Preparing to Build
Part 1
Today we begin a brand new series entitled, PREPARING TO BUILD, SEEING THE VISION, LIVING THE DREAM. Last week we talked about our vision as a church. We talked about where we are heading, what we are dreaming. What we are trusting God for in the days to come.
We firmly believe in the vision that God has set before us. Why? Because that vision results in people coming to know the Lord. People who have no hope…finding hope in the cross.
Remember this:
Churches that are not evangelistic, will eventually cease to be evangelical! Put another way: Churches that are not intentional about winning people to Jesus, will intentionally send people to hell! Our purpose must be our Priority.
That is our mission, our passion. This week, I’ve been reading John Maxwell’s book, TALENT IS NEVER ENOUGH. This is a powerful book that talks about what is really needed to accomplish all that God wants you to accomplish. In the 2nd chapter, there is a quote that is so true…
“A passionate person with limited talent will outperform a passive person who possesses far greater talent every time. Why? Because passionate people act with boundless enthusiasm, and they just keep on going! Talent plus passion energizes.”
How true those words are. How many times have you seen people with what seemed to be incredible talent, but they never fully realized their potential because they lacked passion?
You and I may not be the most talented people around, but if we have passion…boundless enthusiasm…we can accomplish unbelievable things for God. We must have passion!
That is what this sermon series is all about. Passion for building, passion for reaching, passion for helping. It’s all about passion!
Last week, I listed out some of the vision for our church in the next five years. This vision wasn’t something that I jotted down in a few minutes while preparing my sermon.
This vision is something that we’ve talked about for quite some time. Dad talked about it with me, and others on our staff, for quite some time.
You see, these goals that we talked about last Sunday, have been prayed about and prayed over. They’ve been dreamed about. They’ve been lifted up to God over the past year. Trusting Him to deliver them to us.
This vision is where God wants us to go as a church. And our passion, with God’s power, is what will make them happen!
Let me briefly share that vision with you again.
1) We have a dream of seeing 5000 local salvation decisions as a result of this local church!
2) We have a dream of seeing the attendance of this church double in the next 5 years!
3) We have a dream of adding 5000 additional people in our Sunday School programs!
4) We have a dream of baptizing 500 each year from now on!
5) We have a dream, in partnership with Liberty’s School of Religion and Liberty Seminary of planting 500 churches in the next five years!
6) We have a dream of sending 500 missionaries in the next five years!
7) We have a dream of sending 500 of our church members on various short term missions trips!
8) We have a dream of having 5000 of our members, of you, involved as lay ministers. Meeting the needs of our members, meeting the needs of our community, feeding the hungry, providing shelter to the homeless, helping the less fortunate, and letting the world see Christ within us!
This is the vision. And as I said last week, this is a God-sized vision, God-sized dreams. AND GOD SIZED DREAMS ALWAYS TAKES GOD SIZED FAITH WHICH ALWAYS PRODUCES GOD SIZED MIRACLES!
There is a biblical principle involved here: If a dream is not bigger than our ability…then we will attempt to do it in the flesh-- These goals are SO LARGE that it will take a people committed, and a God that promises to provide!
And so, we have our vision, we know we need to be passionate about it. We know we must pray over it. We know we must commit to it. But the question is…HOW DO WE DO IT? How do we take our passion, take our vision, and make it a reality? How do we put feet to our dreams?
You’ve probably been wondering in the past few minutes, WHY IN THE WORLD IS THERE A PILE OF DIRT ON THE STAGE? Are we planting a garden on the stage? Did someone sweep all of the dirt in the building to one spot and forget to take it out?
This pile of dirt is where we start our journey. This pile of soil represents our church today as we begin this five year journey into our vision. You see, SOIL IS A VALUABLE RESOURCE.
From this soil, we grow our food, we grow our plants, our trees, our flowers. From this soil, the grass grows, the earth is made beautiful. And from this soil, we build our buildings, our roads, our houses. It is the foundation on which we build.
But notice, that when this soil just simply sits here, it has no beauty, it has no value, nothing is growing out of it, there’s nothing here we can eat. In fact, the only thing this dirt is good for in its current state, is getting our clothes dirty and making a mess.
It is only when we doing something with and in this dirt that we grow great things. Only when we transform this soil into what it can become, do we see its amazing value.
This soil represents our church’s dreams today. We’ve talked about the vision that God’s given us. We’ve talked about what we want to see accomplished. We’ve talked about the people we want to reach, the impact we want to make, the church we want to build.
But in order for that vision to come true, we must do something with the soil in order for it to become all that it CAN become. This is the basis for our series, PREPARING TO BUILD, SEEING THE VISION, LIVING THE DREAM!
2Chr. 14:7 Therefore he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.
Isaiah 65:21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, And My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
Is. 66:1 Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?
Where is the house you will build Me? This is the starting point for where we are heading as a church. Where is the House? And how will you build it?
