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August 21, 2005
14th Sunday after Pentecost
1 Corinthians 3:10-17
Pastor Ben Berger

Be Careful How You Build

Have you ever seen the television show on Sunday nights called Extreme Makeover Home Edition? It's a great show. Ty Pennington and his design crew find families that have suffered some tragedy and build them a new house. They build huge houses and personalize every room. They raise money to pay off old mortgages and future expenses. They find scholarships for the children and bring introduce them to their heroes. Every week it's another tear-jerking story. Last week they helped a mother whose daughter was kidnapped ten years ago. She started a foundation to prevent child abduction and help families who had missing children. Her house wasn't big enough for her and the other two children and it was falling apart. Ty showed up to help. As much as I applaud what they do, I always notice one thing missing. While these families receive new beautiful homes, no one is helping them build SPIRITUAL homes. The spiritual home is really the most important, isn't it? What kind of spiritual home are you building? Today the apostle Paul gives us some blueprints for building our spiritual homes. He encourages us: Be Careful How You Build. 1) Build on the foundation of Jesus Christ. 2) Use materials that will last. 3) Fill your home with the Holy Spirit.

The first step in building a spiritual house is to build on the foundation of Jesus Christ. The best part of this step is that someone else does the work. Paul reminded the Corinthians, By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it (10). Paul reminded the Corinthian congregation that he laid the foundation for their spiritual house. He first spoke the word of God to them. He told them about Jesus and eternal life. He began their congregation. Then Pastor Apollos continued building on the foundation he had laid.

Most of the time pastors and teachers lay the foundations for our spiritual homes. Think of the pastors who baptized you and first spoke the word of God to you, who taught you about Jesus and eternal life. Pastor Pankow, Pastor Schroeder, Pastor Ziesmer, Pastor Pope. Now it's my privilege, along with Pastors Raasch, Stensberg and Zank, to continue building on the foundation they laid. Think about the teachers who laid the foundation of Jesus Christ in every class. Mrs. Neujahr, Mrs. Richmond, Miss Levorson, Mrs. Sehloff, Mrs. Green (Miss Chasty), Mr. Gurgel, Mrs. Schmidt, Mr. Root, Mr. Enter, Mrs. Retzlaff, Mr. Rosenthal, Mr. Kolander, Mr. Needham, Mrs. Meyer and many others. All of these people taught you or your children about Jesus.

Your pastors and teachers laid the only reliable foundation; they laid the foundation of Jesus Christ. They didn't come to you with their own thoughts or ideas. They didn't spend weeks or summers trying to figure out how to teach you how to find earthly life. They didn't come to you with the world's thoughts either. It wasn't about reading, writing and arithmetic. They always came to you with God's thoughts in his word. They taught you that Jesus lived a perfect life in your place, died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead to give you eternal life. That is the only reliable foundation one can lay as Paul said, For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ (11).

As you prepare to build your spiritual house, don't lay any other foundation. Be careful how you build and build only on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Parents you will be tempted to think only of how you can provide for your children a better life in this world. Children and young adults, you will be tempted only to dream of the life you can build for yourself in this world. You don't want to build a physical house or life for this world. You want to build a spiritual house that will last forever. There is only one dream and one goal for parents and children alike; that dream is to find and receive eternal life. The only way to get it is through Jesus. Build your house on the foundation of Jesus Christ and him alone.

After the foundation is laid, it's time to choose building materials. But be careful how you build; choose materials that will last.

While pastors and teachers lay the foundation of Jesus Christ, it's the responsibility of families to build the house. God has asked parents to raise their children in the training and instruction of the Lord. God has asked children to honor and obey their parents. Parents will take the lead in building the spiritual house for their family; children will also pitch in to do their part. If you're not a parent or a child because you're single, you still have a home to build. Pastors, teachers and the entire congregation will assist wherever possible.

Paul encourages families to be careful how they build and what materials they choose because every house will be tested. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work (12-13).

God will test your spiritual house on Judgment Day. He will test your house with the fire of his Word. God will ask whether you have been faithful in the role he has given you. Parents have you trained your children for eternal life? Children have you honored your parents as God himself? Employers/employees have you used your financial blessings for God's kingdom? Church member have you supported your brothers and sisters in Christ? Christian have you lived according to God's will and for his purposes? Your life's work and purpose is to build God's house; will your house pass the test?

Here's the verdict: If what you have built survives, you will receive your reward. If it is burned up, you will suffer loss; you yourself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames (14-15). Understand first, that the reward is not eternal life and the punishment eternal hellfire. As long as the foundation of Jesus remains, every believer-builder will go to heaven - though barely escaping the burning building. The point is whether or not the believer has used his time of grace on this earth to build God's house. If so, the reward will be God's praise, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." If not, the punishment will be disappointment in a wasted life. Which do you prefer?

Be careful how you build by choosing material that will last. If you choose to build with gold, sliver or costly stone, then you can expect your house to pass the test of fire. If you choose to build with wood, hay or straw, you can expect your house to burn. What materials are you using now? What are you teaching your children? Are you teaching them that school and work are the most important things to be doing? That sports or vacation or recreation are the foundations for a happy life? That getting married and raising a family is the ultimate fulfillment? While gifts from God, all these materials are temporary and will burn.

What materials will build a spiritual house that lasts? Any material connected to God's Word. In your homes talk about the meaning of baptism and use it every day of your life. Discuss sermons and readings from worship during the week. Read and study the Bible stories your children are learning at school. Study catechism lessons with your children. Practice confirmation vows by worshipping and attending Bible study as a family. Take Communion together regularly. Build your house with God's word.

With Jesus as your foundation and God's word as your building material, you're ready for the last step of building your spiritual home. Be careful how you build by filling your home with the Holy Spirit. Like the first step, this one is easy because someone else does it. God is really the builder of your spiritual house. Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? (16).

God made you his temple by filling you with his Holy Spirit. First he made the promise to send a Savior. Then the Father sent his only Son, Jesus Christ to lay the foundation of our house. He laid down his perfect life to provide the holiness that God demands and we cannot provide. He laid down his innocent death to pay for the sins that we could not. He laid down his Word with prophets and apostles so that we could learn what we would never know on our own. Through that Word God poured his Holy Spirit into our hearts. Through faith Jesus' life, death and resurrection become the foundation for our lives and homes. With forgiveness of sins and eternal life, the Holy Spirit gives us the desire and ability to work with God building our spiritual homes.

While God does most of the work, he only asks one thing from us: don't destroy or corrupt what he has built. If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple (17). There is only one way to destroy the temple and that is to take the building tool out of God's hand. That tool is his Word. If we separate ourselves from God's word, our houses will burn and so will our souls. However, when we stay connected to God's word, he will maintain our houses and souls throughout eternity.

Ty Pennington and the Extreme Makeover Home Edition crew can only build houses for this life and this world. God has made you and your families part of his eternal house. Be careful how you build and God will build you carefully…for eternal life.