What Are You Building?

You know, brethren, I've always been impressed by those who could build things and build them well. Now, there are lots of ways to build. Some people have learned to build buildings, to build houses, to build garages, to build game rooms. Others have learned to build swimming pools, motor homes, cars, double-wide trailers, tree houses. Others have learned to build tractors, to build semi-trucks, cranes. Others have learned to build microscopes, telescopes, televisions, radios. Some have learned to build airplanes, jumbo jets, helicopters, tanks, nuclear bombs, atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs. Some have built skyscrapers, castles, great cathedrals, temples. Others know how to build microchips, computers, cell phones, Swiss watches. The list goes on and on and on. You know, we could just go on for the whole sermon, because many people build many things. You know, I noticed as I was sitting here this morning, actually looking up at that ball that's up there, I realized that that was a defect in the construction of this building. They should have made it on an angle so it would fall off and not get stuck. Of course, the building might fall down then, but at least the ball would fall.

Ultimately, where did all this building come from? You know, this building itself, you know, it's nice to have such a beautiful big building here. It serves a lot of purposes, church services. It serves basketball games and volleyball games and all kinds of events that are held in this building. And ultimately, where did all this building come from?

Well, I think we realize that the awesome Creator God obviously has a lot of marvelous qualities and traits. And I submit to you that God is a master builder. He is a master designer. He's a master creator. And that is all, ultimately, where all this building comes from. God has made mankind in His image with the ability to create and to build many marvelous things. So we are a chip off the old block, so to speak. We have inherited from God this great ability to build and to design. And in a very real sense, this ability to create is the very essence of who and what God is. And most importantly, God is building an eternal family.

In order to have an eternal family, God is in the business of creating godly character. And He's doing it through you, and He's doing it through me, or in me and in you. But He needs our cooperation. He needs our submission to Him.

We have to learn to submit to Him. We have to learn to surrender to Him, because He will do the building, but you must willingly allow Him to build character in you.

So the title of this sermon, What Are You Building? Or perhaps better yet, What Is God Building in You? What are you building, or what is God building in you? Because really, it takes both.

We have to be willing to build ourselves in our own lives. We have a responsibility to build.

All of us do. We have to think about what it is God wants us to build in our lives. So we each have to take responsibility for doing some building ourselves, but ultimately we have to realize that it is really God who does the building in us.

But it's a two-way street here. God always does His part. We have to do our part.

So let's look at an example of God as a builder in Genesis chapter 1.

We're going to talk about building today. In the beginning, God created or God built the heavens and the earth.

And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. And God saw the light that it was good. And God divided the light from the darkness, and God called the light day. And the darkness He called night, so the evening and the morning were the first day. Now we realize this is actually explaining a recreation.

The earth became chaotic and confused because Satan rebelled, and there was a war here on earth, and things got out of control, you might say, and things became chaotic and confused. And Satan was the author of confusion, we know that. So this is actually explaining the recreation. And we won't take the time, but we could go through each day of the recreation here. And we could see that God is truly a wonderful builder because He made everything. Everything around us, this whole entire universe, God created and made. And it goes through each day and explains that God did this. It doesn't give you a lot of detail on how it was done, but God did it. In verse 26, after God had created basically all things except mankind, He said in verse 26, God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, which of course God created all of them. Let's give mankind dominion over all of them, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image. In the image of God, He created him. Male and female, He created them. And He blessed them, and He said to them, Be fruitful and multiply. And God built within them the capacity to reproduce, to have children, to have families, as Mr. Loper was talking about in the sermonette. Family is very, very important. God is a great builder of family.

In verse 31, God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. And of course we know that God rested on the next day, the seventh day, the day that we are resting upon today, in commemoration of all that God had done, those other six days. So this is also a very important day that God made, that God built or created by resting on this day. In Genesis 2, verse 1, Thus the heavens and the earth and all the hosts of them were finished. They were created.

And then again, it shows that on the seventh day, God made the Sabbath day. So God is the builder of worlds. He's the builder of human beings. And again, He's the builder of His family. We were created in His image, and that means that we too are also builders. Just look at our civilizations throughout history, and you will see that this is certainly true. Since ancient times, mankind has continuously built homes, built temples, built palaces, and have built unique cultures around the world. In every part of the world, man is indeed a builder.

