What are we building?

 

There are many memories from this building project. Jeff surfing concrete stairs, Tracy trying to go through the wall twice, Patrick making sure we all knew the boss was on site, and removing seal plates with a broom. So many more stories, but I cannot remember them all.

 

What I do remember is the goal behind this project, shared by the team and the entire board. It was to make sure our fellowship hall would stay standing for another hundred years. And with the hard work of Jeff, Tracy, and Patrick, I believe it will. God’s victory will continue to be celebrated in those walls through baptisms, receptions, and dinners for years to come. This was and is the hope.

 

But the Kingdom of God is more than buildings, though they are important resources gifted to us by God. The Church is always building with the help of the Church members. God is always doing a work in the life of His followers that spills over the Church universal. The question that creates for each of us is: what are we building? Our passage today provides an insight on the answer to that question.

 

 

     1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (CEB):

 

     I laid a foundation like a wise master builder according to God’s grace that was given to me, but someone else is building on top of it. Each person needs to pay attention to the way they build on it. No one can lay any other foundation besides the one that is already laid, which is Christ Jesus. So, whether someone builds on top of the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, or hay, each one’s work will be clearly shown. The day will make it clear, because it will be revealed with fire—the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work survives, they’ll get a reward. But if anyone’s work goes up in flames, they’ll lose it. However, they themselves will be saved as if they had gone through a fire.

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

 

     Paul is addressing many things in this letter to the church in Corinth. But one of the things important to our understanding in our passage is that church members were disputing who was better, Paul or Apollos? In his response, Paul is not taking a shot at Apollos, but the folks involved in the dispute. Both sides were missing the point, Paul and Apollos were doing God’s work. This passage for today is part of Paul’s response to this issue.

 

     In verses 10 and 11, Paul is letting the Corinthians know God was the designer of the house. Paul worked for the Designer, following His plan. Knowing his past and what Paul wrote in other letters, it was a marvel to this apostle that God was using the “chief of sinners” such as himself.

 

     While Paul knew the Designer, he also knew he was building on a solid foundation. He knew Jesus, Jesus was the foundation on which Paul was building. In the gospels, Jesus asks His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter responded, “The Christ.” Jesus then tells Peter, “Upon this rock I will build my church.” Faith in Him is what all the apostles built the Church upon. It is a foundation that cannot be improved and will not crumble. The soundness of any building depends on its foundation, so for the Church faith in Jesus is everything.

 

     Moving into verses 12 and 13, Paul shares that the materials chosen to build on that foundation matter. Some build with “gold, silver, precious stones, wood, grass, or hay.” There are two interpretations to this. The first is that “gold, silver, precious stones,” refers to valuable and sturdy materials, meaning mature Christians build their lives on sound doctrine that can withstand the elements of life. These are beliefs resting on the foundation of faith in Jesus and a framework built from the things revealed by the Holy Spirit based on God’s Word and experience. “Wood, grass, and hay” are materials of less quality. They are susceptible to rot, fire, bugs, and all kinds of issues. A Christian can have faith in Jesus, a solid foundation, but use a framework of human wisdom and man-made traditions. These things are not bad, and certainly play a part in understanding, but divorced from Scripture and personal experience, these materials build a flimsy structure.

 

     That was the first interpretation, which I believe has a lot of merit. But the second interpretation connects with the parables of Jesus. God does not expect Jesus to return only to find us standing on the foundation, He expects that those who have faith in Jesus will build His church upon that rock with His help and His provision. So, Paul could be calling the Corinthians to build with what God has made available. Over time, some lesser materials may need to be repaired or replaced, but the expectation is for them to build. There is some merit to this thought too.

 

     Verses 13 through 15 talk about fire and reward. “Fire” and “the day” are implying the Corinthians will stand before Jesus and give an account for the work they have done. But the “fire” is not for judgment but purification. Solid structures built from solid materials on the foundation of faith in Jesus will survive the fire, anything that is not made correctly will be consumed by the fire.

