Living The Dream – Moving In & Moving Out
Today we continue our series called Preparing To Build, Seeing the Vision and Living The Dream. In fact, we conclude this series today. And as you can see, our house is done. We’ve done all the right things, and today it’s complete.
Over the past 8 weeks, we’ve focused on what it takes to build a house, what it takes to build a church, but most importantly, what it takes to build your life for Christ. We’ve looked closely at the things that we must to do to be successful in our lives for Christ.
And that is what I hope we are all aiming for…to build our lives for Christ and to become everything that He wants us to become.
I want to take just a few minutes to go back through the steps that we’ve taken over these 8 weeks because it is important that we remember them at every stage in our walk with Him.
On July 8, 2007 – “Preparing to Build: A New Journey Begins”
On July 15, 2007 – “Preparing to Build: Choosing A Builder”
On July 22, 2007 – “Preparing to Build: In Order to Build Up You Have to Dig Down”
Colossians 2:6-7
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.
These two verses focus on our SALVATION, our SUBMISSION, and our SANCTIFICATION.
On July 29, 2007 – “Preparing to Build: Consulting the Blueprint before Buying the Nails!
1. Faith
2. Prayer
3. Bible Study
4. Obedience
On August 5, 2007 – “Seeing the Vision: Seeing the Cross”
These “load bearing truths” are:
Jesus is God.
Jesus Paid it All.
Jesus Rose from the Dead.
Jesus Guarantees our Future.
Jesus is Coming Back.
On August 12, 2007 – “Seeing the Vision: Counting the Cost”
We encouraged you to not get discouraged. We talked about being focused on the finish line!
Last Week - August 19, 2007 – “Seeing the Vision: Good Intentions vs Genuine Commitment”
1. The Integrity of the Foundation
2. The Power Supply
3. Exterior Trim Work
4. The Custom Installations
5. Choosing the Door
And TODAY – “Living the Dream: Moving In & Moving Out”
Today, we get to experience what God has patiently conditioned our church for over five decades. New goals for a new day at TRBC. But far more important, NEW GOALS FOR A NEW YOU!
You see, as we’ve built this house over the past 8 weeks, we’ve gone through the steps we must endure to complete the task. And we’ve used these illustrations to talk about the steps we must take in our own lives as well.
And I can tell you that these steps we’ve talked about are critical in every single one of our lives. None of us are above the steps we’ve talked about. None of us are above going through these steps on a daily basis. Why? Because if we don’t go through them, we will fail in our personal walk with Him.
And, as your pastor, I can tell you that my goal…my calling…is to do everything that I possibly can to help you be successful in your walk with Christ. This JESUS FIRST pin, for 30 years has been part of this process. Tens of millions of them have been sent around the world. They’re in Main Street, you can get them on the website, they’re free. We’d love to send out tens of millions more.
In a building project, when you get to this phase of the project…when you’re ready to move in…the excitement level is off the charts. The furniture starts going in, the decorations start going up, the pictures are hung, the junk is hidden, and you begin to enjoy the results of your labor. YOU GET TO MOVE IN!
And this is when you’re thrilled over what’s been accomplished. You’re on top of the world. You’re proud of what’s been done.
This is when the building process really gets fun. All of the work is complete and you get to enjoy it.
In life, we see the exact same thing. We get to the point where we are living for God, doing what He commands, getting our lives right and do we feel great about it!
We’re proud of the fact that we are on top of things spiritually. We’re seeing that right now at TRBC. We rejoice every day over what we’ve seen happen this past Summer in our church. Around 400 that have prayed to receive Christ, over 300 baptisms, around 750 that have joined the church…and we are so excited about it.
We’ve talked about the many victories we’ve seen. We’ve talked about the lives that have been changed. We’ve seen people that we’ve been praying for walk these aisles and accept Christ. Doesn’t it feel good?
But I must tell you that at this stage, there are still a few things that we must always pay attention to if we want to keep this house (or our lives) as nice as the day we move in:
1. Dedicate It To The Lord
a. Josh 24:15…But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
b. Satan will try to destroy what’s been done and what can be done
2. Put Everything In The Right Place
a. Priorities
b. God – Family - Others
3. Always Clean The House
a. Josh. 3:5 And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”
b. Make sure we are clean before Him, always pursuing personal holiness
4. Continue The Maintenance
a. Rev. 2:5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.
b. Continue to do the maintenance in our lives to ensure we are following His will
5. Enjoy The Fruits Of Your Labor
a. Jude 24-25 NKJV Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 25 To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.
b. Praising Him for what He’s done
We praise God for what He is doing in this place. That’s why you heard some of the songs that we’ve done this morning. “Jesus, We Crown You With Praise” is a great example. We can sing that song this morning because He has shown Himself to be faithful to us. And we praise Him for it.
You see, at TRBC, if we continue to do what God has called us to do, if we continue to focus on the principle of NOT I, BUT CHRIST! then we will see God continue to work in this place.
And that is exactly what we want Him to do! Today, we MOVE IN! And we are excited. And we praise Him!
