Building People in our New Building
Ex 35:30-36:5
5-18-03
Richard Tow
Grace Chapel Foursquare Church
Springfield, MO
www.gracechapelchurch.org
A year ago on April 14th, we walked out onto a dusty spot west of our sanctuary and broke ground for this new facility. We did it knowing that we didn’t have enough money to finish it. But we also did it knowing that the Lord had told us to do it! I remember a meeting prior to that on a Wednesday evening when I shared a proposal as to how we might solve our space problem for the children’s ministry. I had found a couple of places we might rent. Everybody knew those locations were not what we really needed. But it looked like the most we could hope to do. It was a big surprise to me when the whole congregation confidently said it is time to build!
For that ground breaking service the Lord took me to Zech. 4:6-8
6So he answered and said to me:
"This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel:
’Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the LORD of hosts.
7’Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!
And he shall bring forth the capstone
With shouts of "Grace, grace to it!" ’ "
8Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying:
9"The hands of Zerubbabel
Have laid the foundation of this temple;
His hands shall also finish it.
Then you will know
That the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you. NKJV
I knew we could start it—I knew we could lay the foundation. But for the life of me I could not see how we could finish it. Today as we “bring forth the capstone” so to speak, all we can say is “Grace, grace…by the grace of God this building is being completed.”
And today we thank the Lord for His faithfulness in bringing it about.
Walking through this project together as a church family, we have seen the Lord provide the necessary resources over and over. Last January we came to a point where the funds simply were not there to continue the project. Some organizations can simply increase their loan at times like that but we could not. We had to believe the Lord for the funds to come in or simply stop construction. At the Leadership Retreat we prayed about the problem and were in the process of dismissing the meeting. I had decided to close by letting each leader make a brief comment. It was in those closing moments that God moved on Dot Hash to say, “Lets begin here & now to raise the $ 17,000 needed.” Within a few weeks the money had come in.
It wasn’t just money we needed. We also needed--know how. I have experience in project management but I have very little construction experience. It has been amazing the way God brought a team together to get the job done. People like Dave Myers, Jeff Loyd, and Larry Ellsaesser have been priceless gifts to this church-- Dave Turner and many others. I think the fish and bug figures on the walls that Shanon Pennell and Carol Cron painted are absolutely delightful. All those skills are gifts from God. In Exodus 35 the Tabernacle was built. God gave to various people in that congregation the talent and ability that was needed to construct the Tabernacle.
In verses 30-35 we read,
30Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts-- 32to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, 33to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship. 34And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. 35He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers--all of them master craftsmen and designers. NIV
Thank God for the craftsmen and designers in this church.
Do you know what the best gift is? It’s the one needed at the time. During the construction of this facility there were gifts in some of you I didn’t even know you had. But you used it for the Lord and we all benefited.
I am grateful to those who pressed in spiritually while I was investing a lot of time leading the building program. During this last year Debi has lead a Thursday evening worship time in addition to the regular services. Thank you Debi for your perseverance in prayer and worship as a leader in this church. Many of you gave yourselves to prayer and intercession, which was vital to our success. Thank you Terry Wiegand for organizing a prayer effort for the pastors of this church. We look back over this building effort—with all the things that could have gone wrong but didn’t—and say, indeed, “It is not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.”
James tells us in his epistle, chapter 1, verse 5,
5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. NIV Many times during this project we had to ask God how to solve specific problems. Very often the answer came through wise counsel from others. To be in leadership meetings and see the way our staff and church council would pull together when the going got rough was a real inspiration to me.
During WWII the 101st Airborne Division spearheaded some major battles in Europe. They fought in places like Bastone where they were pounded with heavy artillery--then asked to advance toward Berlin against fierce opposition. Many lives were lost. Many who survived were highly decorated soldiers. Years later one of those men was asked by his grandson, “Grandpa, when you were in the war were you a hero?” He answered, ”No, but I served with some men who were.”[1]
There is a bond that develops between people who pursue objectives together. What has happened here does not compare with what those soldiers did in WWII. But we do have some heroes in the house today. And I thank God for every one of you who sacrificed precious time to see this building completed. I thank God for the counsel He gave through some of you when we did not know what to do.
Prov 24:3-4
3By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
4through knowledge its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures
NIV
“Unless the Lord builds the house its builders labor in vain…[2] Without His help this house would have never been built. He put the team together to get it done. He put it in our hearts to share the load.
