Here to Stay - We Are Builders

Well, if I've not met you yet, I'm Pastor Forrest, lead pastor here at Multiply.

If you're new with us, welcome.

Glad that you're here this morning.

We're in this series here to stay.

And the title of my message today is We Are Builders.

Everybody say builders.

We are builders.

We are in this series here to stay, where we have been deep diving into the values of Multiply Church, our young two and a half-year-old church.

And also we have been talking about the fact that even though we're a young church, we're here to stay in this community.

Amen.

We may be young, but we're here to stay.

And we're inviting you who may be new to our church or maybe been coming for some time to dig down deep roots and for you to say, This is my place.

I'm here to stay.

So we're able to continue to improve this place.

But uh, as excited as I am about a facelift on the outside of the building, it pales into comparison of the excitement that I had about this Monday night.

On Monday night when 29 of our leaders came together for our leader lab to learn more of how to make disciples in relationship and how to serve one another and to serve the people of our church.

And if uh you knew them like I know them and maybe you know some of them, right now you'd be clapping because this group of leaders love the Lord, they love you, and they are building, they're building for the kingdom and the peep and the kingdom of God, which is people.

Now, last Sunday, Nate Hegg came and he was with us and gave a great message last Sunday about how we see a need and we feel a need around here at Multiply.

If you haven't heard it, you can go back and listen to it.

And this very week, something really great that is in the works right now is that we have a truck driver here in our church who is interested in also collecting and uh getting uh details worked out because he's wanting to take a uh a truck to Tennessee, to East Tennessee, to help victims of the flood that's happened over the last week.

And that was literally from this week, and it's all getting figured out, but it's see a need, fill a need.

Amen, church?

Right here among us, one of our own who said, you know what, I I can drive a truck, I can help out.

So more details to come on that.

We partnered with uh the Christian Appalachian Project that's in that's in eastern Kentucky.

They've been doing shipments, and so we don't know all the details yet, but we're working on it.

We'll let you know as more details come.

We're we're we're talking about the fact that we are builders of God's kingdom.

This is what we are builders means around here.

It says we're builders, not a building.

We go outside the four walls to serve and build relationships to see the kingdom of God come.

We build people up instead of tearing them down.

We'll be known for what we want to see built on solid rock, not for what we're against.

I don't know about you, but uh for I know I have.

Have any of you ever done uh those DIY pieces of furniture from IKEA that you make at home at your house, try to put that together?

It's got like a million pieces.

When I was a high school senior, I worked at a uh at a furniture store in my hometown delivering couches and refrigerators, but also I always had to in the back, there would be these shipments come in with all these pieces of furniture, and I'd be in the back trying to put these pieces of furniture together, and there would be instructions, but every single time the instructions kind of seemed like somebody somewhere copied and pasted into Google Translate, but that Google Translate didn't have a good night's rest the night before, and it was only like half correct.

So I can't tell you how many times I put something together and then had to take it all back apart just to assemble it back together, right?

Maybe I'm the only one, but I've done that in my child's bedroom before.

I've done that before in the living room before.

And here's what's true.

What's true is that we're all building something.

Yes, we are.

Your life is building something.

Whether it is being built in a godly way or a godless way, you are building with every decision that you make, every action that you take, you're building a life.

And so, what is that life that you're building?

Are you building a fortress of control and protection so you never get hurt again by someone?

Or maybe you're building a fortress to protect you of a fear, a failure, a discomfort.

Maybe you're building your own empire with your career and your reputation and your comfort zone.

Even though God is calling us to build his kingdom.

See, we can spend a lot of time building our own little empires versus us building something that's gonna last for eternity.

And we might be spending time building something that looks good on the outside, but there's nothing behind it on the inside.

What are you building?

What life are you building?

Are you happy with the life that you currently have?

Could there be improvement?

And Paul speaks directly to us in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 that we just heard read.

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

And speaks to us about what it looks like for us to build and what we should be building and what materials we should be using and what it should look like for us to build a life that honors God and something that will last.

And to zero in on just a couple of the scriptures from that passage in verse 8.

The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose.

And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.

For we are both God's workers, we are God's field.

You are God's building.

Everybody say building.

Verse 10 because of God's grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder.