 

     Verse 15 says, “If anyone’s work goes up in flames, they’ll lose it. However, they themselves will be saved as if they had gone through the fire.” The idea is of a house fire with total loss of possessions, but the person escapes to live. In other words, works do not save us, faith in Jesus does. The point Paul is making is that the Corinthians can be saved through faith in Jesus, but they are to build on that foundation with what God gives them. They should strive to build a structure that will last, be beautiful and sturdy, able to withstand the flames. This is not about a physical structure, but lives of faith dedicated to the Kingdom of God and living it out for His glory.

 

     How does this apply to us? How does it help us answer the question: what are we building? The answer to that question for each of us personally impacts our faith community collectively. As a church are we building an eyesore that is flammable or one that is beautiful and will last? Is my life of faith contributing to something that adds to the beauty or something flammable?

 

     Our surrender in Christ, the Holy Spirit and grace given to us is for building a structure that will last. We are saved by our faith in Jesus, not by works. But is our lives something beautiful Jesus has done and is doing in us that draws others to Him? The culture we are ministering in has seen an ugly glimpse of the Church (not necessarily our church), but we can show them something different. Something beautiful, something good, not of ourselves but of Him. For that to happen we have to offer ourselves up as living sacrifices, just as Jesus did for us. And Scripture tells us, “He who started a good work in you will see it through to completion.” He who laid the foundation in you and me through our faith in Jesus will give us the Holy Spirit to build the framework and beyond.

 

     We are called to faith in Jesus. If you do not know Jesus, He is calling so listen for His voice. I heard His voice and so have many others in this room, and when we heard it we knew it was Him. He called us to the place where we belong, into this fellowship with Him.

 

     We are called to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If you are not filled with the Holy Spirit, ask and you will receive. Ask offering more than just your sins and sinful nature to be taken away, but offering up your whole self. I surrendered all of myself and so have many others here, and God has accomplished more in us and through us than we could have ever imagined. He can and He will in your life if you surrender all to Him too.

 

     We are called to build. If the Holy Spirit is in us and our sins are forgiven, this is the next step. What hinders us is fear over materials and the elements they will endure. But we have the Holy Spirit of God! Trust Him and allow Him to direct you to the materials available. We may be at a moment realizing what we used to build has rotted or crumbled, but He wants to help us remodel! He wants to replace it with something that will last. Let Him.

 

 

Come Holy Spirit, I need you

Come sweet Spirit, I pray

Come in Your strength and Your power

Come in Your own gentle way

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Label Makers

 

One of the chores I struggle with is folding laundry. Ben is easy, and so are my clothes when it comes to sorting. But every time I seem to mix up Nicole’s clothes with Jaedyn’s clothes, or Emmy’s clothes with Jaedyn’s clothes. I must read the labels.

 

Labels are good and helpful for that, helping us to determine what is what and where what goes. When buying groceries, it is good to know if the sauce is mild or spicy. Labels are good and helpful for things like that.

 

There is something where labels get us into trouble. It is when we apply them to people. When a person is given a label, it pigeonholes how we think about them and often our attitudes about them. We use labels to vilify and ostracize, discounting a person’s value and contributions based on their labels. Often are labels cause us to see an enemy when God sees a person.

 

Our passage today examines the danger of labeling people and what the practice reveals about us.

 

 

     Matthew 11:11-19 (CSB):

 

“Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the Kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come. Let anyone who has ears listen.”

 

“To what should I compare this generation? It’s like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to other children:

 

We played the flute for you,

But you didn’t dance;

We sang a lament,

but you didn’t mourn!”

 

“For John came neither either or drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

 

     Verse 11 is Jesus giving a compliment to John the Baptist. It may not be read that way given how the verse ends, but this is a tribute. Jesus is establishing the Kingdom of God is greater. John had faith in Jesus to the fullest sense he could have it. What the other Old Testament prophets only foresaw, John was getting a taste. But John only got a taste, as he would die before the crucifixion and resurrection.

