Man, oh man, am I going to get it today. Just so you know.
Before I start, I want you to know that I took offense at President Obama's words when he said, "You didn't build that." I didn't think they were serious enough that the Republican National Convention made it their theme for the year, but as a church planter who worked his butt off (and continues to work his butt off) planting this church, working four jobs (newspaper carrier, soccer coach, substitute teacher, and pastor) the first year and still continues to work part-time to support the family, the words didn't set well with me.
I found myself growing incredibly self-righteous as I pointed to the risk I took in stepping out to start a new church. No guaranteed paycheck, no guarantee of success, putting my family's welfare on the line- and that was the easy stuff. I remember the long six weeks of remodeling and renovation of our current facility, knocking down walls, framing up new walls, hanging and finishing drywall, painting- the whole nine yards. I bristled at Obama's words, "You didn't build that," when I looked at the work of my hands, sometimes working 18-20 hour days in getting this thing going.
Then God told me, "You didn't build that."
He directed me to a passage in Luke 12:16-20 that I have preached on many times . . . . but apparently never practiced. It says this:
“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
It's the last line that gets me every time. God asks those chilling words to us, "Who will get what you have prepared for yourself?"
Now, don't get me wrong. I believe that God honors hard work and rewards those who have a strong work ethic. The book of Proverbs tells us this. I don't believe that God calls every business owner or every church planter a fool. I believe that hard work honors God and glorifies Him when it is done well and with integrity.
But the plain and simple fact is that my life could be demanded of me tonight. Who then would get all the things I've worked for? Every now and then God has to remind me that we are stewards- caretakers- of His property while we are here. Catalyst Christian Church isn't my church. It's His church.
Staples, Wal-Mart, Advance Auto Parts, AT&T and all the other business in this world- they are God's. They don't belong to us. If they DID belong to us, we would take them with us when we die. But we don't. We leave them here for another person to manage. Then that person dies, and leaves it to another, and so on and so on.
We really don't own anything. We are temporary guardians of God's property while we are here.
Through my anger at Obama's words, God reminded of the truth behind them. I doubt Obama was speaking from a Biblical perspective, but the truth of the matter is that all that I have worked for belongs to God. So is all that you have worked for. You and I cannot truly say, "It's Mine!" about anything.
This is what God has reminded me of this morning. He basically whispered to me, "You labored and sweated and sacrificed and hurt to plant this church, but you didn't truly build it. I built it through you. You used the hands that I created, the mind that I created, the body that I created, the life that I gave you, the knowledge that I gave you. You used the materials that I created using money that I entrusted to you in a location that I provided for you supported by people that I created and brought to this church. You are sustained now by people who are being faithful to Me in giving and you are being blessed by My hand."
"David, my dear precious child who most of the time doesn't know his left hand from his right, you didn't build that. It all belongs to Me. The church I planted through you is to be used for My glory to bring My creation to a saving relationship with Me. It really has nothing to do with you. The fact that you love this church like you do brings joy to Me as Your Heavenly Father. I love seeing your passion for what I have called you to do, and nothing brings Me more pleasure than seeing you find joy in your calling."
"But you didn't build that. I did."
And that, people, is a good lesson to remember.
Before I start, I want you to know that I took offense at President Obama's words when he said, "You didn't build that." I didn't think they were serious enough that the Republican National Convention made it their theme for the year, but as a church planter who worked his butt off (and continues to work his butt off) planting this church, working four jobs (newspaper carrier, soccer coach, substitute teacher, and pastor) the first year and still continues to work part-time to support the family, the words didn't set well with me.
I found myself growing incredibly self-righteous as I pointed to the risk I took in stepping out to start a new church. No guaranteed paycheck, no guarantee of success, putting my family's welfare on the line- and that was the easy stuff. I remember the long six weeks of remodeling and renovation of our current facility, knocking down walls, framing up new walls, hanging and finishing drywall, painting- the whole nine yards. I bristled at Obama's words, "You didn't build that," when I looked at the work of my hands, sometimes working 18-20 hour days in getting this thing going.
Then God told me, "You didn't build that."
He directed me to a passage in Luke 12:16-20 that I have preached on many times . . . . but apparently never practiced. It says this:
“The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
It's the last line that gets me every time. God asks those chilling words to us, "Who will get what you have prepared for yourself?"
Now, don't get me wrong. I believe that God honors hard work and rewards those who have a strong work ethic. The book of Proverbs tells us this. I don't believe that God calls every business owner or every church planter a fool. I believe that hard work honors God and glorifies Him when it is done well and with integrity.
But the plain and simple fact is that my life could be demanded of me tonight. Who then would get all the things I've worked for? Every now and then God has to remind me that we are stewards- caretakers- of His property while we are here. Catalyst Christian Church isn't my church. It's His church.
Staples, Wal-Mart, Advance Auto Parts, AT&T and all the other business in this world- they are God's. They don't belong to us. If they DID belong to us, we would take them with us when we die. But we don't. We leave them here for another person to manage. Then that person dies, and leaves it to another, and so on and so on.
We really don't own anything. We are temporary guardians of God's property while we are here.
Through my anger at Obama's words, God reminded of the truth behind them. I doubt Obama was speaking from a Biblical perspective, but the truth of the matter is that all that I have worked for belongs to God. So is all that you have worked for. You and I cannot truly say, "It's Mine!" about anything.
This is what God has reminded me of this morning. He basically whispered to me, "You labored and sweated and sacrificed and hurt to plant this church, but you didn't truly build it. I built it through you. You used the hands that I created, the mind that I created, the body that I created, the life that I gave you, the knowledge that I gave you. You used the materials that I created using money that I entrusted to you in a location that I provided for you supported by people that I created and brought to this church. You are sustained now by people who are being faithful to Me in giving and you are being blessed by My hand."
"David, my dear precious child who most of the time doesn't know his left hand from his right, you didn't build that. It all belongs to Me. The church I planted through you is to be used for My glory to bring My creation to a saving relationship with Me. It really has nothing to do with you. The fact that you love this church like you do brings joy to Me as Your Heavenly Father. I love seeing your passion for what I have called you to do, and nothing brings Me more pleasure than seeing you find joy in your calling."
"But you didn't build that. I did."
And that, people, is a good lesson to remember.
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