Who Is Building, & or De-Constructing The Work Of Jesus?

Who Is Building, or Who Is De-Constructing The Work Of Jesus?   Kelly Durant

1 Corinthians 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire..

2. The week before last we brought pieces of wood and some kits to put together bird houses for the kids. Our CSM Herbert, brought in his table saw and cut up more pieces of wood and so we were able to make about one house for each of the 30 kids. Some came out very amazing, colorful and solid, others came out not so good.

One boy, John, had a small one and the glue would not dry quick enough to keep the walls up on the little bird house to be able to get the roof on. Before it would dry, another boy repeated would grab John’s house and pull it apart and for 3 times John tried in vain to keep it together. In the end, battling against the glue and the other boy he gave up and threw it in the trash. I felt sad because for one I really dislike bullies who mess with your stuff, and the purpose of class, to get one to appreciate the work they could do with their hands was defeated.

Out of the group of 30, 27 were successful in making something to appreciate. And isn’t that how life is, you can never quite get a 100% perfection like you always want. I always hated that about life that everything could have been perfect but someone or some outside factor prevented it from becoming what it needed to be. Can you relate with me on these disappointment feelings?

3. So, I have taken the attitude that in this fallen, broken world, I am not going to stress over imperfection; perfection is for later for you and me with God in heaven! Here on earth we will just have to do our best to work with the broken people we have, and patch up our broken buildings, and realize that we ourselves are broken and no matter what you or I do, it will also never come out perfect.

But here is the bigger picture around the world, most people in the churches are not spiritual and mature, but carnal. And what are the terrible results of this? You observe by the daily news articles that the people today, indoctrinated by deception and the world, think that the church must support the current degenerate culture (their culture) more than God’s Word. So they demand that others who are practicing things that God’s Word disagrees with should have the main voice in the church. So this causes them and others to build their faith on a shifting sand foundation, making church be as a lamp burning with no oil, and with the bullying and division the true worshippers abandon the church!

Aggressive bullies will win arguments quite often because the spiritually asleep ones, the Christians weak in the faith, the Christians building their faith on man’s doctrines and not God’s get intimidated when they are accused of having no love, or that they are discriminating against somebody. But look at it this way, Jesus loved the guilty prostitute who was ‘condemned by the whole town’, but He did tell her to go and sin no more. He did not say, “Ok, carry on my wayward daughter” because a Holy Father’s love cannot allow you to destroy yourself and others by unholy bad behavior! But those actively enslaved in sin do not want to hear the message of repentance!

4. We do love everyone, or we must try our best to, but even though we may love and receive everyone, we cannot allow a sin to be amongst us. I have always gotten sad and upset when someone decides to leave our church. Usually they leave over what someone said or did to them.  How frustrating it is to love each of your brothers and sisters, to pray for them daily, and then without you even knowing what went on observe they just abandoned you and the church! This basically destroys a part of the church as if it were being demolished.

We have lost out of this Corps a few who moved on because of what was said or done to them.  The problem is the ones who offended these ones I just mentioned, also up and left. So what happened? I have seen this dozens of times. The sin of one, or of a few, caused both themselves and the innocent ones hurt to leave without even a goodbye. A simple confession to God and forgiveness could have mended hurt feelings, but no, pride and a lack of communication prevailed.

And in today’s world, what happens? People move on to churches that will accommodate their personal sins! So as God warned the 7 churches in the first chapters in Revelation, we too must take the warning that no one’s sins will go unpunished, and we as a Christian body will cease to exist if we are not doing our part to eliminate the sin that is in our lives and in the lives of our brothers and sisters. But let’s work on our own sin and pride first!

5. So the question is what are you constructing? Or what are you deconstructing?

In our Christian walk we are to win souls to Jesus, to build our Corps, our churches, and with new people who live nearby. And often God’s tests us to see if we will build His church with people we may not even like! I think most of us here have worked with people with all shades of skin and been around diverse people, and God loves them all, so we must love them too! Do you? Do you try to be friends with those different from you? Do you talk to them? Are you nice to all?