Our theme verse for this sermon series is:
1Cor. 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Let me give you a quick explanation of this verse and then I’ll put the pieces together for you.
“Beloved brethren” – “The body of Christ” So, this command is aimed squarely at the Body of Christ. In other words, US!
“Be steadfast” means to be seated or to stay in place. Keep a watchful eye, or Be Vigilant
“Immovable” means to be rendered immobile, incapable of moving or going elsewhere. God is telling us not to move or even be able to move out of or from something. Could be translated: locked, anchored. BEST: STUBBORN & TENACIOUS
“Always abounding” – it is a superlative meaning to be “continually superseding previous activity” Could be translated: Always looking to go further, higher, or greater! Now, God is telling us to get moving! Doesn’t this seem odd? Stay with me, I’ll explain in a moment.
“Work” – means to labor or toil to the point of exhaustion.
Now, God is saying that you should not only get moving, but we should be so active that it should bring us to the point of exhaustion. Almost like, panting after running a hard race.
How can you be both “seated” & “rendered immobile” while “Abounding”? It kind of sounds like God’s Word is commanding us to both “Don’t Move!” and, at the same time, to “Get Moving!”
The words “steadfast” & “immovable” refer to how we should never ever leave the Will of God. Meaning, don’t you dare walk out outside of His will, His purpose for your life, His mission for your life!
BUT while you are smack-dab in the middle of God’s Will, start working like crazy! Work Hard! Pray Hard! Focus! Always be growing, developing, superseding, and “abounding” in your personal relationship with and service to Christ!
AND…WHILE YOU ARE DOING ALL OF THIS, you should be confident in knowing that your hard work and ministry is not “in vain” but actually has purpose and meaning. That is where you find your passion.
For you are actually fulfilling the Will of God for your life and the life of His church by laboring in His Work and staying in His Will!
In other words, you are taking this pile of soil and developing it into what God wants it to become.
Summary:
This verse captures the theme of what we will be talking about for the next couple summer months: Stay in the Will of God – Labor to the point of exhaustion –Look to the future approval and blessing of our Lord! Or, as we have put it:
…Preparing To Build
…Seeing the Vision
…Living the Dream
Now, when we realize that we have a plot of land, a pile of soil if you will, that we must build a house upon, we know that we don’t simply come to that place and all of a sudden, the house is there.
In fact, we all know that when building a house, there is a great deal of thought, planning, dreaming and consideration that must take place. It doesn’t just happen. In fact, there are many steps that must be taken in order to get from this pile of dirt to the house that we dream about.
You know, when a couple is dreaming about building their first home, their dream home, they spend countless hours thinking and talking about what they want.
They dream big. They talk about all of the dreams they’ve had, probably for their entire lives, about what they want their dream home to look like.
That is what we’re talking about right now. You see, you get to the point when you’re ready to begin building the house, you’ve found the dirt, and now it’s time to determine, how are we going to build it?
Today we begin that same journey as a church, how do we build it? How do we make our dreams come true? How do we see the vision that God has given to us come to fruition? The answer is…WE MUST PLAN!
Principle #1: It is wise to plan!
Rick Warren in his book, “The Purpose Driven Church,” says that the failure of many folks’ efforts to launch well-intentioned ministries is due to “uneducated enthusiasm.”
In other words, they have great enthusiasm to do the work, but they don’t know how to get it done, OR they haven’t planned properly. The Bible makes this clear in:
Luke 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.
Principle #2: It is God-honoring to plan!
Notice as this passage continues what is said about the failure to properly plan? It said that if we do not plan wisely:
Luke 14:29-30 …lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, “This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
For a church not to plan wisely will result in the world looking at the church and mocking it, and when they do, they will actually be mocking the One whom the church serves…namely Almighty God!
Principle #3: It takes work to plan!
Again, Luke 14 underscores the work involved in planning to build…
Luke 14:31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?
Friends, do you see that? Planning to Grow is WISE 14: 28;
Planning to Grow is WORSHIP 14: 29; Planning to Grow is WORK 14: 31.
Do you think that all there is to a king waging war is to simply COUNT his troops! No, in fact, there is so much more than just counting heads. A king must assess each man’s skill level, he must assess the leadership underneath him, the commitment level of the troops, and so on.
Meaning, we can’t just rush off and go wage war, or build a house, without first sitting down and considering the cost. It takes work
Today, as a church, we enter the first phase of our three-phase Journey: …Preparing To Build…Seeing the Vision…Living the Dream!
Here is what the Bible says we should be doing as we are “…Preparing to Build” It involves the MIND, the HEART and the SOUL. It is a complete commitment…
1. Prepare your mind for Action! How?
I Peter 1:13 says, Prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. [NASB]
Why do we need to prepare our minds? So that when times get tough, we are mentally tough, so we can keep going. So we can keep moving towards the goal. Joe Paterno, that great football coach once said, “The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.”
