Parkway Baptist Sunday AM September 27, 2026 - Finding Balance in an Unbalanced World - Dr. David Sa

Paul lays down the foundation plain and clear: no man can lay any other foundation than Jesus Christ. Christ is solid, square, and sure. Christ will not crack, fade away, or fail the soul that builds upon Him. The question is not whether the foundation will stand, but what each believer builds on that foundation.

The desert pump brings that choice into view. The cup of water offers a quick sip for the moment, but pouring it into the pump requires faith that more water is coming. The contrast presses hard: life can be spent on the trinkets and toys of this world, or it can be poured into what God has promised but cannot yet be seen.

Paul says every man’s work shall be made manifest. God will review not merely the outward action, but the counsel of the heart, the motives, attitudes, obedience, and hidden things that nobody else saw. The fiery eyes of God will test the work, not according to its size, but according to what sort it is. Wood, hay, and stubble will be gone in an instant, but gold, silver, and precious stones will abide.

The Bema seat pictures the day when every believer gives an account before Christ. God has watched the race, and He knows whether it was run according to the Book. The reward is not earned by having somebody else’s platform, wealth, talent, or opportunities. The reward rests on faithfulness with what God placed in each person’s hand.

Mary shows what that faithfulness looks like. Mary did not measure out a little ointment and save the rest for herself. Mary broke the box and poured it all on Jesus, while the critics called waste what Christ called worship. Christ’s words settle the matter: “She hath done what she could.”

The warning remains sobering. Salvation rests in Christ alone, but a saved life can still suffer loss when its work burns up. The call is to refuse a wasted life, to run with patience, and to live for the day when heaven comes fully into view. Only one life will soon be passed, and only what is done for Christ will surely last.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Build with what will remain Paul does not measure a life by its public size, visible influence, or impressive numbers. God looks at the sort of work that was done, testing its substance through motives, attitudes, and obedience. A life may look successful before people and still prove to be wood, hay, and stubble before the Lord. [76:20]
• 2. God sees the hidden heart God will bring hidden things into the light and make manifest the counsels of the heart. External religious activity cannot cover bitterness, pride, empty promises, or a desire for personal praise. The day of review calls for honest confession now, while grace still invites the heart to be cleansed. [65:24]
• 3. Do what you can for Christ Mary was not asked to possess another person’s resources, position, or opportunities. Christ honored her because she took what was in her hand and poured it out for Him. Faithfulness becomes personal when God’s gifts are no longer compared, withheld, or wasted, but offered back for His glory. [83:51]
• 4. Do not settle for a sip The cup in the desert pictures the pressure to live only for what can be seen and held right now. Faith pours the temporary into God’s promises, trusting that His reward is greater than the momentary satisfaction of this world. Heaven in view gives courage to surrender what is visible for what will last forever. [50:51]
• 5. Run for the full reward Salvation is secure in Jesus Christ, but the text warns that a believer can suffer loss when a life is built on superficial things. The coming reward should not produce fear-driven performance, but a deep desire to live with substance before Christ. A life surrendered to Him will not regret what was placed in His hands.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [47:20] - Don’t Settle for a Sip
• [49:39] - The Desert Pump Illustration
• [52:01] - Living for Eternity
• [54:19] - God Judges the Sort of Work
• [57:23] - The Victor’s Crown
• [60:07] - Payday for the Saint and Sinner
• [62:31] - God Will Review What Is Built
• [69:41] - The Judgment Seat of Christ
• [72:45] - Building on Christ the Foundation
• [75:22] - Permanent or Perishable Materials
• [78:20] - Future Rewards Fuel Faithfulness
• [81:00] - Mary Pours It All on Jesus
• [87:01] - The Regret of a Wasted Life
• [91:01] - Only What Is Done for Christ Lasts

Bible Reading

1 Corinthians 3:10-15
“According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” [46:58]

Mark 14:3-9
“And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for burial. And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” [01:21:00]

2 Corinthians 5:10
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” [01:09:09]

Observation questions

1. In 1 Corinthians 3:10–15, what foundation does Paul name, and what two kinds of building materials does he contrast? [01:15:22]
2. According to the passage, what will reveal each person’s work, and what question will that testing answer about the work? [56:33]
3. What two outcomes does Paul describe for the believer whose work remains and for the believer whose work is burned? [01:27:01]
4. In Mark 14:3–9, what did Mary do with the ointment, how did others respond, and what did Jesus say about her act? [01:23:43]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul says that Christ is the only foundation, yet he warns believers to take heed how they build. What does this show about the difference between being saved through Christ and living faithfully for Christ? [01:17:34]
2. Why does Paul focus on the “sort” of a person’s work rather than its size or public success? How do motives, attitudes, and obedience affect the kind of work a believer is building? [01:17:00]
3. How does the truth that Christ will bring hidden things and the counsels of the heart into the light change the meaning of outward religious activity? [01:05:11]
4. Jesus defended Mary when others called her gift waste and said she had done what she could. What does this reveal about the kind of faithfulness Christ values in believers with different gifts, resources, and opportunities? [01:24:16]

Application questions

1. Where is the temptation strongest to “settle for a sip”—choosing immediate comfort, approval, money, entertainment, or security over trusting God for what lasts? What would it look like to respond in faith in that area this week? [51:39]
2. Is there any service, giving, sacrifice, or spiritual habit that has been shaped more by being noticed than by honoring Christ? What honest change of motive or action may be needed? [01:04:07]
3. What hidden heart issue—such as bitterness, pride, anger, temptation, or empty promises—needs to be brought before the Lord in confession rather than covered up? [01:06:26]
4. What has God already placed in your hand: a relationship, ability, time, financial resource, workplace, ministry opportunity, patience, or mercy? How could you use that specific gift more fully for Christ instead of comparing yourself with someone else? [01:24:27]
5. Mary did not hold back a portion for herself when she honored Jesus. Is there an area of life that you have been keeping tightly guarded from the Lord? What might it mean to place that area in His hands? [01:25:33]
6. When life is tiring, discouraging, or unnoticed, what helps you keep running your race with patience? How can this group encourage one another toward faithful obedience instead of giving up? [01:01:32]