Faith to Build

Faith to Build

And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.

Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

In this Passage the Lord is talking to people considering being his disciple and he wants them to really think about what that means and what it costs before he just jumps right in.

And he uses this illustration. He said which of you intends to build a tower sitteth not down first and counteth the cost to see whether he has sufficient to finish it.

Now I don't not believe everybody in that great multitude were all tower builders. But he said which of you because everyone understands we have great intentions for the things that we have to accomplish in life that take thought. And following Jesus is one of them

And if we really do not count the cost we won't finish

If he does not he will get started and never be able to finish it and all that pass by will begin to mock him.

And all of us have done that

How many of you have seen this people begin grand things but they do not have what it takes to finish it ?

Bahamas foundations everywhere

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Padilla used the money for his own mansion and sons wedding and never installed sewer or electric or roads

Someone got into trouble, someone took on more than they could chew what a waste I wish I owned that I would do something with it.

Now not all of these people were tower builders or war people but he was saying if you are going to follow me it will be a coast and you need to plan for that consider this is big it is like a tower it is a huge thing not a side item

It is a war I may never return to. Am I willing to die on the battlefield?

Now all of us the Lord has something He wants us to do for him individually and something he wants us to do for him collectively

And anything you do for Jesus is going to be big front and center like war or a tower

It is going to take a lot of emotional fortitude and it is going to take a lot of resources and it could take everything so you have to determine if he is worth it.

Now here is where the sermon is going to take a weird turn.

I have been pastoring here for 13 years as of last Sunday night and when I got here the building was in decay all the roofs were leaking. And there had not been any maintenance done on it for a long time

And I knew how to fix things up so for the last thirteen years we have put the extra that comes in after ministry expenses into fixing the place up and it has been exciting.

I have been able to use my skills and help a lot of people out with work along the way.

And so we began to fix things up we have come a long way

Sound lights stage pews carpet paint so much

But now we have come to the point to go any further we needed a plan because we do not want to redo things and want to make sure we are going the right direction. I am not able to think along those lines.

So we hired an architect to maximize this campas we have and give us a plan we could grow into and it would be good a 100 years from now when our grandchildren are the Leaders of this church.

We hired bengie daniels. He is a baptist deacon first baptist church downtown with experience in church.

He took all of us sat us down in a room asked about our mission our method of ministery what was important to us

Kids ministry Sunday school safety fellowship area

Discipleship areas spanish ministry adult small sunday school classes.

And we talked about maybe a mother's day out.

And we wanted to be able to do it as we could afford it because we are debt free and like that.

So after that he took the notes and did not hear from him for a month.

And he met with Roland and Pastor Aston I to approve the plan before he started doing the renderings.

And this is what he came up with.

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Here is final rendering maybe that will mean more to you

I saw this

And how many of you does this mean nothing to you ?

That is ok we will get to the renderings later the pretty pictures

But this is my language

And this is a lot more than i was envisioning

This means breakfast phill room all the offices

Downstairs kids classes

But than to really blow my mind he added a second story to this

I got mad. I got flush in my face I almost fired him I thought why did we pay you to ruin my life and give me a plan that we will never be able to accomplish?''

He said I thought you wanted a plan for the future you could do in phases

This is the best use of this space.

So I said I do not have enough faith to let me go home and pray about it.

I felt like a nehemiah when he heard about the wall overwhelmed and I do not do well when I get overwhelmed. I like things simple and understandable.

So I went home and prayed about it and this is what the Lord showed me.

and what he showed me not only applies to this building project but it applies to every other area of life that seems impossible.

these things are what God used me to get through many big things in life

and the reason I'm sharing this is because we're going to be getting started soon and you deserve to be informed know where we're going and why we're going there Understand what the big plan is and if God wants you to help.

And I'm not going to ask you for money today.

and it's important to know that this is your church this is our church. A church is not owned by a pastor it is not owned by any individual. But collectively we Stewart and manage this property.

It can be done

Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,

Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:

Do you believe that when it comes to your problem? Your tower your obstacle?

The Lord said do you think this is to big for me

I said no I do not think it is to big for you

He said it can be done

To be able to do something you have to believe it can be done

Nothing great gets done by a man of no faith

He said if you have faith the size of a mustard seed you can say to this mountain

Mat_21:21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.

He did not say how it will be done or how long it will take maybe you will have to get a bulldozer and some dynamite

But it will never be done unless you believe it can be done.

What is the vision I have given you for the church

Vision slide

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What if I need this building down to accomplish that do you believe it can be done.

Yes I believe it can be done

as we're going through this the Lord's going to bring things to your mind that need to happen in your life.

Do you believe it can be done? do you believe God can show you the way and give you the resources?

It has been done before

The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.

And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.

And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch.

And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.

75 45 450 101,250 Square feet

Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.

God has always used the ark to teach me about this church and pastoring it

Like build it and they will come

Get the rooms ready and put the food there and the animals will come.

But this was a building he asked a preacher to build

And it was not his expertise and it had never been done before

What we are doing is simple less expensive smaller and it does not have to float or hold exotic animals

It does not have to be strong enough to sit on a mountain

and we do not have to build it with Shem ham and japheth I could not imagine building an ark with my three sons. I could imagine them being on The Arc in one of the rooms next to the Monkees

This what God is leading me to start is much less expensive than solomon's temple

It is an easier job than Ezra or nehemiah had.

