“God The Builder”
1 Corinthians 3:10-13
Sunday, August 2, 2009

Introduction: Example- This last year Tiffany had to build a model of one of the missions for school. We chose the San Juan Capistrano mission, which we had visited and taken pictures of. Tami and I are not experienced builders, or model makers, and so we sought to do our best at helping Tiffany build this mission out of Styrofoam and other objects. While it wasn’t the best representation ever, it wasn’t bad. Tiffany got a good grade on it, and now has it in her room on display!
This morning I want to look at the importance of “the heart”/ in a spiritual sense., and how we need God to build into our hearts. Now, even though the heart is an organ which keeps us alive, in the Bible the heart is referred to as that place where our faith resides and grows. For God to bless us, we have to have a unique heart. This is often overlooked when you talk about successfully living for Jesus Christ. One reason it is overlooked is because most people don’t think that their heart has to be built upon. But the truth is that it does. As Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’…”

I. Laying A Foundation- (1 Corinthians 3:10-11; John 1:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:4-8)

a. According to God’s Grace- As we think about God building, it should
remind us that we are capable of building things as well. And when we build something, it can be very rewarding. There are many reasons why this is true. For one, we are made in God’s image, and given the ability to be creative like God. So when we build something, we are in essence fulfilling this call to be like God; to be creative. However, it also is rewarding in that we feel good about doing something constructive. And yet, the danger is that we can get prideful about our accomplishments. So we need to find balance between feeling good about what we build, and not getting too caught up in our accomplishment.
Because if this happens, we begin to forget that God is there with us, guiding and instructing us in how to build. We forget that God gave us the ability to create. We forget what God would want us to build, and we start to maybe choose to “build things” that God wouldn’t choose for us.
As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:10, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled builder….” We cannot forget that we have this opportunity because of God’s grace; God’s choosing us to be builders; God bringing opportunities to us; God directing us to the area where it is most important to build…..the spiritual.
Example- There is a cartoon where a teacher and a student are looking at each other, both frowning. Behind them is a chalkboard with an unsolved math problem, and you can tell that the chalkboard has many erase marks on it. The looks on the faces tell this story; it’s as if the teacher is saying to the student: “You should have solved this problem. You are an underachiever.” And the student is saying back: “I’m not an underachiever. You are an overexpecter.”
There are many people who think that God expects too much of them. They in essence are saying: “I can’t be a builder, I don’t have the skills.” Like what I felt when I first thought about having to help Tiffany build her mission. But we have to remember that God gives us this ability to be a skilled builder. It’s not a question of whether or not we have the skill. We have all been given the skill to build. The question is: “What am I to build?”

b. The only foundation- Well, before we even answer that question, we have
to answer this question: “On what will I build?” Before you can build something, you have to have a solid foundation. And Paul gives us the answer in 1 Corinthians 3:11:“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid…. Jesus Christ.” We have been given Jesus Christ as the foundation to build upon. And how is Jesus the foundation? Jesus is the foundation as the Savior and Lord of all. The foundation of Jesus is in understanding that in Jesus we find the better way. As we are told in John 1:17- “…the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
As a church, that means that we should be a place that is telling people about Jesus. We need to share how God loves everyone, and wants everyone to be free of their sins; that the only way they can be free is to confess their sins to Jesus (as we talked about last week) and let the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross take away their sins. We need to teach people that following Jesus is the only real way to live, and the only way that will bring peace and joy in their lives.
As Christians, building on Jesus as a foundation means that you tell people about how Jesus has changed you and is continuing to change you. You tell people about how Jesus loves them. You bring people to church and to church functions so that they can hear about Jesus.
In doing this, both you and the church can be builders, and can use Jesus Christ as the secure foundation on which to build
Illus. “The young preacher and the farmer.” Amusing Grace, p. 84, #259.
There is a story of a preacher who got a job right out of seminary pasturing a small mountain church. He was very excited about this call and the thought of winning everyone on the mountain to God. He began to go door to door telling people about Jesus. One day he went to a farm house where the farmer greeted him. The young minister asked the farmer, “Are you a Christian?” The farmer replied, “No, I believe they live a couple miles down the road.” Thinking the farmer had misunderstood, the minister then said: “No, I mean, are you lost?” To which the farmer said: “Why, no, I’ve lived here for some 40 years.” In frustration, the minister asked: “What I want to know is are you ready for the Judgment Day?!” “When is it?” asked the farmer. The minister replied, “I don’t know. It could be today, or it could be tomorrow.” “Well,” The farmer answered, “come back when you find out. My wife will probably want to go both days.”
When you try to be a builder, it might be a little frustrating like it was for this young pastor. But that is okay, because your motivation should come from what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 2:4- “…We are not trying to please people, but God, who tests our hearts.” What we do and what we say should be pleasing to God, not those to whom we are speaking! God will then take our efforts and bless them.
Also our motivation is to be concerned about people who are lost in the same way that a mother would be concerned if her child wandered away. The people who are in our community, who do not know Jesus, are lost. God wants us to be concerned about them. As a church, a people of God, we will be blessed when we care about people the way God cares about people; with unconditional love and unselfishness.