Now others are building on it.

But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have, Jesus Christ.

We're God's building.

The building is the people.

I don't know if you grew up in church like I did, but growing up in church, we had this little thing, it's gonna be harder for me to do with the microphone, but it kind of went like this.

Here's the church, and here's the steeple.

Open the doors and see all the people.

Y'all remember that?

That's only like half true.

Because here's the church, the people, God's people, the people that he's building to see his kingdom flourish and kingdom grow.

That we're not bound by four walls in a space like this, but instead that we would be serving God and seeing his purposes come to fruition from heaven to earth.

Amen.

And that's what he invites us into.

That is, we build people, we build the church.

But I can remember a time when I thought that being busy meant being productive.

When it had the big to-do list, all the tasks to get done, and felt like just because I was busy all the time, that I was actually doing something, but actually what was happening was that I was doing a lot of things, but I was neglecting to make space and time for people and for relationships that God wanted me to be growing.

I had the big to-do list.

Now I know I'm the only one.

I have to be the only one in this room who's got the giant to-do list.

But for us, you don't understand all the responsibilities that I have.

You don't understand my calendar.

You don't understand my schedule, you don't understand all the different places and playing things that I have to do and get done, and all the people that are depending on me.

But what happens is that God is calling us, not for us to be busy all the time, because when we're busy all the time, then we're missing the opportunity to build something deeper in relationship with Him and with others.

And so what we do to build God's kingdom is we build space.

Sometimes that's literal space, but also we're building space and time for us to be with God and to serve others, that we can build relationships, build time to reflect, to rest, for God to move.

You know, if we're always rushing, we're not building with care.

Like what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 3.

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

Something that my wife and I say, and we've said it for some time, because when things get really busy and our life is hectic, we got two young kids, we got a two-year-old and a five-year-old, and there's all the things to do.

My wife works as a pharmacist full time, I work full-time, we're on the go, all the things you have to get to.

And a little statement that we say back and forth to each other is that we want to move at the pace of Jesus.

We want to move at the speed of Jesus, and oftentimes his pace and his speed is slow.

Jesus walked everywhere he went with his friends by his side, and he didn't show up at places sometimes when he was supposed to show up.

Like when one of his best friends, Lazarus, died, and he showed up three days late to the funeral, and he showed up and everybody was mad at him.

Where were you?

Not knowing that he had plans to ask Lazarus to walk out of the grave and to resurrect him back to life.

See?

I don't have time to slow down, of course.

You don't know my calendar.

You don't know what I'm gonna do.

But what I know is this is that if we don't create space, we're gonna build something shallow.

Build something shallow that doesn't stand the test of time.

What about the way Jesus' calendar looks?

Or the way his to-do list to-do list looked like.

That's why here at Multiply Church, we don't have a church softball league.

We don't have that.

Why is that?

Because I would much rather us go and be involved in the city softball league so we can be salt and light to a world that desperately needs for someone to get into their space and show them the savior of this world than for us to just create a Christian version of everything to fill up our calendars and fill up our time.

And that may be different than what you're expecting or what you think, but things are going to be simple around here so we can have space so that we can be salt and lime.

So that we can be in relationship with people who are outside of this wall, outside of these walls, and we don't just busy up our calendar with Christian stuff.

There's time for fellowship.

We do a lot of fellowship around here, multiply.

There are multiple groups that are getting together throughout the week that are sharing a meal together and eating together.

Very biblical in the name of Jesus.

Specifically taco night.

Woo! Come on.

But not breakfast for dinner night.

I do not like that.

Hot take, but that is not for me.

Skipping that.

All y'all brenner people, I know.

I know.

You got the Brenner, you got the term, all that.

I know.

I know what you like.

We eat food together with volunteers, with teams.

We we have our time of fellowship, but we also are not going to busy up the schedule so that we aren't able to be salt and light.

Amen.

If you're gonna commit to building space in your schedule, say, I commit to building space.

I commit to building space for God and for people and for his glory and for things that ultimately matter.

See, I remember a time early in our marriage when my wife and I and we were doing all the things.

My wife was in school full time, was working full time, the calendar was full, and we found ourselves in a space where we we really didn't have a whole lot of friends, and that's where this term that we said and I've said now for years came about.

