What Will it Take

There's something exciting about construction. There's no other way I can get into it, but say that there's something exciting about construction. We've had some of that. Whether it's a building, whether it's a new house, even a deck in your patio, There's a certain enjoyment of seeing something new emerge, something old being replaced or renewed. Building is always rewarding, always exciting.

And we are seeing the first glimpse of some changes around here that many people have anticipated for a long, long time. I mean, if you drove in last week and this week, you've seen that our parking lot, is being repaired after a long time of needing those repairs. And the entranceways to the parking lot have been completely redone. We can thank Dave Thompson and his men for doing a great job, especially under pressure. I put his name in the bulletin and announced to the whole world that he'd be finished before 15th.

And sure enough, he's brought the job in pretty much on time. He's got one more entrance way to do next week and then our parking is done. And if you've noticed, it's been swept, it's been re striped. And if you walked into the building this morning, you saw that beautiful information desk. Somebody said, man, what did we do to deserve this?

And I said, well, I don't know. The Lord has just given us a lot of talented people in this, in this church. And that desk was installed yesterday. Bruce Johnson built that in his shop along, he had help, I think, from Dave nipping at him from time to time, Dave Roberts. We wanna thank Bruce for the great work that, he has done.

Marvelous, marvelous, piece of construction. And in the last couple of months, we've seen new bathrooms being put in. Next week, Lord willing, you're going to drive by Choctaw Road. You're going to see a new sign out there. We're getting rid of that sign.

We're putting up a new sign. Now these changes and improvements, believe it or not, are just the tip of the iceberg. Just the tip of the iceberg. Hopefully, next week, we'll be able to show you some plans and some drawings that will detail the renovations that we plan to do with this building, not just the parking lot, not just the sign, but this very building, plans for an expanded and completely renovated auditorium, plans for a fellowship hall that will easily sit 200 people with a full kitchen, plans for additional classrooms, teachers work area, World Bible School facilities, nurseries, preschool areas, plans for new offices and meeting rooms, a new foyer. And that's why that that beautiful desk was built the way it was.

It was built with the idea that it would fit in the new foyer. That's the kind of the, you know, give you an idea what it's going to be like in the future. Storage and sewing rooms and more. These changes are planned for this existing structure. And the goal is to finish all of these things, not in 10 years from now or 15 years, but in the near future.

And aside from the plans that you'll be able to look at, that'll be up on the walls, and you'll be able to look at the plan. Aside from those plans, we have other plans and other dreams that are not even designed yet, not even drawn yet, but which we see through the eyes of faith. We see through the eyes of faith, a new auditorium that'll go this way. You people will be like this, and I will be facing that way in an auditorium that'll seat 700 people out in Choctaw Road. We see that through the eyes of faith.

We see the existing office, that building where the office is completely renovated and moved over where the volleyball field is and it'll become a community center for young people and ministry and activities for teenagers in this community of which there are not. We see through the eyes of faith building a private residence for Christian seniors. We see through the eyes of faith, a safe house for women that will provide shelter and counseling when they are in trouble or in need. These plans are exciting, and I know that many of you have longed for the day when this church would build and would expand and would dream big dreams, not little dreams, big dreams. And I'm here to tell you that we are on the verge of setting all of these things into motion and preparing ourselves to meet the challenges that the future will bring.

But before we get caught up in the excitement, before we plunge headlong into the work and the effort that realizing these plans will take, I have a question. I have a question that we need to ponder before we do all of this. And that question is, what will it take? What will it take? What will it take to start?

And what will it take to finish? And what will it take to maintain unity and love and faith through it all? You know, this is a good question because a lot of people have desired to grow and build, but they never start. They draw the plans and they add it up and they go, Oh boy, it's gonna cost what? And it's, Oh, that's too much.

Or they say, we're just we're too small. That's big church work. We're too small. I mean, you know what? Buying the property over here and then going across the street and buying that property over there and making sure that we have enough property to dream big dreams for the next one.

No, no. That big churches do that. We don't do that. We're too small. And I've seen other churches who have gone ahead and built, and they built a building, but they lost the church in the process over nitpicking and arguing and division.

So we would do well to learn a lesson on what it takes. And a good person to look to learn that lesson from is a man called Hezekiah. Hezekiah was the king of Judah, and he took on the formidable challenge of rebuilding the temple. Now there was a building program. He took on the challenge of rebuilding the temple and he succeeded.

