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1 Corinthians 3:10,17 -The Temple Of God- Pastor Rick Beaudry 2024-03-03
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First Corinthians three ten through 17, would you please stand with me as we read God's holy word, together. According to the grace of God, which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation and another builds thereon. But let every man take heed how he builds thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God dwells in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. Father, we thank you for your holy word. We thank you that you're able to make it here this morning and, to be here to to worship you, to sit at your feet. Lord, now we ask that you'd be our teacher, that you'd open the scriptures to our understanding, that we would be edified, that we built be built up and strengthened, that we'd have discernment as we learn the scriptures that we'd be able to discern between truth and error. Lord, that we'd have ears to hear that your holy spirit would give us that still small voice that we listen to, that we heed to, that we walk in fellowship with, Lord, in your in obedience unto you. So blessed now we pray. Pour out your holy spirit upon us, Lord. Cause your love to overflow our lives today. Refresh and strengthen us. The joy of the Lord, our strength. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Would you please be seated? Paul now, expresses, his desire that we work together as Jesus builds his church, that we collectively are the temple of God, his building. He indicates in verse nine that we are fellow laborers laboring together, participate with God in the building of his church. Paul now gives guidelines to how this construction project is to be accomplished. We are to build, number one, upon the rock. So when you build, you gotta decide what foundation, to build upon. Paul didn't like the idea of building upon another man's foundation. So if he went into a city, and there was already a work there that's that's being established and all, he wouldn't try to, you know, overwhelm that work. He might he might help a little bit, but, his objective was to go places where no man had gone before. And so he'd spent eighteen months in the city of Corinth planting a church there, and then later, Apollos came through, and Cephas came through, Peter, and they build upon. But when Paul was there as a master builder, he's laying Jesus down as the foundation of the church, that everybody take heed who they build. If they're gonna add to that that, you know, infrastructure, you gotta make sure that Jesus is that chief cornerstone that you're building upon, not upon Christian celebrities, not upon men, not upon isms, not upon a new program or a new way or purpose driven way or any of that stuff. It has to all be built upon Jesus Christ. And so, so number one, build upon the rock according to the grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master builder. I have laid the foundation and other build thereon, but let every man take heed how he builds thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ. So in Matthew chapter 16, Jesus asked his disciples, who do men say that I am? If we were to ask the general population in Kitsap County, who's Jesus? If we were to ask, you know, on the in in the Washington DC where pastor Jack Hibbs is praying, who is Jesus? You know? If we were to ask America on, you know, Tucker Carlson, who is Jesus? What are the what are what's the consensus? What's the general consensus of who Jesus is? Some would say today, you know, oh, he's just a historical figure. You know? He's a guy that, you know, lived 2,000 ago. He was a good man. You know, he's a good teacher, all these type of things. But, if you don't believe that he's lord, as CS Lewis said, he's either lord, liar, or lunatic. You have to embrace him as lord because any man saying destroy this temple in three days I raise it up is either a lunatic or he can deliver it, you know. And Jesus delivered it. Right? And so he asked his disciples, who do men say that I am? And they said back, well, some say you're John the Baptist. Some say you're Elijah, that you remind people of Elijah. Others say you're Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. Jesus wept. Real men weep. Right? And then and then they said, or the prophet, as in as in Moses prophesied that a prophet would come. And so that's the general consensus. But then he brings it home to us individually, and he says, who do you say that I am? And all of us need to answer that question. Who is Jesus to you? Who is Jesus? Who's he claimed to be? Do you understand who he's claiming to be? If a guy can say, I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the father but by me, That man's either lord, liar, or lunatic. Right? He he can deliver it or he can't. Buddha, Mohammed, Confucius wouldn't say that they're the way. They would tell you of a way, but not that they are the way. And so Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, the way you're dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. He either can deliver it by saying, Lazarus has come forth, or he can't deliver it. But we know he did deliver it. Right? And so our faith is based upon eyewitness testimony of people that saw him be crucified, buried, raised from the dead. But also, we have the more sure word of prophecy prophetically lining up where we see all the prophecies pointing to, his birth, where he would be born, how he would die. You know, it wasn't by stoning. We can see a thousand years before he died in Psalm 22 that he would die by crucifixion. We'd hear him say, my god my god, why has thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from my roaring? You know? And you go through all the different fulfillment of scripture in Isaiah 53 and Isaiah 50, his beard being pulled out, deep furrows in his back, and and all the different prophecies pointing to him and irrefutable evidence that he is who he claimed to be who the Bible lays him out to be. So our faith is not a blind leap of faith. Our faith is an intelligent faith based upon irrefutable facts. You know? Irrefutable. So we're rock solid. And so he asked, who do you say that I am? And Peter says, thou art the Christ, the Messiah, the son of the living God. And Jesus said, blessed art thou Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you. So this isn't the natural man. The natural man, like Nicodemus, before he's born again, doesn't understand these concepts, doesn't understand these truths that Jesus is God, that he's the Messiah, he's the Christ, he's anointed one. Doesn't understand that. Flesh and blood hasn't revealed this to you, Peter, but my father who is in heaven. You and I need the revelation of Jesus Christ, the apocalypse, the unveiling of Jesus every moment of every day. Paul said that I might know him. How do we get to know him? God reveals himself to us by his spirit through his word. And so you and I must be born again. And as we're born again, we're no longer body and soul because eyes not seen, we studied last week, neither eyes not seen nor ear heard, neither has it in our hearts of men the things which God has prepared for them that love him. But God has revealed them unto us by his spirit. So being a born again, spirit filled, born from above, Christian, God reveals himself to you and I. The natural man, body and soul, he can understand these things because he's body and soul. He doesn't have the capacity to fellowship with God and to know God, but we do. So blessed art thou Simon Bar Jonah. Oh, how happy you are for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father which is in heaven. And I say that thou art Peter, which is little stone. And upon this rock, Petra, massive rock, I He doesn't need your help or my help, but he allows us to help. I will build my church. He's gonna build it working through us. Right? I will build my church upon this rock, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. So no matter what, all the prognosticators, all the people mocking Jesus, they're actually fulfilling prophecy where Peter said in the last days will come scoffers. They're gonna come mocking. They're fulfilling prophecy when they mock the second coming of Christ. They're they're willingly ignorant. Right? Not not understanding that God is long