We said, where we have said, you have to be a friend to have friends.

You have to take time and space out of your schedule to actually be someone that somebody else wants to receive your love because they'll know us by our love, right, Church?

I've caught myself many a time, many a time not making space.

Or I found myself at times not saying things or speaking things that are building others up.

This very week in my house, morning time, we got young kids, and my wife was getting ready in the bathroom, and I felt like she was taking a little bit too much time because I had to get in, I had to get ready.

It was early in the morning, and so we're talking back and forth, and I'm frustrated.

And I said, I'm trying to figure out why you're not being considerate right now.

Yeah.

Don't judge me, it was really early in the morning.

And as soon as I said that, I just wished I could grab those words and just stick them right back into my mouth.

Because it's hard to take them back, isn't it, church?

Thankfully, I apologized and we made up and the day went well, but it wasn't the only time.

Actually, yesterday, uh, yesterday morning, a group of us got together.

I went to uh we were going to the uh to the uh parade for the K-State homecoming, which they won, by the way, yesterday.

Praise the Lord! Love those guys.

They won.

We were uh out and we were going to Andy's Bakery, which is downtown.

And if you live downtown, you've seen Andy's Bakery on Saturdays, the line is like out the door.

And it's right there on uh a road downtown that people like to go fast, but they're not thinking about on Saturday mornings that there's all these people and kids that are running around, and people were acting crazy.

And I was standing there, and there were several people from church that were there, and this some guy came zooming up, and somebody was trying to park, and he's going crazy and laying on his horn, and his car was about five feet from me from the sidewalk, and his window was down.

And I smarted off to him, and then he turned around and cussed me out in front of God and everybody.

There were like several people there to witness it.

I didn't feel like I deserved that.

Maybe I did.

I don't know.

Maybe I did deserve it.

I know I'm the only one that ever puts their foot in their mouth.

I don't think so.

You said something you regret.

Because isn't it so much easier, church, to be critical and sarcastic than it is to build others up?

Yes, it is.

In Ephesians 4.29, the scripture tells us, don't let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

We need to build in speech.

We need to build space.

We also need to build in speech.

Paul is reminding us, and he's telling us, that we should not let unwholesome things come out of our mouth, but that we should be building others up before us.

That's just how I am.

I just speak my mind.

Well, maybe your mind needs to be transformed by Christ.

Needs to be renewed.

Because it's the scripture, it's a Bible that challenges us that we should be intentional with our words, that we should speak life and build others up.

I learned this years ago.

Very profound, very simple.

Build up or shut up.

And that means that we have to be committed to not tearing others down, but building them up in the Lord.

This this verse is so profound.

You're gonna want to highlight this in your Bible on your Bible app.

This is Hebrews 3.13.

But encourage one another daily, or maybe say daily for as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

This passage is telling us that we should every single day be encouraging one another.

Why?

Because it keeps us from sin.

Yes, it does.

That if we would just open our mouth and encourage somebody else, and if they would encourage us, that thing that you're going through, that thing that you feel like you can't kick, that sin that keeps rising up, this is one of the ways that you can help to break that sin and to move out of it.

It's because someone in your life is encouraging you every day and you're encouraging them.

That's why we have to be in relationship with one another, isn't it, church?

That's why we have to be in groups and teams and volunteering and getting to know one another so that we can be people who can encourage one another daily to keep us from being caught in sin.

That person that you should encourage is probably dying to get encouragement from you just as much as you want it from them.

And if you're gonna speak life at the church today and commit to it, say, I will speak life.

Language matters! That's why here at Multiply with our Frankfurt Ford initiative, we don't call it projects.

Now there was this big discussion with our staff, they got super irritated with me, they wanted to throw me out a window, but we had this whole discussion about what we were going to call all the things that we were trying to do outside the walls of the church, and we were having all these conversations, and we landed on the word events, which may not be the right word, but that's what we landed on because I didn't want us to say projects because people aren't projects.

People have God's presence and purpose, and as soon as we call them a project, they become something on our to-do list.

And that's not what the scriptures called us to.

Called us to see people, to love people.

They'll know us by our love.

And so I don't know if events is the right word or not, but we're using it.

Favorite forward events.

