Why Kingdom Builders?

Yeah, good morning, Venture Church. Way to go one hundred.

Thousand dollars last year alone, providing concrete hope in the

name of Jesus to people who are need. That is

the work of our combined generosity. I'm glad to have

you with us here this morning.

Holiday weekend. Glad you made the choice to be with us.

I want to welcome, like Morgan and everybody online, glad

that you could join us this morning.

If I haven't met you yet.

My name is Christian Lindbeck, one of the very grateful

pastors on staff, and glad to be with you this morning.

I'm up here because we're taking a short break from

our normal teaching series.

I hope that you've enjoyed Genesis so far. Don't worry.

There's a long way to go, so there's more coming.

We're going to take a little break out of our

Genesis series to spend a couple of weeks introducing an

idea that is so importance to the future Adventure Church

that we want to make sure it becomes a part

of the common language, the common understanding, the DNA of ventures.

So we're going to take two weeks aside to talk

carefully about the launch of this idea, and I say

to all of you in line, thanks for jumping in,

and to those of you are here, if somebody you

know misses it, we want to make sure they get it.

This is going to become just a part of Venture,

like our mission statement and our saying, this is just

gonna be Venture.

DNAs, you guys ready for that? Good?

This is the week that we begin to launch Kingdom

Builders at Venture. Now you might be thinking, cool, what's

that because it sounds like a Minecraft expansion pack, right, Like, hey, bro,

did you download Kingdom Builders? This is when it gets epic, right, So,

which is an I'm totally far off?

What is Kingdom Builders?

In a nutshell, Kingdom Builders is simply giving a new

name and some crystal clear organization to a practice that's

basically as old as Venture.

We've called it different things, but this is something that

we've always done and frankly, it's an idea as old

as the church that Jesus purchased with his own blood

for a mission.

And here it is.

I want to give you a statement today that I'm

gonna call home base. Like, if you leave with nothing

else today, I want you to leave with this statement.

If you get confused in one of my illustrations or

obscure theology and you're like, I don't know he's talking about.

Come back to home base this.

If you walk out of here today with anything, I

want you to walk out here with this.

What is Kingdom Builders? Kingdom Builders?

Is this idea simply every single Christian. Maybe you're wondering,

does this include me? Are you a Christian? The answer

is yes, every single Christian. Everyone is called this is

the next one's be underlined too, to work together.

So this is not just an independent thing.

Every single Christian is called to work together in a

community of faith.

That's this to build God's Kingdom.

Every single Christian is called to work together in a

community of faith.

To build God's Kingdom. That's what Kingdom Builders about.

That's the fundamental idea that I want everyone to walk

out of here today. In fact, if I have any

goal for the next twenty nine minutes, that goal is

that you understand what is meant by that and you

leave with an appetite to.

Be included in it.

Do you think to yourself, that's what I want for me,

That's what I want for us. I desire myself self

to be a kingdom builder, and I desire that venture.

Be a kingdom building kind of community.

I'm gonna grant it starts individually, like for Jesus to

be a part of your life. Kingdom building begins with

you because we tend to be empire builders, like building

up our own little worlds and domains and kingdoms.

And kingdom building begins in your own heart.

Which what are my priorities, what are my loves? How

do I take care of the people around me? What's

it like to be my roommate or live in my home?

That's where kingdom building begins.

But then there's also this call for us.

To work together to be a community of faith and together.

It's about our combined prayer, our combined effort, our combined skills,

our combined time, and our combined resources. To be about

intentionally working together until Jesus is famous everywhere, like we

are our missions to make Jesus famous. When do I

want to stop making Jesus famous?

Well, when I die, he comes back.

Or he is famous everywhere, And I mean famous in

every human heart, and famous in the understanding of every child,

famous in every community, country, business, place, and government, and

frankly that's a big job and can Let's just be honest,

it's not when we'll finish.

We will not make Jesus famous everywhere.