In Genesis 11, it shows that mankind began a building program that God decided was actually escalating things too quickly for His plan. So He had to slow things down. But let's read in Genesis 11. Now, the whole earth had one language and one speech. Now, this was obviously after the flood and after the earth had been populated somewhat after the time of Noah and his family.

And in verse 1 of chapter 11, now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass as they journeyed from the east that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. And they said to one another, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly. They had brick for stone, they had asphalt for mortar.

And they said, come and let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens. Let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth. But the eternal came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. And the Lord said, indeed, the people are one and they all have one language and this is what they begin to do. Now, nothing that they proposed to do will be withheld from them. Come, let us go down.

Again, two beings in the God family. Let us go down and there confuse their language. Of course, there were also angelic beings, which it could be referring to as well. Let us go down and there confuse their language that they may not understand one another's speech.

So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth and they ceased building the city. Therefore, its name is called Babel, which means confusion or Babylon, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. So God had to actually intervene because mankind were such great builders that they were building things too quickly and things were progressing more quickly than God's six thousand year plan. So God confused the languages and that set things back a whole lot.

Nowadays, we almost have one language again, you know, because you can get on a computer and just type something in and it'll tell you what it means in German or Arabic or French or whatever. You know, so we're, I believe, getting closer and closer to the return of Christ. We have such amazing things on earth today that the world has never seen. You know, knowledge has increased. In the book of Daniel, it talks about knowledge being increased in the last days. Well, I believe that's certainly being fulfilled and it's amazing what's happening now in the electronic world and just things I don't understand.

You know, they're so amazing. And who knows what's going to happen in the next 20, 10, 15, 20, 30 years if God doesn't intervene before that or 100 years. You know, we don't know when Christ is returning. Let's face it, we thought we've known in the past. We didn't. Do we know now? No. Some people still think they do and claim they do. But until these things that are prophesied in the Bible begin to happen and when, then we'll know it. I mean, some things, yes, are happening, but there's still other things that need to happen that haven't happened yet.

So we've got a few more years. I don't know how many more. But we need to be careful that we are not presumptuous when it comes to God's Word. You know, we presume too many things in the past and we need to be careful that we don't presume more than we should now.

That doesn't mean we should become lethargic or lackadaisical. Just the opposite, we should become more zealous. Because we do see the day approaching. We just don't know exactly when it's approaching. And those who claim that they know, frankly, have proven to be false prophets, false apostles. And we may see more of that in the future, too. So we have to be on guard for it. The Scripture will reveal to us where we're at in prophecy. And God will make it known to us at the proper time.

Now, true to our heritage, man is a builder of cities, of empires, of kingdoms, of governments, and all types of organizations. In a sense, we are wired and we have a need to create and build from the time that we were born. The desire to build is in our DNA. Since God gave us all the innate desire to build, to improve, to increase our lot through building, let's consider this a bit more. Let's go to John 5, where it talks about the Father and Son working, continuing to work. They created, they built, but they continued to build and to create.

And John 5 gives us some insight to this, what's going on here. In the first few verses of chapter 5, it tells about the pool at Bethesda, where a great multitude of sick people would lie waiting to go into the pool because an angel would come and stir up the waters, and whoever was able to get into that water right away would be healed. Now, that seems foreign to us because we don't see that happening today, but I believe it because that's what the Scripture says.

In verse 5, there was a certain man who had an infirmity for 38 years, and Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time. He said to him, do you want to be well? Do you want to be healed? The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming another steps down before me.

Jesus said to him, Rise! Take up your bed and walk. He didn't need the angels to come and stir the waters. Christ spoke and it happened. Immediately the man was made well. He took up his bed and he walked, and that day was the Sabbath. Now, it goes on to show that some very petty religious leaders of the day were looking for all kinds of things to accuse Christ of. So, they used the Sabbath. We know the Sabbath was made for man. We know that Christ actually made the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for the good of mankind, and Christ healed this man on the Sabbath. He did good on the Sabbath. He wasn't out mowing his lawn on the Sabbath. He was healing someone on the Sabbath. There's a big difference in what Christ was doing here. Now, let's go down to verse 16. For this reason, the Jews persecuted Jesus because he healed on the Sabbath. They sought to kill him because he had done these things on the Sabbath. Jesus answered them, My Father has been working until now, and I have been working. Therefore, the Jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the Sabbath, of course, he didn't break the Sabbath. Christ didn't break the Sabbath at all. Christ is Lord of the Sabbath.

