Looking Forward Leads to Work

Are you striving to accomplish God’s purpose for you and for our church?

It will always be beyond your ability.

It will always take work.

Everyone must work together.

I Corinthians 12:12-27

Nehemiah 3:5

Ladies and men must work together.

Nehemiah 3:12

We must take ownership of the work.

Nehemiah 3:10, 28-30

All of the work is important.

I Peter 2:5

We need more stones to complete the work.

Notes Taken From Sermon:

Are you striving to do something beyond yourself?

we shouldn’t keep doing what is in our own strength, but be what God’s strength can only give

Are we striving as a church to do more than what we can do ourselves?

Jerusalem wall context

wall was 1.5 miles long; 10-26 ft high depending on places; 8-12 ft wide

the work was great and a lot

Are we going to say yes to God’s will?

(Anything that is worth doing will be hard)

Everything we do takes work and requires God’s work, but it is not passive but must be active

(1.)? - It will always be beyond your ability

It Will Take Work

Everyone Must Work Together

leaders, goldsmiths, perfumer (people who didn’t know anything about building a wall)

learn to do the work to accomplish the goal God had for them to accomplish

They worked, but God empowered them

God has placed pastors in place to lead the plan God has given them, and the church to work the plan

1 Corinthians 12:12–27 “12 For just as the body is one and has many parts, and all the parts of that body, though many, are one body—so also is Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and we were all given one Spirit to drink. 14 Indeed, the body is not one part but many. 15 If the foot should say, “Because I’m not a hand, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, “Because I’m not an eye, I don’t belong to the body,” it is not for that reason any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God has arranged each one of the parts in the body just as he wanted. 19 And if they were all the same part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that are weaker are indispensable. 23 And those parts of the body that we consider less honorable, we clothe these with greater honor, and our unrespectable parts are treated with greater respect, 24 which our respectable parts do not need. Instead, God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the less honorable, 25 so that there would be no division in the body, but that the members would have the same concern for each other. 26 So if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and individual members of it.”

Everyone is to do God’s vision together and accomplish what God wants us to accomplish

Tekoites - felt they were too high and too good/better to do the work; no one is above the work

3. Ladies and men must work together (v.12)

people working together to accomplish God’s will in every way

4. We Must Take Ownership of the Work

take special ownership of their portion of the wall

this is our work, we have to take ownership of the work

5. All of the work is important

All the work is important, because every part of the plan works together in order to accomplish the work

The pastor has given the plan, and we must work the whole plan

1 Peter 2:5 “5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

6. We need more stones to complete the work

Challenge: Listen to the Lord

Us accomplish more than we can alone

our church accomplish more than our church can

we find more stones to build God’s kingdom (His will and works)

stones being people joining God’s kingdom and His work

Personal thought: maybe a helpful application is spiritual gifts survey