BUILDING THE CHURCH, BUILDING YOU!
Phil. 1:6-8
INTRO.- ILL.- A certain congregation was about to build a new building. The building committee
passed the following resolutions:
1- We shall build a new building.
2- The new building is to be located on the site of the old one.
3- The material in the old building is to be used in the new one.
4- We shall continue to use the old building until the new one is completed.
Brethren, those people were never going to build a new building! And that’s the way some of our plans
go. They sound good, but they never get off the ground.
I want us to think today about building the church! I believe that the Lord wants us to do something
about building the church.
ILL.- Have you ever seen Robert Schuller’s Crystal Cathedral on his “Hour of Power” TV show? It is
located in Garden Grove, CA. The building was dedicated in September of 1980. The Cathedral has
more than 10,000 windows of tempered silver colored glass. In addition, two 90-foot tall doors open
electronically behind the pulpit to allow the morning sunlight to enhance the worship services.
The sanctuary seats 2890 people and 1000 singers and instrumentalists can perform in the 185 foot
long chancel area.
What do you make of that? But here’s a better one; a bigger one.
ILL.- At one time televangelist Jim Bakker of the famous PTL Club was going to build the world’s largest
church building. The building was going to be big enough to seat 30,000 people at the Heritage USA
complex in Fort Mill, S.C. The cost was estimated at $100 million! It was also to have a 5,000-seat TV
studio and about 200 conference rooms and parking underneath.
BUT, AS WE ALL KNOW, IT DIDN’T HAPPEN!
Brethren, I believe that the Lord wants the church to be built, but is this what God is truly interested in?
Is the church just about fabulous buildings and fancy budgets? NO, I DON’T THINK SO!
I don’t think God is opposed to big buildings and big budgets as long as churches have their priorities in
proper order.
Remember the Tower of Babel?
Gen. 11:1-4 “Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men
moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other,
‘Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.’ They used brick instead of stone, and
tar for mortar. Then they said, ‘COME, LET US BUILD OURSELVES A CITY, WITH A TOWER
THAT REACHES TO THE HEAVENS, SO THAT WE MAY MAKE A NAME FOR OURSELVES....’”
Let’s make a name for ourselves. If any church is just interested in making a name for themselves,
then they need a “wake up” call!
God didn’t put us here to make a name for ourselves, be it a church, a preacher, a ministry or
whatever! GOD PUT US HERE TO GLORIFY HIM!
I Cor. 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do (including building a church
building), DO IT ALL FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.”
A church building may be a part of God’s business, But His real business is people! Building people,
building a people of faith!
Eph. 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which
God prepared in advance for us to do.”
We are God’s workmanship! God is primarily interested in people, not buildings!
I am thankful for this nice old building that we have for our worship and studies and youth meetings,
but I am more thankful for our nice old people who worship here! Er uh, I mean, nice people who
worship here! GOD’S SUPREME CREATION IS PEOPLE!
And God is still at work in people’s lives!
Phil. 2:13 “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”
I know that when you look at this corrupt world and all the evil things that are taking place in it, you
wonder sometimes if God is still working in people’s lives. BUT BELIEVE ME, HE IS! Or you and I
wouldn’t be here!
We must continue to allow God to work in us and through us! He can and will, but only if we let Him!
ILL.- Someone once described our lives as a picture that is being painted. When we are born into this
world God begins to paint the picture of our lives through our parents. The paintbrush is in their hands,
so to speak. Then along comes other people who help to paint the picture of our lives: grandparents,
other family members, school teachers, Sunday School teachers, etc.
When we come to the age of accountability (i.e. when we begin to be accountable for our own actions
and lives) we take the paint brush from God’s hand and those whom He uses and begin to paint the
picture of our lives for ourselves. And sometimes we don’t do a very good job of it, do we?
SOMETIMES WE MESS UP THE PICTURE!
If we come to surrender to Christ in faith and obedience then we transfer the paint brush back into
God’s hand. And once again, God begins to use people to paint a beautiful of our lives.
Brethren, we need to allow God to paint the picture of our lives! And we need to be used by God to
help paint a beautiful picture in other people’s lives!
We must allow God to use us to bless others!