suffering, unwilling that any would perish, but that all would come to repentance. So they basically say, hey, I saw the, you know, Tim LaHaye left behind series, you know, thirty years ago, the rapture and all, but he didn't come yet. People begin to mock the imminent return of Christ, the rapture of the church begin to mock. Well, they're willingly ignorant. God has waited. He's patient because he wanted to save you. He wanted to save me. He wanted to save, you know, some people that weren't saved at that time, family members and such. He's he's gonna judge. He's gonna bring the hammer. He's gonna bring fire down. Right? He's gonna come and the whole world is gonna bow onto him. He's gonna destroy the antichrist, the world's champion with the brightness of his coming, the sword of his mouth. But until then, he's using you and I to share the gospel during the church age. To go and make disciples. Right? To be obedient in that way. So blessed art thou, Simon Bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father is in heaven. And I say, you're Peter, stone, little stone, pebble upon this rock. Now, if you're Catholic, the church is not built upon the Catholic church. The church is not built upon Peter. Peter wasn't the first pope. He says, you're Peter a little stone. And the other apostles, they're stones. And those stones are set on top of Jesus, that chief cornerstone, the massive stone. Right? The rock of ages. And so I'll build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail. So we're gonna storm the gates of hell is what that means. We don't have armor, you know, on the back of us to flee from these wicked evil people today. I'm watching I saw a little blurb where the farmers in Europe are winning, And so some of the government officials had to back off of some of their climate demands. The guys wouldn't take it anymore. You're not giving us nitrogen. You're not giving us fertilizer. You're telling us in in in in light of your climate cult, you know, the worship of the planet, it's it's an all bold faced lie, but they've gotta have a reason for bringing the tyranny about. They're saying your carbon footprint's too big when you grow food. So we're gonna have to make you eat crickets and mealworms and such. Well, the farmers in Europe begin to spray manure on the people in the street, you know, the the government and stuff, and drop manure and come with their tractors and all. I read this morning they've backed off. They've I I don't know that the government ever backs off. Maybe it was maybe it was the Babylon Bee fooling me. It was just satire. I don't know, but that's what I read this morning. I hope it's true. And I hope, in Arizona, Maricopa County, I read yesterday where they came into a a meeting and presented treason charges against the the county commissioners and ran them out of the room. Is that true? Did they really do that? Are people waking up? People gonna stand for righteousness? Gonna finally do something? We don't know what to do, but we gotta stand for righteousness. Right? Gotta always stand for righteousness. Stand for the truth no matter how silly you look because we're fighting from a position that we've already won. The the onus is upon them to prove us wrong. They have to try and disprove Jesus Christ. They have to try and disprove Christianity. They have to try and disprove the truth, the evident truth that's there. You know? And but they can't. And so they gotta they gotta surround people with lies and use their brainwashing and their techniques of over and over and over and over the brainwashing of people where they finally begin to repeat the mantra. And once you get them afraid, Joseph Goebel said, you can get them to believe and do anything. So praise the Lord for people that recognize that upon this rock, will build my church and the gates of hell not prevail. So you never give up. You never quit. You always say Jesus is essential. We're never gonna shut down, Jay. We're never gonna shut it down. We're always gonna worship. We're always gonna partake in communion. You know? And no matter and and it seems it seems more and more that we're watching the escalation of persecution be directed more and more at the church in America. Has been directed in Nigeria and all over the world for a long period of time. Fastest growing church in the world is in Iran. You know? Never hear about that, but that's amazing fact, isn't it? Amazing fact that God is moving and working in these places where Islam would render you an infidel and kill you if you tried to move in that direction. So he says, you're Petra, little stone, and upon this rock, Petra, massive rock, I'll build my church. Jesus is the rock, the foundation the foundation his church is built upon. And then notice it says, by the grace of God, Paul became a what? A wise master builder. In the Greek, that means it's where we get our word architect. It's architan. It speaks of an superintending the work. And when we were building rebuilding the Roxy and rebuilding the Sears building that had dormant for over twenty years, I had the privilege of being the project superintendent. And I I wasn't in construction, but just what I would do is go to Lowe's and get materials. I go do the permits. I'd get the various guys that are there working, trying to organize and keep things rolling and and get them anything they need and that sort of thing. So some of the guys that were in construction, one of them said to me, you're you're one of the best, you know, superintendents I've ever seen. Well, why? Because my name was on the dotted line. My whole life falls apart if this project fails. You know? So I'm highly motivated to keep everybody going and to keep this thing to the place where it finally the day care opens. You know? We needed that financial engine to underwrite the cost of doing a daycare in a school and and build out and all that. And so so I was highly highly motivated. And also the motivation of wanting to see children in a in a Christian school in a safe environment and watch all the needs of the body of Christ and and that little fellowship be met. So it was a wonderful privilege in that way. So he says, I'm a wise master builder, the architect, if you will, at Corinth laying the foundation. So Jesus Christ the rock, then Apollos comes through after, Paul is establishing Christ as that rock, and Apollos adds to the church there in Corinth. Then at Ephesus, Paul goes in and spends three years in Ephesus establishing Jesus as that foundation of that church. And then later, he's able to have Timothy, a young pastor, come in and build be able to build upon that which the apostle Paul had laid down. Verse 10, but let every man take heed how he builds thereupon. The word buildeth is the Greek tense is a present active indicative, which means continuous action. Take heed how he builds. So it's constantly being built, and so we all continue to build upon Jesus Christ the Ra. So we've had a lot of different programs in my generation as a pastor since I went to school in 1989, ninety, ninety one, ninety three, right in there, and and then ventured out and been up here since doing the church. And in the beginning, what we were told at school is if you teach the word of God, they'll come. Teach the Bible, and they'll come. People will come for the word of God. And in the early days, in pockets and places within America, that's true. There will be places where people the the establishment of a of a standard has been met. So you have great men of God in in Orange County, where John MacArthur, David Hawking, pastor Chuck, and, on and on and on. Great, great teachers of the Bible. They establish it. They've got it on the radio. And every church out there is measured by the people based upon content. I wanna be fed. I want the word of God. I don't want Kool Aid. I don't want half hearted efforts. And then Rick Warren comes along, and he begins to knock on people's doors in Orange County, and he finds out that people want more music, longer music, more upbeat music, different types of music, and little sermonettes, little time sermonettes for Christianettes, not very much word. And then he begins to teach the other pastors, the more the bible you teach, the smaller your church will be. That verse by verse teaching is death to a church. So people begin to sway in the apostasy falling away from the truth to looking for more for a man centered effort, a purpose driven effort to go and do good deeds, Rick said. It's not creeds. It's not teaching. So what is the fruit of that movement today? A famine in the land for the word of God. People don't know right from wrong. And so we're watching our country be overwhelmed with evil. Why? Because a lack of discernment. Why? Because the people don't know the scriptures. They haven't been taught the scriptures. He told them, don't teach prophecy, one third of the bible. It it's none of your business when Jesus returns. But he began to, amass a following of pastors of over, you know, 500,000 pastors going to pastors.com to get their sermons each week. So it's a program driven marketing strategy, a three legged stool. What's the three legged stool of his whole vision? One is government. Two is the church. Three is business. So put the government, the church, and business together, and what do you have? The new world order. That's the new world order. The bible prophesies a one world government. Daniel two, Daniel seven, Revelation thirteen and seventeen. 