They claimed that he broke the Sabbath. He didn't break the Sabbath. He healed on the Sabbath. He did good on the Sabbath. If you can heal on the Sabbath, by all means, do it.

Then Jesus answered and said to them, Most assuredly I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do, for whatever he does, the Son also does and like manner. Now again, we see the unity between the Father and the Son. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all things that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so, the Son gives life to whom he will. Now, this is the business that God is in and that Christ is in, giving life, healing and restoring, making whole. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Now, obviously, we should honor the Son. Should we not? We should honor Jesus Christ. Anyone that talks about, you know, we're honoring Christ too much, you know, does that make any sense? It doesn't make any sense at all. You know, when we honor the Son, we honor the Father. This is what Christ taught.

Christ that I and my Father are one. They are both great builders. They are both continuing to work in the lives of people. They are building families. And, frankly, brethren, we need to start thinking more like they think and not so much like we think. We hold ourselves back when we think petty thoughts like the Pharisees. He healed on the Sabbath. He broke the Sabbath. In John 9, verse 1, John 9, verse 1, Now as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his parents that he was born blind.

Jesus answered, neither this man nor his parents sinned. See what they were so concerned about? These are petty things. Who sinned? That's what they're worried about.

Jesus said, neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. And then he proceeded to heal the blind man, to restore him, to give him life once again. So again, what kind of work is the Father and the Son doing today? They're building people, they're building family, a family, their family, they're building a spiritual kingdom.

Now, brethren, we need to be about building spiritual character as well. Now, God is the one that ultimately can do that. And it only happens when we surrender our will to the Father's will, when we learn to do it God's way, when we learn to follow Christ and the Father.

To have the reactions of Jesus Christ should be our desire. To have the same thoughts, the same actions, to put on the mind of Christ, that should be our goal. Now, on the entire opposite side of this, we know that there is a God of this world. And we know it's Satan the devil. Satan is the God of this world. This is not God's time right now.

This is still Satan's time. This is still Satan's world. Now, God is working with a family, the firstfruits. Now, God loves all of us, and we're all a part of his family. That includes the billions of people on earth who have lived and died. But God is especially working with a small number of people today. He's working with the firstfruits who will be changed to spirit at Christ's return. He's starting with the firstfruits. He's building those families now. He's building that family now with members that are the firstfruits. Now, that will expand to all people eventually as we understand God's plan.

But now isn't God's time for most of mankind. Judgment has begun at the house of God, though, hasn't it? Judgment has begun. How we live our lives now is very, very important. The choices, the decisions that we make will echo through eternity. The choices that you make in your own personal life will echo through eternity.

So we need to be about building spiritual character. That's the most important thing. It's not building buildings or cars or cell phones or computers or other things. It's building character. It's laying up treasures in heaven, not here on the earth. So Satan is on the other side of this equation. He is one who tears down. He destroys. In fact, his name means destroyer or adversary. We'll talk more about that later. But Satan is in the business of weakening, destroying, confusing, and he's done a masterful job at that. Now, let's all admit that. Satan has confused all of us at times, hasn't he? It can be a very confusing world, the world we live in. It can be confusing in the church because Satan the devil is very active, and he's trying to destroy all of God's people. Satan uses many instruments. He's used war throughout history. He's also used disunity. Look at the world governments of today and throughout history. They've all been a mess, really. They don't last. They don't have the answers.

But God is building something that will last for eternity. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 3. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 3 and let's realize that God is going to test our building. He's going to test your building. 1 Corinthians 3.

Let's start reading in verse 6. 1 Corinthians 3. Well, let's read verse 5. 1 Corinthians 5. And again, this is a chapter that basically condemns disunity. It condemns dividing and splitting and that sort of thing. Verse 5, Who then is Paul and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? Paul says, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field. You are God's building. So God is indeed building you. You are God's building.

According to the grace of God, which was given to me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. Now again, this is the Apostle Paul speaking to the brethren at Corinth. This is a minister of God, an Apostle, speaking to the people of God. He says, let each one take heed how he builds on it. He says, I am as a wise master builder and I have laid the foundation. Another another minister comes along, he builds on it. That's fine. Now we should all be working together as elders and ministers of God. We shouldn't be competing with one another. We should be working together. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw. Now there's a lot of difference between these elements, aren't there? Gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw. Each one's work will become clear. For the day we'll reveal, we'll declare it. The day, that's primarily speaking of the day of judgment. For those who are firstfruits, that will be at Christ's return. I mean, that will be our day of judgment. We will be judged, and we will be changed into spirit at that time. Because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one's work of what sword it is. If anyone's work which he has built on, I'm sorry, if anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. He's saying that there will be times when we will make wrong decisions, ungodly decisions, sinful decisions, and we will pay a price for that. There will be complications in our life. Be sure your sins will find you out.