He succeeded. And I think we can learn about what it takes by studying what Hezekiah did. Now, let me give you a little background on Hezekiah, so the lesson will fit into some sort of context here. Hezekiah became the king of the southern kingdom, you know, the United Kingdom broke apart and there was the northern and the southern king. He was the king of the southern kingdom, Judah, when he was 25 years old in the year 726 BC.

Now Hezekiah lived in perilous times. I mean, the kingdom to the north of him was under siege. And 4 years after he became king, the Assyrians would come and destroy the northern kingdom. So he became king when it was a time of war. And his own father, Ahaz, had survived by making allegiances with these same Assyrians.

But Ahaz was a wicked, wicked man. Ahaz had promoted idol worship, had closed the temple, had built pagan altars throughout the land of Judah. And so, by the time Hezekiah became the king at 26 years of age, the country was a mess morally and spiritually. Economically, it was broke, and, and politically, it was in trouble. But Hezekiah was a man of faith.

And immediately upon his ascendancy to the throne, the very first thing he did, very first thing, you know what he did? He began to clean and renovate and rebuild the temple, as well as tear down the idols and the altars built by his father. Now some of Hezekiah's, we'd have to read all through Chronicles to get this. And so I've kind of compressed it down to just a minute. Some of Hezekiah's accomplishments during his reign include the reestablishment of the priesthood after decades of inactivity.

He, completely restored the temple into active service. He reformed and reestablished the musicians and the other ministers to conduct worship at the temple. He re energized the nation with religious zeal so that they abandoned their idols, and they came back to the true worship of God. He organized the tremendous worship service not seen since the days of Solomon to celebrate the Passover at the rededication of the temple. And more importantly for him, later on in his life, he stood fast when the king of Assyria and his army finally came to destroy the city.

Hezekiah stood firm and the Lord sent an angel to destroy the Assyrian army and to save Hezekiah. This man of God knew how to build. He knew how to build a building. He knew how to build a ministry. He knew how to build a nation.

And we can learn something about what it, we wanna know what it takes. We can learn what it takes from Hezekiah. And so in looking at his life, we see that in order to build successfully, first of all, it takes sanctified leadership. Sanctified leadership. Hezekiah was the first to give himself to the Lord in the things that he wanted to accomplish.

In 2 Chronicles 29 verse 3, in the very first month of his reign, we see that he set the tone of what he wanted to accomplish by reopening the temple himself. He knew that his leadership was anointed by God and in order to succeed, he had to first do the will of the Lord himself. Me first, leadership by example. Now to sanctify means to set apart. Godly leaders set themselves apart from the world and they are dedicated to accomplishing the will of God above all else.

And that's the point of being a leader in God's home. Hezekiah demonstrated his sanctified leadership in different ways. For example, he was a man that had great vision. Leaders have vision. He could see what the Lord's will was.

He could see what was needed, what had to be done. He saw it. He was able to see things with the eyes of faith and not merely as a human ruler. You know, I said to you before, with the eyes of faith, we see a senior home, with the eyes of faith, we see the drop in center, with the eyes of faith, we see an audit, we see those things with the eyes of faith. Leadership sees with the eyes of faith.

Hezekiah, had he merely acted as a human ruler, would have been discouraged with the Assyrians knocking on the door and the economy down and the people falling off in charge. In other words, nobody was coming to church, No money in the coffers. They were at war. You know, what was this nonsense of, you know, opening the temple? What was that all about?

It would have easy, it would have been easy to compromise, easy to give up, easy to get the priorities out of order. But Hezekiah acted according to his vision, and he wasn't afraid. Sanctifying leadership also demonstrates commitment from the very first day of his reign until all the work was done. The king was involved at every single step. He was there when they repaired the very first door.

He was there. He rose early, the Bible says, and he gathered other leaders and he brought them to the 1st worship service conducted at the temple. He planned and supervised every phase of construction and organization until everything was completed. And this was in addition to his regular duties. Even when he faced ridicule and resistance from some of his own people, he continued in his commitment to the vision that he had from the Lord.

At the very first service, he was the one that gave the largest gift because of his leadership. When contemplating a building project of any kind, you need a plan for sure. And we have people working on a plan and you need lots of money and we'll be talking about money as the months go by. But before any of these are gathered, you need sanctified leadership that has a vision of the entire project and a commitment to see it through until the end. Sanctified leadership.

That's what you need. That's what it takes. It also takes a serious church. You need a sanctified leadership, but you need a serious church. Leadership cannot do the job by itself.