PROP.- From this text in Philippians chapter one I want us to look at some words that tell
us about how God builds the church, i.e. how God builds you!
1- Confidence
2- Concern
3- Cooperation
I. CONFIDENCE
V. 6 “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until
the day of Christ.”
Christians should live confidently! Are you a confident person? Do you have any confidence in who you
are or in what you do?
ILL.- Someone said that confidence is the thing that enables you to eat blackberry jam on a picnic
without having to see if the seeds move. Could be.
ILL.- After a sign reading, “Boy Wanted” was hung in a store window, a long line of applicants gathered
at the door. One especially anxious boy scribbled a note which he handed quietly to the examiner. It
read, “Don’t do anything until you’ve seen me. I’m the last in the line, but I’ve sure got the goods.”
Is that you? If not, why not?
Christians should be somewhat confident in what they do in life, because the Lord is at work in them,
giving them direction, grace and strength!
We Christians don’t have to take a backseat to anybody in life! That doesn’t mean that we will always
do everything right or perfect or the best, but it means that the Lord will be with us in whatever we do!
Phi. 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Paul had confidence in Christ! He believed that with the Lord’s help and strength he could do anything
in life!
If we are ever going to help build the church and build people up in the faith we must put our
confidence in the Lord most of all!
Where is our faith in the Lord? Where is our confidence in Him to work in this world? And in our lives?
And in the lives of others?
ILL.- Neville Taylor said, “Convictions are the forces that move the world. The world will never be
moved by flabby Christians who believe their doubts and doubt their beliefs.”
Taylor also said, “Sin has put the compass out of order! Man must get right with God first and then the
Supreme Guide will take over the direction of the life put under His control.”
Where is our faith in the Lord? Where is our confidence in the Lord? We’ve allowed the world, the
flesh and the devil to weaken our faith! And we need to put a stop to it!
ILL.- For a period of time I attended the Anna Heights Baptist Church in Anna, IL. It’s a Southern
Baptist church, which is my heritage. The music minister was leading the singing (contemporary
Christian music) and he wasn’t getting the response that he wanted. He stopped and said something
like: “I must have a bad attitude this morning.”
And I just couldn’t help myself. I said out loud, “GET OVER IT!”
Brethren, we need to “get over” some things in life and get on with living by faith in the Lord! We need
to “get on” with living confidently in the Lord!
ILL.- James Boice said these powerful words, “The God of the Bible is not weak. He is strong. He is
all-mighty. Nothing happens without His permission or apart from His purposes - even evil. Nothing
disturbs Him or puzzles Him. His purposes are always accomplished. Therefore those who know Him
rightly act with boldness (and confidence), assured that God is with them to accomplish His own
desirable purposes in their lives.”
That turns me on! That lights my fire! That cranks me up!
The apostle Paul had confidence in the Lord and so must we! He also had confidence in the Lord’s
people. And so must we!
II Tim. 1:12 “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know
whom I have believed, and am convinced (or confident) that He is able to guard what I
have entrusted to Him for that day.”
Paul’s confidence and faith was in the Lord, first and foremost. That’s where it has to be before it can
ever be in the Lord’s people!
If you don’t have any confidence in the Lord’s people, it’s probably because you don’t have much faith
and confidence in the Lord! We must believe in the power of Christ to work in and through His people!
We must have this confidence!
ILL.- Brother Harvey Ligon was an elder in the First Christian Church of Anna, IL, when I went there in
1984. Bro. Harvey was up in his 70’s at that time. The first service I attended was a Wednesday night
Bible study and Harvey taught the study. And I was amazed at his depth and insight into Scripture. I
was also very pleased with his gracious humor. He was a great teacher! He had been a serious Bible
student all his life and he knew God’s Word and how to relate it, illustrate it and apply it.
From that time on, I trusted Harvey explicity to do the right thing for the church.
And guess what? He trusted me as well. Harvey always closed his eyes when I preached. When I
asked him what he was doing and why he did that, he said, “I heard you preach and I believe what you
are preaching is the truth. I trust you. I don’t have to worry about you.”
Brethren, we trusted one another. We believed in one another. We had confidence in one another.