But as long as it's built on a firm foundation and God has seen fit to grant a person repentance, he'll be saved through it all.

You know, all of us are we're all sinners. We've all fallen short of God's glory. God has to forgive all of us if we're going to be in his kingdom.

So if anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? Now, this is the building that God is making. If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him, but the temple of God is holy with the temple you are.

Okay, this is a very serious matter, isn't it? What we're talking about today.

You are God's building. God has given you his Holy Spirit.

Not something to take lightly, something to take very seriously, because we're all going to be tested. What kind of foundation have you built upon?

Will it stand the test of time? Will it stand the test of fire? The test of raging winds and waters? Remember, I gave a sermon a few weeks ago about surviving life storms. Now, there will be more storms in our lives. We need to survive those storms. We have to have a firm foundation in order to survive. So, God is going to test each and every one of us. He will continue to do so. He has done so in the past. He's going to continue to do that. Paul states that we are God's field. We are God's building. Many analogies are used in the Bible. They all have a point and a purpose. If the foundation is sound, the building will not be totally destroyed. The superstructure may suffer some loss. This structure can be rebuilt.

In many ways, we've all messed up, haven't we? But God can rebuild on a solid foundation. He can build newer and better than ever.

So, there's always hope for us. If we're here, if we're listening, if we're going to God, if we're praying and studying and trying to do the right thing, God certainly has not given up on us. And we should never give up on ourselves. God is indeed building us up into something useful and magnificent in His sight. I gave a sermon some months ago about, Are you worthy? You may remember that sermon. Are you worthy? It was around Passover time. And in it, I talked about, it is God who deems us worthy when we surrender to Him and when we submit our lives to Him.

Otherwise, there's nothing good of and by ourselves. There's nothing good in this flesh. It's only the Spirit of God working with the Spirit in man that will give us victory over death. Let's go to Hebrews 11. This is an amazing chapter, so we're going to take some time to read a good portion of it here. And it does apply very directly to what we're talking about today. What is God building in you? Again, the foundation that we need to have is a sound and solid relationship with Christ and with the Father. What kind of a relationship do you have? If our spiritual foundation is in Christ and in God the Father, we can face any personal trial or tragedy that comes along, and we will stand tall in the day of judgment. We may not understand why we face the things that we do. You know, God allows us to be tried and tested, and I know that it gets very difficult, and there are times when I think all of us feel like giving up. You know, there are times when we all feel like throwing in the towel, stopping the fight, giving up.

But whenever you feel like that, just realize God isn't finished with you. Buck it up and move on.

We've got to keep moving forward. Again, we won't always understand what God is doing and why He's allowing it, why He's allowing it to friends of ours, but we have to have faith that God knows best. And that's where Hebrews 11 comes in. That's why it's such a powerful chapter, because it really does get down to faith. Do you have faith or don't you? Do you have faith in your faith? Hebrews 11. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for. It's the evidence of things not seen.

Now, faith is something hoped for that has no proof or evidence. If you could only see it, or taste it, or hear it, or smell it, or touch it, it wouldn't require faith because you would have proof or evidence of it. See, that's when it's really tough, isn't it? That's when it's really difficult. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. It's the evidence of things not seen.

For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God. You know, God is faithful.

And it's by faith that we understand that God is the Creator. Now, there are many people who are atheists and agnostics. They don't have faith. They have faith in man or themselves or the big bang or some stupid primordial slime. But they don't have faith in the Creator God.

It is by faith that we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts and through it he being dead still speaks. Abel still speaks to us today. By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death. And was not found because God had taken him, for before he was taken he had this testimony that he pleased God. Hopefully that testimony is yours as well, that you pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him. For he who comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Now again, God may not reward you in the way you want to be rewarded at any given time, but ultimately you must know and have faith that God will reward you if you continue to diligently seek him. He won't leave you, he won't forsake you, no matter what is happening around the things that you can see, the things that you can touch, the things that you can feel. See, that's not faith.

