28th April 2024 - Teaching Service - Buliding Community God's Way

Of God. Thank you for the word that you've placed in his heart.

Today, Father, I pray that our is would be opened, both those

in the room and those at home and those listing later. Father, I

pray you'd speak through him. You've spoken to him, Lord, relicit with

the anointing and power we praying Jesus name h go go. So today it's

the last of the Building Community series as we move into May next Wednesday.

Where's he got gun? I don't know. So the title of this word

is building community, God's Way. So building community is very much a buzzword

in the corporate world. If you work in the corporate world, you know

building community is a big thing. Big business wants to build community with their

employees. Get once and to the same place, get thee to work together

harmoniously, because that's the way they wanted the business. Nowadays, it's not

adcessarily more. It's all for the best businesses. It's working as a team.

It's a building community. Sometimes in schools as well or in social places.

That is the big thing in the world now, and that's good because

it's a better environment for people that work and they want to achieve their goal,

which is a corporate goal. However, looking from a heavenless perspective,

they're building upon the sand because they're building community their way, not God's way,

unless to the Christian organization. When God builds, he builds on the

rock. He builds on the firm foundation, and you might take longer,

but the results are everlasting. You know, God is the master builder.

When he builds, he builds with purpose. He builds with plan. He

builds intentionally. You're not here today unintentionally. You're here today intentionally. God's

brought here for a purpose. Today's listening online or in this room. You

know, God has a knighte for details. If you know thing about God,

he likes details. He misses nothing. When He built the tabernacle.

If you read the detail about how I built a tabernacle of all different colors

of the rope, or the patterns in the tabernacle, the patterns in the

curtains, everything has a symbol symbolic meaning God. It's mister detail. That's

just how he is. He misses nothing. And you know he draws people

from the north to the southeast and the west, every tribe, every time,

every nace, he draws people to certain places. He takes people where

they are and plongs them somewhere which can be alien to them, and then

it starts to develop community with those people. Those people are there. He

could say he's building a peculiar people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.

God is committed to community. God is committed to building by faith.

Everything God does he does by faith. That's just how he is. So

today He's going to take some few moments to talk about how he wants to

build here with the people here and the people online. God doesn't want this

place to be the same next week, the week after next year. He

wants to build. But God doesn't build with stone or blocks. Nowadays,

He builds with people about talks about as being lively stones. So we're the

stones that he builds me. Some people have stoned down here, some people

have stoned up here, but we're all part of God's building process. Everyone

has a value and intrinsic value nowadays more shinier or better than anybody else.

God's people are God's people. As you builds community, it draws people.

He wants us to be shaped and molded into that community. Ephesians four,

verse sixteen says from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every

joint supplies. According to every working by which every part does its cause,

does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in

love from whom the whole body joined and knit together by every joint, by

what every joint supplies, according to the effective work by which every part does

its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

Notice which every part does its share. When God builds, he builds

with us. He doesn't say, oh, you go over there. No,

no, no, Then you go there, Then you go there,

then you go there. He works with us. God is a spirit.

We have the Holy Spirit of living within us. So he works with us.

Notice causes the growth of the body of the identifying of itself in love.

I think today we're going to talk just touch on three of his key

building blocks, three of his key things he wants to share with us today.

And the first one of those blocks is love. And God builds the

foundation for the foundational building blocks are on love. That is fundamental who God

is. God is love, and so what he does is always founded on

love. What he expects us to do is always founded on love. If

you're not walking in love, you need to have a reset. If a

compute or your laptop, or your phone, others and world where you've got,

you've got to reset it. If you're not walking in love, you've

got to have a reset. That's what God does. He rests us so

we have the right focus. We're not in love, then we're not in

God. And we can't build when we're not in the right place. John

thirteen thirty four and thirty five is a well known scripture. And your commandment,

I give you that you love one another as I have loved you,

that you also love one another. By this, all will know that you

are my disciples. If you love, if you have love for one another.

Notice you have said, this is a commandment that I give you.

It wasn't an option. You go and buy a car or get some food.