Only Jesus will make Jesus famous everywhere when he finishes

that work.

But we will be about it.

As long as we can, as much as we can,

with as many people as we can, and every way.

We can, until he either returns or we go home.

We are kingdom builders, you see. We get to do

all kinds of things. It fills life with worthwhile purpose.

We get a gathering worship as believers, that's great. We

get to be friends with each other and build community

in small being small groups awesome. But I need us

to understand that vitally, crucially missionally, brothers and sisters, we

are also called to work together, prayerfully, passionately, and meaningfully

to be kingdom builders. Now, next week I'll say a

little bit more about the details of that, Like what's

that mean to be a kingdom builder? What's the difference

between building up little empires and building up kingdoms? How

will we be combined? Like what's the how of that?

But before I get to the details of it, I

just want to spend these next few minutes talking about why,

why would we have an appetite for this?

Why?

What?

What do we imagine? What do we desire? What is

life about?

Why is even Jesus inviting us to be kingdom builders?

Why does Jesus want us to be kingdom builders or

call us to be kingdom builders? And inside, the answer

to that question is really good.

News that I want you to hear.

Jesus is not calling us to be idea followers. Listen,

Jesus has not called us to a set of ideas

to which we agree only we do not live our

faith only up in our heads. Jesus not raising idea followers.

He is discipling kingdom shaped brothers and sisters, sons and

daughters of God to work alongside him. And the minute

you get this that we're called to.

Do, Like, could Jesus go about this any way he wanted?

He has all the power, all the authority. He could

just show up and finish this work himself. But instead

He's called you and I us and each other to

partner with him to be about.

This work building up his kingdom.

And that means all of life has a purpose. You see,

life becomes sort of a glorious classroom, an irreplaceable and

necessary classroom. Like, if we're this idea followers, then you

can just live this up here. But since Jesus is

trying to raise kingdom shaped disciples, then life has purpose.

You see, all of your life has purpose. Your home

has purpose, your work has purpose. Our combined mission has purpose.

It turns out the most exciting parts of your life purpose.

It turns out the worst times of your life they

will not be wasted because He will use that opportunity

to kingdom shape you to become a kingdom builder. Also

turns out the boring parts of your life can have purpose.

If you're in this and you're currently in seventh grade,

that's not a super exciting time of life. But if

you will do it with Jesus and the Holy Spirit,

he will not waste one second of that to shape

you into what he is like and invite you to

put your hand in his hand and be about the

work of building his kingdom. I get excited about this

because it's to call to participate and not just to

call to believe in something. We get to share life

and mission with Jesus and each other through all of

our life. I just want to tell you, like, Christianity

as a set of ideas is okay. Christianity's a set

of ideas may lead to a more externally.

Moral life, and that will have some blessing, but it

won't be worth your life. Christianity is an invitation.

To be shaped into the person of Jesus so that

you participate in his.

Ongoing worth on earth, work on Earth that's worth living for.

Like this is this is.

A purpose to every single human life that can be

found in every single human circumstance. All of us get

called to be in the work of building Jesus's kingdom.

You see.

I think that I think that Christianity, modern Christianity is

infected with a sneaky idea, maybe even broken with a

sneaky idea that is making this difficult, and it goes.

It goes something like this. Do you want to hear it?

I think that sneaky idea goes something like this.

If I believe in Jesus and I raise my hand

and I say the prayer, and then I'm saved. And

once I've said the prayer, I get my essentially get

out of health free card, and then all I have

to do is be good enough or sorry enough until

I die.

If I'm good enough or sorry enough, then I will

make it through this torture called life.

And escape to somewhere called heaven. And then life loses

all of its purpose. Life is just a waiting room

until you die. And friends, I want to tell you,

scripture is not teaching us anything at all. Like that,

I think that's actually bad news. I find myself raising

myself and then none, why do it?

Why do life? Then?