It's having faith in spite of all those things that you see, and that you can touch and feel, and that the pain that you feel, and that sort of thing.

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. All of these men were men of faith, and by faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance, and he went out not knowing where he was going. He didn't know where he was headed, but he took off early in the morning and he went where god told him to go.

By faith he dwelled in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob. He bears with him of the same promise, for he waited for the city which has foundations to build the new Jerusalem whose builder and maker is God. God is in the process of making the new Jerusalem, the spiritual kingdom that will last forever.

He is the builder and he is the maker. God is the one who is doing this.

By faith Sarah also received strength to conceive seed. She bore a child when she was past the age, way past the age of childbearing, because she judged him faithful who had promised. At first she laughed, but then she showed her faith. She began to grow big with child.

She had a baby. She was 90 years old. Therefore, from one man and him as good as dead, Abraham was older. 99, I think.

He was as good as dead, and both of them were as good as dead. The husband and the wife, they were born as many as the stars of the sky and multitude, innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore. God is working out a plan through the seed of Abraham.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland, and truly, if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared or built a city for them.

God is building a city for all of us, a city that will last forever. Now, I don't have time to go through all the rest of this chapter. We could do that. It goes through by faith Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph, and Moses.

Now, they all forsook many things to obey God. Now, we build character when we forsake things to obey God. When you say no to sin, you are building character in your life. But when you say yes to sin, when you give in, you are tearing character down.

It has to be rebuilt. You have to start all over again. So, the more we say yes to God and no to our own sinful flesh, certainly the better off we are, the more character God is building in us. So, it is important the decisions that we make. Every decision is important. Every choice that we make. We're either drawing closer to God, or we're getting further apart, further away. So, never take your sins lightly. Keep the commandments of God. Obey God's commandments. Keep the holy days. Keep all of God's holy days and the Sabbath and the Ten Commandments, and strive to become perfect, even as God is perfect. Then you'll be building character in your life. Now, when you mess up, and you will mess up, because you're still in the flesh, that's when we get on our knees and we have faith that God will forgive us, and that God will restore us, and God will continue to build in us His building.

So, faith is, again, something that we all need to develop in our lives, and faith is a gift.

And God grants faith to those who diligently seek Him.

So, we need to, again, build on a right foundation. We need to have faith in God. That is a firm foundation. Trusting God, relying on Him. That was another point about surviving life's storms, is God is our refuge. Go to Him. Get His help.

In Revelation, we mentioned earlier that Satan has a different plan. It's not God's plan.

It's His own plan to destroy mankind, to destroy us.

Let's go to Revelation 9. Let's consider this being that is going to shake up the earth terribly in the days ahead, and God, along with Him, God is also going to shake up this earth, as the book of Revelation tells us. I'm breaking into chapter 9, and this is actually a part of the fifth trumpet plague, a part of the seventh seal. So, we're getting very close to the return of Christ now. Things are happening very, very quickly. Verse 6, In those days men will seek death, and they will not find it. They will desire to die, and death will flee from them.

The shape of the locust was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold. Their faces were like the faces of men. Their hair like women's hair. Their teeth like lion's teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. Their tails were like scorpions. They had tails like scorpions. There were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is a baton, which means destruction. But in Greek he has the name apoion, which means destroyer.

Satan is the destroyer. He is the one bent on destruction.

So what about these names? According to the Believer's Study Bible, the king or angel who rules over these dissident spirits is also assigned a name which is characteristic of his work. The Hebrew word abaddon and the Greek term apolion both signify destruction. However, this should not be understood as annihilation. The word apolion arises from the Greek word luo, meaning to loose, an apo, a preposition indicating movement away. The idea is that the destruction caused by Satan and sin is, in effect, the loss of all meaningful existence and is due to being loosed forever from God. Being loosed forever from God. That's what Satan wants to do to all of us. He wants to break down our relationship with God. He wants to wear out God's anointed. He wants to beat down God's servants. And he wants us to beat each other up. He wants us to turn on each other.

And frankly, that's happened too much. Way too much. Satan and his spirits are not builders, but they are destroyers. And their goal is complete destruction of the family and of all of mankind. They desire to tear down relationships. They want to put wedges between relationships between husbands and wives. They want to cause issues and problems between brothers and sisters, both physically and spiritually, spiritual brothers and sisters. They seek to cause alienation, frustration, and brokenness in human lives.