10 kings. Then you have the Abraham house, Revelation 17, the whore of Babylon, the one world religious system being developed presently. Thank you, Rick, for helping with that. And then the one world, you have the government, you have the religious system, and then we see the, economic system working with business, all the technocrats and the nobody be able to buy or sell without a mark on the right hand of their forehead. And Peter Drucker was his mentor, but that crept into the church along with pop psychology, feel good messages, seeker sensitive type messages, and, Jesus is not the foundation of these churches. Man is. It's existential humanism. It's based upon making people feel good. You remove words like sin. You remove words like repentance and hell. You talk a lot about heaven and your best life now. That's heresy. But it sells. Marketing strategies like this sells. So we come back to the basics. Very simple. Jesus Christ and him crucified for the remission of sins. He's the foundation. So a continuous action, the Greek tense, he that buildeth. So buildeth thereupon, we're watching, we're continuing to be used of the Lord for him to build his church no matter how many people in Kitsap County, hate Jesus or it's the least church place. My response is, oh, what a challenge. So if you go to India and you're a shoe cobbler and you see that nobody wears shoes, you could look at it as like, oh, what a bummer. They don't like shoes. Or you could look at it as, wow. Wait till they try some of my shoes on. You know? They're gonna all be wearing sandals soon. And so it's a challenge. We know that they need Jesus. We know that people need Jesus, and we need to do the work as pastor Chuck, his favorite verse is Zechariah four six, not by not by might nor by power, which speaks of human might or power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. So it's gotta be a work of God's spirit. You can't force it. You can't market it. You can't you know, some 127, except the Lord builds the house. They that labor labor in vain that build it. Men can build churches, boards, and programs. But except the Lord build the house, they that labor labor in vain that build it. It's just a social club, lacks power, the power to transform and change lives. And so we'll we'll hold out and let Jesus build his church. In Ephesians two twenty, it says, are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone. So the apostles and prophets were laid there on top of Christ the rock. In acts four eleven, this is the stone which is set not of you builders. So Peter preaching and letting them know that we're not gonna stop preaching in his name, and so he's letting them know as he's quoting in Psalm a 118, this is the stone which was set at naught of you builders which has become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. So Jesus is the rock. We talk about the exclusivity of Jesus Christ, not the inclusivity. I wanna be inclusive. I wanna involve all the religions together so that we can get along. No. No. No. Jesus said I didn't come to bring peace but a sword. And so he's a divider of men. It's his way or the highway. He's not coming to negotiate terms of peace. He's he's coming to let you know you have a chance to surrender to his sovereignty in your life. That he proved he's God. He said to destroy this temple in three days, I'll raise it up, and he did. And then he lived for forty days upon the earth walking with his guys, over 500 witnesses of this. And then he ascends at the right hand of his father, and he said to tarry and wait for the promise of the father. They waited ten days, and on Pentecost, fifty days after his resurrection, the holy spirit's poured out upon the church in acts chapter two. The birthing of the church, a mystery that once hid now revealed. So now, how's he gonna build that church? He uses fishermen. He uses the 120 in the upper room who are filled with the holy spirit, and then he breaks out into 3,005, And the religious leaders say, hey, aren't these ignorant, unlearned men and women? They're not professionals. They're not religious professionals. What's going on? Well, they took note that they had been with Jesus. They're filled to overflowing with the holy spirit, and they're going with whatever they got. If it's a song God gives, they go with a song. If it's a a verse, they go with a verse, but they go with the joy of the Lord, and they're unwilling to back down and to listen to the magistrates that are telling, don't speak in this man's name anymore. And whether it's right or wrong, you guys determine we're gonna obey God rather than men. You can't stop people like that. You can threaten to kill them. They don't fear death anymore. To be asked from the bodies to be present with the Lord. Amen. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. You couldn't stamp it out. The more in the first two centuries of the church, the more they tried to stamp it out, the more it grew. The best way to stifle church growth is for worldly people to join the church and corrupt the church. That's what's called the dark ages. The dark ages where you merge the government with the church, and you have people begin to use the church in an autocratic way to manipulate and control people from the government and the church, and so Catholics tried that. And so we have the Protestant Reformation, the protesting, the getting the gospel, the basics of the gospel, the just shall live by faith with Martin Luther and others to awaken the continent, to awaken Great Britain with getting the gospel out in the eighteen hundreds all over the world. And I listened to I heard Mike Adams say that Great Britain today, nobody wants their currency. They used to have the global de facto currency, the British sterling. Nobody wants it. And also, they're gonna try and sell one of their aircraft carriers. Why? Because they're broke. A government being broke. That's crazy, isn't it? Just crazy. They used to be the sun never set on the British Empire. They turn their backs upon God, and what happens? On Sunday, I'm told, in the newspaper section, maybe they don't have newspapers anymore, but, whatever pertains to websites, churches for sale. Churches become an Islamic mosque and such, and condos and everything that were once filled with people worshiping the true and living God. It's a post Christian era in Europe. Post Christian. And you and I, God's called us to go go and make disciples. A disciple is a learner. So we stay with the word of God. So when we were told, if you teach it, they will come, we ventured out and we did that. And for some guys, it worked. In my case, it didn't work. People don't want the word of God. The majority of people. So then when I went back to the pastors conferences, pastor Chuck was a little worried that the pastors would start to compromise the truth so as to build a church, have more people. Tremendous pressure to have lots of people. Especially when you're at pastors conferences, how many are running? And I told one prominent pastor, oh, a couple 100. That's back when we had a couple 100. 