 

     John the Baptist was sent to declare the end of the Old Testament covenant, as it would give way to the greater covenant found in Jesus. He proclaimed this truth faithfully, but again John only had the faith to foresee it. Malachi 3:1 is a prophecy about John the Baptist, saying, “Look, I am sending my messenger who will clear the path before me; suddenly the LORD whom you are seeking will come to his temple.” This was John’s purpose, and this is what he fulfilled.

 

     Many of the Jews would flock to John and the message he shared. But it was the least of the people who gravitated to God’s message through John. The elite, both religious and political, refused the message and rejected John.

 

     In verses 16-19, Jesus is going to share the labels folks would create in their unbelief. John is labeled as being demon-possessed. A person who is a hypocrite. These same folks label Jesus as “a glutton, a drunkard, and a friend to tax collectors and sinners.” Their lack of faith caused them to label God’s servant and the Messiah with their false understandings.

 

     This is why Jesus closes verse 19 with a statement on wisdom. The label makers were the spiritual elite and political elite. They have all the advantages of status and knowledge, but they cannot see what those they deem as “lost” see. The flocking crowds, baptisms, and miracles all affirm the truth about Jesus and John, but the elite were so wrong they refused to be right.

 

     The labels made in this passage were made by those who lacked faith. They had put God in a box and then defined God’s servants and movements by the box. Then they looked at people and said God would never associate with them, while Jesus was sitting at their table. When John the Baptist, in his somewhat crazy appearance, showed up with a radical message their only conclusion was demon-possession. Jesus is in their midst, and all their lack of faith could see was a drunkard and glutton. These folks dared to label Jesus!

 

     The ones who had the labels, what did they do? They trusted God and kept ministering. Those who were broken and in broken lifestyles flocked to Jesus and John because their faith drew the crowds. Faith in God and His Kingdom was so radically different in them that it brought those desperate for a different life to Jesus and John.

 

     This tells us that there is only one label that matters. As great as John the Baptist was, Jesus does say in verse 11, “the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” What Jesus is saying is the only label that matters is “redeemed.” Do you have faith in Jesus and belong to His Kingdom? This label trumps and erases all the others. The only label faith in us should produce for others is “redeemed” knowing the blood of Jesus has purchased their salvation, and it is available to them through faith. Faith in Jesus leads us to see people, not as our societal labels, but as a person of value.

 

     Redemption, the trading of labels, is available to all who have faith in Jesus. Are you labeled a cheater or liar? Faith in Jesus replaces those labels with redeemed. Are you a drug addict or drunkard? Faith in Jesus replaces those labels with redeemed. Are you a label maker for people? Faith in Jesus replaces that label with redeemed, and removes the machine from your hands.

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RAHAB part 2

 

Rahab is a great figure of faith, found in the Hall of Faith chapter in Hebrews. She is also found in the genealogy of Jesus as the great-great grandmother of King David. In Joshua, Rahab is only known as a prostitute, but one who through all her brokenness in a broken situation finds faith in God.

 

How does the story end? It is easy to lose sight of Rahab after Joshua 2, as the miracle of her rescue gets lost in a more known miracle. It is her miracle we are studying today.

 

 

     Joshua 6:22-23 (CSB):

 

Joshua said to the two men who had scouted the land, “Go to the prostitute’s house and bring the woman out of there, and all who are with her, just as you swore to her.” So they young men who had scouted went in and brought out Rahab and her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and settled them outside the camp of Israel.

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

 

     In the introduction, I mentioned Rahab’s miracle gets lost in another miracle. The more well-known miracle was the fortified city of Jericho being defeated by the Israelites. They did not scale the walls or use any of the typical instruments of war. For seven days, at the Lord’s command, the Israelites marched around Jericho, and on that seventh day with a mighty shout the walls of Jericho fell. Incredible. But that is not the miracle of our focus, although it is critical to our miracle.

 

     Here in Joshua 6:22, the military element is now sweeping through the now defenseless Jericho, but Joshua gathers the two spies. Joshua has been informed about the deal they made with Rahab. The honorable, God-fearing, right thing to do is to make sure Joshua and the Israelites kept the deal.