Let's take a look at a part of Paul's message from Miletus to the elders and brethren before he left for Jerusalem. Let's go to Acts 20 and read what the Apostle Paul says here in Acts 20. Acts 20 verse 28. Paul says, Therefore, take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. He's speaking to the elders here at Miletus. The Holy Spirit has made these elders overseers to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. You've all been purchased with the blood of Christ.

You're not purchased with any human minister's blood. It's Christ's blood that's purchased you. I haven't purchased you. The Apostle Paul hasn't purchased you, but Jesus Christ, the perfect one, has purchased you. For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also, from among yourselves, men will rise up, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore, watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. Some had accused him of that sort of thing. I think we've read far enough here. The point I want to make up here is God is able to build us up and give us an inheritance among all those that are being sanctified. You know, again, God is the one that will build us up.

God is the one that will strengthen us. Verse 32, again, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified, those who are set apart, sanctified and made holy.

So Paul reminds the elders of their responsibility to their flocks.

First of all, the sheep don't belong to any minister or any group. They belong to Jesus Christ who purchased them with his own shed blood. He is the Good Shepherd. Elders are simply overseers who are expected to nurture and love the flock as a protector and as a trustee.

The New Century version says in Acts 20 verse 28, to the elders, Be careful for yourselves and for all the people the Holy Spirit has given to you to care for. You must be like shepherds to the Church of God, which he bought with the death of his own son. Okay, Shepherd loves the sheep. He protects the sheep, takes care of the sheep, doesn't abandon the sheep, doesn't leave some of them high and dry. That's not what the true shepherds are supposed to do. They're supposed to stay faithful and guide the flock. Now, the sheep have to decide what they're going to do, but the shepherds are to remain faithful. Secondly, elders need to take heed and examine themselves and their own motives. For any man to draw people toward himself or his own personal agenda is called a perverse thing. It's a perverse thing.

Should never be done. You know, all the dividing and the splitting that goes on, people need to ask, why is this happening? Is God in it? Is God behind it? Is God sanctioning? Is God condoning it? Is that what God is building? Or is that a man's device?

The task of an elder is to build up, not destroy or scatter the flock. Thirdly, an elder should point the flock toward God and His Word.

When this is done faithfully, God grants His favor and is able to build up His people. A healthy church culture is about building and growing the brethren, not controlling them.

Now, that's not what this is all about. You know, I don't seek to control any of you. You know, you're free moral agents. You have the choice to go out that door. Never come back. You know, it's your choice. I don't want you to do that, but it's your choice. I'm not going to try to control you because I know it wouldn't work anyway. And that's not what I'm called to do. I'm supposed to guide and direct you, care for you, love you, try to lead you in the right path. It's been interesting, the 17 years I've been here in Tulsa, it's been interesting to be a pastor of a flock.

I mean, this is true in Oklahoma City, Lawton, Northwestern Arkansas now.

It's a telling job. It tells a lot of things. My hair is falling out. You've seen a lot of transition in this guy since I've been here. I suppose it would have happened anyway, no matter what job I was doing. But I know I'm going to be held accountable for this job that I'm doing. It isn't one I take lightly. It isn't one that I don't pray about and consider greatly. We've been through some tests and trials here in this congregation.

And some of you have been here for 17 years, as long as I have, and long before that.

I think this is a good group. I'm glad to be a part of it. I think it's a shame to split this group up. I think it's a crying shame.

In Acts 9, Acts 9, verse 26. Acts 9, verse 26. When Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple. Now, you would understand why they might think that, wouldn't you? Had he not drugged some of perhaps their friends or people that they might have known or at least heard about, he had drugged them out to be basically killed. He supported the stoning of Stephen. He was right there when it happened. So, it's not unusual that some would be leery of the Apostle Paul. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus. Of course, he's speaking about Paul. This is what Paul had gone through. God struck him down on the road to Damascus. Now, Barnabas believed what Paul told him. He believed that there was proof of this, and he was telling them about it. So, he preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So, he was with them at Jerusalem coming in and going out. And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. And when the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. Okay, so verse 31, Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. This word, edified, is an interesting word. You've heard of the word edifice, haven't you? This is an edifice. It's a building. When we edify someone, we build them up.

So, the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace, and they were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. They were blessed.