86 kids in the Sunday school. And and it's like, how long you been there? It's the next question. Oh, I've been there about five years. To them, that's a failure. They're done talking to you. They move on. You know? Must be something wrong with you. But then pastor Chuck came back to us at the conferences and said, guys, stay the course. Stay the course. Don't give in. Don't give in to the church growth movement. Don't give in to the purpose driven. Don't give in to these, you know, Willow Creek, you know, real shallow, but they look big, but they're half an inch deep. You know, there there's no depth in these people. And stay the course. Stay the course. So then it became understood that not all of us are gonna have these big churches, but at the end, we wanna hear the Lord say, well done, a good and faithful servant. You were faithful to faithfully bring the word of God. The culture is changing. The culture is changing. And then there's pockets. If I go to a a red state, you know, Texas or California, some pockets in Orange County, San Diego area, you know, you have a enormous amount of people that resonate with the teaching of the word, and and they're looking for churches that teach the word. You get outside of that camp, you go other places. San Francisco is very difficult, churches to develop in the Frisco area. They're so incredibly liberal over the years. And so it's a matter one guy told my buddy, Eric, it's a matter of demographics. They were from Fort Lauderdale. And so one of the guys came in and began to help Eric with some of his structure of his church. And Eric says, you know, we got a real vision for Dick's in Tennessee. You know, God's gonna move and work someday. And Eric's all bright eyed and bushy tailed like me, you know. Oh, it's gonna God's gonna do it here. You know? And the guy says, it's not gonna work here. Eric says, why? Demographics don't support it. And the guy's right. It's true. So we need a work of God's holy spirit. We need a powerful work of the spirit because you can't do it in the arm of the flesh. You can't You just can't do it. It's gotta be a work. And if we're in a time of apostasy, people turning away from the word of God, I have to remind remind myself, they're not rejecting me. They're rejecting Jesus. They're rejecting his word. That's who they're rejecting, not me. So you just stay the course. There's no other name under heaven whereby men must be saved. There's no other way. There's no other gimmick. There's no other person. You gotta do it based it upon Jesus. Tell them about Jesus. Teach them about Jesus. Help them to get to know Jesus. So Jesus is the rock of salvation. First Corinthians ten four says, the spiritual rock Israel drank from. So reaching back, the children of Israel were thirsty, and they were murmuring complaining, and God told Moses to smite the rock. And he smoked the rock and water came out, And they're drinking and all. Right? And then later, they have the same situation where they're thirsty, and God told Moses, speak to the rock. And Moses was angry at the people, and Moses smote the rock. So in Hosea 12 verse 10, we're told that God spoke through the prophets. He also spoke through similitudes, through types. The type that was there before the children of Israel, and that's there for you and I, Paul alluding and letting us know that we can learn from those in of the past, the way God dealt with the nation of Israel. That that rock smitten, Jesus that rock, and he'd be smitten once in that he would go to the cross and be crucified once. It is finished. It's over. So after that, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believes in me, as the scriptures have said, out of his belly shall flow torrents of living water. So Moses, speak to the rock, pray, ask the Lord for water, ask the Lord for sustenance, ask the Lord for an outpouring of his holy spirit. Holy spirit's given. So he broke the type. He broke the picture there. And because of that, God said that to Moses, you're not gonna enter into the promised land, and so people should look at that and say, hey, Jesus is that rock that followed them that the people drank from. The rock smitten once, the rock to be spoken unto. In Deuteronomy thirty two eighteen, the rock who fathered you gave birth unto you. In Psalm 40 verse two, it says, he brought me up also out of a horrible pit of miry clay and set my feet upon a rock and established my going. Is your life built upon Jesus, the rock of ages? Is your home built upon Jesus, the rock of ages? Is your home built like a master builder, an architect by design? Lord, what's your design for the home? What's your design for a father? What's your design for a mother? What's your design with children? Male, female? What's your design? You're the architect. You're the engineer. You're the creator. Intelligent design. So Lord, how am I to live as a husband? How am I how am I to lead as a husband? What am I to do? Well, Rick, in Matthew seven, I let you know that if you wanna be a wise builder, build your house upon the rock. What's that mean, Lord? Well, it means to be a doer of the word, not a hearer only. Going to church and hearing the word and exercising selective hearing isn't building upon the rock, it's building upon the sand. And you can get away with it for a little while, and your house can go up faster, and it can look like you're prospering, you're blessed, and everything's great. But when the storms come, people are gonna find out that your house is built actually on sand as everything you built crashes and burns. So, Rick, you want to go for the long haul. You want to build your life upon me. Allow me to be the foundation of your home. Take every thought captive. It's the thought life, Rick. Take every thought captive, and every imagination and high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring it into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Evaluate every word in the information war. Every idea, evaluate it, and bring it back to the supremacy of Christ, to what he has to say. Allow everything you think you know to be filtered through the word of God, and you build your life upon the rock, upon me, as a doer, not a hearer, and there will be stability in your marriage and in your life. The storms are gonna come. No way to evade it. He promised us tribulation. He promised us pressure. He promised us the birth pangs of the approaching of the tribulation period. We're not subject under his wrath. We're not going through the great tribulation period. We're not even going through the first part of the tribulation period. That seven year period of time is a time of Jacob's trouble. He's not gonna pour out his wrath upon us, but he did say, my peace I give unto you, not as the world give give I unto you. In the world, you will have tribulation, pressure. Not gonna be easy. That first Adam blew it, man. That first Adam shouldn't have listened to his wife because there's a curse upon humanity. You're gonna work by the sweat of your brow. It's gonna be difficult, arduous, painful. But there's a day coming where I'm gonna reverse the curse. I'm gonna set up my kingdom wherein righteousness dwells. Yes. But until then, I'm changing you from glory to glory in the image of my son. I'm quickening you. I'm making you equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit to endure the affliction, endure the difficulty and the injustices with a joyous heart because you're living the life of the spirit. Your outward man may be perishing. You're being whipped like Paul was whipped. You're being treated unjustly like Paul and Jesus were tripped. When you're when you're being mistreated, ask yourself the question, how was Jesus treated? How were the apostles treated? And remind yourself, I'm in good company. Jesus said if they've hated me, they're gonna hate you. You got anybody that hates you? I got a long line of them. Yeah? Get in line. Jesus said, woe unto you when all men speak well of you. Somebody's compromising. Somebody's holding back. Somebody's not saying things that need to be said in front of these jokers. So you and I, he's our stability. If God before us, who can be against us? In Isaiah twenty eight sixteen, he says, behold, I lay in Zion a foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He that believes in him shall not make haste. Do you believe? Do you believe in him? How are we to build, number one, upon the rock? Number two, we better get rolling. We gotta finish by twelve. Look at that, buddy. I'll speed it up. For rewards. We're working for rewards. Do you wanna be