II. Building on God’s Foundation- (1 Corinthians 3:10-13)

a. Choosing how to build- Example: Tyler had a wonderful year in baseball
this last year. His batting average was .625, and his on-base percentage was .700! He also played outstanding catcher, and he pitched very well, even making 13 of the 18 outs by strikeout and pitching a shut-out in one game. When we won the league, we went to the Tournament of Champions, where we played first place teams from other leagues. This was a higher level of competition, but Tyler still batted .550. Then Tyler made all-stars; an even higher level of competition. Facing very tough pitchers, Tyler batted .425, which is still excellent. In fact, in one game, our team only got 1 hit, and Tyler got that hit!
Now as a parent, I was very proud of Tyler. But if I get too prideful of this as a parent, I will begin to lose my focus on what is really important in this life. Tyler doing well in baseball is nice, but there are other aspects of life that are more important. And even more, what is eternal is of greatest importance.
It would be foolish for me to wave this before God and say, “God, look how great a parent I am.” This would not impress God. Our crown and joy when we come before God is twofold: first, it is that we humbled ourselves and accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord. Second, that we sought to tell people about Jesus and led them to be saved. I am much more proud of Tyler that he has accepted Jesus Christ as his savior and Lord, than anything else he could do. Why? Because I know that Tyler is prepared for eternity in heaven with God.
In the last few years we have done much to improve the condition of our facilities. We have painted most of our buildings, gotten new stucco, replaced the roof on the sanctuary and fellowship hall, re-carpeted, gotten new pew pads, added a new sound system, purchased a new piano and a new organ, and on and on.
But the church that God blesses is not one that focuses on physical achievements, but on spiritual ones. The church that God blesses keeps its focus on the call of ministry—leading people to Jesus Christ.
At the end of 1 Corinthians 3:10, Paul says this: “… Each builder must
choose with care how to build on it.”
When we think about being builders, we have to think about the right motivation. A lack of motivation to sacrifice for others is what holds back many ministries and churches from being greatly used by the Lord.
We need to ask ourselves: Do we want to see this church succeed and be blessed by God? Do we want to be builders for God? You can’t teach or physically impart passionate concern, this can only come from the Spirit of God working in us; working deep within a person’s soul. And that only happens when you open yourself up to God, and let God give you the right desires and thinking.

