Under Construction

Have you ever driven by a building that is under construction? When you first see it starting off it just looks like a big mess. You got scaffolding every where, unfinished walls, piles of dirt, and things just scattered everywhere! Not only that, but sometimes we say to ourselves, “when is this ever going to be finished?? On the outside it looks a bit crazy, but to the master builder, everything is going according to plan. He is not bothered by the mess. Why? Because the builder has the blueprint. The builder knows exactly what it is supposed to look like when it’s finished. What looks like a mess now will one day become a masterpiece.

That is exactly how it feels in our life at times. We look at ourselves and see all the unfinished parts of our life: we see our mistakes, our past, our struggles, our fears, we look at these things and think to ourselves, “I should be further along by now.”

However, thanks be to God that while you and I see a mess, God sees a masterpiece in the making. Because He is the Master Builder, He sees the end result. Things may seem crazy right now. Things may look like a mess when you look at all of the unfinished projects in your life. However, God is unbothered by the incomplete construction zones of you life. Why? Because God has the blueprint! He knows the end from the beginning. He knows exactly what it is supposed to look like when it is finished to God, everything is going according to plan. While we see a construction zone, God sees the completion.

Here is the best part: no matter the situation, God does not leave any projects unfinished. If He starts something, He is going to finish. Similarly, if God started something in you, He is not going to walk away.

That should be encouraging because we many times imagine that God is upset with us or that we are not good enough to be considered God’s child. However, that is fear speaking, not the truth. If God began something in you, He is not going to walk away until it is complete!

The truth is that everyone here is in a process; everyone here is a work in progress. We are all clay in he hands of the potter who is molding and shaping our lives for His glory. You are not who you used to be! However, you are yet who God is shaping you to be. Amen!

This is the reason why Paul was able to write to the Philippians confidently and to tell them this:

Philippians 1:6 - “Being confident of this… He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

In order to really get a better glimpse of this verse, we need to zero in on the people within the Philippian church.

In verse 3, Paul said that he was praying for the them and that he was thankful for them. Why? Because they had partnered with him in the gospel, while he was in prison. Many people supported Paul, but when he was taken to prison, they all pulled back their support in fear. Nevertheless, the Philippian church did not back away but instead backed him even more. They understood that he was in chains for Christ. They stood with Paul all the way through.

Now that sounds like some stand up people! Sounds like people who have it all together! However, they were far from being perfect:

•   Lydia — A successful business woman (pretty good)

•   The Jailer — A “failure” who almost took his own life

•   The Slave Girl — The girl in Philippi who was demon possessed (Acts 16). We do not know if she actually joined this church or not, but we do know that God set her free from the kingdom of darkness. There is a good chance she attended.

•   Divided Church — The Philippians were a mix of people (wealthy, working class, slaves, jews, gentiles, etc) who were at times divided amongst one another.

As I said, they were not perfect. Some would say that they were far from being perfect. However, that did not phase Paul one bit, nor did it phase God. Similarly, God is not phased at our imperfections. It doesn’t bother God when you are still trying to figure it out in areas of your life and it seems to be taking you longer than others. Thank God! But why? The answer is found in the text:

1.      God Began the Work in You

“He who began a good work in you…”

The Bible says that if you have placed your faith in Jesus and if you have repented of your sin to follow Him, today you are born again. You are a believer in Jesus Christ! However, you are not the reason that you born again. There is nothing that you did to make salvation possible! That was all God.

•   God the Father is the one who sent His only son to die in your place.

•   Jesus the Son is the one who died on the cross to pay for the penalty of your sin.

•   God is the one who gave you the faith to believe.

•   God the Holy Spirit is the one who drew you to Himself hear about Christ and to want to follow Him.

•   God is the one who did the work!

•    Philippians 2:12-13 — “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

•    In other words, God is the one who gives you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases Him! It’s not you, it is Him! That is both humbling and encouraging. It is humbling because it makes you realize that you cannot do anything apart from Him (neither did Jesus). But it is also encouraging because it means that it is not all on you!

God is the one who began the work in you!

