Building // One Church Podcast, 24th July 2023

We are one church. We love God, love people, love

his mission and love his church. Welcome to the One Church

Podcast. Hello and welcome.

To the One Church Podcast, it's great to have you joining us.

Hope you're having a wonderful summer and hopefully haven't got

too wet from the torrential rain this week.

This week we have Pastor David speaking to us from the OB site.

May be blessed as we think about building our life on Jesus.

Hello everyone and hello on the podcast.

Today as we're going to talk about building.

On the 14th of July 2022, we were sat in Mayway's

construction offices in OB. We'd just become one church and

we knew he was calling us to develop the building and we'd

sat and discussed ideas for the Frog Island development and I

had convinced myself that we would be able to do it for

somewhere around £600,000. And that quote turned out to be

significantly higher. And we listened to all the plans

and we looked to all the drawings and we talked through

what could be in this presentation.

And then it came to the moment when we looked at the costings

and of course the development has turned out to be just under

£2 million. But I'm hearing the amount.

Susan and I sat a little deflated and we began a process

in us and now we're going to pick up with a message I

preached yesterday in OB talking about this.

Everybody went off and she's now went for a walk around the air

and thought, Lord, what do you want us to do?

What's your plan? And we were honest about where

we were and honest about what we felt the Father wanted us to do.

And we carried on listening. And we believed it was his heart

to develop this building. There was a prophetic word given

just three or so years ago about how the Father was calling us to

renovate this building that he'd given us.

And as we did, he would raise the level of his presence in

that place. And we believed to trust him.

And here we were in June thinking, God, what does this

mean? And we started to look at

designs and planning permission and the challenges of that and

people and timings and noise and dust.

We renovated our officers before Christmas, and we moved in in

the first week of January to see what the Lord would do.

And of course, many of you were part of that journey.

Our incredible vision offering in November and other provision

that we were able to have some money that came to us as we

joined trust. The selling of a house in high

fields and recently the selling of our building in high fields.

And over my life there was a scripture hanging that was a

great burden to me. It'll just come up on the

screen. Here it says this.

Suppose one of your Jesus words, he writes, Suppose one of you

wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and

estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete

it? For if you lay the foundation

and are not able to finish it, everyone will see it and they

will ridicule you. Saying this person began to

build and wasn't able to finish. Many years ago when I was a

staff member in a different city, in a different church.

We settle on a building project and the people sacrificed and

they gave and Susan and I invested into that and believed

God. And that building was never

built. In fact we never came anywhere

near to building it. And that leads to challenges and

questions and what what did God said and and what do you do with

what people have given? And and that was not I was not

leading at that time. But when here in Leicester that

was a burden hanging over me. Lord, what happens if we start

and then we don't finish? What happens if we if I stay

from the front. We're going to do this and then

no one gives anything. These are the the insecure

moments of a leader at 3:00 o'clock in the morning.

I mean, sometimes God can be very small and doubts can be

very large. And we have watched as he has

done something quite incredible among us.

And I am so, so thankful. And he has helped us in so many

ways than so many stories as we've watched people giving

beyond anything we ever imagined believing.

God, as I've read just recently, so many stories been sent to me

of what people have seen as God has helped them be able to do

what they felt he wanted them to do.

So many stories, some of which I'll share with you in the in

the weeks and months ahead and the Lord has helped us.

And here in this last part, even this week, a surprise,

unexpected gift of just under £17,000 to help us kit out the

whole of our coffee shop. And Hayes has been praying and

believing God for something to come through for the coffee

shop. And then a surprise and she

stands in front of me this week with this check and she says the

Lord has done it. And when we open in in

September, we'll talk to you about how the Lord has provided

for us to be able to finish what we started together.

The buildings are only ever spaced to reach people.

Buildings are, I understand, built for the glory of God, But

the buildings that we have will only be spaces in which people

can be changed. And in the process of this last

year, he has been building me and building us behind the

scenes. And we're we're committed to all

of our sites. We're committed to planting

more. We're not going to become a

church that meets in one building.

We're going to be more spread out.