b. A special heart- So we need to let God build into us a special heart. A
special heart is one that is motivated by the same kind of love that God has; the same kind of passion God has.
Story- In 1928, at the close of a gospel service in Russellville, Arkansas, a
thirteen-year-old boy named J. W. Tucker surrendered his life to Christ. His life was a godly example to others. At the age of twenty, Jay entered a Bible school in Oklahoma, and while there felt a call to be a missionary to Africa. He responded by saying: “I am willing, Lord.” He felt the call to go to the Congo. At first the door was closed, and so Jay planned to go to West Africa with his friend. But at the last minute the circumstances changed and allowed him to go to the Congo. Jay was part of a team of seven. They first had to go to Belgium for language study, but the outbreak of World War II disrupted their plans. So they went directly to the Congo. They traveled by boat from Alexandria, Egypt, and then by train southward through Sudan toward the Congo border. They soon arrived in Congo and attended their first conference of resident missionaries and Congolese believers. During the early months Jay was a builder, student, teacher, and preacher. As the years passed his calling deepened. He got engaged to another one of the missionaries, Angeline, and together they traveled to Uganda. On April 10, 1941, the couple was united in marriage. In time 2 sons and a daughter were added to the family. In 1958 they moved their family to a new ministry center in Paulis. They started a new church in their backyard, which then began to grow. There was political unrest, however, that began, which caused many missionaries to leave, but Jay and his family stayed. Eventually, European and American consuls advised their citizens to leave because of hatred toward foreigners. The Tuckers sent their children to school in Kenya, and they remained in Paulis until 1963 when they took a furlough to the United States. “I must go back,” Jay told his wife. “God is calling me back.” So in August, 1964, the Tucker family returned to Paulis. The city was still in unrest. Rebel forces were threatening government troops. Two weeks later rebel forces entered the city of Paulis and brought death and carnage everywhere. The Tucker’s appeared safe, but then their car was confiscated and they were put under house arrest with soldiers posted outside their door. On November 4 Jay was arrested with dozens of others and was held in a Catholic Mission. On November 24 Jay and other prisoners were taken out into the streets and beaten to death. Two days later Belgian paratroopers rescued Angeline Tucker and her three children.
Now your first thought about this story is probably that this is a tragic ending to 25 years of compassionate ministry for Christ. This true account may seem somewhat strange as we talk about God’s blessings. But the rest of the story gives some deeper insight.
The Bomokandi river flowed through the Nganga region of Congo, where
a tribe named the Mangbetu’s lived. The Mangbetu’s were resistant to the
the news of God’s love. As the Congo rebellion subsided, the Mangbetus
persuaded the central government to send a chief of police to bring stability. They sent a man who had the nickname “the Brigadier.” What no one knew was that the Brigadier had been won to Christ by Jay Tucker. The spiritual environment in this tribe was one of darkness. Then he heard a saying of the tribe’s: “If the blood of any man flows in our, river, the Bomokandi River, you must listen to his message.” So the Brigadier assembled the tribe to tell them about the life and story of Jay Tucker. And the Brigadier told them the story of Jesus Christ. As he preached this simple message, the Holy Spirit brought conviction upon the people, and the light of Christ began to shine in this Mangbetu tribe. Today in this tribe, there are hundreds of believers and dozens of churches. They can all be traced back to the passionate ministry whose blood flowed in the Bomokandi River; Jay Tucker. His love for the people led to his death, but in dying he was able to bring the message of eternal life in a way that could never have been imagined And without his death, the people probably would not have been won over for Christ!

Conclusion: At the beginning of this sermon I mentioned Psalm 14:1, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’…” It is not only foolish to think there is no God, it is also foolish to think that we don’t need God to build into us. How can we hope to build meaningful lives and a meaningful world, if we don’t have Jesus Christ as our foundation?
To build, you must have the basics; the essentials! For the church, and for God’s children, the basic is Jesus Christ. And as we allow Jesus to be our foundation, we move to that place of loving like Jesus did, and being concerned about the lost as Jesus was, and having a heart that seeks to reach all those who do not know Jesus Christ as their savior and Lord.
We can be passionate about many things. That is the nature of our heart, to give us passion. I hope and pray that you would allow God to lead your heart to be passionate for Him, and for leading others to Christ. Let God build in and through you in this way, today, and every day. Amen.