Like, why did you create this sort of painful thing

to lead to something good?

Let's skip to the good thing.

And Jesus is like, because I'm raising brothers and sisters

and sons and daughters, and you are blessed with this

irreplaceable classroom so that every moment of good and every

moment of strife will shape you into who I am.

So then the renewed creation, you'll be some ho do

you have character, some substance, some knowing having participated in

my work?

And when that light bulb clicks on.

You're like, Oh, all of my life has a purpose.

All of my life is participating and building God's kingdom

in my heart and my life and my home and

God's kingdom everywhere around me. Scripture has a way different

idea than we're just you know, like honestly, like I

see people repent like, well, I made a mistake. But

if I'm sorry enough, I'll stay in God's good graces

and then finally all make it to the end. And

the idea of scripture is I've come to restore you

to me, to give you life so that you can

do it now like now is when I want to

restore you. Now is when I want to heal wounds.

Now is when I want to dress lies. Now is

when I want to heal trauma. Now is when I

want to make you like I'm shaping you right now.

The idea of scripture is not that we escape this earth.

Friends.

Now, this may be revolutionary to some of you. I

think we can blame. Sorry, people are going to disagree

with me on this, and I shouldn't say blame. I

think this idea comes from books like the Left Behind series, which.

Comes from an earlier nineteenth century idea.

But some of us have this idea like the earth

gets fried and we leave, we leave this place. And

Skirtcher's not telling that story at all. It does talk

about kind of paradise before Jesus renews it.

But you want to know where Jesus makes heaven here.

He's about physically restoring this thing that he made and loved,

and we get to be a part of it.

Like this finally fixed this the way it's supposed to run.

This at a universal scale.

We don't leave this thing. Does he come and judge

it before he restores it? Yes, but he means to

restore it, and we will get to enjoy this, this earth.

And if you get out of your head, we're leaving it.

And you get to the idea Jesus was restoring it,

and he's asking you to build build his.

Kingdom, a kingdom made out of people, not buildings.

He's asking to build a kingdom of people that will

inhabit that restored creation.

For me, that's the like, hey, this is worth it,

Like He's.

Coming to restore it and we get to build it.

The thing is is that this kind of idea that

we're leaving it comes from I think a biblical misunderstanding.

Now I want to If you disagree with me on that,

that's okay. I'd love to discuss it with you some

other day, but I really would and If you and

I disagree, it's okay because the central picture won't be missed.

But the central idea that scripture.

Is talking about is a return, and part of the

idea comes from an understanding of a Greek word. Now,

this is the part where if you tune out, go

to home base, member home base.

In the New Testament, there's the use of.

A very common Greek word, and that Greek word is parusia.

I mean it's to arrive or to come, to show up,

like to be present, And parusia gets used throughout scripture

talking about the arrivals of Jesus, the first arrival and

the second arrival his return.

Well, parlisi is a well known Roman idea.

It's a Greek word used in the Roman world and

it has a pretty simple idea. It's used to talk

about when an official, maybe even the emperor or a dignitary,

comes to a city or a region after there's been

a tragedy, an earthquake or a fire, and the emperor

shows up and assesses what is wrong, tours the city,

leaves wealth and resources, and his name like, under my authority,

you may use my.

Power for the restoration of the people.

In this city, and then he says, now I'm going

to go, but you have all my power and my

name to do this work. I'm gonna go be about

that work, and then keep a lookout for me. Put

somebody on the wall, because I'm gonna come back. And

when I come back, I want to see what you've

done with my name and my resources in my absence.

Now that was a common Roman idea. There's a large

city called Thessala and Nika in the region of Macedonia.

Thesalon Nika, we know from historical records, had experienced a

few of these Parocia visits. The first Paroca, the arrival,

a gap in between, and then the second Parosia when

this dignitary comes back. Thesala and Nika had earthquakes, and

so they had experienced this before. Again, between these Parosia events,

they were encouraged to put watchmen on the wall and

blow trumpets. In fact, in the Roman rule was they

were put a watchman out, then the emperor would stop

outside the city.