•    Before you and I ever reached out for Christ, He had already made a way fro you through Christ. You and I were far from God. Sin had separated us from Him. Yet, through the atoning death of Jesus Christ, you and I have been brought near to God!

•    2 Corinthians 5:21— “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

•    The work God began in you was purchased by the work Jesus finished for you.

But God didn’t save you just to leave you where as He found you…

2.      God is Still Working
“…will carry it on…”

Not only did God begin the work, but He is continuing to work in your life. He is going to carry on the work that He started in you. God knows the end from the beginning. He is the one who started the work in you and he knows what it needs to look like in the end.

The Philippians were still growing themselves. While they were a strong church, Paul understood that they still needed the grace of God in their lives. They still dealt with conflict between one another and they still needed humility with his they interacted. Paul understood that they were still under construction.

The whole point of a construction zone is not to leave it the way it is. The goal is to bring to to its completion. We should never be okay with where we are at in our walk with Christ. You are not meant to stay in your struggles, shortcomings, fears, etc. Instead, the goal is for your life to move closer and closer to its completion every day. That doesn’t happen without the master builder being involved. He has the blueprint and knows exactly what end result looks like. Similarly, you can’t do it without God leading you along the way.

God uses:

•   His Word

•   The Holy Spirit

•   Other believers

•   Prayer

•   Trials & hardship

•   Etc

•    God is not finished with you, but He is not finished changing you either.

3.      God Will Finish the Work
“…will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

What God began, He will finish. God is not like us. He does not start something and then lose interest halfway through. He does not begin a work in your life and then walk away because the process gets too difficult. He already knows every part of the process, every weakness He will have to work through, every area that still needs to change, and every season of difficulty. None of it surprises Him. He began the work knowing exactly what it would take to bring it to completion.

You and I see a mess, but God sees a masterpiece in the making. One day He is going to compete that masterpiece in your life. One day you will no longer be under construction; you will be perfected! One day God is going to complete that work on the day of Jesus Christ. You and I will be glorified and we will be with the Lord! That is encouraging.

1 John 3:2 — “We know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”

So when you look at the unfinished areas of your life, do not assume that God has given up on you. He has not abandoned the project. He is still working, and He has already promised too complete the job.

God finishes what He starts, and you are no different. 

4.      So Be Confident
“Being confident of this…”

Notice that Paul doesn’t say being confident of yourself, being confident of your track record, or your ability to keep it all together. Paul’s confidence was not rooted in their personal abilities at all, but in the divine faithfulness of God.

When you look at a building under construction, you don’t put your trust in the scaffolding to bring the job to completion. Instead, you put your confidence in the builder of the project. You and I can only see the current phase of our life, God sees the final product.

Because God is the One who began the work, because He is still working, and because He will finish what He started, you and I have a reason to be confident about our walk in Christ. Why? Because God is the one who is responsible for completing the work of salvation in your life. This truth should do three things for your life:

•   Silence the voice of condemnation — When satan points at the mess in your life and whispers in your ear that you are a failure, or that God is done with you, your faith should be anchored in what God is doing in your life, not in what you can do.

•   Be patient with yourself — You can stop beating yourself up for not being a “finished masterpiece” overnight. You don’t need to compare your race with someone else’s. With you, God is focused on you. Trust the master builder in your life.

•   Give grace to others — When you realize that everyone else around you is a work in progress, you stop demanding perfection from your co-workers, spouse, kids, church family, and others. You might see their scaffolding, you might see their dirt piles, but trust that God is at work in their life as well. Give them the grace you want others to show toward you.

If you're sitting here feeling discouraged by the construction zone of your life, I want to encourage you to hand the blueprint back to the Builder. Stop trying to finish yourself in your own strength, stop panicking over the unfinished parts, and trust the God who promised He will bring it to completion. Follow His instructions and simply do what He says. He will work it out and eventually bring you to completion.

TAKEAWAYS

1.    You are a work in progress

2.    God is right there with you

3.    He will finish what He started

Religious Hypocrisy

Gtcotr/ws092226

During the last few days before the cross … 

Luke 19:47  Jesus was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him. 