Unless it's something that's like actually doing construction somewhere, like the okay, we can call that a project, okay?

But we're we're we're we're trying to be ones who build up, not tear down with what we say.

Not just what we say, but with what we do.

And so oftentimes, church, I find myself in a spot where I feel like I'm attempted and I am I am actively trying to build on my own abilities, my own plans, my own strengths, my own works for approval.

And every time I do that, it eventually crumbles.

Every time.

I know you've found yourself there.

Maybe you're there now.

You're trying to build a life on something other than Jesus.

Maybe it's The job, the success, your own strength, your own abilities.

And it's not the solid foundation that Christ wants us to build on, but He wants us to build on Him so we build on the Savior.

The only foundation that will last.

The only foundation that will stay.

This foundation that Paul tells us.

This foundation that has already been laid Jesus Christ.

And then we build our life on him.

But you say, some will say, I can figure this out on my own.

I can figure this out.

I don't need anybody else.

I don't need any help.

I can work this out.

I can just put it on my back.

But it's Jesus who is inviting us to build on him the solid rock.

Because unless your name is Jesus Christ, you are not perfect.

And that's me included.

This year, I feel like 2024, I don't know about you, but I feel like we have seen over and over and over again this year that pastors are not perfect.

I feel like every other week we're hearing about some pastor that's done something crazy in some other place, in some other state, because you know why?

You don't ever graduate from the gospel.

Every single person on this planet, including preachers, need the gospel of Jesus.

Need they're not perfect.

I'm not perfect.

I need my sins to be forgiven, and I need to have the grace of Jesus in my life.

And yes, as a teacher, there's a higher level of accountability.

That doesn't make you infallible.

And so we strive together with God's help to build on him, his foundation, and him alone.

And Jesus is a forever foundation.

You think this is something new?

Paul is literally saying in this passage, some of y'all are following these men, these disciples, these apostles.

Some of you are following Paul.

Maybe some of you are following Apollos, the great preacher.

Maybe, and some of y'all are following Peter, and some of you are following Jesus.

And he tells them in the very first verse of chapter of chapter three, he says, you're doing this because you're infants.

You're infantile in your faith.

You're following men, and you're trying to build your foundation and your hopes on men and people who are around you and not on the solid rock that is Jesus.

Because it's Jesus Himself in Matthew chapter 7 who tells us that he is the solid rock.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

And that anyone who hears this teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish.

Like a person who builds a house on sand.

And when the waves come and the wind comes and the storm comes and beat against the house, it collapses.

But if you if you hear his words and follow him, you are building on bedrock.

A solid rock.

Over the last week, we've heard lots of stories of the devastation that happened with Hurricane Helene.

Dorothy Brooks, 78, 76 years old, in Hudson, Florida, as the hurricane was coming in, was trying to figure out a way to get out of her house and to leave, but could not find a hotel, so she decided to stay.

And by herself in her home, the waters began to rush into the neighborhood.

The waters were so high beating against her house that all the doors were shut off.

The only thing she was able to do was to open up a window.

She literally saw her neighbors be washed away.

One of her neighbors stayed on the top of their pickup truck for 14 hours before being rescued.

And Dorothy held on to that window frame with the water rising in her house for hours before she was rescued.

But her house still stood.

And eventually she was rescued.

And in the same way, if we will follow the true foundation, the forever foundation, we'll be the ones that our faith will be carried on through the storms, through the trials, through the hardship, through the diagnosis, and through the pink slip, and through the job loss, and through the relationship falling apart, and through the kid that is not doing the right thing, the family that's blown up.

We follow the foundation of our faith that is Jesus Christ, and he is the forever foundation, and we build our life on him because he is the only solid rock.

So, what does that look like?

What does it look like?

Well, in very small ways, looks up looks like making sure that you're not giving more to work that you're not able to worship.

It means that for some of us that haven't yet trusted God with our finances and we're given a tip every now and again that we begin to tithe.

And see the fruitfulness of the flourishing and the favor that God promises to us in our finances if we will give to Him what is His.

It means not building our own little empire, but instead building for eternity in relationships with people.

Some of you have to take the step and say, you know what?

I've been on the sideline, I've just been doing this, I've been trying to do it on my own, but I need to step in.