Honor those who had died in his.

Absence, and then the people would go out of the city,

meet the emperor and guide him back in to show

him all that's happened in his absence. So that's the

clear image that they have in mind to escort them

back and show him what they've done with his name

and his gifts and his charge.

So given that idea, you with me.

Still, given that idea, I want you to now re

listen to a familiar biblical passage about the Parusia, the

second coming of Jesus. He's already parosi at once he came,

gave his life, raised him the dead, send it into heaven,

and now he will come again.

So Paul, using this term and.

Idea that they know, writes this passage to the church

in Thessalonika, who we know has experienced this. So this

says first Thessalonians Chapter four, verses sixteen through seventeen, says

to them, now, look, now, he's afraid that the that

the Thessalonians are being idle in their faith. That's the

point of this book. He's afraid that they're not working,

they're not doing anything. They're kind of being idle and

not engaging their faith. So he gives them this idea, says, Look,

the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry

of command, with the voice of an archangel announcing him

with the sound of the trumpet of God.

And the dead will rise first, then.

We who are alive, who are left, well, this is

the caught up or meet together in the air with

them to meet the Lord.

And we will always be with the Lord.

Therefore I encourage you, encourage one another with these words,

this hope, this truth, this idea. Now remember he's using

a common idea. So and you see some of the parallel.

So just like the same thing, the trumpet sound that's

supposed to play.

It's just like the trumpet.

That's supposed to play when the Emperor dignitary is coming back.

The resurrection of the dead is just like the.

Emperor stopping outside to resurrect the dead. The meeting in

the air, which we've got our directions wrong. We've thought

meeting in the air, and then you keep going into

the air as opposed to do we meet in the air?

Why what do you doing? A parocia?

You meet the emperor and then you turn around and

lead him back into the city to show him what

you've done with his name and his wealth, his resources,

and his power while he was gone. This now lines

up with what Jesus says in Mark thirteen when hear

his believers.

This is Jesus' words.

Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know when the

owner will come back, whether in the evening or at midnight,

or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he

comes suddenly, listen, do not let him find you sleeping.

What I say to you, and I say to everyone,

is watch. Are you getting the picture? Because Paul's using

a common idea to say, Jesus is like an emperor

who came into the tragedy of our sin. He saw

how the world had been broken by our sin, and

he came to begin that restoration. He left his name,

his influence, his power, his resources, the truth, the Gospel,

the Holy Spirit for us to be about the work

of building up his kingdom until he comes, judges and

restores the whole thing. He's painting this picture of this

time in between that they would understand. And there's a

question that hangs.

Over this first arrival and the second arrival. And again

the Thessalonians are getting this.

Picture right away, and the question is what would Jesus

like for us to be doing during this short period

he is bodily away from the earth.

I just gave you the illustration.

What should we be doing during this short period he's

away and being a servant to say, somebody say kingdom builder,

for me, build his kingdom, to be a kingdom builder?

What should we be doing? Jesus, build my kingdom. It's

literally the prayer he teaches us, Lord.

Your kingdom, come, Your will be done on earth as

the thank you so much. Build his kingdom with joy,

without pressure, without anxiety, without fear, but with intentionality and alacrity,

and urgency and playfulness, aware of our enemy like a warrior,

but unafraid.

Covered in Christ.

He's left us with his riches and the Holy Spirit

to be with him and like him.

Do you remember the parable of the talents in scripture?

Have you heard that one before? Jesus uses the same picture.

He says, a master goes away and he leaves the

servants in his house with riches, with treasure. He says,

some of those I gave a lot of treasure to,

and they went to work and made more treasure. And

some of those I gave a little treasure to, and

they went to work and made more treasure.

But one of them took the treasure buried in the

ground and did nothing.