But we get the joy of coming back together and then being

spread out again. And he's been building us in

this year structure, teams, people, vision.

God has been incredibly faithful.

He's helped us behind the scenes to strengthen for what he wants

to do in September. We already have a growing group

of people committed to the leadership team of our next

site, which we'll announce in September.

Leaders, people ready to be part of the core of that.

And it's been such an honor. And he's also been building me.

I can say that here in my life, growing me, challenging me,

strengthening Susan and I to build our lives more than ever

before on the rock, to delegate more to others, more than we

ever have before, and to release other people and not just carry

it ourselves. And today I want to bring a

message to us here and then to the wider church through our

podcast about building about some important principles, about

building for us individually. And the first thing I want to

just just look at is this, that we should build everything in

our lives on Jesus. And here we are in Matthew

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

Chapter 7, a well known story that Jesus told.

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts

them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on

the rock. The rain came down on the

streams rose and the winds blew and beat against that house.

Yet it did not fall because it had its foundations on the rock.

He is the rock. He's the immovable one, Jesus.

But when everything else is shaken, he remains the rock.

And we're not promised an easy road.

And so often, Jesus, teachers and other parts of the

scriptures reminders that life is not meant to all be easy.

And look here, Look at that passage.

The rain came down the streams they rose, the winds they blew

and beat against that house. It doesn't sound to me like just

a time of devotion and quietness and and peace in in everything.

There are challenges. Rains come, streams come, winds

come. They're part of the journey, and

sometimes it feels like they're beating on the House.

Questions and challenges, difficulties, moments of

precious sadness and this promise that he'll be with us,

building us in the middle. So how do we build our lives on

Jesus the rock? How do we keep, Whether we're

new to faith or whether we have been Jesus followers for 30-40

fifty years, how do we keep building our foundations on

Jesus, the rock in the building on Frog Island?

It's been fascinating to watch, to just have a look at progress,

to see how our foundations lay, How do they go about the process

of changing things? How is and how you build your

foundations on Jesus are very simple and they're in this

passage. He says this.

Here's these words of mine and puts them into practice.

Now, if you're looking for something really, really deep, I

don't think you're going to find anything deeper than this.

This is this deep as I get today.

How do we build our foundations on Jesus, the rock, These words

of mine. We read the Bible.

Here's these words of mine. We listen to what it says and

puts them into practice. We do what we hear, hear and do.

There's a simplicity in faith in walking with Jesus that is so

much based around reading, hearing and doing what the Bible

says it is at the the foundation of building on the rock.

It's why it sometimes could be a challenge to read the Bible for

people. It's why you meet someone and

you say, when did you last have your Bible open?

And they say three or four months ago.

How can we possibly expect to grow strong?

Because growing and building our foundations on Jesus the Rock

involves what he's already spoken to us.

Here's three things he said to me this week.

Firstly from Mark chapter 4. Still others like Seed sown

Mark 4 · chapter mention

among thorns hear the word. And then this is what I felt him

highlight to me. But the worries of this life,

the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things

come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

And just reading the Bible, hearing what he said, the three

challenges that can take the seed from your life when you

become over worried, over, focused on money and consumed by

your desire for things. I'm just bringing again to say

Lord in my own life, I'm choosing to give you my worries.

Gosh, that's a process. I'm not going to be trapped ever

by the desire for money and the desire for things.

Help me to always keep it in check.

And then you put a bit more foundation on the rock.

I was reading Psalm 78, I think it was maybe Monday last week,

and a verse is precious to me. At the end of Psalm 78, it said,

David shepherd them with integrity of heart.

With skillful hands he led them. Read Hear Father.

I want to be a shepherd who's always full of integrity.

The what people see on the outside is who I am on the

inside. That in my most private moment,

I would not be embarrassed with that.

To be seen by others and to lead with skillful hands, skillful

hands. And I'm realizing more and more

that skillful leadership honestly is not about doing it

yourself. It's about empowering everyone

to do their part. Susan I sometimes stop and look

at the team that God has built around us in one church.