rewarded? My grandkids come out when every time they need money. Hey, papa. You got anything I can do? Hey. Well, go over there and, you know, dig that hole and run that run that line through that simply because you love me. Yeah. Right. Yeah. Right, papa. Well, how about a 20 spot? Oh, sure. Alright. Alright. Hey, papa. You got something for me to do? You know, you love getting allowance. You love I love doing a work and and somebody rewarding me, you know, encouraging me. It's it's exciting. But you and I, we work simply we wanna serve the Lord simply because we enjoy the fellowship with him as we're working. We're addicted to serving the Lord. There's nothing there's nothing else that compares. When we see him moving and working the hearts and lives of other people, it's just it's just incredibly special. It's it's there's nothing quite like it. And so we know there's a day of judgment. We know there's a beam of seat judgment, but that's not the main motivation. The real motivation is we wanna hear the Lord say, well done, thou good and faithful servants. You've been faithful over a few things. I'm gonna make you rulers over much. You know, in the millennium, our role in the millennium is gonna be based upon the faithfulness with which we labored now. To some, he gives one talent to another five, another, you know, three or 10 or whatever. Whatever you've been given, do the best you have to work with what you have. I've been given the Seattle Metro Area. The ground's like concrete. It's difficult. You spend your whole life here like Jeremiah did. Forty years. Forty years in the hole, man. But all you have to do is be faithful. And there's rejoicing in heaven among the angels when just one sinner repents. Just one. And you're able to say, wow, Lord, you used me to share the gospel, and you used that other lady to water it, and then, Lord, you brought the increase, and then we all collectively rejoice because God's not done yet. He's still saving people. Nothing more exciting to be in the game, to not be on the on the bench. Hey, coach. Put me in. Well, I tried to put you in, but you weren't interested. Verse 12. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble. Verse 13. Every man's work shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. Verse 14, if any man's work abide which he has built built it thereupon, he shall receive a reward. And so the building inspector will reward that which makes it through the fire. The fire of testing. Everything's gonna be examined. Everything that's wood, hay, and stubble is gonna be just burned right up. Now what's wood, hay, and stubble? Wood, hay, and stubble is, look at me. Jesus said, when you pray, don't pray like the pharisees out in front where everybody can see and all. They're they've got their reward. They've already got their reward, the adulation of men. Go find your prayer closet. You go pray, and your father, sees in secret, shall reward you openly. When you give, don't go over there like it's a slot machine and throw it into the vase, all your coins, and let it go off like a slot machine, and everybody turn around like, oh, who's that? You know? No. Give don't let your left hand know what your right hand's doing. Give like the woman who gave, you know, her might, her day's wage, day laborers. They're out there working for food for one day's wage, and she brings her mite, her two little mites, she puts them into the treasury. And that's what Jesus noticed, and that's what Jesus taught on. The rich, the pharisees, they're giving out of their abundance. Giving's an act of worship, and it's measured by not the amount, but what did it cost you? When David was gonna purchase the threshing floor of Aruna, Aruna says, you're a prince of man, David. I'll just give it to you. And David said, I will not give to the Lord that which cost me nothing. The Lord looks at the poor. The Lord looks at the orphans, the widows. The Lord looks at all of us. Says, now what did it cost? Because the cattle on a thousand hills belong to him. And I've discovered very, very seldom, Jesus said, how difficult it is for a rich man to enter into heaven. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into heaven. Don't stop there. But with God, all things are possible. When the rich young ruler came to Jesus, he said, I've I've from my youth up, I've kept it all. I've kept the law like you're telling me to do. There's one thing you lack. Go and sell all that you have and give to the poor and come follow me. Now, the problem wasn't the stuff he had. It wasn't that he was rich. Joseph of Arimathea was rich, Nicodemus rich, Abraham rich. The problem Jesus was identifying in the 10 commandments, this guy's saying he kept them all. Well, Jesus is saying, I'm gonna preach a sermon to you that none of the pastors ever preach. It's a sermon on covetousness. You're in love with those things. And because you're in love with them, they become an idol in your heart. If riches increase, don't set your heart on it. It's not riches, it's the love of riches that's the root of all evil. So God's measuring this guy up, wanting to give him the true riches, which is Christ, but something keeping him from it is his covetous heart. The seed that falls among the weeds, the cares of this life, and the seedfulness of riches choke that seed and it doesn't bear fruit. Rich guys love to give. As they evaluate the risk, they want the reward now. And what is the reward for a rich person? Recognition. They'll build this building if you let them put their name out front in the lobby. They'll give you a van. They'll give you anything if everybody can pat them on the back and say, You know, so and so gave this. That's the why from the pulpit, the pastors manipulate and use carnal fleshly means to manipulate people to do those things. So if they can do it publicly, they have a reward. Everybody's clapping. Oh, they're so generous and all. Well, that goes against the grain. You don't have a reward when you go to heaven when you give that way. Jesus said if you give in secret, your reward's still intact. You pray in secret, your reward's still intact. You're doing it to be seen of men. There's the problem. That's the problem. So if you want a reward, God's gonna cause it all to come through. And you know what he looks at? The motive. What was the motive of your heart? Were you given like Ananias and Sapphira to be seen of man so that you could mimic what Barnabas did? But now you're found out you're lying to the holy spirit? Totally different ballgame when we get to the Bema Seat judgment. We all get by with it now. But at the Bema Seat judgment, no one's gonna get by with anything. You're gonna still be saved. But everything that you thought was reward is gone. It's wood hay and stubble. It's burned up. So Jesus said, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust can't corrupt, where thieves can't break through and steal. Well, there's something there at the beam of seat judgment. Now, the beam of seat judgment is a rewards judgment. It's where the athlete would come and they'd put a laurel wreath around their head as the winner, but that laurel wreath fades away, doesn't it? So he's saying the judgment seat of Christ where the Lord wants to reward his bride, where when we come back with him in Revelation 19, she's got a beautiful garment on. And we're at the we've previously been at the marriage ceremony, and he's lavishing gifts upon his bride. She's decked out. She's beautiful, beautiful bride that's coming in a second coming with him. As of what sort it is, it's all measured. Why did you do what you do? To be seen of men or as an expression of your love for God? Your adoration, your worship of God. And so Hebrews six ten, for those of you that are anonymous, nobody knows who you are. For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which you have showed toward his name, and that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. Hebrews six ten. God's not unrighteous. He sees every little sparrow that falls to the ground. He sees every little follicle of hair that comes out of your head, you know, from the anxiety and worry and pain and suffering that you go through, you know. He sees it all. And to him, your prayers come up as incense. The gold, the silver, the precious stones, the lives you've built upon will come through the fire. Abraham's life, his life's