scripture.

Now, let's talk about repairs. Life will bring storms - that's a guarantee. These storms might shake our faith, revealing weak spots in our spiritual house. But instead of despairing, we can see these as opportunities for growth. When we face challenges, we have the chance to anchor ourselves more deeply in God's truth.

However, it's important to remember that after weathering a storm, we need to refill our spiritual tanks. Just as a car can't keep driving cross-country without refueling, we can't keep drawing on our faith without replenishing it. This is where daily time with God becomes crucial. We need to consistently go back to our foundation, rooting ourselves in God's promises and refilling our spirits.

This brings us to the third aspect: filling our spiritual house. This is something that's often overlooked, but it's vitally important. We need to fill our houses - our lives - with praise. Psalm 22:3 tells us that God inhabits the praises of His people. When we praise, we're inviting God to dwell in our lives in a more intimate way.

Think about it: praising God isn't just about singing songs on Sunday. It's about cultivating an attitude of gratitude and worship in our daily lives. It's recognizing God's hand in the small things, thanking Him for His faithfulness, and choosing to exalt Him even when circumstances are tough.

There's a beautiful image in Leviticus that illustrates this. The priests were instructed to keep the fire on the altar burning continually. They had to add wood to it every morning. In the same way, we need to tend to the fire of our devotion daily. We can't expect to remain on fire for God if we're not consistently fueling that flame.

This daily act of worship creates a powerful dynamic. It's like when wind meets fire. God is often described as a mighty wind in scripture, while our worship is likened to fire. When wind meets fire, it fuels and spreads the flame. In the same way, when our worship meets God's presence, it creates a powerful, transformative force in our lives.

We see this illustrated beautifully in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. The disciples were gathered, presumably in prayer and worship, when suddenly a mighty wind filled the room and tongues of fire appeared over each of them. This encounter with God's presence completely transformed them and birthed the early church.

So how do we apply all this to our lives? It starts with small, consistent steps of obedience and faith. Maybe for you, that means starting each day with a simple prayer of thanksgiving. Or perhaps it means choosing to praise God even when you don't feel like it. Remember, even if you can't run, you can "scoot" - take small steps of faith, and God will honor that.

As we build our spiritual houses on the solid foundation of God's Word, repair the damage from life's storms, and consistently fill our lives with praise, we create space for God to dwell and work in our lives in powerful ways. We position ourselves for transformation and growth.

So let's commit to tending our spiritual houses daily. Let's dig deep into God's Word to strengthen our foundations. Let's put our faith into action, building structures of obedience and trust. And let's fill our lives with praise, inviting God's presence to dwell with us intimately.

Remember, your spiritual house is unique. It might not look exactly like someone else's, and that's okay. What matters is that you're continually growing, learning, and drawing closer to God. As you do, you'll find that your life becomes a testament to God's faithfulness and power, a beacon of hope in a world that desperately needs it.