 

     Here is the miracle within the miracle. Joshu 2:15 shares that Rahab’s house is attached to the wall around Jericho. The wall fell. Rahab’s house does not fall with it. In 6:20, Joshua says, “Go to the prostitute’s house.” The spies would know where to find the house, but the text gives no indication Rahab’s house collapsed. God honored Rahab’s faith and kept her home intact so the spies could find her.

 

     Verse 23 says, “They brought out Rahab and her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her.” Rahab’s faith saved her and her entire family! No one from her house was left behind.

 

     The last part of verse 23 says, “They brought them outside the camp of Israel.” Why? Though Rahab had faith in God, she had come in all her brokenness. She and her family had to spend time in purification. They had to leave behind their idol worship and other unholy practices, including Rahab’s life of prostitution. The men would most likely be circumcised. This family would be absorbed into the people of God, but they had to make changes and align themselves with the ways of God.

 

     Rahab had faith, then the walls fell. Until the walls fell, Rahab had faith to keep the secret about the spies. When the walls fell, Rahab had the faith to be marked. In 2:18, the spies told Rahab, “Tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let us down.” She had to show her secret without revealing it! This mark (the scarlet color was not a coincidence) was a sign to God’s people she was with them. Then Rahab had the faith to gather her father, brothers, and all her family to keep them safe. Lastly, Rahab had the faith to go through the process of being absorbed into the people of God. Her place in the genealogy of Jesus evidences her willingness to belong to God’s community.

 

     The moment Rahab extended kindness to the spies was her moment of faith, in all her brokenness she trusted God. But notice that first decision was only the beginning of other decisions of faith. From tying the scarlet cord to the process of being outside the camp, Rahab chose God each time. Every decision was a step closer to God and the life He had for her. At any point she could have turned back, but each time Rahab had the faith to trust and obey.

 

     Faith is more than a momentary decision; it is an aligning of life. We do not come to God and then continue with the same life and patterns like we have found some new lucky charm or trump card. It is leaving the fishing boats behind, leaving past sins behind to focus our eyes on Jesus and doing everything to get to Him. There will be many dangers, toils, and snares, but of each one there will be a decision to proceed in faith or turn back. If we choose Jesus nothing is impossible, including everlasting life.

 

     The good news is we do not face these choices alone. God extends His love to us as we are absorbed. This absorption is into the body of Christ, the Church. Our goal as the Church is to make sure we all make it home and get as many others as possible to safety with us. We may start off like Rahab, but our story is being grafted into the story of Jesus.

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RAHAB Part 1

     The genealogy of Jesus is an interesting one. Especially when you look at the names in Matthew 1. You notice there are three women listed whom you would not expect to find. Matthew lists Solomon as being born to King David through Uriah’s wife, known to us as Bathsheba, though is not listed by name. Verse 2 mentions Tamar giving birth to Perez and Zerah with Judah; Tamar was his daughter-in-law who had disguised herself as a prostitute. Then there is verse 5 which mentions a woman named Rahab.

 

     Rahab goes almost unnoticed in the list, but she is a woman of great importance to the nation of Israel, going back to when they first entered the Promised Land. She is so important that the writer of Hebrews mentions her in the Hall of Faith.

 

     This woman is the subject of our short series. Her faith is the story of when faith meets the messiness of life.

 

 

     Joshua 2:1-14 (CSB):

 

Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there.

 

The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land. Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land.”

 

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. So she said, “Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn’t know where they were from. At night fall, when the city gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don’t know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!” But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the city gate was shut.

 

Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed across the Jordan. When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Now please swear to me by the LORD that you will also show kindness to my father’s family, because I showed kindness to you. Give me a sure sign that you will spare my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and save us from death.”

 

The men answered her, “We will give our lives for yours. If you don’t report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the LORD gives us the land.”

 

 

This is the Word of God.