And that’s exactly what we need in our church if the church is ever to go forward and be built up!
DO YOU BELIEVE IN ME? I believe in you. How do we build confidence in one another?
- We each do what is right
- We pray for one another
- We encourage one another
- We remain open to one another
These things build confidence in one another.
Confidence in the Lord and in one another builds the church.
II. CONCERN
Paul had a genuine concern for his Philippian brethren.
V. 7 “I have you in my heart....”
Do you have anybody in your heart? You better have. Your mate. Your children. Your family
members.
ILL.- My mom, Juanita Shepherd, will soon be 81 years old. She is getting sicker all the time. For
years, she has had Lupus disease which has caused her kidney trouble. In fact, for a while she thought
she might have to go on dialysis.
Some years ago mom contracted Parkinson’s disease. We don’t know how or where it came from. But
she’s go it and it has really done a number on her in the last several years. And it just keeps getting
worse.
But do you know what? I THINK MORE HIGHLY OF HER NOW THAN EVER BEFORE! Some of you
might be tempted to say, “Well, it’s about time!” Yes, time, age, maturity has a way of making us all
appreciate our loved ones a lot more.
I have mom in my heart all the time! I call her at least twice a day. And you might think that’s silly,
BUT SHE DOESN’T. I have her in my heart more than ever because I don’t know how much longer I
will have her. At least, in this life.
Brethren, we need to treasure people in our hearts more than ever before! We need one another! And
we need to exhibit concern for one another!
Paul loved the Philippians. He ministered to them, loved them, and prayed for them. Ministering to one
another builds a strong relationship to one another. If you minister to no one, you will have little or no
concern for them. BUT MUCH MINISTRY EQUALS MUCH CONCERN! And this is what we need in the
church. More ministry and more concern.
ILL.- I preached for almost 11 years at the First Christian Church of Iberia, MO. Iberia has a population
of 852 but the church actually had a bigger average attendance than MCC. When I left there we were
averaging 150’s on Sunday morning. But the pay wasn’t the best. I was raising a family and we lived
from paycheck to paycheck. And sometimes, like a lot of people, we robbed Peter to pay Paul.
As a minister I had to make estimated tax payments every quarter, which I hated and still do. And
nearly every year at tax time, April 15th, I’d come up short and have to borrow money to pay my tax
bill.
Ralph Riemensnider was an elder in our church and was also a bank president at a nearby town. I’d go
in and tell Ralph my embarrassing sob story about needing a $1,000 or $2,000 for taxes. “Could I
borrow the money?” And Ralph would say, “Sure, and I’ll just cosign this loan for you.”
Talk about concern! When you’re talking money and cosigning a loan that’s either genuine concern or
idiocy!
Brethren, we need more concern for one another in the church today. A concern that is willing to
spend and be spent for others!
A concern that exhibits itself in loving compassion, praying for one another, sharing with one another,
rejoicing with one another, weeping with one another, etc.
ILL.- Mamie Adams always liked the friendliness of the people at her post office. She went there just
before Christmas to buy stamps and the line was extremely long. Someone pointed out to her that
there was no need to wait in line because there was a stamp machine in the lobby. She said, “I KNOW,
BUT THE MACHINE WON’T ASK ME ABOUT MY ARTHRITIS.”
That’s the kind of concern that we should have for one another in the church.
ILL.- “Brother Steve, how’s your back? How’s your hip? How’s your head? You look terrible,
brother!...”
V. 8 Paul said, “I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.”
Today, we might say, “I love you with the very heart of Christ.” And that’s exactly what we need to do.
We need the heart of Christ and we need love one another like Christ. And that’s the best love there is,
because nobody loved people better than Christ!
How do we get that love and concern for one another? It must come from Christ or it won’t come at
all. Spend time with Him, listening to Him, learning from Him. And you’ll acquire a greater concern for
people and the church will be built and built up!
1- Confidence
2- Concern
III. COOPERATION
v. 7 “Whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace
with me.”
The Philippians shared with Paul in the ministry of the gospel. THERE WAS COOPERATION BETWEEN
PAUL AND THE PHILIPPIANS!
ILL.- An ocean liner was sinking (Titanic-like) and the captain yelled, “Does anybody know how to
pray?” A preacher on board said, “I do.”
