Woodbury Presbyterian Church
God’s Love in ACTION
The Church Builder
Matthew 16:13-19
Psalm 127:1-5
January 21, 2007
My dad built
I think of that, of course, because we just
started a long-range building program here at Woodbury. Last Sunday we looked
at the big picture: the outline of a dream. We’ll spend the next few months
filling in some details: Which room will be the nursery? Will there be an
“island” in the kitchen? Can we have a Session room, a choir room, a youth
room, a library, staff offices, a recreation room, a pool table, basket ball
hoops and, the biggie: (ominous music) what color will the carpet be?
We’ll have town meetings and committee
meetings and prayer meetings. We’ll find just the right architect or designer.
(God will send us that person.) We’ll have more prayer meetings, and the dream
will start to take shape.
We’ll build one building, catch our
breath and gather our resources, then build the next, then the next. And one of
these days, a few years from now, you’ll drive down
And they’ll roll their eyes, because
you’ve already told them a thousand times before.
But you’ll be telling the truth, because
your vision and your participation and your enthusiasm are crucial to what God
is doing here.
You’ll be telling the truth. But it won’t
be the whole truth, will it? You’re not going to drive every nail. You’re
not going to pour and smooth the concrete. You’re not going to install the
plumbing and the electrical and the carpet (ominous music) all by yourself.
Other people are going to help – just like a few other people helped my dad
build
As I thought and prayed about the fact
that we’re starting a building program, I remembered that Jesus was a
carpenter. Hey! Maybe we should get Him on the building committee!
Jesus loves to build churches. He said to
Peter, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.”
“I will build my church.” Hold on a second. Jesus isn’t just on the building
committee; He’s the master builder. He’s in charge of the whole project. We’re
just helping Him. We’re working with Him, and for Him.
Psalm 127: says, “Unless the LORD
builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Jesus is the master
builder. If He doesn’t build the church, then we’re wasting our time. We’re
working for nothing.
If Jesus doesn’t build the church, we might
still build something. We might put up buildings like the ones we looked
at and dreamed about last Sunday. Or we might build something slightly smaller.
Or we might build something larger. We might build something simple. We might
build something spectacular! We might build something that’s friendly to the
environment. But if Jesus doesn’t build it, whatever it is, it won’t be a
church.
Now look, we’re smart people. We’re
competent people. We have resources. We can accomplish a lot. We can do some
pretty impressive things if we put our minds to it. But we can only do what’s
humanly possible. We can’t do anything supernatural.
And a church, when it’s really a church,
bubbles with the supernatural. It throbs with the power of God. Addictions are
broken. Relationships are mended. Sins are forgiven. Diseases are healed.
Hearts are changed. Lives are redirected. Souls are saved. That’s just what
happens in a church. And all those things are supernatural.
We might build an impressive campus on our
own. And we might build a prestigious club or a helpful service organization.
But we can’t build a church. Only Jesus can do that. “Unless the LORD builds the house, it’s builders labor
in vain.” He will build His
church.
That’s why God is drawing us to develop a
culture of prayer. He put that vision into the hearts of the members of our
worship committee or “Adore Team,” and through them spread it to me and the
other elders. He did this because prayer empowers us to do supernatural things.
As E.M. Bounds once said, “Prayer can do anything that God can do.” And when we
see God working His wonders, we know that’s Jesus building His church.
For example, tonight we’re going to have
our first healing service of the new year. We’ve seen Jesus heal colds and cancers
and everything in between, and I believe we’re going to see Him do that more
and more this year. That’s Jesus building his church.
Last week we received Erin Betteridge, who
grew up in this church, to be our Youth Director. I have a feeling
God has led our leaders to set another
goal: to “double in ’07.” We’re not trying to double in membership. We want to
double in discipleship. We want to double in active involvement in the life of
the church.
First off we want to reach people we love
with the love of Jesus – our friends, our family members, our fellow church
members who for one reason or another aren’t around here much anymore. We want
them with us in worship and fellowship and service. We want to share the
excitement and the joy and the love of Jesus with them.
So we’ll pray for people. We’ll invite
people. We’ll design programs to attract people. But ultimately Jesus is going
to draw them.