It has been done by smaller churches with less leadership ability, less talent and less resources than we have.

In a more obscure place

not only can it be done but we have seen it being done before all around us.

It is so much easier to do something after you have seen it done before. After you know it's possible because you have seen someone else do it.

I want you to think about your problem has the Lord ever helped somebody overcome it before.

I want you to think about your tower the war you are fighting.

Has he not promised you victory has he not given you the resources you need if you would only draw on them.

Has he not modeled it for you in the Bible and in the church and in society and in books?

We can't do it alone

Deu 32:30 How should one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD had shut them up?

And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.

And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.

For the body is not one member, but many.

If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?

But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

This is the biggest project I have undertaken

Up to this point most of what we did we were able to manage ourselves

It never stretched us that far financially it was always within reach it was always something that we could see

But this was bigger it was something we couldn't see we had to hire someone to show us. To give us a picture. To give us a plan.

But this is bigger than anything we have done.

If I liquidated everything I won I could not fund it myself

I can't do it on my own

But I'm not supposed to

God wants to get us into a position where

We have to work together

We will do it together

Geese formation v

They can fly 72 % further together than they could alone who told them that God told them that.

and just like God taught the gace he gave us a book that told us we have to do it together. It pleases him when we work together

It has been done by people without God

With no eternal purpose only to make money

This will not make money, it is not about that it is about more souls getting saved.

We have God we have the bible

We have believers that are very talented

When he wanted the tabernacle built he provided a man named bezaleel that could do it.

We have a roland does this

We have a mike cruz o.r.c.

We have a malachi cumings metal roofing and other things what other things all other things

We have duron drywall

We have ozone air .

We have Rose Clark interior decorator extra ordinaire

we have a deacon board that understands finances and business.

We even have critics. like Ezra had when they would cry and say this is not like it used to be.

Everybody needs a good critic.

We will do it together

It will teach us how to work together

To become stronger

To plan better

It will test us

I mean I have grown so much through this project

It has tested us

It has made me madder than a hornet

It has helped me learn how to work with these men much better.

And it is going to help us learn to work together not just in building but in ministry it will throw us in the trenches and teach us as a church.

What it means to push the mission forward.

That is why he put it together to function as his body.

Now I want you to think about your problem your tower your war. Who who are you getting to help you?

or are you saying to the foot I have no need of thee?

It will take great faith

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

But we can't do it by ourselves. This is bigger than all of us put together. .

Heb_11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Expect great things from God attempt great things for God William Carry.

And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.

And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

The Lord wants to show us he is able

He wants us to believe him

He wants to show us miracles and that increases our faith in him.

He wants to have us see things we never thought possible and that open the possibility to what is next.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Marriage in shambles infidelity and see God put it together

And that gives me faith for any marriage.

Anyone can have a great fulfilling marriage if you have the faith and do what he told you to do and if you do not know you find someone that does and can instruct you.

God wants to put us in positions were the answer is not immediate

It is not feasible

We do not see how it can be done and he wants to teach us to rely on him.

This will grow our faith

It will test it and it will grow it.

And it will prepare us for greater things in the future.

When you know how to do it you have done it before and you can afford it it does not take a lot of faith.

This is a small thing compared to the willingness and ability of the Lord.

We just have to put our faith in him

Maybe your personal tower an obstacle in war it's such a big deal because your faith is not in God but in yourself where's your faith?

It is a worthy investment

And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.

Grand; splendid; illustrious.

Now I was raised in a place were they thought you were backslidden if you made the church house look nice

The church is the people not the building

You can meet with God in a chicken coop send the money to the poor people

So they did not make anything mice kept all their money and made themselves nice houses

Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the LORD'S house should be built.

Then came the word of the LORD by Haggai the prophet, saying,

Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?

Show rendering

You know what I thought this is a more worthy investment than my house

Than my car than what I have going on

For years to come people will be getting saved here

When we put those new doors on thousands of people will walk through them less than 10 people regularly use my door.

People that normally would not come will see something going on and they will come and they will say that is magnifical I want to see what it is

Some of them will get saved.

It will allow us to do more people help more people reach more people

It will help us minister to our kids and grandkids

It will be a place our prodigals will come back to.

It will be a place where money is raised for missions

It will help us reach people we are currently not reaching.

I think about all the other things I've invested money in and I believe the ministry is the best investment

I believe it pleases God more to invest in the church house than my houseand it's not a bad thing to invest in your house I'm redoing some things right now got a baby on the way

Now how are we going to do it ?

We are going to pray our fast started today

We are going to look to the Lord

We are going to keep it before people in the back with the list of projects we are working on.

Wich ones are funded which ones are unfunded and if you want to help great if not great

We just never want the place to smell like money and we do not want to turn it into a thing that people feel we are always asking for money the Lord will do it in his time as he always has

And we are going to let the Lord move it along at his pace.

When he provides we will do it.

We are meeting with people tomorrow about the new doors and windows

And we will go from there.

We want you to know what is going on

What we are doing

Why is it important so you can see where God would have you help.

And to believe in it and see it as important and not to feel burned but to feel inspired

And as we take on big things together for the glory of God I want it to inspire you to tackle things in your life.

Now as you leave there's a table in the back and the renderings are on some paper you can take it home put it on your refrigerator and pray about it and ask questions give feedback everything you want