Into those of the extras, and you can pay for this, that

and the other. This isn't an option, it's not an extra. This

is like you must do this. We don't do it in our own strength.

We do it in God's strength. But the fruit of the spirit is

love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, benevolence, faithfulness,

self control. Notice the fruit of the spirit. That is what his

presence within puts out. If you plant a tree in the ground, or

take us out and take a step back. If you plant an apple seeds,

you're going to get an apple tree. If you're planted tree, you're

going to get a pear tree. If we're planted in the spirit, we're

going to see the fruit of the spirit. If you're in if you're in

the flesh, you're going to see the fruit of the flesh, bitterness and

depression, anger and frustration, which is contrary to the fruit of the spirit.

So we need to be planted in God, rooted in God, so

those fruits are manifest in our lives. If somebody walks into this room or

into this building and wearing the flesh, they're going to turn around and walk

out again. I'm not saying we are, but you know, so we

need to be conscious that we walk in the spirit. Roman's eight says,

you know, m for those who according to the flesh and are controlled backs

and holy desires, set their minds on our things, which are which gratify

the flesh. But those who according to the spirit and are controlled by the

desires of the spirit. Set their minds and seek those things which gratify the

Holy Spirit, as Romans eight and verse five. So good loans is to

build the building love, build with the Holy Spirit God. That's a successful

build. HM. So about thirty years ago I remember speaking to you.

They say it was an old boy. There was an old boy, arm

little guy. Actually, we used to work in London as a missionary,

that's the right term to he was nowadays used to work I guess the other

part of the twentieth century. And he told me a story about how he

shared the gospel with people who are living rough. They were unwashed, had

lice in their clothing, and he told me this story how I was praying

with Suddy missing because of grace, and the lights were clothing climbing from their

clothing onto his clothing. I just shared the good news. This wasn't a

hardship for him because he had the love of God for the unsaved, the

unwanted, the unwashed. You could see on the speaking he was this guy

must have been the seventy five eighty for today. And you could see even

now he was as he was reflecting back, he could you could see them.

His heart was there. It doesn't matter where they came from. I

want to tell them about Jesus. And God wants that love to flow from

our hearts to those around us as we build community. When God's love flows,

it's it's not that you can't counterfeit God's love. You know, you

people are going to use the word savvy. I know when you're you're you're

taking them down a Bundy Trump not telling them the truth. People know the

truth. So God wants to encourage us to walk in his love. That

part about that a part of our DNA as a believer, it's a part

of our DNA in this church. Ecclease, you are gonna call him when

Corinthians thirteen four to eight says Paul speaking, love suffers long and his kind.

Love does not envy, Love does not parade itself, is not puffed

up, does not behave rudely, does not seek itself. He's not propoked,

thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the

truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes, all things,

endures all things. Love never fails. That's just how it is. God's

love never fails. So that's the ask. The Holy Spirit is asking,

and to do that we must leave the surrendered life. In other word,

it's not my will, but your will be done. Which used to go

and speak something that you get on with and something rubs you up the wrong

way. Just we just walked in the door, you've got to still walk

in loot and God change them blous has we changed from glory to glory to

glory? John twenty one, verse eighteen. In the Message, Jesus speaking

to Peter says, when you were young, you address yourself and went wherever

you wish. But when you get old, you have to stretch out your

hands while something else stresses you and takes you away you don't want to go.

I'm not sure about the dressing bit, but take you away you don't

want to go. Sometimes I'd ask to go where we don't want to go.

That's to leave our own country and go somewhere else. As it's a

cross the divide and speak to somebody, shake the hand, ask how the

eye one. We might be feeling not full of the joys of spring,

not that it feels like spring right now. You know, building community is

messy because God bills with people and you know, I don't know. It's

saying, you know you you don't clean the fish before you catch it,

don't you know that? One? Yeah, the words when God capture somebody,

they might not be cleaned. I not might not be you know,

they might not fit as they think. They may a bit of a rough

diamond. And I'll bring those people. And we need to be ready.

M hm. You need to be ready. So I'm going when God build

and said, hey, I want to chat to that burden. Mh.