Where is your fruit for Jesus? Each one of you here, reflect on that! (pause) When is the last time you brought a person to hear God’s Word? We all know what John 15 says, that if we are not bringing good fruit for God, then He will either purge us so we bear fruit, or cut us off as a dried up branch to be burned.

Today’s world has too many fake Christians. People can get away with any sin they please, and you can go to fake church where they can remain as their same old ugly opinionated self and be fooled that they are saved and going to heaven. It has been this way since the beginning of the church. But those who read God’s Word and seek Him know what is His truth and what to obey, and how to be authentic in their minds, hearts, and spirit.

6. Notice how in Corinthians (verses of today) when Paul was sharing the gospel with them they already had the idea of imitating the pagan gods, to build temples with gold and silver. This was only 60 AD and people were already subverting the faith with false doctrines, materialism, and luxury. Our luxury items here on earth are as hay and wood that burns in the fire according to God!

The foundation of true Christian churches is built on the chief cornerstone, and that stone is Jesus Christ alone! The meaning of ‘church’, ‘ecclesia’ in the Greek, means ‘the called out ones’. The church is never a building or a denomination! Acts 7:48 “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: 49 ‘Heaven is My throne,

And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the Lord,Or what is the place of My rest?

May the Lord help us to take to heaven real jewels with pure gold that will never be burnt up; this is the symbolism for the souls of the people we win to the Lord Jesus Christ.

7. Satan’s people always scheme to infiltrate God’s church so they can deconstruct it by replacing the true with the false. But we must watch ourselves as well as we do not want to divide our brothers with any compromise or unclean area in our lives. There exists strong evangelistic holy doctrine based churches like The Salvation Army, who have a historical record of winning millions to the lord, but if they or anyone lets their guard down, then they are going to fall under God’s wrath and condemnation as so many churches have of late.   

The fire of God (through His Holy Spirit) can burn away the worthless things in your life, if you and I will let Him do it. It is like a controlled burn. You know in the forests they do controlled fires to burn away the old leaves on the ground so that if a bigger fire comes along later, there would not be any brush on the ground to burn and the trees then will not catch fire.

You and I need a controlled burn in our lives so we will be purified and be pleasing to God. Ask God for it! All the time we see people justifying their sins and breaking apart the churches. The original church (think about the first followers in Acts) was founded on the Holy Spirit’s leading, God’s holiness, God’s love, and an obedience to go to the mission field nearby and far to win souls for the Lord.

8. The early church from 33 AD (CE) forward did not even have church buildings until Constantine accommodated them in 333 AD! They just used the synagogues and houses of their brothers and sisters. Acts 5:42 And daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.  They built no luxury buildings, so what has happened today that people think they need a huge pretty building to worship in? Buildings don’t matter, souls do!

Are our churches (this one) helping people to get out and win souls? Or could it be our churches are hindering and deconstructing God’s model, not doing what Jesus said to do as in Mark 16:15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Not doing God’s work takes us backwards.

Paul I am sure was discouraged to see the Greeks, the Jews, and the Romans all trying to accommodate their way of thinking and way of being into the Christian life. He socked it to them and exposed them with the Holy Scriptures! Do you do that? Do you even see what is wrong with yourself and our culture?

9. With all that is happening in the church today, seeing how some members get upset that the church is not as perfect as they want it, seeing how in some cases people in the church have not repented of their own ideas, we must be careful we are not building on a foundation made of straw that God is ready to allow to burn down! When I say, ‘we’, I mean all Christians.

Only faith in God’s Word and having His love can save us! Only Jesus making us be  like Him can be the solution to have a solid foundation. We don’t want to get to heaven saved as if we were being saved as from a building fire losing everything. We want to finish up life going to heaven rejoicing that we can take with us the souls we have won to Jesus service.

Don’t get discouraged with yourself! Don’t get discouraged with your brothers and sisters! God is perfecting us and this church to bring forth more fruit for Him. This place exists with a purpose, and that is to grow up soldiers for the Lord who will defend His Word and love the unlovely. Invest in God’s constructive work, as everything else will be all burnt away in the final Day!