You need a church that is serious about their faith and serious about getting the job done. You know, when the Jews were in the desert and they were building the tabernacle, a call went out for gold and jewelry and other objects to pay for and to decorate the place of worship. And so they called out and they said, you know, we need the money. We need jewels. We need, you know, resources to build this.

And I want to read to you in Exodus 36, the response of the people. It says, and they said to Moses, the people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the contributions of the sanctuary. And thus, the people were restrained from bringing any more for the material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work to perform it. More than enough. They only asked one time and the people brought more than enough to do the job.

These people were serious about building the tabernacle. No wavering. Hezekiah and his people were also serious about their willingness to follow their leader. They destroyed all the idols. They paid for the repairs that Hezekiah wanted to do to the temple.

They purified their lifestyle so they could worship God once again. They were serious about their faith. Well, building the kingdom of God today, today in 1996, I mean, that's what expanded facilities are all about. You know, more ministers, you know, we've hired another minister. That's the expansion of the kingdom.

And by the way, you'll get to hear, he didn't get to talk a lot this morning, but you'll hear him. He'll be up here preaching and leading singing, very soon. But more ministers and added services and added buildings and all that kind of stuff. That's building the kingdom. And that's serious business because it's hard work and it requires sacrifice.

Satan opposes it with every kind of scheme and discouragement and distraction, and our own sinfulness and weak faith slows us down. You know, Choctaw and Reno isn't just an address. It's a place that we've staked out for the kingdom of God. It's not just the UPS address. We planted a flag and we said, right here, the kingdom of God is right here.

And when I eyeball that that that that that land next door and across the street, that's not just land for me. That's expanding the kingdom in this place, expanding the witness. When we put up a new sign in the front, it's not just lights. It's not just brighter. It's not just bigger.

It's a clearer witness that we are here, and we are here to stay, and we are growing. It requires serious people. We're not just playing church, but truly understand that our job is to stake out and hold this place for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Hebrews chapter 6 verse 12, the writer encourages the church with an exhortation to growth. Hebrews chapter 6:1 and 2, and he says, Therefore, leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.

I want you to note something about that verse. Note that the writer says that the giving up of sinful habits, that accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God, that living by faith, that understanding the basic doctrines, that knowing the certainty of Christ's return in judgment, all these things, you know what he calls them? He calls them the basics. Those are the basics. That's the elementary stuff, the ABC.

That's the kindergarten stuff. Some churches spend their entire lives reviewing and arguing about these things. Those are the basics. He says, please get the basics, giving up your bad habits, showing up the church on time, being ready for the return of Christ. Those are the basics.

He wants them to get on to the mature work, the meat of the matter. And the meat of the matter is building the kingdom. The meat of the matter is bearing fruit. The meat of the matter is ministry, and evangelism, and growth. That's maturity.

Giving up my bad habit. Overcoming my laziness and my indifference to Christ. That's basic stuff that's in the nursery of Christianity. He's saying you gotta grow up, and growing up means to build, to grow, to expand. Only a serious church that has a handle on the basics of church attendance and clean living and walking by faith and submission to the Lord can get on with the adult tasks of building and expanding the church.

The Lord was here and we and someone says, we want you to say 2 words, dude. Just give us 2 words, Lord, of encouragement. You know what he'd say? Grow up. Grow up.

Because that's what Hebrews is saying here. Grow up. The goals are high and the obstacles are many, and only a serious church can have a hope of reaching them. And then finally, it takes a sanctified leadership. It takes a serious church, and for absolutely sure, it takes the savior, Jesus Christ.

You see, from the beginning of his reign and work on the temple, Hezekiah continually exhorted the priests and the workers in the entire nation to put their faith in God. In a letter that he sent out to the people to return to a true worship, Hezekiah reminded them of God's kindness and mercy. He said, for if you return to the Lord, your brothers and you and your sons will find compassion. 2nd Chronicles 30 verse 9. You see, the building was possible and the restoration would be complete and the nation would be forgiven and they would prosper if they relied on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now Jesus reminded his disciples of the very same principle when he said, I am the vine, and you are the branches. And he who abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. John 15 verse 5, Jesus in this verse emphasized that without him, we his disciples could not do anything. But in many other verses, he reminds us that we can do many things if we rely on him.