And one of these Sundays you’re going to
look down your row, and there you’ll see your husband, or your son or daughter,
or parent or sibling. You’ll see your coworker or classmate or close friend.
You’ll see many of them. And they’ll be glowing with the love of Christ. We got
a taste of that on Christmas Eve.
Some of those dear people don’t know Jesus
right now. But they’re going to meet Him and fall in love with Him. They’re
finally going to hear with their spiritual ears that God loves them, that Jesus
died for them, and that by trusting Him they receive forgiveness and eternal
life, and by following Him they find abundant life, life to the max.
Others have known Him, but have wandered
away like that prodigal son. Your heart breaks for them. But someday soon
they’re going to come to their senses. They’re going to come back home, and
it’s going to be a party like you’ve never seen!
They’ll
be closer to Him than you and I are right now! They’ll have more joy and peace
and power than you and I do right now. But that’s okay. Because unless we’re
sticks in the mud -- like the older brother in the parable -- we’re going to
grow closer to Him too. And we’ll have more love, more joy, more power, more
peace than we ever imagined. That’s Jesus building His church!
Jesus said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will
build my church.” Now if you’re not paying attention, you might not
catch the pun. (Even Jesus liked some good word play every now and then, so
rise up, my fellow punsters, and be not ashamed.) Do you remember what the
nickname “Peter” means in Greek? “Rock.” In the Greek New Testament, Jesus
says, “You are Petros, and on this
Peter had just said to Jesus, “You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter believed in Jesus. He
put his faith, his trust in Jesus above all else. And because of that Jesus
said to him, “You’re part of my church. In fact, you’re what my church is made
of.”
The same is true for you and me. When we
put our trust in Jesus, we become part of His church.
I love the fact that Peter, ol’ “Rocky”
himself, wrote the words that we read for our Call to Worship this morning. I
Peter 2:5 says, “Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in
building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests.”
(TEV)
Jesus is building His church out of living
stones: living stones like you and me. So if I see you in church, you’re a
Livingstone, I presume. (Ah! Remember, Jesus used puns.)
Think for a moment about the stone
buildings you’ve seen. What do you
notice?
Well for one thing, no two stones are
alike. They come in different sizes, different colors, different shapes. Some
are rough, some are smooth. Some just sparkle and others are more subdued. Each
stone is unique.
It’s the same way in the church. No two
living stones are alike. Karen Cockerham is a great church treasurer, but I
don’t know how good she’d be as a choir director. Harold Betteridge does a fine
job as our sexton, especially when it comes to repairing things. I might not do
so well at that.
This week I was talking about the church
with a member who’d just as soon stay anonymous. Near the end of the
conversation he said, “I’ll tell you what I want to do. I’ll give $100,000 in
matching funds to the building project. If the church raises $100,000 I’ll
match it.” Then he said, “And I think I can talk So-and-so into doing the
same.”
Now not all of us can do that – though if
you can it is strongly encouraged. But my point is that we’re not all alike.
Each one of us is unique, and each of us brings something special to the
church. (I don’t think that member can dance like Paula, Shamika and Kadijah.)
We’re different. We have different
backgrounds, different jobs, different houses, different resources, different
accents, different talents, different tastes. Yet the Lord has brought us all
together. He’s giving us a growing love for one another and making us one in
Him. That’s Jesus building His church.
A second thing about stone buildings: Each
stone is chosen for a particular spot. When you build with bricks or blocks or
two-by-fours it doesn’t matter quite so much which brick or block or board goes
where. They’re interchangeable. They’re easily replaced. Not so with stone
buildings. This stone fits right here and that stone fits right there. Each
stone is precious.
Living stones are like that, too. You are
precious here. You are of great great value. At your job or school, in your
neighborhood, maybe even in your family you may be just another rock. But not
here. The master builder chose you, above every other stone in the world, and
he placed you in a special place. He placed you here with us. And we would not
be complete without you. We need your shape. We need your color. We need your
texture if we’re going to be the church the master builder wants us to be.
If you take a stone out of a stone
building, the building won’t fall down, but it will become a little weaker. And
it will become drafty and less attractive. Each stone is needed.
