Building a Spiritual Tower

By

Jeff L. Mills

One of the greatest human needs is the need to create. This need is expressed in many different ways in different individuals. There are artists, writers, poets, inventors, designers and builders just to name a few. There is much satisfaction in creating something and seeing it through from beginning to end. Our need to create can be fulfilled as a member of the body of Christ. Today I would like to expound on an analogy that Christ used that shows that we are all builders and that we are all building a spiritual tower.

A Solid Foundation

What is the one thing that every structure requires before you can begin to build? You require a set of blueprints, or a plan. Now, not everyone can pick up a set of blueprints and understand them. God has given many people the opportunity to see his plan but, only a few understand it and respond. It is only by going to God, and asking for help, that we are able to understand his plan. It is only by the knowledge and understanding that God alone can give, that we are able to take his plan and build a complete tower on the solid foundation that he has provided for us. God will not force us to build on the foundation he has provided; it is something each of us must commit to on our own.

When we have taken God’s plan and have gone over it with him until we understand it, the foundation has been poured. Now we are ready to begin building right? Well, not exactly. The cement is still wet, it has not hardened yet. So, what needs to take place for the foundation to become solid? Time, and that time period is different for every person. We have to show God we are committed to following his plan. We have to repent, be baptized and through the laying on of hands receive the Holy Spirit. Then, as we bury the old man, accept Christ’s sacrifice, come up a new man and receive the Holy Spirit, that process is the catalyst that hardens the foundation. Christ is that foundation. 1 Co 3:11

1 Co 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Now we can step out of the world and up onto that foundation and begin to build!

Building Blocks

Now, how do you construct a tower? Well, anciently towers were constructed of stone blocks, building blocks. So, we use the knowledge that God gives to as “building blocks” to construct the tower. You know, you cannot just go out and find perfectly shaped boulders that you can use to build a wall. They must be carefully shaped so that they will fit into place. It is like a jeweler who cuts a diamond, if it is not done in an exact manner the whole stone will be ruined and the value lost.

So, we start with a pile of rough boulders. These rough boulders can be likened to the knowledge we gain about God’s way of life. They start off as rough boulders but, as we study, pray, attend services every Sabbath and learn we begin to shape these rough boulders into blocks. And once they are shaped into blocks, they are ready for placement into the wall. Now, just because we think a block is properly shaped and can be placed in the wall, doesn’t necessarily mean it is ready! God is the final judge. Sometimes he will show us where we are in error and other times if we are stubborn and forget to ask for help, he will let us forge ahead in our errors. A block we thought was fine and ready to place into the wall we are constructing, may need to be completely reshaped before it is acceptable!

Spiritual Mortar

As we add blocks to the foundation the tower wall begins to take shape. You get one layer of blocks laid down and then you begin to put another layer down on top of that one. When that one is finished then you begin to put another layer down on top of that one and so on. Anciently the blocks were shaped in such a fashion that they would interlock and provide strength. But, for the purposes of this analogy we are going to say that we are just using plain blocks, flat on all sides. After you get several layers of blocks laid down, you begin to notice that they are gaps and places where the blocks don’t mate up just right. What can you do about that problem?

We can use mortar. Mortar is a cement type of substance used to bond the blocks together and to the foundation. You spread mortar down before you put down your first layer of blocks, then you use it between each block as you set it. Then, you start all over again for the next layer. God’s spirit is like spiritual mortar. It binds all of these blocks of knowledge together, in between and top and bottom to fill in all the gaps and to bond everything together firmly in our minds to the foundation that was laid so that we may see the entirety of God’s plan and way of life. You cannot put everything together without God’s spirit!

Protection

When properly constructed, your tower will afford you protection. The more layers you add the stronger the walls will become. And we need that protection because Satan’s attacks are becoming stronger and stronger every day. Do not allow yourselves to be fooled, God’s people are being attacked more frequently and more viciously because Satan knows his time is drawing short. We have to be very careful to construct our towers properly and with quality. You could have some imperfections in your tower wall and you may be able to hide it from everyone else, but you cannot hide it from God. He knows our hearts; and what happens when your tower is attacked at a spot that is imperfect? You end up in a pile of rubble wondering what happened, caught all alone, out in the open with no protection.

1 Co 3:12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become manifest; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.

14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.

We each bear the responsibility of building our individual towers but, that does not mean we cannot share building tips with each other. It is especially important that we help each other now as we see Satan’s attacks becoming more vicious and frequent. In Hebrews 10:25, we are told to exhort each other all the more as we see the day approaching. And in Proverbs 27:17, we are told that iron sharpens iron.

A Lifelong Process

This tower that each of us is building is a lifetime achievement; it takes a lifetime of learning to complete this tower. The older we get the harder it becomes to lug those blocks up the steps of the tower to the next level and then lift them into place. But, we must keep going. One foot in front of the other, never giving up, never losing site of our goal, to see our tower through to completion. This will be our magnum opus, our masterpiece. Yet, it is not really ours, but God’s, for he who has begun a good work in us will complete it. God gives us all the materials we need free of charge to construct our tower.

It is not an easy task to construct a tower. Christ said that we should count the cost before we started construction on our tower. There will be setbacks, obstacles and all manners of roadblocks that must be overcome during the construction process: Lu 14:28 “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it- 29 “lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 “saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’

It is up to each of us to make the most of the materials God gives us. And on that great day when Christ returns and each of us leaves this physical body, or are resurrected if we have left this life beforehand, at that moment the capstone will be placed on our tower.

So brethren, we have the materials, we have the plans. Each of us must be working steadily everyday, to build our tower, as if it were our last.