Building a House
Notes
Transcript
Turn your Bibles with me over to Hebrews Chapter 3 this morning, we are going to be beginning a new chapter today and we will spend our time this morning in verses 1 through verse 6.
As you turn, I am going to tell you about a book I read several years ago..or to be completely transparent, a book I half read several years a go. The book is entitled The Residence by Kate Anderson Brower and is about the staff that makes the Whitehouse run. According to the book there are
132 Rooms, 147 Windows, 28 Fireplaces, 8 Staircases, and 3 Elevators spread across 6 floors, plus 2 hidden mezzanine levels all in a building that appears to be only 3 stories.
And a building that size requires a significant staff, especially a building that size that houses the President of the United States and his family.
According to Brower
The White House employs approximately 96 full time employees and 250 part-time residence staff: ushers, chefs, florists, maids, butlers, doormen, painters, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, engineers and calligraphers [and] about two dozen National Park Service staff to take care of the White House grounds.
These are mostly unknown people, they are the Presidents household. When a State Dinner is served it’s not the staff that gets the public praise if it is a success it is the President.
The Church, or the assembly of God’s people, work in much the same way. All that the members of the church do should be to the Glory of God. Which brings us to our passage.
If your Bibles are open to Hebrews 1:1-6 please read along with me
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
Our message today is entitled Building a House
Pray
Servants are .... Servants
Servants are .... Servants
The White House staff tend to keep confidences well, seldom, but every once in a while a member of the White House staff writes a memoir or a tell-all book. When they do, they want to get for themselves some of the glory that rightfully belongs to the office of president.
Like The Most High
Like The Most High
We see what happens in the Bible when a servant insists on stealing the Glory that belongs to God. We see it several times.
The first is by Satan himself, when in Isaiah we find his hubris in Isa 14:14 as we read:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
It wasn’t enough for the devil to be a servant of God but instead he wanted the Glory the belonged to the creator.
Glory for Sale?
Glory for Sale?
In a much more relatable situation we have Simon the Sorcerer. He saw the power of God in the Apostles, and he even believed, but he wanted glory for himself. In Acts 8:18-21 we read:
18 And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, 19 Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. 20 But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. 21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.
Nothing New
Nothing New
When we see today Pastors who have abused their office for self glory, we aren’t seeing anything new. It is the same with them as it was for the Sorcerer and furthermore it is for them the same as it was which caused Satan himself to fall from heaven.
To God be the Glory
To God be the Glory
The Heart of David
The Heart of David
In Psalm 84:10 the Psalmist writes:
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Let the weight of this sink in
Doorkeeper
Doorkeeper
The Psalmist, in his heart of servanthood, would rather be a doorkeeper. There are two ways that this could be interpreted, the more basic understanding is that he is saying he would prefer to be a menial servant in the House of God than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
But as we dig we find that Hebrew word translated doorkeeper is ספף (spp) (Suh-mech-pey-pey). And it is a word used to describe a beggar that lays prostrate in front of a door at a place of worship, begging for money.
You don’t see this as much in the suburbs, but if you were to visit a church in the downtown of a large city you would absolutely find beggars at the door. I remember distinctly our honeymoon Kate and I went to Paris and when you are a tourist in Paris you spend a lot of time touring really old Catholic churches. And while, yes you do see this in the United States, I was struck by how many beggars there were at the entrances to these large churches. Desperate people who were no doubt relying on the tourism but also hoped that the religious would find mercy on them and give them some money.
Dwell
Dwell
What this Psalmist has written is that he rather be a beggar, outside the house of God than to a be a resident, inside the home of the wicked.
Who can say this?
Who can say this?
Who can say this? Who can say that honestly, in their heart they would rather be destitute but in the favor of God than be rich in the favor of the world?
We know there is a right and wrong answer to that question, but let’s be honest: most people see the church as something that they consume, something that gives to them, that enriches their lives. If a church doesn’t have the music they like or the programs that they are looking for, they find one that does. Doctrine isn’t important, worship isn’t important.
Matthew 6:21 reads
21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
And I wonder how many people really believe this? I wonder where peoples hearts are? Because I see a growing movement in Christianity where their faith boils down to what they can get out of God not the place where they put their treasure!
And we can’t honestly preach the gospel and make the claims that some of the charismatic televangelists like to make. I can’t say to you the way that those preachers do that if you give to a ministry financially God is going to return it to you a hundredfold of what you have given financially. We have all heard that statement and it is a travesty of the context of what Jesus was saying.