There is no living stone in this whole
congregation who is less valuable than anyone else. You are worthy of our respect.
You are worthy of our affection. You are worthy of our support. You are worthy
of our encouragement. You are worthy of our full acceptance. You are worthy of
our love. For Jesus Himself chose you and put you here with us. That’s Jesus
building His church.
Another thing about stones. They’re tough.
They’re hard. They’re strong. They’re practically indestructible. And so are
you, because when you come to Jesus, you become a living stone. And that means
you become more and more like Jesus. Remember the Bible says that Jesus is “the
chief cornerstone.” I Peter says, “Come to the Lord, the Living Stone,
rejected by men as worthless but chosen by God as precious and valuable.”
When you become a living stone you become like Jesus.
And think of how tough Jesus is. Satan
himself tempted Jesus, but He didn’t fall. The brightest scholars in the
country tried to trick Jesus but He never faltered. Finally the mightiest
empire in the world arrested Jesus and sentenced Him to death. And Jesus died.
He died in slow, excruciating pain. But that didn’t mean He was defeated. Even
death couldn’t whip Him. And on the third day Jesus arose from the grave as
King of kings and Lord of lords. He won the victory even over death itself.
Nothing can defeat Him.
And when you come to Jesus, you become
like Him. Of course you’ll be tempted, but if you’ll hold on God will give you
strength you never thought you could have. Of course you’ll have times in your
life that are confusing and painful. You might get sick, or loose your job, or
loose a loved one or face some other crushing tragedy. But that doesn’t mean
you’re defeated! Hang in there. You’re a living stone. And before too long the
very power that raised Jesus from the dead will lift you up as well. You’re a
living stone.
And when you take a bunch of stones and
join them together in a building, that’s an incredibly strong building. Storms
may come. Winds may blow. Fires may rage but that building still stands strong.
And when you take a bunch of living stones
and join them together into a church, you have an edifice that can face
anything the world throws at it. Persecution makes us stronger. Disaster pulls
us closer together. Disappointment drives us to prayer, which releases that
supernatural power we talked about earlier. Jesus said, “You are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not
overcome it.” When Jesus takes living stones like you and me, and uses
them to build His church, Hell itself is no match for us.
And
that’s what is happening here. Jesus is building His church.
Let me give you just one example. Miss
Lorna is the regular leader for our “Way Cool Kids” ministry to elementary
schoolers. But a few months ago Miss Lorna was diagnosed with cancer and she’s
undergoing chemotherapy. She can hardly eat anything. So she can’t lead Way
Cool Kids for awhile.
But that doesn’t mean that Way Cool Kids
has to stop meeting. Miss Jennifer is filling in till Miss Lorna gets back.
Last Wednesday Way Cool Kids met and they put together food bags for our food
pantry. We gave out over 40 bags of food the next day.
And the next time Way Cool Kids meet they’ll
gather at Miss Jennifer’s house and they’re going to cook something. In fact,
they’re going to cook a special chicken soup for Miss Lorna.
The Way Cool Kids ministry could have been
shelved for a while. But instead those young living stones – those living
pebbles are learning some very practical lessons about the nature of Christian
love. That’s Jesus building His church.
Jesus said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my
church.” Did you catch that? “My
church.” This isn’t our church. We’re part of it, but we don’t own it. The
church belongs to Jesus. And that means that what we’re doing here is bigger
than one congregation. It’s bigger than one community. What we’re doing here
has cosmic significance, for Jesus is building
His church.
Jesus is building His church. He has been
building it for a long time. He’s building His church out of living stones,
like you and me and people we love, and people we will grow to love.
He’s building a church that throbs with the
supernatural power of God. Addictions are broken. Relationships are mended.
Sins are forgiven. Diseases are healed. Hearts are changed. Lives are
redirected. Souls are saved.
Jesus is building a church
that boldly and clearly says, “Jesus Christ is Lord of this community!” It
radiates a message of God’s love to everyone who passes by.
Jesus is building His church.
We can’t see all the details yet, but we already see the outline of His dream.
We see it in one another’s eyes. And it is spectacular.
Jesus is building His church.
Jesus is building His
church.
Jesus is building His
church.
And He’s using me and you.