I mean, don't tell them, but many of them are far more gifted

than us. I've got gifts that we don't

have, of talents that we can't reach, are more competent in

areas, and there are many of them in our team.

I'm so blessed with what God has built, and my way of being

skillful is simply to release them to be what God has called

them to be, whilst providing a cover for them to get feedback

and care. And then I was reading Psalm 82.

These verses, so powerful, defend the weak and the

fatherless, uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed,

rescue the weak and the needy, deliver them from the hand of

the wicked, the heart of God, act justly, love mercy, and walk

kindly from my these are these are the heart of God.

And it's why, at the core of our work, it will always be to

defend the weak and the fatherless, to uphold the cause

of the poor and the oppressed, to rescue the weak and the

needy, to deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

Jesus said, you will always have the poor with you, but how we

treat them is our responsibility.

And that's why it's so important you read, you hear, and you put

it into practice. And the promise of what we read

at the beginning of this, this point, is that if we build on

the rock, it won't fall. Look at this.

Yet with the wind, the rain, the storms, it did not fall white

because it had its foundation on the rock.

Build everything in your life on Jesus.

Build everything in your life on Jesus.

Sometimes. I've spoken at funerals.

I spoke at one yesterday. I'll tell you a little bit more

about that in a moment. But you speak at a funeral in

which somebody has died in their in their mid 60s.

And you realize even that though they saved for retirement and

they prepared for retirement and and they got things in order,

when it came to that moment, I pray they'd built everything on

Jesus because he's so much more important than having those

things in place. And I'm not saying they aren't

important. Build everything in your life on

Jesus and secondly to allow him to build you.

Look at this in Psalm 127 verse one.

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in

vain. Unless the Lord builds the

house, the builders labor in vain.

Now God uses people. We we get very enamored by

people. I was in an environment recently

in which there was food and it was said we're going to person

pray to them and said now we'd like all the pastors to come

first. I felt really uncomfortable with

it, you know that to be first and and I thought I'll hang back

but nobody was going to eat in the room until I'd gone and got

myself a play. I felt very uncomfortable with

it. But you know, sometimes we can

look at people, but honestly, God blesses people and he

blesses obedience and he blesses faith.

But he can use anyone who allows him to build them.

He can use anyone. He's always the source of all

growth and blessing. All the praise always goes to

him. When I see a talented musician

or a brilliant singer, my first thought, whether they're singing

songs about Jesus or not, is to say I hope they realize that the

gift they have comes from him. He has given them the ability to

make that sound to to perform in that way, to speak in this way.

Allow him to build you, allow him to build you.

The father's got a plan to build all of us.

He believes in us. He is for us.

He has great plans for us and said don't labor in vain.

So how do we let the one who holds everything in his hands

build us? Well, I don't want to just go

back to the principle I've just said.

But we read what he says and we believe we accept what he says

about us. Look at that verse we read

previously. Everyone who hears these words

of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who

built his house on the rock. We read, we hear, we put it into

practice, and he builds us. He builds us.

The Father wants to build you. This is not the best version of

you. There's another level.

As he builds you, there's more in you.

As the Spirit comes on you. God still has plans for you,

however old you are. To your last breath.

He still has plans to build you. I was reading on Friday morning

before our prayer Army and I I led us through this passage.

Just some thoughts. Susan had said the night before

about Philippians, and they'll just come up on the screen.

How do we let him build us? Well, let's just take one

thought. Rejoice in the Lord always.

I'll say it again. Rejoice.

Let your gentleness be evident to all.

The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about

anything, but in every situation, by prayer and

petition with Thanksgiving, present your request to God and

the peace of God which transcends all understanding

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

How do we let Him build us? Because not only are we building

our lives on the rock, He is building us.

Rejoice in the Lord always as I always rejoice.

He is building me. As I allow praise to be on my

lips. He's building me.

Let your gentleness be evident to all as I am genuinely gentle

and compassionate and kind to other people.

I'm trying whenever I've got a gentle complaint to bring about

something or I'd like to make an observation or I think

something's not been quite dealt with.