work continues to this day as millions are saved. Lot's life work? As Lot chose the world, as Lot came out of Egypt with Abram and Sarah, when Abraham lied and said, tell him you're my sister. What'd they come out of? They came out of Egypt with Hagar. They came out of Egypt with a taste of the world, all the accoutrements of the world. Lot's wife fell in love with the world. His children fell in love with the world. They were herdsmen like Abraham. They began to strive, and Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom because he chose for himself the best field. And then later Lot winds up in the city at the city gate, one of the movers and shakers and leaders within Sodom and Gomorrah. And you know the story. His heart was vexed day by day. Abraham was separated unto God outside of the system of the world, living for the Lord. In your seed, all nations of the earth are gonna be blessed, Abraham. Oh, that Ishmael might live before you. No, the work of your flesh is not gonna live before me. But in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Seed, singular, Jesus from Abraham's loins all the way back to Abraham. And so Lot, he comes through the fire. He comes through the fire and the brimstone. Abraham negotiating if there'd be 50 righteous, if there's 45 righteous, if there's 35 righteous, if there's 30, if there's 20, if there's 10, if there's just 10 righteous people in Song of Gomorrah, will you spare the city? There's a picture of you and I, the church, being spared the wrath of God. God's not gonna judge the righteous with the wicked, as Abraham pointed out. God made a way for Lot to escape as he sent the two angels there. He grabbed hold of Lot's hand and led him out of the city. Lot was reluctant, his wife even more reluctant. Jesus said, remember Lot's wife? What does it mean to remember Lot's wife? No man putting his hand to the plow looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. Abraham and Sarah were looking for a city whose builder and maker is God. They weren't in love with the world. They were in love with the world to come, the life to come, the eternal city. But Lot made it. The carnal Christian will make it. He'll make it to heaven, and he'll be at the beam of seat judgment, and everything he did is gonna be burned up, wood hay and stubble. There's rewards and there's rebukes. I'm glad I'm just gonna make it. Right? I'm glad he's there, and I wouldn't even think that Lot's even saved unless I had the commentary of Peter tell me, and righteous Lot. What do you mean righteous Lot? He gave up his virgin daughters. What man could do that? Who could offer his virgin daughters to these aint you know, to the to the sodomites? Who could do that? But he had faith, and the faith that he had was imputed to him, excuse me, for righteousness. Verse 15. I'm gonna make it. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved yet so as by fire. So the wood that hate the stubble will burn like Sodom and Gomorrah, nothing to offer. Pastor Chuck has a quote, and I know he borrowed it from somebody. Everything you do for yourself is going to pass. Only what you do for Jesus Christ is going to last. Are you willing to defer the reward until heaven, or do you have to have it now? Lord, I want it now. Can't you defer it? Can't you defer some of it? You don't wanna be at the beam of seat judgment and walk away with shame. Nothing nothing's sent ahead. Right? So the joke about the hearse. The hearse, you never see a U Haul trailer following a hearse. Right? You can't take it with you. Jacob Rothschild died this past week, 87 years old, trillionaire. So every time people talk about the richest man in the world, you know, Bezo or Gates, that's not true. The richest family dynasty in the world are the Rothschilds and have been for centuries, a couple centuries, a dynasty. Trillions and trillions and trillions, but they try to hide their wealth with, you know, BlackRock or Vanguard or State Street. They don't like all the attention to be upon them. There's a city in London called the City Of London, which is a sovereign banking city that the Rothschilds have ruled from. Right? The Bank of International Settlements is the number one bank in the world presently, and the Rothschilds are the head of that bank, the family, the dynasty. You cut off the head of the snake and it's like a octopus. It's got other heads there, you know. But, in any event, he didn't take any of it with him. He left it all behind. All of it. Every single bit of it. What's it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul, or what would a man give in exchange for his life? You and I are the richest people on the planet. We have the unsearchable riches of Christ, and nothing and nobody can take it from us. Right? And we're rich materially now. We live in America. Anybody in America is rich. All of us need to heed, you know, what it means to be rich in the bible. All of us. Every single person in this room. Because we're rich in comparison to the rest of the world. Be careful. If riches increase, no problem. Just set not your heart on them. In second Corinthians five ten, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, the bema seat, that everyone may receive the things which done in his body according to that which is done whether it be good or bad. So reward or rebuke, what will it be? Jesus wore a crown of thorns so that you could have a crown of life. Jesus wore the crown of thorns so that you could have a crown of rejoicing. Jesus wore a crown of thorns so that you could have a crown of glory. Jesus wore a crown of thorns so that you could have a crown of righteousness. And what kind of crown do you have? It's an incorruptible crown that fades not away. The Olympian and the GOATs everybody's a GOAT nowadays. The GOAT quarterback, the GOAT basketball, you know, greatest of all time. It all fades away. All fades away. The only goat out there is probably Kelly Slater. That's the only goat out there. You know? The best surfer ever. That's it. All the rest of them pretenders. Right? But all they get is a wreath, and it fades away. We have an incorruptible crown that fadeth not away. In Revelation four, we with the four and twenty elders, we were able to take our crowns off and lay them at the feet of Jesus as we're raptured and, you know, taken in his presence, and we're worshiping the Lord, and we're singing with the four and twenty elders, the church elders, Thou art worthy, o Lord, to receive glory, honor, and power, for thou hast created all things. Why were you made? And for thy pleasure, they are and were created. We're made for his pleasure, to bring him pleasure. And without faith, it's impossible to please him. For they that come to him must believe that he is, and that he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Are you diligently seeking the Lord? Are you continuing to walk by faith? I had a lot of faith this morning coming in with the church van. There was a lot of snow. There was my my back of the church van, Sean fixed it last night and got it ready, and it was fishtailing. Just fishtailing it. And I don't know why, but I was in the lead. I wanted everybody else to be in the lead so they could break up the snow. You know? There's one time in my life I didn't wanna be in the lead. And but I'm there pioneering the the road, and the they didn't salt it. They didn't oil it. They didn't, you know, come across it. So I'm I'm kinda climbing a hill, and it's just spinning out. And I was like, I got faith. I got a lot of faith. I'm never gonna stop the I'm gonna get there. I'm gonna get there. Left the house at 08:00. It doesn't start till ten. It's only a twenty, you know, fifteen minute run. I'm going, like, twenty five. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. And then Kathy, Lord, it's that woman you gave me. She's like she's like, Rick. Rick. Isn't that great you always blame your wife? So he's there's a cop car there, and there's a car in the ditch, like, almost all the way over. And I'm reminded last time it snowed a couple years ago, there's like Wayne, my son-in-law, is a sheriff of, like, 70 cars in the ditches. You know? Because it was snow and ice and no plowing. So anyway, we're past there, and then now I'm starting to get to this other section. And I'm not going with you. We're gonna come to that hill, and that hill's gonna be really bad. We're gonna wind up in the ditch. Rick, it isn't worth it. It isn't worth it. And I ah, you're right. You're right. So turned around and went back home. Load the stuff in another car. Made it. Praise the Lord. We made it. But, you know, I don't I don't know if I had the faith to go down that hill. I don't know. I I don't know till I get there. But by the time we went, all the roads were plowed. Easy peasy. Everything was wide open. Totally wide open. So I'm not worried. But, man, your faith can really be rattled. Right? It can be like, alright. Are we gonna make this? And are we gonna wind up in the ditch? Lord, you're help me? But we gotta continue to walk by faith because we know we know that our labor is not in vain. How do we know that our labor is not in vain? I'm gonna take you to first Corinthians 15. I want you to picture a lighthouse. The waves slamming against it, the storm slamming against that lighthouse. What's that lighthouse built upon? Rock. Rock. And as much as those waves try to break that rock down and break that lighthouse down, can't. Can't do it. Won't do it. So Paul uses that picture. He says, be steadfast. What's that mean? You're not quitting no matter what. You're steadfast. You're built upon Jesus. If you're gonna take me out, you gotta take Jesus out. Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Why? For you know that your labor is not in vain. What's he summarizing? Because of the resurrection. It's the resurrection chapter. Because of the resurrection, be steadfast and movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for you know that your labor is not in vain. To be asked of the bodies to be present with the Lord, you're going to be resurrected. You're going to stand before the Bema Seed of God, and he's going to reward you. He's not unrighteous to forget your labor of love that you do. He's gonna reward you. That's what awaits. Not the judgment of the great white throne, not the judgment for your sins, that's already been dealt with at Calvary. God poured his wrath out upon Jesus at Calvary. He's not pouring his wrath out upon his bride. He's gonna bless his bride. He's gonna reward his bride. And if you give a cup of cold water in the name of Jesus to a prophet, you're gonna get a prophet's reward. He's watching the most miniscule, beautiful, wonderful thing you do, and he's taking note of it. He's a great accountant. He keeps good records. We are to build oh, boy, fast. We're to build upon the rock for rewards. Upon the rock for rewards. And thirdly, and finally, we're to build in recognition of who we are. Who are we, church? Who are we? We're the temple of the Holy Spirit. Jesus resides in you. Work, labor, knowing who you are. Do you know who you are? You're the temple plural, in the plural, as the church. Jesus resides in this church, in you. And then singularly, first Corinthians six, you're the temple of the Holy Spirit, collectively, corporately, and individually. You're never alone. You can be in a prison cell, and you're not alone. The Lord Jesus is there in your heart. He's there with you. I was looking for something yesterday. I couldn't find it. I was going through all the cupboards and everything, and I was kinda whining a bit. Just this stinking place. I get my wines on cheese and wine on Saturdays, and and then the Lord spoke to my heart. He told me where that thing was. And I was like, holy smoke. God still speaks to me. That's amazing. That's amazing that God would speak to me. Lord, I never wanna be in a place where I don't hear your voice. I love fellowship with you, Lord. In recognition of who we are, verse 16, know you not that you are the temple of God and the spirit of God which dwells in you? So temple plural, his church, his bride. First Corinthians six nineteen, temple singular. Is Christ divided? No. And so we're often so often divided, and we quench the holy spirit when we divide. We don't need to be divided. G Campbell Morgan said, they had lost the vision of the big in their devotion to the partial. So when you when you cut other ministries down and cut people down now, again, I have a responsibility as a pastor to point out heresy, to label heretics, and to label aberrant heretical doctrine. But we don't cut down other churches or ministries simply to, you know, exalt us that we're better. We're the only ones. We're the only pure church. You know? Elijah made that mistake. I I'm the only one left. God said, no. I got 7,000 that haven't bowed their knee to the prophet Baal. And so we recognize church collectively. Small minded, quenching the holy spirit, grieving the holy spirit, the factions, the divisions within the church. The devil doesn't need to hit us with a frontal attack if he can get us divided and fighting each other. So don't be fighting against each other. When the church comes under persecution, I imagine we are not gonna care what denomination they are. Do they believe in Jesus? Because we are gonna need each other. We're gonna need the Baptists, the bedside Baptists too who stayed in bed today. We're gonna need them. We're gonna need the snowflakes. Right? We're gonna need the Pentecostals. We're gonna need them all because we're one, and we have Jesus in common. We believe in Jesus. We might worship different. We might have different eschatology, but we all have one constant, one common theme. We believe that Jesus was crucified, buried, raised from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the father, and he's coming again. Amen. So that's my brother, that's my sister in the Lord, and I don't need to divide even over their eschatology. They it's they have the freedom to be wrong. They have the freedom to be post tribbers, and I need to allot that that freedom unto them. And so when we're raptured, I'll explain it a little better as we're going up. Men wanting to build their own kingdoms with straw, not recognizing who we are. Ephesians two verse 20, we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone in whom all the building fitly framed together grows onto a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God through the spirit. This word temple is a Greek word, neos. It speaks of the place of divine manifestation, the sanctuary, the holy of holies. Can you believe that? Now are there any demons in the room? In the spiritual realm that we don't see any demons around here? Probably. But there are a whole lot of angels in this room and the holy spirit in the room, and the light dispels the darkness. Right? So I just need Jesus between me and any demons. Right? I just want Jesus to always be between me and any of the the bad dudes. Right? But I don't wanna quench the holy spirit and grieve the holy spirit that the holy spirit I would hear Ichabod, the spirit of the lord has departed. That would be the worst thing in the world to try and be a Christian, to try and attend a church where the holy spirit's departed because we've grieved the Holy Spirit. And we don't see the Holy Spirit moving and working in the power and the love that we once enjoyed, that we're self satisfied with our formula or way we do it or whatever, our worldly success, and we think we're still in the the bless me club because, oh, wow. Look. I'm rich and priests with goods in need of nothing. And Jesus said, no, church of Laodicea. You're lukewarm. You make me sick. I'd spew you out. You know, you're poor, wretched, blind, and miserable is who you really are, spiritually speaking. We don't wanna be there. We don't wanna be like the church of Ephesus that would lead its first love. Doing everything right, but one thing I have against you, you've left your first love. We wanna be a first love church. We wanna be a first love Christian. Without love, we're nothing. Absolutely nothing. So the place of the holy spirit where God feels at home. Second Corinthians six sixteen, you are the temple of the living God. As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I'll be their God, and they shall be my people. So in the beginning was the word. The word was with God. The word was God. All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made. And then down in verse 14 of John one, and the word became flesh and tabernacled among us. The word became flesh. God incarnate in human form, the babe of Bethlehem, and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Paul said, I fought a good fight. I finished my