The only appeal that can be made to a Christian is that the Christian have the heart of this Psalmist. That the Christian would rather beg outside of the house of worship to God, than to live in the comforts of the world.
Unfortunately too many people see their lives as the mechanism for their own glory rather than living to the glory of God.
Like I have already mentioned, you, fellow believer, are the house — the household if you will -- of God.
I know that this is easy for me to say this, as someone who is unpaid as a bi-vocational pastor but I am disturbed by the attitude that some churches have that the work of ministry is only done by paid staff. That you can’t lead music if you aren’t on the payroll, you can’t lead a youth group if you aren’t on the payroll. It creates an industry out of ministry.
I have no problem with ministers of the gospel being paid for their work. But, what I am concerned about is the work of the ministry being reserved for a subset of people within the church.
As members of Christ’s household we are all servants of Christ. That is what verse 6 is saying right?
6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
We are Christ’s household. We are Christ’s workers.
The greatest danger in this is for a man to get raised up beyond the station of servant.
Consider how God refers to Moses. In Numbers 12:7 God says how Moses isn’t like a Prophet who God communicates with in visions and in dreams. And when he refers to Moses He doesn’t refer to Moses as the Israelites leader, he says in Numbers 12:7
7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
Moses is referred to as a faithful servant.
You and I could look back and be amazed by the accomplishments of Moses. He led the people out of Egypt bringing plagues and parting seas. He brought food and water to the people in he desert. And he brought the law.
But really, Moses didn’t do any of those things. God did. Moses was a servant.
Look with me what it says in Hebrews 3:4-5
4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. 5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
This makes sense right, every house is built, every household is put together by some man. But God is the one who built everything and Moses was but a faithful servant in that house.
Not __Fill in the Blank__
Not __Fill in the Blank__
There have been many people who have been faithful servants of God, people who have been like Moses in some small degree.
This isn’t necessarily an endorsement but I think of people alive today like John MacArthur, Charles Swindoll, Charles Stanley, John Piper, Tim Keller, Tim Challies. I see Josh Ties in Las Vegas, I know that Ronnie knows him personally but he is whose conference I went to in January. He is becoming somone who is more well known in apparently all of the circles I travel in — and I could go on — faithful men.
And I will exercise grace and not rattle off a list equally as long if not longer of men who I believe are wolves in sheeps clothing. There is a guy that for a short time I thought was going to be a blessing to follow, but the more I listened the more his messages seemed to just be him bragging on himself so stopped paying attention. Several years later I found out that this guy had severely disqualified himself for the office of a pastor all the while his church is growing and he is gaining massive popularity online.
Maybe he never was, but somewhere along the way it stopped being about being a servant in God’s household and giving God the glory and it started being about him getting glory, and that is tragic.
Be Boastful
Be Boastful
Are You Boastful of Christ?
Are You Boastful of Christ?
If you are going to be boastful boast in Christ. 1 Cor 1:31 says
… He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
Our passage today concludes in Hebrews 3:6
6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
We are Christ’s house — but do you see that word ‘if’ right in the middle of the verse. The statement is conditional on 2 things:
Confidence
Confidence
First, that we hold fast our confidence, meaning that we continue in our boldness to proclaim the gospel of Christ, and it implies that we do so even in the face of intimidation.
Rejoicing of the Hope
Rejoicing of the Hope
And then that we are rejoicing of the Hope firm until the end. In other words, if you are confident in your hope in God to the end.
So many temptations come from the house of the wicked. It’s very easy for us, on our Christian walk, to forget that we once surrendered all. That we were once content to beggars at God’s door, to be a dog begging for scraps of grace.
Let me invite you this morning as we close in prayer, that if you have been dwelling in the house of the wicked, claiming glory for yourself in one way or another, rather than giving it to God. I could stop at this point. It would be better to beg at the door of the household of God than to remain where you are, but even still, the door is wide open.
And I can’t promise you that God is going to reward you financially, I can’t promise you that God is going to provide the healing you might seek or mend your broken relationships. God may do it, but I can’t promise any of that. What I can say boldly and with full confidence though, is this -- God will bless your faithfulness
If you have questions abut this message or if you would like to know more about the saving grace of Jesus Christ, we are going to close in prayer and I will be available after the service to talk. If you are watching from home and you reach out to me via a direct message I will respond to you confidentially. It would be my privilege to tell you more about Jesus.
Pray