I'm trying to speak in a way that is honoring.

And this person said to me, they rang me and said I've listened

to your call with my assistant. And I said to them, can you tell

me was I polite on it? Because she'd listened to it.

And she said, Oh no, you were, you were wonderful with what you

said compared to some of the things I've heard.

And I thought because the person was not helping me, they were

immovable. And I was trying so politely to

say I think this may be a little bit unfair.

And this person said it was unfair and sorted it out, but I

wanted to feel that I'd been gentle and loving with the way

I'd spoken. I'm trying to work on how I feel

when people cut me up on the road.

I find it's one of the hardest things in life to not show

carnality. Some people's driving is so

terrible and they were the things that they do to you, and

the desire to go a little bit quicker to catch up can be

strong. In my heart.

The Lord is near. Remembering His nearness.

Remembering his nearness. Susan and I were talking about a

character who was in, as was TLC when we first came, a lovely,

uncomplicated, childlike man who went to be with Jesus.

And whenever, whenever you would see him, you'd ask him how he

was in it go. Oh thank you Father, I'm

wonderful. And he used to help with

different things. And I've never forgotten him,

even though he passed away 13 years ago because the Lord was

near to him. And I was speaking to someone in

his his extended family this week.

And it's brought it back to me. How do we let him builders do

not be anxious about anything By giving him our anxiety, not

living with worry. I think sometimes we carry

things unnecessarily. I was speaking to somebody in

our church who, in his other part of what he does, he's a

counselor. And I asked him a question about

something we were just reflecting, and he came back to

me with It felt like he was just giving me a free counseling

session. And he was talking about how we

cannot carry responsibility for what goes on in other people's

heads. We can't spend time worrying

about what they might or might not be thinking.

We have to just give him our anxiety and trust him.

Susan received this post on Instagram from a friend of hers

who is in all reality dying of cancer.

We met with her recently. She's a church leader from

another city and this is her post.

She said. Here are some of the things I'm

learning in this season. Firstly, this is not my battle

with cancer. Jesus dealt with all sickness,

including this crazy rare cancer when he went to the cross

resolve. It's his battle and he won.

I don't know which side of eternity or I will see or

experience his victory in my body, but I will see it, she

said. Eternity is hardwired within

each of us by design. We always want to live forever

and because of Jesus, we can time here together, may never

feel enough. I do want so much more here and

now, but I keep on praying. I gave my life to Jesus when I

was 14. I'm not taking back control now.

I choose to trust him this season.

How do we let him build us with Thanksgiving?

Present your request to God remaining thankful in every

season. Thankful.

There's always so much to say. Thank you for presenting your

requests to God, asking with confidence, and letting His

peace fill you. I think there's simplicity in

how we build our life on the Rock and the simplicity with how

He builds us. We're here, we obey and He

builds and we don't labor in vain.

Behold everything on Jesus allow Him to build.

You build others poor rights and Ephesians in him.

You two are being built together to become a dwelling in which

God lives by His spirit. We're called to walk with others

and build with others. We are called to be in

community. It's why being in community in

addition to Sundays is so important in church life.

Small groups, friendship circles, people who will pray

with you, talk to you, help you, who you can do life with, who

annoy you and help you become more and more like Jesus.

Sandpaper People are a gift from God for your character, and all

of us have them. This week, the mother of a

family, a man in our church, passed away in Burundi and

unable to get there for the funeral, which was yesterday.

And just seeing how that community, the Congolese and

Burundi community in our city rally together.

They're all in different churches, but they find

compassion and care for one another.

And yesterday I preached at her celebration here in Leicester

for those who were unable to be at her funeral.

A woman who had built her life on Jesus, who had demonstrated

and preached the gospel for her life.

And Susan and I found ourselves along with Polly and Alan and

others, just eating together with this beautiful community at

the end, walking with others. None of us are an island.

I need you and you need me. So how do we build others?

Well, look at this another verse that Paul says in Thessalonians.