So you need to take the step to join this new group that just started, or another group, or need to take a step in to begin meeting people by volunteering and being on a team to get into relationship with other people.

And I know plenty of you that are taking those steps right now, and I praise God for it because you're building a foundation on something that will last forever.

Not something that is temporary, that will get burned up in the flames, but something that is of true value, which is Christ Jesus and your walk with him, and your loving and caring of the people that are around you that will not just end with your life, but it will go on into eternity.

And there's probably some in the room that you've walked in today, and you've been building a foundation, maybe for a long time, on something other than Jesus.

And there's probably been some good benefits.

Maybe you feel like it's really gone well, but you know, you know that it won't last forever.

And today is the day for you to begin to build on the firm foundation, the solid bedrock that is Christ Jesus.

Because 2,000 years ago, God loved you so much that He sent His Son, that Jesus would go to the cross and die in your place so that your sins would be forgiven.

Because not one of us is perfect, and we can't earn it ourselves, we can't do it ourselves, and so we put our faith and our trust in the only thing that will last for eternity, which is our Savior Jesus, and we put our full faith in him and believe in his death, burial, and resurrection, that it saves us and forgives us and makes us free and heals us.

And when we do that, we put to take it from this life into the next so that we can be with God for eternity in a place called heaven and not separated in a place called hell that wasn't made for us.

It was made for the devil and for his demons, and God doesn't want one of us to perish, but instead for us to build on the solid rock of the foundation of Christ, and today may be your day for you to take the step to begin that relationship with him and for you to be free and forgiven.

Or maybe you've been following Jesus for a long time, but you started to build these little empires around you that are sucking your time and your abilities, your treasure, and we don't get to take it with us.

There's no U-Hauls, there's no trailers behind hearses.

We don't get to take it with us.

So, what does it look like in your life for you to build for eternity?

I know so many of you right now in our church that are doing amazing things outside of these walls.

That as you step out these doors, you are carrying the kingdom into your job, into your school, into your team, into your home.

In the way that you're loving and caring, and we're gonna keep doing that, church, aren't we?

We're gonna keep doing it because there is a world who needs a light.

So I'm gonna ask you to bow your heads now.

Father, I'm praying all across the room right now, God.

Father, each person who's here is in a different place and space.

And so, Father, I pray, God, right now, Father, that you would put on minds and hearts, God, your conviction of what this looks like for their life.

Some things that may need to stop and be taken away.

Father, some things that might need to change, some things that may need to shift priorities and schedules and relationships, Father, so that they can walk in the life that God you've called them to, led them to, have prepared for them as they walk in purpose with you, God.

And no one in this room can do this without you, King Jesus.

And so, Father, right now I pray all across the room, if there's anybody in this place who has not received you as Savior by your death, burial, and resurrection, that today would be their day to change, to turn, to repent, to follow you, Jesus, so that they will be made right with you, and that God, their eternal destination, would change.

And if that's that's you today, I ask you right now to pray your heart and your mind for a genuine place.

Jesus, save me.

I believe that you're the Son of God, that you are alive as you walked out of the grave.

Forgive me, cleanse me so I can build my life on you.

Thank you for saving me.

I give you my life as you gave yours for mine.

I'm forgiven.

I'm free.

In the name of Jesus.

If that was you today who uh prayed to receive Jesus as your Savior with head bows, eyes closed, if that was you today who prayed to receive him, I'm gonna ask you to take an action of letting me know so I can pray for you, letting our team know so they can pray for you by way of just at the count of three to raise your hand.

And so if that's you today in this room and you're beginning a relationship with Jesus, you are accepting his as your savior to be forgiven, to be free.

I'm gonna ask you at the count of three to raise your hand up.

Ready?

One, two, three.

Father, I pray right now, all across this room, that God, we would be people who would lay a firm foundation on you that will never fail, that will never falter.

Help us, Lord, to be those people and to invite and see other people to receive you as well.

God, we thank you for building your kingdom here.

We love you in Jesus' name.

And everybody said, Amen.

This morning, if that was you and you decided to follow Jesus, there's a card underneath your seat.

We'd love for you to check the box that says, I'm interested in salvation, I'm interested in baptism.

Church, will you stand to your feet as we sing and worship together?