And that's the only one and one of the few

times Jesus in a parable says, there's the fool, the

one who missed the whole point, the one who missed

the opportunity to use what the Master left them to multiply.

And to build up the kingdom. This is the same

picture he pulls on.

So if I go back to this Roman picture painted

in Thessalonians, I want you to see what Paul's tried

to do for a church that he's afraid is missing

the point, a church that thinks they just got saved

and now they just need to wait till it's over

and then they can go to heaven. And they are idle,

they're unengaged in their faith. Paul uses an idea that

they already understand to set off an alarm bell.

Can you do that with.

Them, like you're the church of Thessala and I can

just put on your imagination hat.

Thank you for doing that, because that's what he's at.

A few of you did it.

These are teachers, like Paul is just saying, put your

imagination hat on because you understand the parocia of an emperor.

Imagine when this happens to you.

If the emperor had come, left his name and authority

in his command, and you had been.

About his work.

What if you had taken all of his riches and

his resources and his command, and you had busily been

restoring human lives?

What would that reunion be like? You'd run out to

meet him. You couldn't wait for his return.

You'd hear the trumpet, you'd jump out of your seat, you'd.

Run out to meet him because you can't wait to come.

I said, look, look, look, look, look, look how we've

participated with you. Why you were gone? Now the converse

is also true. Imagine that's all he's asking them to do.

Imagine the emperor came as he has before, and he

left you with his name and his power and his resources,

and you did nothing. What's it like when the trumpet

blows's that's a lousy day. That's like, hey, send the governor.

I think I will stay in my house. There's no

joy in the parusia the return, because you don't get

to lead him back and celebrate any.

Of your common work together. There's just the warning.

In fact, Jesus trying to give Paul Jesus trying to

give like this great encouragement. I've equipped you for a

joyous reunion. But there's also a warning don't miss it

because it is justifiably judgeable. And he says, hey, if

you can imagine this with the Emperor, imagine it with Jesus,

because this is precisely the same place. Are we going

to sit with that for a minute, your imagination hat

still on, Ask yourself this question, what kind of reunion

are we building?

That's all he wants Cecala and I gotta do.

He doesn't want to get hyper literal about rebuilding physical building,

just wants them to imagine this question, what kind of

reunion are you building? One where you've built up your

own little empire, your personal wealth, and your house and

your stuff and your vacate like we've done that together,

or one where we've held those things loosely and with

playfulness and joyful and seriousness and intentionality, have built the

kind of kingdom that cannot rust, cannot deteriorate, a kingdom

made of lives restored. That's the kind of kingdom. Then

that reunion is a joyous one. And I want us

asking that question kind of individually, what kind of reunion

or you building? What kind of reunion are we building?

You know, we adventure ask ourselves this all the time.

This thing that we're doing is that empire building or

kingdom building? Because the larger church gets, the more danger

it has of becoming an empire builder.

Oh, we build up all our staff and our.

Things, and empire building is a sad missed opportunity. Kingdom building.

You can bless the socks off a kingdom building. So

kingdom building is the one. Let us not be found

as the one who did nothing, even if we're just

the one that invested the meager amount that we've been

given and returned it. Let us be those people I

gotta tell you where they kind of been blessed with much.

The call is.

And I just want you to hear next week when

I talk about how I purposely didn't start with how

I didn't wait to hear like, how are we gonna

do this? How are we gonna do this? Because I

don't want this to feel like some sort of lame

attempt to twist your arm to beg for volunteers, to

hope for gifts, because that's just going to feel like

another obligation. Instead, I want to build an appetite as

we extend an invitation to think and to pray and

to seek the Lord, an invitation to be a part

of the very thing Jesus has saved us for, to

slip our hand into his hand by the power of

the Holy Spirit, and to build his kingdom until we

die or he returns and we greet him with joy

instead of shame.

I want the power see you return to be joyful.