But that will change us and then from glory to glory as it builds its

community. H I know faith works by love. The Ballan says faith works

by love Glatians five and verse six. And you know walking by faith as

a prerequisite of the Kingdom of God. That's just how it is when you

sign up, that's what better expects. It gives us a measure of faith.

I says, get on with it in my Bible, get on with

it. And Jesus is our best example about walking in faith, walking in

love. He had certain patience. In the patience Jesus had. So I'm

thinking of the scripture in Matthew fourteen twenty twenty two to thirty two. I

think it is. That's when Jesus fed the five thousand. It's all done

and dusted. He's going to go and pray. And he sent the boys

down to the boat and said go on, clear off. And they got

on the boat and headed over towards Caperdam. So Matthew fourteen twenty two says,

immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to

the other side, while they send the monkey shoes away and sent the multus

away. He went up on the mountain by himself to pray. He was

a praying person. Now an evening came. He was alone there, but

the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves,

and the wind was contrary. Now about the fourth watch of the night,

that's two half past three and half past six, Jesus went to them

walking on the sea. When the disciples saw him walking on the sea,

they were troubled, saying, it's a go and they tell you it's a

ghost, and they cried out in fear. But immediately she just spoke to

them saying, be of good cheer, it's me. Do not be afraid.

And Peter answered him and said, Lord if it's you, command me

to come to you on the water. So he said come, and Peter

had come down out of the boat. He walked on the water to go

to Jesus. When he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid.

I'm beginning to sink. He cried out, Lord, save me.

And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said to him,

oh you a little faith, Why did you doubt? And when they got

into the boat, the wind ceased. It's very familiar passage, isn't it

what used to me anyway? Notice when Jesus walked on what it wasn't a

millpond? I remember once on holiday to gosh, that's called Dbrovnik, probably

Croatia. Yeah, And we got this boat back from this I there's some

sort of a wildlife park he hasn't wanted to go to. But the the

that's I guess boat trip. But the waves were starting to chop. It's

about like about a meter wave and this boat was probably about twenty meters long.

And we got into this boat. We had to squeeze into this boat

and then we took we took the boat back and the boat was rising and

falling, rising and falling with the waves, and we're over the shop.

Everyone's holding on and it's only like a meter swell something like that. Yet

we see Jesus just tuckling down to the water and then the waves are giving

it this and he's walking on the water. It is an interesting Jesus is

our example. God didn't wait until the water was a milk pond and he

could skim a stone over there before he walked across the water. And so

they go, they go, Jesus. The rays are rising like this,

and Jesus walked on the water. Notice he walked on the water. He

didn't fade him, and you never took the boat. And God wants us

to walk on the water by faith. But notice the water is not likely

to be a milk pond. It's going to be shopping. It's going to

be difficult, but it's got to walk on the water. That's when we

don't look after circumstances and situations. We look at the pickness of our God.

My God says I can do this, Therefore I will do this.

The people have made a difference in the Kingdom of God, and the people

who have stretched to what God has asked them to do. Little Julia over

there, a little Julia. She built an orphanage in Uganda called Our Father's

House because God said all things are possible. To believe. She may be

small in stature, but she's big in the spirit. Yeah, think about

it. That's one individual God us ought to do the impossible. You know,

it's easy to sit in the boat. Then get out of the boat

when the waves of trup baits. Used to sit in is to get out.

Sitting is nice and comfortable, but you get out of the boat.

That's when the fund starts. That's what the wants to do, is to

get out of that boat. I start walking on that water. You know,

building is not a spectator sport. You don't know the builders standing around

some of the building and go oh that's good. You pick up that block,

you put it over there, and I'll give you a clap when you're

finished. That doesn't happen. They all work as a team to get it

built. As God draws people from the north to south, the east and

the west into this community, he's ready to build and he's ready to get

out of that water the boat. To get out of that boat and walk

on that water, even though it might be chopping, even though it might

be windy. People give Peter a hard time. He's the only person who

go out of the boat. He's the only person who walked on the water.