So Barnabas was an encourager. He was one that took Saul to the apostles. He explained what had happened on the road to Damascus. And eventually, they began to accept Paul because he was willing to die. Paul was beaten and shipwrecked. He proved himself over and over again. And so, his example, edified God's people. It built them up. It strengthened them.

Now, the word edified in this verse in verse 31 that we just read is actually a Greek word, ocodomio. It's kind of like okey-dokey, only it's okey-domio. O-I-K-O-D-O-M-E-O. It means to be a house builder, a constructor, or to construct, to build, to edify, to embolden. So the churches had peace and were being built up to the Holy Spirit. The end result was growth in their love and also in their numbers in this case.

Numbers don't always prove things, but sometimes they do. I mean, it's good to see numbers as well. We all tend to look at numbers to some degree, but they don't tell the whole story, obviously. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 9, for God did not appoint us to wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Whether you're awake or asleep, you should live together with Him, with Christ. Therefore, comfort each other and edify or build up each other. Comfort one another, build each other up, just as you also are doing. See, that's our calling as brethren, is to build each other up, to edify one another, not to become schisms and factions who begin to congregate together and talk about a lot of the things that they think are wrong within an organization. There's something wrong with that picture, people. It always leads to division. When that happens, it leads to division. I've seen it happen a number of times. I saw it happen in the latest split. There was a group of people that were getting together and they were discussing all the bad things, all the wrong things, that they could see. Maybe some were legitimate, perhaps some weren't legitimate, but regardless, it ends up in factions and splits. God condemns that, frankly.

Groaning, complaining, mumbling, there's a lot of that going on within the Church of God at times. It should stop. We should go on our knees and talk to God about these things one-on-one, but to sow discord among brethren is something God hates, and I've seen it happen.

So we should encourage and edify one another.

So instead of judging and competing with one another, all of the elect of God are called to comfort and build up one another. So what are some of the ways that we can be a builder like God and not a destroyer? Okay, number one, let's encourage and comfort one another. Let's do what the Scripture says we ought to do in 2 Corinthians chapter 1. And as a pastor, I think I probably take this, I see it happening, I take it more personally, perhaps, than some of you do, because I have a certain responsibility to the flock. 2 Corinthians chapter 1.

Now, I believe that anyone who has God's Spirit is a brother and sister in Christ. Let me make that real clear. You don't have to be sitting in this room to have the Spirit of God. You know, there are other people that are keeping the Sabbath today that are keeping God's commandments, that keep the Holy Days, that keep the commandments, they have God's Spirit, they're a part of God's Church. There's only one Church, though, one true body of Christ. And it is all those who are converted.

Whether they be split up in this group or that group or some other group, they're still our brothers, they're still our sisters in Christ. Now, they may disqualify themselves in God's sight, but that's up to them. You know, I don't judge people. Christ is the judge. But all I know is that if they have God's Holy Spirit, they're one of the members of the body of Christ, and I count them as brothers. So they don't have to be sitting in this room today, so don't get me wrong. That's not what I'm saying at all. But let's encourage and comfort one another. Frankly, I went to a funeral service, Jenny Tremble. There were at least eight different groups there. At least eight. I counted eight. Eight different groups that called themselves a part of the Church of God were there. There were probably more than that. But I know there was at least eight. And any of them that had the Spirit of God were my brothers and sisters.

Now, I don't think it should be this way. I don't think you should go to a memorial service in have eight different groups. I don't think that's the way—I don't think that's truly God's way. That's man's way. I mean, we've done it to ourselves, but it isn't right.

1 Corinthians 1, verse 21, "...Now he who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us as God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee," as an earnest, a down payment, a guarantee. We can be guaranteed that we'll be in God's kingdom if Christ returns and we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us or if we've died with the Spirit of God. It's a guarantee. You don't have to be a part of this organization, but you need to have the Spirit of God if you're going to be changed in the Spirit. Moreover, I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth. Not that we have dominion over your faith, but we are fellow workers for your joy, for by faith you stand. By faith you stand. By faith you build something worthwhile, something that will last forever. I don't have dominion over your faith. I'm just a man. I'm just a shepherd, a minister. I have a part to play. I have a job to do. I'll be judged by how well I do it, and that is frightening. We are to have dominion over your faith. We are fellow workers for your joy. By faith you stand. So, brethren, let's encourage and comfort one another. Let's help each other stand. In context, Paul wrote a strong and corrective letter to Corinth in his previous letter, 1 Corinthians. It's a very strong and corrective letter. But Paul knew in his heart that his major calling was to encourage God's people and help them receive more spiritual fulfillment that leads to happiness and joy. We are to be helpers of your joy.