In fact, the tagline for Kingdom Builders is something you're

going to hear a lot, and the tagline is really simple.

Until Jesus is famous everywhere. Our mission adventures make Jesus famous.

And the question for kingdom builders is when do you

stop working on that.

You think, oh, we did it, Jesus is famous.

When he's famous everywhere and I've already told you we

won't finish that job. When do we stop doing this?

When do we stop declaring the good news? When do

we stop seeking out every human heart? When do we

stop developing children? When do we stop building youth buildings

so that young people can have their lives transformed?

Try it out? When do we stop until Jesus is

famous everywhere?

When do we stop supporting convoy of Hope and Compassion International.

And Atlas Free.

When do we stop working with urgency to free people

from human trafficking and feed people who are hungry? When

when Jesus is famous everywhere? When do we stop building

churches and planting churches and inviting new people?

When do we stop building this kingdom?

We don't stop until Jesus comes back. We run out

to meet him, welcome him to is rightful throne, or

until Jesus is famous everywhere. Next week I'll talk about like,

how do we do this? How do we dream and

organize and celebrate? How do we keep it this work

together with intentionality without it becoming some sort of burden?

Man? Do I not want to lay a new burden.

On you, some new rule or program thing you have

to do zero desire.

I want to extend a new invitation.

So that our work here is constantly oriented around the truth.

What are we doing? We're just trying to build a gathering,

because that is not what we're trying to do.

We're trying to build a kingdom of human lives, transformed homes, fixed,

marriage is restored, forgiveness extended, and businesses run with integrity.

And you build God's kingdom on earth in every way

we can, with every person we can, in every way

that we could possibly imagine, as long as we can

until He returns.

Next week. Details for today, I just want you to

leave this place.

Knowing that wherever you go and whomever you run into next,

however you interact with your family after this, or talk

to your roommates, all of it's covered in grace, relax,

no big pressure, But all of it is also invited

into purpose.

Each one of.

Those spaces and relationships and people can be a part

of your intentional, joyful work. You don't have to make

a huge list of things to do. You just slip

your hand in Jesus's hand by the Holy Spirit. You

open your eyes. You have your ears open for opportunities

to build Jesus's kingdom, to be builders. I don't always

read you the next steps, but I think this week's

next steps are incredibly practical. So this week, here's the

three things I'm asking for you to do. Number one,

this is the hardest one. I need to sit down

and be still for a second. TikTok's gone, so it

should be easier sit still for a second. But on

your imagination at and just imagine for your own life,

what is your reunion with Jesus going to be?

Like it is coming faster than you think. When it does,

I want that.

I deeply desire for me and for you that that

is a reunion full of joy, celebration. I need to

run out to be Jesus like I'm so glad you

saved me.

And look at what my life has become.

Not hiding in shame because you took the gift and.

You buried in the dirt.

Imagine that reunion and then look around your life and

look for the spots where you were already building God's

kingdom and underline those like circle them, cultivate them this week.

And if you look around your.

Life and you think yourself, I can't see anywhere that

my life is building God's kingdom, sit a minute longer

because you have a bigger conversation to.

Have with yourself. Talk to Jesus about that too.

If you want the easiest step this week, I'm also

asking you to memorize the kingdom builder's mission, which you'll

hear a lot until Jesus is famous everywhere in every heart,

every kid's understanding, in every classroom, in every country, every region,

every place. That's how long we stay at this. It's

a grand invitation. They can cover every area of your life.

And today I extend.

Jesus's invitation and through me to us. Would you join

me in a prayer, and Jesus, thank you.

I just love that you enjoy us, your delight in

what you've made, and you've come to begin this long

work of restoration, and you've filled every human life with

that invitation by the Holy Spirit to partner with you.

Would you give us eyes to see and ears to

hear this week? Thank you, Thank you that whoever we

are and wherever we are, our invitation to be with

you and be a kingdom builder.

Is crystal clear. We pray it the name of the

Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.