He says, therefore, encourage one another and build each other

up. Just as in fact you are doing

encouragement, thankfulness, saying how we appreciate another

person being there for others, stories of look what the Lord

has done, words that build up others.

It's something very powerful about saying thank you.

About saying how you appreciate another person.

About stopping for a moment to say I really value you and I

value what the contribution you make in my life.

In our church, in areas. Be an encourager.

This is how you build others. Be an encourager.

Being someone who brings hope. Bring someone who stirs a light

in the middle of a dark situation.

Be someone who when you leave them.

I've I've used the phrase that I heard of a I think it was a

Catholic monk who shared a story, that of asking the Lord

that whenever he left people, he asked himself a question.

Did they see Christ in me? Did I see Christ in them?

I want people to see Jesus in my life when I meet with them, even

in humor and stupidity. To see something of him build

everything on Jesus. Allow him to build you build

others by being an encourager. And lastly, build to the finish.

Go back to that verse that we read at the start about starting

and not completing. Look at this.

At the end it says people were ridiculous, saying this person

began to build and wasn't able to finish.

Faith is for life. It's a constant journey of his

closeness and growing and becoming more whole.

In him there's a new adventure. Susan and I.

You will. Many of you will know at night.

We're privileged to live near a beautiful golf course and we go

to our back gate with a dog and every night we can.

When players finished, we walk around the golf course and

unpack our days. And as we turn to come home, we

pray together and the desire is always about the next adventure.

Grateful for what God has done and looking forward to what He's

about to do, Building for the finish.

And it's easy to settle. It's easy to settle, to take

your gaze off Jesus and it becomes about the now life and

the distractions around you and perhaps some of your own journey

of healing when you need to press in.

But you pull back. Because we're in the process of

being healed, aren't we? And sorting us out piece by

piece. We take our gaze off and we stop

walking forward. And we stop building.

Well, we're not building to the finish.

And some of us get get hurt. We lose our fervor.

How many through the pandemic came out of that thinking,

Believing what I think is a lie from the pit.

That actually we don't need fellowship.

We can do faith on our own. We can.

But I need you and you need me. I need your encouragement and

you need mine. I need you to help me grow.

And you need me to help you grow.

So how do we build to the finish?

Because there's always more. Whatever age you are today,

wherever your life is today. If you're listening to this

podcast and you're wondering, where is my life?

Listen, God has the next chapter for you.

Ready. So how do we build to the

finish? Look at these powerful words in

Corinthians if anyone builds on this foundation.

Jesus the rock. But if you build using gold or

silver or costly stones or wood or hay or straw, their work will

be shown for what it is because the day will bring it to light.

It will be revealed with fire and the fire will test the

quality of each person's work. I want to build and I urge you

to build your life with the best materials you have.

The gold of your life. Give him your best.

I was moved by by Jordan this morning teaching on giving.

I have to tell you, I still passionately believe what he

said, that I know there are different views on giving and

tithing and giving generously, and I understand there are many

different teachings. I still passionately believe

what he brought today. You bring your tithe and you

test him in this. And he says, see if I will not

open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing

you will not be able to contain. This is the testimony of my

life. This is the testimony of my dear

friend Brian's life. This is a testimony of our

lives. Build with the best materials.

You have the gold of your life. Give it in your best.

Build with the best intentions the silver you have.

Invest it in the Kingdom of God, whatever that is.

Your talents, your abilities, some of your time, your prayers,

your love, Build with full devotion to Him the costly

stones of your focus. Give them to him and your life

and not just do other things. Don't build hard heartedly just

with the woods you've got left. Don't build with the wrong

things, the hey that's part of your life.

Don't build with things that mean little to you the straw.

Because one day what we've done will be go through the fire and

only what was built for him will last.

Build in such a way that the reward comes from the father

when you meet him. Whenever I come to speak at a

funeral, and especially if you have the box there, it's very

focusing because we all end up in a box, every person.

It's it's the 100% statistic I can give you.

You're going to end up in a box 1 day.

Unless you're one of those people that sees him coming and

you meet him in the air, you're going to end up in a box.