For example, in Matthew 7, he says, when we ask in his name, we will receive. In Matthew 19, he tells us that all things are possible for those who believe in God. All things are possible. All the dreams that I mentioned are possible for those who believe in God. In Ephesians 3 verse 20, Paul says that God can do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think.

Not only can we do all the things that we imagine, but if we believe in God and trust in Jesus Christ, God will give us a vision for things that we haven't even imagined today. And that's the kind of faith that we need. Do we get the point that from the very beginning, God has wanted his people to put their trust in him and the Savior, Jesus Christ. And so whether it's building the building, or building a marriage, or building a home, or building a career, or building a homework assignment, whatever we're building, it takes faith in Jesus Christ in order to see it through until the end. Well, in the end, Hezekiah lived a long time and he lived long enough to see wonderful things happen.

He lived long enough to see the people celebrate a tremendous worship service in the newly renovated and rebuilt temple. He lived long enough to see a general revival of faith because of his work in the temple. The entire nation was revived. They broke down the pillars and they took down the altars and they destroyed the pagan idols, all because of what he did. He lived long enough to see God's power destroy all of his enemies and he lived long enough to see his own kingdom prosper economically and politically.

The Bible says that other kings and other leaders came to Jerusalem and brought him gifts, and and they honored him. All of this took place because he and the people knew what it took to reach their goal. And ask you, what will it take for us to transform our plans? Because right now, we've seen the tip of the iceberg. We've seen what we can do, and we're gonna look at some plans, you know, a mind, Dave's mind concept of what we will be able to do.

But what will it take to turn those plans, those drawings into reality? It'll take sanctified leadership, and that sanctified leadership will need to emerge at every area in every role. I'm not just talking about our elders. I'm saying in every role, we will need sanctified leadership. People who provide leadership in this church must be the 1st to see the vision and commit to it with all of their hearts.

We're going to need the entire church to close ranks and support the one vision provided by that leadership. I know everybody's got an opinion, and I know that everybody's got a way of doing things. But in order to get things done, each person needs to get serious about doing his or her part as best they can without complaint and without second guessing. And it and and we're also going to need that each person recognize that the goals, as well as the means to get all of these things are related to Jesus Christ. Remember, the goal is to build up the kingdom of Christ and to honor Him.

That's the goal. It's not just building. It's not just bricks. It's about honoring God. It's about lifting up the name of Christ in a mighty way so that no one can make the mistake about what we believe and where our treasure is and what we're about.

That's what it's about. And we're going to need the resources to do these things. The resources will come from people, but the people will be able to provide those resources if they put their faith in Jesus Christ. If we have what it takes, God will provide what we need and together we will expand the kingdom in this place. Remember, from here on in, the Lord is going to begin to separate the man from the boys, the weak from the strong.

You know, we've had a couple of years and all we've done is kinda, you know, we've posted along. We've kind of packed things together. We've strengthened. We've been in the gymnasium, I would say. We've had 3 years of working out in the gym, you know, 3 years.

That's 500 sermons. 500 sermons of working out in the gym. You know, I think we're ready. Okay? I'm tired of doing reps.

I'm tired of doing reps. I want to get on with it. I want to get on with it. I want to build. I want to grow.

Want to do some real stuff. No more practicing. I'm gonna do real stuff now. And all of these plans, let's not forget that our primary golden life is to save our own souls and to remain faithful until Jesus returns. Oh, you know what?

I wish this place was just half finished, you know, half finished. We were dead broke and half finished. Okay? Building and and the Lord would come. That would be great.

Wouldn't that be great? You're not sure yet. Maybe another 100 sermons. We're close. Yeah.

Well, maybe today's counts for 2. So, yeah, I'd like, I'd like for us to be in the middle of it. You know what I'm saying? In the middle of it, battling it, fighting it, uphill, struggle, and then he comes. Oh, that would be so marvelous.

But one of the things that has to happen, of course, is that we ourselves have to have a right relationship with God. Whatever we're doing here personally, we have to be right with God. And for this to happen, it takes a personal faith in Jesus Christ and an acknowledgment that he is truly the Son of God. It requires sincere repentance of our sins. It requires baptism and immersion in water in the name of Jesus to wash away our sins and to receive the Holy Spirit.

And it and it requires a faithful life, a faithful life. And so if your personal goal I've talked to you about our goal as a congregation this morning, and we'll talk to you more about that as the weeks go on. But if your personal goal is peace of mind and forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God in heaven, Then at this time, I encourage you to come forward for baptism or restoration, whatever you need, as we stand and as we sing this song of invitation.