course. There's now laid therefore laid up for me a crown of righteousness. And not for me only, but all those who are looking and watching for his appearing. Right? And so he said, the time of my departure is at hand. Departure is the breaking down of the tent. This tent is worn out. This physical body is wearing out. Time to break the tent out. The time my departure is at hand. Nero's gonna cut my head off soon. There's a death sentence upon me. But don't fear because to be asked when the body is to be present with the Lord, there's a reward ceremony, and he's gonna give me a crown of righteous, not only to me, but all you too who are watching and loving his appearing. Right? This tabernacle, this temporal abode, the holy spirit, this jar of clay fashioned from the dust of the ground, worthless, but because of the indwelling of the holy spirit, unsearchable riches. The riches that are ours in Christ Jesus. Revelation twenty one three, and I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, behold the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them and be their God. Emmanuel, God with us. In the new Jerusalem, in eternity, God dwelling with us right there, and you and I in our new glorified bodies, and able to have access to Jesus, to see Jesus. And John looked at him in Revelation five and saw him as a lamb that had been slain, quite possibly still bearing the scars that he received to redeem you and I, a reminder of his love for us. Thomas, look. Look at my hands and my feet. Thomas, look where the centurion pierced me. In his new glorified body still bearing those scars. Jesus described himself as the son of man. That was his favorite description to identify with humanity, to identify with you. In Hebrews one, it says he wasn't born, you know, as an angel, but as a man made a little lower than the angels. The last Adam. And you and I there in our new glorified bodies, bodies that don't need that door open, bodies that can just appear into a room, a different dimension, different ability, that can ascend, you know, to heaven, then we'll know if men really went to the moon or not. Right? When we go there, we'll check it out. Flat earthers. Flat earthers. Verse 17. If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God is holy. Which temple you are? This is so amazing that God would tabernacle, that he'd wanna dwell when you're born again, that he'd come into your heart and life. I love to say to my grandkids and my children when they're real young, I say to them, hey, where's Jesus? Where's Jesus? And they say, papa, don't blame me. I didn't lose him. So I tapped their chest and I listened to the beep beep beep. He's in your heart. He's in your heart. Where's Jesus? He's in my heart, papa. He's in my heart. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment, thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. There's your righteousness. Upon this rock, I will and I could picture Jesus. This rock, no. Upon this rock, I'll build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. The temple of God, plural, his church, his bride, God dwelling among his people. The temple of God, singular, God dwelling in you. Think of that. God is dwelling in you. You were once body and soul, and then you're born again. God dwelling in you, his dwelling place. Are you the temple of God? Is God at home? Is God at home in you? Jesus said, he, the father, would come make their abode in you to make themselves at home in your life. That's just amazing to me. Jesus builds his church one individual, one person, one believer at a time. Jesus went to the cross for you, for you personally. He died for your every sin. He knows you. You're not anonymous. You haven't fallen through the cracks. He knows every sorrow, every pain, everything you've ever went through. He knew it before he ever formed you, before he ever made you. And he promises you all things are working together for good, for those who love God, and you've been called according to his purpose. And he's working it all together, all the circumstances, all the bumps, all the bruises. You're not falling. You're not falling away. He knows your every thought, your every beat of your heart, every breath in the palm of his hand. He came to seek and to save the lost. He came for you. Jesus is knocking. He's chosen you before the foundation of the earth. He wants you to become the temple of God, his dwelling place, singular. Jesus said, you, individually, you must be born again. You must let him in. You must open your heart, Nicodemus. How can a man that is old go the second time and his mother know you need to be born of the water and of the spirit, Nick? The natural man, the spiritual man. God wants to dwell within you. He wants you to be born from above. He wants you to become his temple, the temple of God. Let's pray. Father, we come before you. And, Lord, we thank you that you selected us, that you ordained before the foundation of the earth, that you would that you would save us, that you'd illumine our heart and mind, that you'd come in to our hearts and minds, Lord, That we would be the temple of God, that we'd be part of a church body, a body of believers where iron sharpens iron. That you would give us pastors and teachers and those within the body that could sharpen us and strengthen us and help us, Lord. Lord, that we could give to the poor, that we could help the needy, that we could edify and strengthen and and worship you in spirit and truth, that we'd minister in love and listen and and and fellowship and break bread and pray, And, Lord, study prophecy, exhorting those of the time we're living in, Lord, that you're coming soon, that it's at the very door you're coming for your bride, the church, that we'd implore people to be ready, to be filled with your holy spirit, to not be the five foolish who had no oil, but Lord, for us to be overflowing, shining brightly, watching, looking, knowing our redemption draws nigh, sensing the urgency of the days in which we're living. But Lord, serving in confidence, knowing that we work, that we serve from victory, your victory. The gates of hell will not prevail, and upon this rock, you are building your church. And Lord, our confidence is in you. We place not our confidence in men, but in you. So once again, Lord, stir our hearts. Speak to us, Lord. Give us ears to hear. Put a song in our heart. And while you continue to pray, if there's anybody here that doesn't have a relationship with Jesus Christ, you don't know him. You're not born again. He's not in your heart. You don't have ears to hear. That's an indicator that your body and soul, you haven't been born again, and God is providing an invitation. He says, whosoever will, let him come. That means you. Whosoever will. Anybody that wills, anybody that wants to, let him come. Jesus said, whosoever comes to me, I'll know why he's cast out. He's not gonna reject you. He also said, no man can come unto me except for the father which has sent me draw him, and I'll raise him up in the last days. God the father is drawing you. The holy spirit's pointing to the cross, pointing to Jesus Christ that he died for all your sins. And he wants you to respond to that love, for you to respond to his love, to his kindness, in the surrendering of your heart and life to him, that he would come in and make himself at home in you. He will wash away all your sins, all your guilt, he'll prepare your heart as a suitable place for him to dwell. The holy of holies. Anyone here this morning? Just lift your hand up. We wanna pray with you. Father, again, we thank you. Thank you so much for the fellowship that we've had this morning. Thank you so much, Lord. As we partake of communion, Lord, speak to us. Edify, build us up, be with those who are at home, comfort them, heal them. Lord, give them the faith necessary, all of us the faith necessary, to go down the path that you have for us each day and the wisdom to know when to turn back, get a different car, or stay home. Lord, help us to be safe. In Jesus' name, we pray.
About This Podcast
Calvary Chapel Bremerton - Sunday Service
Listen to Rick Beaudry, Pastor of Calvary Chapel Bremerton, teach the Word of God cover to cover, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse. Be edified and built up in your faith with solid Bible teaching. New episodes on Mondays in the Pacific Standard Timezone.