Build your life in such a way that this reward comes from him

when you meet him in September the 9th and 10th of September,

and we'll be talking more and more about that.

We're going to open our building this week.

The painting is now finished in the main hall.

There's some technical equipment going in.

They're beginning to carpet the the door at the side for the

midweek entrance and the the friendly entrance for people who

need some support. They're coming into the storage

at the back, the ramps being finished at the front.

They're putting a roof on that. We're taking the signage down,

ready for new signage. The new electric doors at the

front that will open as you walk to them and then to the

secondary doors have been put in there and that that that initial

kind of a carpet whatever it is has got to be put down there.

The floors finished. There's some flooring going

around. The baptism tank just got a few

bits to do in the industrial kitchen.

The mirrors will go up in the in the fantastic lose that have

been that the Lord has helped us to do.

There's some more painting to go in two of the classrooms we've

had done. There's some artwork to go

because it's going to be some artwork where you can lead

someone to Jesus. Around 5 pieces of artwork.

It starts with the creation of the world, the fall of man, the

cross, the choice you make and as you go around the corner

there'll be a prayer on the wall how you can lead someone to

Jesus. And I've stood there many times

and said to people just here, many people are going to come to

faith as their friends lead them to Jesus.

Perhaps it's together or an event that we do together.

All the snagging's got to be finished and all the bits and

there's lots to happen, some lighting down the side, and

we're going to try and do a bit of painting on #12 to make it

look really a little bit nicer than it does at the moment.

Temporarily, and then we'll meet.

I've missed being together, I've missed our whole family

gathering. I think it's an important part

of what we are to gather, to celebrate one another, to be

sent out. On September the 9th, we'll open

that building. None of us are going before it

far from for practices, and we'll walk in and join us and

pray with us for the last parts for the Lord to help us.

But we'll be able to testify on September the 9th.

This is what the Lord has done and it's all the glory goes to

Him. But if I could say even more

important than all that, keep going and building well with

your own life. Keep reaping fruit that will

last forever by sowing well. Build everything in you on

Jesus. If you've got out the habit

today, find a moment. Sit in a chair that says Jesus,

I give you my life again. Allow him to build you.

Read this word. Listen.

Put it into practice. Let him build you.

Build others. Find someone you can encourage

today. Find someone you can build up,

someone you can bless, someone you can help.

Bake someone a cake today, or if you're not a very good Baker,

send them a card and build to the finish.

Set your heart that with the last breath of your life you'll

be bringing the best that you have, the gold, the silver, the

costly stones of your life. And you'll be investing it to

him and giving him the best you can, building to the finish.

Let's pray together, Father, thank you so much for the

reality of building what I want to just stop and testify in this

room that what seemed impossible on June the 14th.

You've helped us do so many stories, so many amazing

occurrences, hundreds of people together doing their part,

enabling us to have a bond to reach and disciple people in the

heart of the city. Thank you, but Lord, will you

also help us to keep building ourselves on you, building our

lives on the rock, allowing you to take us deeper.

And I pray over everyone in this room that they may go deeper

into your presence. Meet with them powerfully in the

name of Jesus. Give us all that spirit of

encouragement to inspire others. And may we keep strong to the

finish, strong to our last breath, determined to keep

walking with you and never turning back.

Give us a new fervor, passion for the power of your spirit in

our lives, in the mighty name of Jesus.

Thank you, Pastor David for your message.

What encouragement it is to see this incredible miracle unfold

right in front of our eyes as this building is being built for

the glory of God. And some family news for us this

week on Sunday at 7:00 PM we have our next encounter night.

Join us at 12 Frog Island as we go deeper and encounter him.

Also, we celebrate our two wonderful gap years.

As they finish this week, thank you so much for all that you've

given and served in many, many areas in the life of 1 Church.

We love you and we're cheering you on for your next step.

And finally, this week, please be praying for the 11 young

adults who are going to visit our mission partner Michelle,

who's in Tanzania. Pray that as they go, there will

be an incredible blessing over there, but also that they will

come back changed. Have a wonderful week and may

you be blessed. The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you.

The Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.