So if I have looked around at his circumstances rather the bigness of his

Goddess that he started to think, so he may have failed before he got

out of the boat and style on the water. It doesn't matter. What

matters is you tried. Don't stop trying, get out of the boat,

keep on walking, but keep your eyes focused on Jesus. Keep your eyes

focus on the bigness of your God, not on your circumstances. Circumhands are

always there. Don't that's not that that would be hindrances to what God wants

us to do. Otherwise, don't do anything with you get out of bed.

Don't I do that? Idea? And now ABIs faith, Hope,

love, These three are the greatest of these is love. So we talked

about faith, We've talked about love, and we talked about hope, and

touch upon hope for a couple of minutes. You know, the Bible says

hope is our earnest expectation, it's a central building block to building community.

Don't speak much about hope. That's one of the things that God fills with.

And we must build an earnest expectation in the words believe, but what

God has said is going to do. When I was younger, we used

to have, rather than scissor jacks for cars, used bottle jacks. So

scissor jack it's like it's a triangle. You turn the screw on the jack

and then the jack opens up. That jack's up your car. Used to

some people that are letter and maybe we use a bottle jack. Looks like

a bottle. It's hydraulic operated and he's got hydraulic fluid in it. You'd

lock off some nuts at the bottom which would lock off the the the which

stops the air coming out, and then you put a a lever arm in

and you pump the lever arm. As you pump the lever arm the the

top of the bottle, a steel road would come out with a little top

on it with some novels if like, which went underneath the car or whatever

you're jacking up. You jack it up with this jack and it push it

up. The pressure in the bottle jacked it up. It's like that with

the word of God. To get the Word of God in there, that

pressure jacks up your faith so you can take the load that God's put on

you. It's not that if you're not but nothing, you can't jack yourself

up in the word of God. You know it's not going to work.

Everything we do is central to the Word of God. But we've got to

be jacked up in the Word of God to do what we've got to do.

In terms of building community, you know, building a house, it's

not a too many job. You build the foundations, you build a structure,

you build the roof, bug in the windows and the doors, you

do the first fixture of the second fix. You're paint it all up.

But things like rain, snow, wind can affect the build. A good

weather period having gets done really quickly. If it rains. Builders don't like

rain, they go home and He's lose today. To shift the spirit of

that is building community, the whole habitation for his presence, you know,

Caud's presence, your tabernacle, and Moses built, Yeah, then he filled

the temple that Solomon built. Now he feels the temple that Jesus died and

paid the price book which is you and me, so builds in us.

We are those earthly vessels for that heavenly treasure. Yah as it build us

all together, there's more of his presence corporately. God can do more to

a corporate community full of the Word of God moving the way He wants us

to move. So these walls cannot contain us, even with the online community.

Like I said before, we shouldn't be moved by what we see.

We shouldn't be moved by what the word of God says about us. Jack

up our faith, get that little jack moving so we can do what he

needs to do. We need to be speaking to the mountains or the obstacles

who've come in our way. Tryan press us. We need to use the

word of God. Jesus can do it. We can do it. That's

not the mob of what we see. Mark eleven, twenty three, twenty

four. I say to you, but I say it's to this mountain or

obstacle be removed and be cast into the sea. And does no doubt in

his heart, but believes that those things which he says will be done.

He'll have whatever he says. So let's speak to those mountains. Not sit

there and look at them. Let's work with the Holy Spirit to build the

community in this place. Yes, remember it's not the work of a man.

It's the work of the Holy Spirit who lives in each one of us.

And it step by step, and each step is a miracle, you

know, having a role to play in building community. Nobody's excluded, nobody.

You just need to stand out pat So don't sit there like a bump

on the log. M hm, start moving, start praying because God wants

to do great things with us, with us. I think I've talked them

enough. Let's pray building community here and around the world. M Please show

us our part as a build together in faith, here as a building hope,

as the build with love. Please show us people in there who listen,

maybe don't go to this fellowship the church, what their parties. As

a matter of where you go, the Boodprinter is the same. You work

by faith, you work by hope, you work by love. Please speak

to her on individually what their parties are in Jesus name. Because I used

to walk, but you want us to walk in Jesus' name.