In Ex 36:1-5 we read,
36:1So Bezalel, Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD has given skill and ability to know how to carry out all the work of constructing the sanctuary are to do the work just as the LORD has commanded."
2Then Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. 3They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4So all the skilled craftsmen who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left their work 5and said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done." NIV
During the construction of the Tabernacle the people were so generous Moses had to make them stop giving. We are not asking anyone this morning to stop giving. But we are thanking Him for the generosity he put in our hearts to see this thing done. One of the things I dreaded most about doing this was the fund raising. First of all, I don’t feel I’m very good at it. And second, I would never want people to feel we’re after their money. But God just put it in people’s hearts to give and I am happy to report to you that all the bills are paid and we have some money to finish the landscaping as soon as weather allows. There will be other things to do but today is a day to remember in the life of this church. May God abundantly bless all of you who gave so liberally.
2 Cor 9:6-12
6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."
10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. NIV
And I pray as Paul prayed that you too would “be made rich in every way”—not just financially but relationally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually—in every way.
We did not build this facility for ourselves but for those God would have us serve in the community. There are many families in the Springfield area trying to give their kids some kind of moral compass in a society that is confused and morally disoriented. We want to help those parents by teaching children the word of God in these classrooms. We want this to be an oasis for young couples struggling with the demands of our high tech society-for single parents who need a church family’s support. Did you know that today more children are being raised in single parent households than those having both parents in the home.[3] Having raised three daughters with a totally committed spouse, I can not imagine the stress that single parents experience. The lead article on MSN Money yesterday was entitled “Raising your quarter-million dollar baby.” The quarter of a million does not include the cost of college education.[4] I can tell you by experience that is expensive. These parents need all the support they can get while dealing with those kinds of challenges.
Our investment in this facility is a statement about the priority we give to the emerging generation. One of the saddest statements in all the Bible is found in Judges 2:10
10After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel. NIV
We are absolutely determined to not let that happen to us. It takes a commitment—first on the part of the parents but also from the faith community as a whole. Our children will not be lost. The children in the Springfield area will have an opportunity to know the Lord. If we are to be an evangelistic church we must reach children—because that is primarily where it happens. Did you know that 19 out of every 20 people who become Christians do so before the reach the age of 25. After 25 only 1 in 10,000 become Christians, after 35 only one in 50,000.[5] The social changes that are going on in America demand that we reach them earlier and earlier.
Kids are little sponges always taking in information. Yesterday I came across
10 truths children have learned
1. No matter how hard you try, you can’t baptize cats.
2. When your mom is mad at your dad, don’t let her brush your hair.
3. If your sister hits you, don’t hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4. Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5. You can’t trust dogs to watch your food.
6. Don’t wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
7. Reading what people write on desks can teach you a lot.
8. Don’t sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
9. People still have bad breath even after eating a Tic Tac.
10. Never hold a dustbuster and a cat at the same time[6]
We did not build a building just to have the facility. We built it as a tool to serve the emerging generation—to give to them a heritage of faith that they can pass on to future generations should the Lord tarry. Can you imagine the lives that could be impacted in this facility over the next 50 years if we use it the way God wants us to use it?
Ps 147:1-3
Praise the LORD.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
2The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. NIV
This morning we dedicate not only this building but ourselves as well to the purposes of God. Not only do we want Grace Chapel to be a fun place for kids but we also want it to be a place where broken hearts are healed—a place where love and acceptance makes it easy for people to open up to God’s grace. Today we have invited honored guests to join us in the celebration. Perhaps some of them have broken hearts that need to be healed. Perhaps God will use us to love them into the kingdom.
Would you join me as we give thanks to the Lord for leading us through this building project, thank Him for a beautiful Children’s facility, and ask Him to use us today to love people and show them His goodness.
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[1] From an interview shown on Band of Brothers, HBO special directed by Steven Spilberg.
[2] Ps 127:1 NIV
[3] Sermon entitled “Building A Caring Church: Caring for the Hurting” by Gerald Flury in April 2001 at North Ridgeville Baptist Church in North Ridgeville, Ohio
[4] MSN Money article on 5-17-03 by Jeff Wuorio. His source was a 2002 U.S. Department of Agriculture Consumer Expenditure Survey on the cost of raising children.
[5] Sermon entitled “Let the Children Come” by Lyndon Marcotte in June 2001 at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Pineville, Louisiana
[6] Sermon entitled “Building a Confident Church” by Timothy Peck in November 1999 at Life Bible Fellowship Church in Upland, California