The New Century version of 2 Corinthians 1 verse 24 says, we are not trying to control your faith. You are strong in faith, but we are workers with you for your own joy.

We are all fellow workers together. You've heard me say that many times. We're all in this together.

On a construction site, all the tradesmen work together.

One person doesn't know everything. I doubt that one person built this big building. I know that one person didn't do it. One person probably couldn't do it. He didn't have all the knowledge to do it. Electricians and plumbers and various ones. People would know how to put the ceiling up and whatever. Maybe some people know a lot of it. I mean, I don't, but I know that some men have learned an awful lot about building. They use blueprints or drawings. Oftentimes, they learn from each other. It is God's plan revealed through the Holy Days whereby we learn. God's plan is our blueprint. We share that with one another. We encourage one another. So, brethren, encourage and comfort each other. Secondly, pray and fast for one another. Pray and fast for each other. Pray and fast for those who are no longer attending with us, for whatever reasons they've decided they don't choose to. Pray fast for them. In James 5, it tells us we ought to be praying and that the effectual, fervent prayers of righteous people make a difference. So, let us be righteous and let us pray and fast for one another.

Prayer is powerful. It can literally change the course of history. Fasting is very powerful. I've given sermons on that, and you've heard other sermons given as well. It's very powerful. You know, King David said a powerful example. I don't have time to go to Psalm 35 verses 11 through 14, but it gives the example of King David and how he prayed and he fasted when his enemies were sick. When they were sick, he fasted and he prayed that they would be healed. And he did so as if they were his physical brothers or even his own mother, it says in Psalm 35. So, let's pray and fast for each other. How about you and I do that more this coming year? Take some time to fast for each other. You know, pray for each other. Think about every member of this congregation. Pray for them and fast for them. That'll give you something to do in the coming year to pray and fast for each other. That's powerful. Thirdly, how do we build up?

Thirdly, offer to help one another and be there to care for one another, not just praying and fasting, but actually doing things for each other. Faith and works are not in contrast. In James 2, it talks about faith without works is dead. We need to show our faith by our works. So, let's be there for each other. Let's make good choices in the future. Remember, God is a master builder. He designed and built the physical world that we all live in. He made mankind in his own image with the desire to construct and to build. God is building character in us, and he is building a spiritual family. We should be here for each other.

So, it is God's example that we need to follow. It is Christ's example that we need to follow. Make it your life mission to build up everything and everyone around you. Will it always be appreciated? Will it always be respected? No, it won't. But that isn't your problem. You do the right thing. You do what's right. So, one final scripture, Romans 14. Let's go to Romans 14 and read verse 19 together. Romans 14 verse 19.

Therefore, let us pursue the things which make for peace, and the things by which one may edify another, and the things that build each other up. Let us pursue the things which make for peace, and the things by which one may edify another. Let us build each other up. Let us edify one another.

You know, brethren, if you go to a typical construction site, you will observe just a few weeks before the grand opening of that particular edifice. In fact, I remember coming here a number of times while this was being built, and it was in disarray. There was a mess here and a mess there and a pile here and a pile there. Walls, there were no walls. There were, you know, there were no pipes. There were no air conditioning. No beautiful ceiling. You know, as this thing was being built, it was a mess. But what's it look like now? It's pretty nice. We're enjoying it today. But once upon a time, it was a mess, and your lives, frankly, are messy. You have a messy life. I have a messy life.

If you don't think you do, then you're deceived. You have a messy life. You're not perfect. You're far from it.

Brethren, you may feel like a mess right now, but don't get discouraged. And don't question the wisdom of the builder. Have faith that he will bring it all together before your grand opening in his kingdom. Be patient with yourself and with others. And please don't ever forget that you are God's building. God is the one that's building himself in you. Isn't that what it's all about? Becoming like God. Becoming like Christ. Being born into his family. Yes, brethren, our God is a master builder. He designed and built this physical, vast, awesome universe that we all live in. He made mankind in his own image. He made us with the ability to build ourselves, to build something worthwhile in our lives.

God is building character in us. He is building a family. Brethren, surrender to God more fully. Make it your life mission to build up everything and everyone around you.