2. Read the Vision and Pursue it with Passion!
Philippians 3:12-14 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
3. Plan to “Go the distance!”
Hebrews 12:2 refers to Christ as the example we should look to as someone who went the distance!
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus remained “steadfast” and “immovable” – not allowing anything to deter him from his mission! Jesus illustrated this commitment when he noticed that Peter was trying to keep Jesus from going to the cross by fighting the roman guards who had come to take Jesus away. Jesus reminded Peter that He must fulfill His mission:
Matt 26:53-54 Don’t you know that I could call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? 54 But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" [NIV]
Jesus was resolutely committed to His mission. We, too, must be committed to the mission. Trusting that God will honor our commitment. Dad’s favorite verse, the one that he always wrote under his name when signing someone’s Bible:
Phil. 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; We must trust Him to finish it in us!
4. Realize the power of God brought you this far!
Ephesians 3:20-21 calls on all believers to never forget the immeasurable power that God provides for all believers:
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
5. Always remember the Faithful Ones who laid the Foundation!
Hebrews 12:1 reminds us to never forget the line of succession that brought us here to this point:
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses who have borne testimony to the Truth, let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance and that sin which so readily entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us. [Amplified Bible]
…And now, it is OUR TURN!
Who are those “witnesses?” Look no further than the previous chapter. Just look at the first few words of each of the following verses in Hebrews chapter 11:
4 By faith Abel…
5 By faith Enoch…
7 By faith Noah…
8 By faith Abraham…
11 By faith Sarah…
20 By faith Isaac…
21 By faith Jacob
22 By faith Joseph…
23 By faith Moses…
31 By faith Rahab…
32 Through faith Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets:
36 Still others…
…And now, BY FAITH, IT’S OUR TURN!
We too have had “witnesses of faith” for us at TRBC.
By faith, my Dad wholly committed himself to the call of God on His life.
By faith, he pursued God’s will with reckless abandonment.
By faith, he laid a foundation that allows us to stand here today and plan to build further!
By faith, many of you and friends of this ministry around the world partnered with him to make sure that this ministry would continue to honor the name of Christ in the next generation!
By faith, you sit here today with a passion to use whatever gifts and talents you have in order to serve the Lord Jesus Christ and bring others to Him!
…it is OUR TURN now!
We must be passionate about the vision! We must be passionate about Christ! We must be passionate in our relationship with Him! We must be passionate about souls!
We must be passionate about reaching out to those who are hurting, who have no hope! We must be passionate about building His church! We must be passionate about building His house!
Today, we start that next five years of which dad was so passionate. We start this five-year journey, however, we start it without the visionary. The one who cast the vision, the one who wrote the vision. Last week, I read Habakkuk 2:2: Then the LORD answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. Last week, I said, TODAY WE RUN!
We have the vision, dad wrote it, dad made it plain, and now, it’s OUR TURN TO RUN WITH IT!
I feel awkward and humbled today as we begin this next five year journey. Humbled because, as I shared with you a few weeks ago, I know I lack the abilities and talents in which my dad was so gifted.
But one thing I don’t lack is the passion to see it happen. I know that through my weakness, God’s power will shine through, NOT I, BUT CHRIST! And this must be true of you as well. Knowing that we are the most talented should never stop us, as long as we have the passion to build!
Dad said it clearly, the next five years are going to be spectacular. And, what makes his mandate more profound, is that it actually parallels the mandate that Jesus gave to his disciples in John 14:12: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
It is a daunting and humbling task to accept these words as our mandate. My dad did so much to bring us to this day and now we are to lead this ministry to greater days. But do you want to know how we are able to lead into the future with great confidence?
“Because, we bring honor to the founder when we build on his foundation.”
We will build! We will build great things on this foundation! We will build great lives on this foundation!
This soil that God has given us will become a mighty place, a mighty structure, because of our commitment to build. But that commitment to build must be based on God’s power, our planning and our PASSION.
Throughout this series, PLANNING TO BUILD, SEEING THE VISION, LIVING THE DREAM, together we will see what can come from this pile of dirt. We will see what God can do on top of this foundation. What God can do when we will RECKLESSLY ABANDON to His will and His work!
And we will see, what God can and will do through each of us when we simply stand before Him and say, HERE I AM…USE ME! Not in our power, but in God’s power. NOT I, BUT CHRIST!
You see, God wants to use you. He so desires for you to be passionate about His work. He wants you to be driven to accomplish His work, to BUILD HIS HOUSE!
But that can’t happen, until each of us recklessly abandon ourselves to Him. Understanding that He loved us so much that He died on the cross for us. He bled and died for our sins. He paid our debt in full, so that we can experience His power and His freedom. And we must surrender ourselves to Him recklessly! Just as he surrendered Himself for us on the cross.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