For the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

 

 

     The mission was risky for these two Israelite spies. If caught, it would not be good. Joshua and the Israelites had assurances from God that the Promised Land would be theirs, but they still did their due diligence to prepare. So these spies were there to scout out Jericho.

 

     If you are trying to get information while blending in, it makes sense to go to the home of a prostitute. It would appear to the public that the spies were there as men seeking to fulfill needs. Only they were not there for that, but to do the work for God and His people. Rahab and her house was a good cover.

 

     Of course, the king of Jericho had heard the reports of the Israelites. He was on high alert, so he sent officials to investigate. This was a moment of choice for Rahab, be loyal to her king by giving up the spies or choose to protect her guests. In fairness, a prostitute would be used to protecting the identity of her clients.

 

     Now Rahab chooses to protect the spies. They were her guests, and hospitality was important in this culture. She was obligated to maintain their wellbeing. Her concern went even further than hospitality. Rahab had good intentions, but she acts on those intentions by lying to her government. Essentially, she says, “They were here, but now they are gone. Hurry up, you can catch them.” The official go off on a wild goose chase, meanwhile the two spies are hiding on the roof “among the stalks of flax.” These bundles of flax were on the roof to dry out so the fibers could be used to make linens. A perfect place to hide.

 

     When the coast is clear, Rahab has a talk with spies. She shares all the rumors she and the inhabitants of Jericho had heard about the Israelites, most likely from those who had visited her establishment in the days prior. Through those rumors, Rahab makes an amazing profession of faith in God. Rahab believed it was more important to be loyal to God then her earthly king. She knew her survival and that of her family depended on God and the word of these two spies.

 

     Rahab professes faith and requests refuge during the downfall of Jericho. The spies assure Rahab of safety, saying, “Our lives will be the security of your life.” This prostitute of Jericho by faith joins in with the people of God.

 

     This is the Rahab who later marries a Jewish man and is found in the genealogy of Jesus. She is the same Rahab found listed in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews. Hebrews 11:31 shares an interesting thing about her faith, it says, “By faith Rahab the prostitute welcomed the spies in peace and didn’t perish with those who disobeyed.” It does not mention her profession of faith in Joshua 2:9-13, but the choice she made to protect the spies. This is pointing to her actions in 2:4-7 as a demonstration of the faith she professed later. Her change of mind and change of direction (repentance) happened when Rahab welcomed the spies into her home and protected them.

 

     Notice what is messy about this? Rahab straight up lied to the Jericho officials like Bugs Bunny in a Looney Tunes cartoon, saying “They went that a way!” Now, this is in no way an endorsement of dishonesty and bearing false witness. God could have saved these spies without Rahab’s lies. Nor can we claim God empowered Rahab to lie and sin. Sin is still sin. Yet somehow this is the moment of her faith in God praised in Hebrews, not only there but also in the book of James.

 

     Rahab was not a Jew. She was a woman born in a pagan culture, raised with pagan beliefs, and earning a living through a pagan profession. None of that is God giving a stamp of approval to those things. What God saw in Rahab was a woman who against all the odds, amid life’s messiness somehow heard the story of God and what He had done for His people. From those stories, Rahab catches a glimpse of who God is and that she wants to align herself with Him. When that crisis moment arrived, Rahab responded in faith to God, but from within all her human brokenness and corrupted patterns in a messy situation.

 

     God (Jesus) knows a seeking heart, even if it is shrouded in brokenness. That is what saves the thief on the cross next to Jesus. The man is not hanging there out of innocence, his is not a case of injustice. How much understanding could that man have developed in his dying moments? Not all of it, but enough that he got to sit with Jesus in Paradise where Jesus could explain it all to Him. The man and Rahab made the choice that mattered most, choosing belief in God. Their lives were messy at those moments, but not so messy that God could not notice their change in heart. Their motive mattered most; God’s grace was more than sufficient to make up the rest.

 

     Repentance starts with a change of mind and a step of faith. That is the choice for each of us. In the messiness of my life, in the full brokenness and limited understanding that I have, can I believe in Jesus and take a step toward Him?

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