About 2 days before His arrest and crucifixion, Jesus addressed these groups directly. He pronounced woes on the Scribes, Pharisees, and Hypocrites. He called these religious people - “blind leaders of the blind.” Much of what Jesus said can be summed up in:

Matthew 23:24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!”

This proverb describes the practice of focusing on and making a fuss about smaller and less important observations while ignoring the weightier and more important ones. Many of the things Jesus mentions in chapters 21 through 24 deal with personal practices and observations of religious people.

Jesus was not attempting to say small sins are ok. Rather Jesus is pointing out the hypocrisy that results in judging others when we ourselves have sin in our own lives … especially sins which are greater sins in the eyes of God.

The gnat was the smallest creature, and the camel was the largest creature readily known to the Jews at that time. Gnats represented bothersome sins while camels referenced docile, perhaps even comfortable or profitable and non-threatening sins.

Jesus asked: “Which is greater?”

Matthew 23 NKJV

17  “Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?”

19  “Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?”

Allow me to ask you tonight: Which is greater? The sin or the soul? Are you focused on the sin someone has committed or on the soul that needs saved and rescued from hell?

Matthew 7 NKJV

1 ¶  “Judge not, that you be not judged.

2  “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

3  “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?

4  “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye?

5  “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Many times, the plank in our eye may be anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, gossip, hurt, or fear. The motivation of our heart to judge others, especially when we care more about the sin than we do about the soul, is often misplaced, even if well-meaning, it’s still wrong in the eyes of God.

How should we proceed when we observe something that troubles us?

1.   Make sure you love the sinner as much as you hate the sin.

2.   Talk to God before you talk to the person.

3.   Then, don’t uncover the nakedness of others.

a.   Reference to the sin of Canaan and the curse of Ham.

b.   Proverbs 17:9 – Cover transgressions and seek love! Reveal the sins of others will serve to separate close friends.

Once we understand what sin is, we should begin to judge ourselves, not others.

Family Sunday

 Gtcotr/ss083026

It was the early spring, maybe March, close to the time of the Passover that year, when Jesus heard about the death of John the Baptist. Jesus was tired and sad but there was a multitude of people gathering around Him and they were very hungry. We are told there were 5,000 men, besides the women and children. Up to 15,000 people had been following Jesus all day and they needed something to eat. The 12 Disciples of Jesus were concerned because they knew that they did not have enough money to buy everyone food and so, they came to Jesus.

This is often what we do, and what we should do, when we face a problem we cannot solve … we take the problem to Jesus! Sometimes taking the problem to Jesus is the only thing you can do about it.

An account of that day and what everyone did can be found in all four of the Gospels (Matthew 12; Mark 6; Luke 9; and John 6). In a moment we are going to read about it in John 6. Today we will focus on the young boy who saved the day. Follow along with me and imagine yourself on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The flowers are blooming and the wind is blowing.

John 6 NKJV

1 ¶  After these things Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias.

·        This is not an ocean as some might imagine a sea would be.

·        This is a relatively small freshwater lake that is about 7 miles wide, east to west, and about 14 miles north to south.

·        It is also called the Lake of Gennesaret which is a reference to a harp (musical instrument), alluding to the shape of the lake.

·        Jesus performed most of His earthly ministry in the towns and villages on the northern shores of this lake.

·        Jesus was looking for a place to rest and pray when He went out into a field on a hillside outside of the town of Bethsaida (Luke 9:10).

2  Then a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His signs which He performed on those who were diseased.

3  And Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat with His disciples.

·        They had all been so busy ministering that Jesus and the Disciples had no time to themselves to even rest or eat (Mark 6:31-33).

·        They had just sat down and, here came the multitudes looking for Jesus.

4  Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near.

5  Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?”

·        Jesus was always concerned about people’s health and welfare.

·        Even though these are fleeting and temporary needs, Jesus took precious time to meet them and to leave us an example to follow.

6  But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.

·        The question Jesus asked Philip was not aimed at the multitude’s need, but rather at Philip.

