Jesus–No Ordinary Carpenter
Introduction
I. Largest building in the U.S. is the Sears Tower in Chicago
A. Sears Tower is 110 stories and 1,454 feet high.
B. Contains 4.5 million square feet of floor space
C. Took three years to build at a cost of over $150 million.
D. Contains 43,000 miles of telephone cable, 2,000 miles of electrical wire.
E. 76,000 tons of steel, 16,000 bronze tinted windows.
F. 28 Acres of black aluminum skin and 25,000 miles of plumbing.
G. It contains enough concrete to build an eight land highway five miles long.
H. It weighs 222,500 tons.
I. Contains 2,232 steps from the ground floor to the roof
J. Is so tall that it can bee seen over 40 miles away.
II. Yes, the Sears Tower is an amazing building, but greater things have been built.
A. Even on earth there is another building larger than the Sears Tower.
B. Today I want to talk to you about three amazing things, two of which are already built and one which is still in progress, that are far grater than these. The most amazing thing about these three projects is that the architect and builder of all of these projects is the same man.
Main Body
I. No Ordinary Earth
A. Jesus the Creator
1. Col. 1:16 “By Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,. . . all things were created by Him and for Him.”
2. Heb. 1:2 “but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.”
B. Glory of the Earth
1. Natural Wonders
a. Mountains
b. Oceans
c. Universe
2. Human Body
a. The “miracle” of Birth.
b. The complexity of the Body.
C. The Earth and everything in it was created in six days!
1. Literal twenty–four hour days.
a. Gen 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31
b. “And there was evening and there was morning–the first day”
D. If Jesus had stopped being a carpenter at this point nothing would ever even come close to matching his skill as a master builder. Truly Jesus is no ordinary carpenter!
II. No Ordinary Church
A. But Jesus didn’t hang up his tool belt after creating the earth.
B. Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned.”
1. As sin entered the world, God’s creation was condemned to death.
2. Yet God in all his planning for the creation had already planned for this as well.
C. The answer to our problem was Christ building His church.
1. Hebrews 8:8–12 - The reason for Christ building His church.
2. Hebrews 8:27–28 - How Christ built His church.
D. The Church was built in three days!
1. His death–Friday.
2. In the tomb–Saturday.
3. His resurrection–Sunday.
E. The Church is built upon one very important fact.
1. That Jesus is the Christ the Son of God
a. Matt. 16:13–18 - The church would be built on faith in Christ.
b. Romans 3:21–26 - Faith in Christ justifies.
2. Jesus proved he was the Son of God by overcoming death!
F. Jesus will soon present his church to God to live with him eternally.
1. There is no other way to get to heaven.
a. 1 Cor. 3:11 “For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
b. Heb 3:1–6 - We are the house of God built by Christ
c. Col. 1:13–14 “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom if the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
2. 1 Cor. 15:24 - Jesus will deliver his kingdom to God.
III. No Ordinary Construction Site
A. So far we have seen the Glory of two of Jesus’ grand works of carpentry.
1. The Creation of the earth and universe in six days.
2. The building of His church in three days.
B. Jesus’ third work of Carpentry has been in the works for over 2,000 years!
1. John 14:1–4 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms (MANSIONS); if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
2. Jesus is currently preparing a place for his church.
a. It is going to be wonderful.
b. No Death, No Mourning, No Crying, No Pain, No Hunger, No Thirst, No need for light or heat, No more Tears! Revelation 7:16–17, 21:4
c. Heaven is undescribable in our language.
d. In Revelation 21 John attempts to describe what heaven looks like.
(1) Shines with the Glory of God, like a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal.
(2) Walls made of Jasper.
(3) The entirety of the city made with pure gold, as pure as glass.
(4) The foundations of the city walls are decorated with every kind of precious stone.
(a) jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, carnelian, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, amethyst.
(b) WOW! I don’t even know what some of these are but one day I will!
(5) It’s twelve gates were twelve pearls, each one made of a single pearl.
(6) Streets of pure gold, like transparent glass.
IV. When the Construction is finished.
A. There will be destruction.
1. 2 Peter 3:3–7, 10 - The earth will be destroyed.
B. There will be a GRAND OPENING!
1. 2 Peter 3:13 - “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”
2. Rev. 21:1–5 - The new Jerusalem
Conclusion
After having served for decades in Africa, a missionary couple was returning to New York to retire. After years of service they had no retirement and failing health. They were worried and discouraged. They were on the same ship as President Theodore Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his African hunting expeditions. No one paid any attention to the missionary couple. They watched the fanfare that accompanied the President.
During the voyage, the missionary said to his wife, “Something is wrong. We have given our lives in service to God in Africa all these years and no one cares a thing about us. Here this man comes back from a hunting trip and everybody makes a fuss over him, but nobody gives two cents about us.”
When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting t greet the President. The mayor and other dignitaries were there. The papers were full of news of the President’s arrival. No one was there for the missionary couple. They slipped off the ship and found a cheap flat on the East side hoping the next day to see what they could do to make a living in the city.
That night the man said to his wife, “I can’t take this, God is not treating us fairly.” His wife replied, “Why don’t you go into the other room and tell that to the Lord?” He did just that and returned a short time later but his face was different. His wife asked him what happened. ‘The Lord settled it with me, “ he said. “I told him how bitter I was that the President should receive this tremendous homecoming, when no one even met us at the dock. And when I finished complaining, it seemed as though the Lord put His hand on my shoulder and simply said, “BUT YOU ARE NOT HOME YET.” This earth is not our home.
Jesus is definitely No Ordinary Carpenter. You don’t want do miss out on what he is preparing for his church. You don’t want to miss out on the homecoming celebration that will last for eternity!
To become a part of His church and assure your place in heaven is simple.
Just follow the plan of the builder.
Believe - John 3:16–17 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal live. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”
Repent - Luke 13:3 “. . . But unless you repent , you too will all perish.”
Confess - Matt. 10:32 “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.”
Be Baptized - Mark 16:15–16 “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.”