“Good,” said the captain, “You start praying. The rest of us will put on our lifejackets. We are one
lifejacket short.”
That’s cooperation. Somebody’s got to pray and somebody’s got to do something else.
ILL.- Let’s have some cooperation around here. There is a toilet stool leaking in the women’s restroom.
I’ll pray and....
ILL.- The church in Anna, IL, is located right on mainstreet and gets a lot of traffic on it, including the
sidewalk. Several years ago the old sidewalk was getting so beat up and cracked that the church board
decided to tear it out and replace it. We announced that on such and such a Saturday that we would
need help with jackhammers, picks and shovels, etc.
That Saturday came and you would not believe all the men in the church who showed up to help tear
out that old sidewalk and pour a new one. TALK ABOUT COOPERATION! We had cooperation and the
job was done in no time!
Brethren, there has to be some cooperation in the church if she is ever to grow or be built up!
ILL.- It is said that preacher P. H. Welshimer preached at the First Christian Church of Canton, Ohio, for
55 years. During his long ministry that church grew from 350 members until it became the largest
Christian Church in the world, with a Sunday School attendance of between 3000 and 4000. And that
was back in the 30’s and 40’s, I believe.
Brethren, a church doesn’t get built up like that without some cooperation between the members and
the leaders!
ILL.- Another tremendous example is the large Southeast Christian Church of Louisville, KY. That
church was started with something like 130 people in 1966 and now they run around 14,000 in
attendance in three services every weekend! That’s one service on Saturday evening and two on
Sunday morning and in a building that seats 9000!
Again, a church doesn’t get built up like that without some cooperation between the members and the
leaders!
ILL.- In 1993, the Southeast Christian Church worshipped in a building that seated 2400. On the
weekend of May 8-9, 1993, they had 8,413 for their four worship services: one Saturday night and three
on Sunday morning.
They had obviously outgrown their facilities. They took a vote to decide whether or not to buy property
and build another building. HOW DID THEY VOTE? 94.4 percent of the people voted to buy property
and build another building. That’s the spirit of cooperation! And it is that spirit of cooperation that
builds the church and builds up people.
Does Bob Russell, their Sr. Minister, do everything right? No. Do the elders and deacons do everything
right? No. Do they ever disagree at times? Why, of course, they do. But there is a spirit of
cooperation in that church!
The church will never go anywhere...It will never be built up or build up people without the spirit of
cooperation!
We must work at cooperating with one another! How do we do that?
ILL.- Someone put it this way: “The mule can’t kick and pull at the same time. And neither can the
church member!”
If we are going to pull together and cooperate then we must stop kicking one another!
Phil. 2:14-15 “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become
blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in
which you shine like stars in the universe.”
Brethren, we won’t shine like stars in the universe if we go around griping and complaining all the time.
And the church will not grow and be built up!
Do I do everything right? No. Do the elders and deacons do everything right, all the time, 100% of the
time? Probably not. But we have to “bear with another” and cooperate the best we can, not the least
we can. That is, if we want to see the church grow and be built up!
We need to stop kicking one another and start pulling together! That means we must focus on the
good things and not what we consider to be bad or negative.
ILL.- No marriage will ever stay together if a couple dwells on the negative things in each other’s lives.
It will only last and grow and get better when they dwell on the good and the positive things. And
build on those things! And so with any church.
CONCLUSION-------------------------------------------------
We are God’s workmanship! We are God’s building! We are God’s people! And God wants His church
to grow and be built up and we need to help it along!
- We must have confidence in the Lord and in one another
- We must demonstrate concern for one another
- We must work at cooperating with one another
I think that I shall never see
A church that’s all it ought to be;
A church whose members never stray
Beyond the strait and narrow way.
A church that has no empty pews,
Whose Pastor never has the blues,
A church whose deacons always deak,
And none is proud, and all are meek.
Where gossips never peddle lies,
Or make complaints or criticize,
Where all are always sweet and kind,
And all to other’s faults are blind.
Such perfect churches there may be,
But none of them are known to me,
But still, we’ll work, and pray and plan,
To make our own the best we can.