Paul - The Apostle
When Paul revealed the explanation of a great truth – that Gentiles should be fellow-heirs with the Jews in salvation (meaning, you & I can be partakers of the same Family of God as, say, King David, Abraham, Moses, & Elijah) – Paul broke out in praise:
Ephesians 3:20 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.
Mary - The Mother of Jesus
When informed by the angel that she would be the one to carry the incarnate Christ and that “with God, nothing is impossible,” she broke out in a doxology:
Luke 1:46-49 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. 48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. 49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
In fact, in verse 46, the word “magnify” is not the normal Greek word for “magnify” in the first century. The normal word for magnify is “loo-no”…but this word is actually “mega-loo-no” = literally, means “MEGA Exalt!” “Super Exalt.” Mary was offering escalated praise – “My soul doth exorbitantly Exalt the Lord!”
Israel – Remembering God’s deliverance
The children of Israel who, as they were making their pilgrimage up to Jerusalem while remembering their deliverance from captivity, uttered great praise to the Lord”
Psalm 126:1-3 When the LORD brought back the captivity of Zion, we were like those who dream. 2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The LORD has done great things for them. 3 The LORD has done great things for us, and we are glad.”
Solomon – Son of King David
When dedicating the temple, he offered this prayer of praise with hands lifted up before the Lord:
1Kings 8:22 (NLT) Then Solomon stood with his hands lifted toward heaven before the altar of the LORD in front of the entire community of Israel. 23 He prayed, “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in all of heaven or earth. You keep your promises and show unfailing love to all who obey you and are eager to do your will. 24 You have kept your promise to your servant David, my father. You made that promise with your own mouth, and today you have fulfilled it with your own hands.
You see, when a spirit-controlled believer experiences such an obvious moving of the hand of God in their lives – you can’t help but follow it up with praise! And we praise Him now for what He’s done.
You see, MOVING IN brings immeasurable joy to our lives because we have experienced the mighty power of God’s hands in our lives. But my friends, today I’m here to tell you that while MOVING IN is important, and we praise Him for what He has done, MOVING OUT is far more important.
Acts 2:40-47 NKJV And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
God has done amazing things in our church, and I pray that He has done amazing things in our lives as well. When you build a house, one of the first things you do after moving is to invite others over to see what you’ve built, to see what you’ve done.
In our church and in our lives, we can do no less than exactly the same thing. We look at what God’s done, we see what He has accomplished, we realize His mighty power.
We’ve seen the lives that have been changed, we’ve seen the families that have been healed, the pains that have been soothed, the souls that have been saved. And now, WE WANT TO TELL THE WORLD.
You see, far more important that MOVING IN IS ALWAYS MOVING OUT!
And why do we want to MOVE OUT AND TELL THE WORLD ABOUT OUR GOD?
Because…
We serve a God who can change lives when we’ve gotten away from Him and are taking the wrong path!
We serve a God who can change our hearts when we choose other Gods in our lives, when we choose another master!
We serve a God who can comfort us when we’re lonely, when we feel like there is no one else who cares!
We serve a God who can heal us when we’re sick, when the doctors give up hope, our God gives us hope!
We serve a God who can calm us in the midst of life’s storms, when the trials of life are rocking the very foundations of our lives, He can calm those storms!
We serve a God who can guide us through the valley of the shadow of death after we’ve lost a loved one!
We serve a God who can mend our broken hearts after a relationship ends, when we feel like we can’t go on, He gives us a reason to go on!
We serve a God who can deliver us from the addiction to alcohol and drugs, that we can have victory over these things that control our lives!
We serve a God who can soothe our pain when a marriage is broken and falling apart, and We serve a God who can put that marriage back together stronger than ever!
We serve a God who can deliver us from the sins that seem to be so hard to overcome in our lives, He gives us the strength to put them behind us forever!
We serve a God who looked down at this earth and saw the pain, the suffering, the hurts that we all have and LOVED us so much that He sent His Son to deliver us!
We serve a God whose Son walked on this earth proclaiming the good news that He had come and because He was here, we could have life and have it more abundantly!
We serve a God who willingly laid His life on the line, who allowed Himself to be betrayed, to be captured, to be spat upon, to be tortured, to be ridiculed, to be laughed at, to be beaten, and by His stripes we can be healed!
We serve a God who laid His arms out on a cross and allowed the nails to pierce His wrist, and the nails to pierce His feet, and He hung there until the life left His body!
We serve a God who allowed Himself to be placed into a borrowed tomb, and there for three days, his lifeless body lay!
But my friends, we serve a God who on that third day, His body began to move, the life entered into His body, He stood up in that tomb, walked out of that tomb, and today sits at the right hand of the Father forever making intercession for you and me!
We serve a God WHO IS ALIVE! We serve a God who lives!
WHY IS MOVING OUT FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN MOVING IN? Because we serve a GOD WHO IS ALIVE AND WE MUST TELL THE WORLD ABOUT HIM!
He lives, and to live the life that He wants us to live, to live the dream, we must tell! We must move out and tell the world that HE LIVES, HE LIVES! THAT TOMB IS EMPTY BECAUSE CHRIST LIVES!
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.