·        Philip was asking but the other disciples were listening.

7  Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.”

·        200 Denarii = 200 days wages.

·        The average annual salary in 2023 in Jefferson County, Texas, was reported to be $61,300. (Census.gov – Jefferson County, TX)

o   Based on that figure, 200 days wages would be $33,589.

o   That’s a lot of money to pull out of your pocket for a picnic.

·        I checked the price for 2 fish and fries at Hamburger Depot - $7.70.

o   For 15,000 people that would be $115,500.

·        The disciples were in a difficult place – perhaps Judas didn’t have that much money allocated to the homeless in his ministry account.

·        The Disciples were bewildered: “Does anyone else have any ideas?”

·        Because Jesus has told us to feed these people (Matthew 14:16).

8  One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him,

9  “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

·        A lad = a little boy – probably no older than 9 or 10.

·        It was the time of the barley harvest. Barley was used for animal feed as well as for the poor (John Gill’s Expositor) and barley made a coarse brown bread.

·        2 small fish = most likely something like 2 dried sardines.

·        What are these compared to the thousands of people?

10  Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

·        Besides the number of women and children (Matthew 14:21).

·        Again – perhaps as many as 15,000. But even if it had only been 15 people it would still have been a huge miracle.

11  And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.

·        Notice – the Disciples ended up feeding the multitude … Jesus didn’t do it – they did.

·        Everyone did their part. The little boy, the Disciples, and Jesus.

·        Miracles happen when everyone does their part … even children.

·        And everyone ate as much as they wanted …

12  So when they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that nothing is lost.”

·        They gathered up the leftovers – very important to the miracle.

13  Therefore they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

·        If you sow, you reap.

·        He who gives to the poor, lends to the Lord. And the Lord will repay (Proverbs 19:17) that which has been given.

·        I think those 12 baskets filled with fish and loaves were carried by the disciples back to the little boy’s house and given to his mama.

o   When the Bible doesn’t tell us, we can imagine the rest of the story unfolded in accordance with the scriptures covering those subjects.

o   What do you imagine? I don’t think the disciples kept them. They never belonged to them in the first place.

o   This was done to feed the hungry and bring glory to God – not to make the disciples rich.

14  Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

Ok … let’s focus on this little boy for a moment. Imagine yourself in his shoes. Maybe you’re at the State Fair, or an Astro’s Baseball game, or maybe the Dallas Cowboys game and you are surrounded by thousands and thousands of hungry people. Now let’s imagine you have two McDonalds’ fish sandwiches in your backpack, and you’re hungry too.

You can’t just take a sandwich out and start giving people a bite. You surely couldn’t let even the first person eat all they wanted. What made this moment different for this little boy in the Bible and what can we learn about it?

1.   It was not his plan that worked, it was God’s plan.

a.   Only God could fix this problem.

b.   The boy didn’t just give what he had to the people, he gave it to Jesus.

c.    What we have can seem so small and insignificant in our hands and yet be so big in God’s hands.

d.   Just giving things away may not help you or anyone else.

e.   Our giving should be God directed.

2.   Something gave him faith.

a.   He had to trust that what he was feeling and what he was thinking was the right thing to do.

b.   He had to believe in miracles and be willing to participate.

c.    Just like the woman in 1 Kings 17, he had to embrace his awakening.

3.   One unselfish act can change the world.

a.   He wasn’t stingy.

b.   He wasn’t afraid.

c.    He wasn’t shy about what he had to offer.

d.   This little boy is continuing to feed people every day all around the world.

4.   Miracles happen when everyone does their part … even little children.

a.   One small act of kindness can have rippling effects for eternity.

b.   The blessing you are waiting for might be waiting on you.

We cannot know until we get to heaven, but it is easy for me to imagine the traits we see in this little boy were the traits he saw modeled by his parents. Someone packed him lunch that day and I bet they were so proud to see him willing to share. The miracle that fed the multitudes also fed the little boy. Instead of eating his meager meal, he ate all he wanted. Miracles are some of the biggest blessings to those who help make it happen.