Building His Church & Kingdom

By Ron. v. Leerdam

Brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
I must say that it is tremendous that it is possible to meet together in a service where by the grace of God we are all able to say that God means everything to us.
Jesus said, “Whoever acknowledges Me before men, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32 The day when we acknowledge that the triune God of Abraham, Isaac & Israel is our creator, redeemer, Lord and God, it is the day of our spiritual new birth. The Father through the sacrifice of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit adopts us as His daughters and sons. I am overawed by the awesome mystery of human life. From the union of a man and a woman a child is born. At the birth of our first child, the mid-wife said, “The way babies are born reveals the glory and awesome deeds of the creator God.”
Life is a mystery – from two people a new person enters the world.
What mercy!
What grace!
What power God reveals!

God’s majesty and glory blows you away when you stop & think!
God made you who you are.
God knew you before you were born!
From before the creation of the world He knew you and loved you and chose you for Himself. It is an amazing world we live in and God has made us in His image that we might glorify and enjoy Him.

But the Psalm 42 makes it clear, we also know from first hand experience the curse of sin, there are the days of sorrow when our tears have been our food day
and night. Days when we said, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me.” Days when we have said to God our Rock, ‘Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning? In the face of our mortal agony, the Psalmist says to
himself,
‘Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God.’
Jesus came into the world to show us God’s mercy.
Jesus came & died so we might live.
We know Him who is the bread of life, the living water, Him who is the way, the truth and the life. The Living God has given us faith – it is the gift of God so no-one can boast! Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
This is all of God’s grace and mercy.

What is God’s mercy?
In a Word – SALVATION!
God does not treat us as our sins deserve!
He has saved us from:
Sin and guilt, the punishment we deserve and the tyranny of the devil.
He has saved us from:
Futility & darkness of understanding and from lies and deception.

Life is no longer meaninglessness, we are never alone and the second death is not our eternal destiny. Having experienced God’s mercy Paul exhorts his readers, you and me to: Offer our body as a living sacrifice to our gracious God.
This is what we were made for.
This is what God designed us for.
Can you tell me the definition of design?
The correct components, organised correctly.
By God’s mercy we are able to know how God created and designed us to live.
To live for Him –
To live as He intended us to live.
We can also say that God saves us to!
Not only by His mercy has He saved us from;
But by His mercy He saves us to…

To live for Him.

As we follow His instructions we can know His will for us and with His help we can begin to live as He intended.

What does this mean?

Since we are God’s handiwork – His creation – He has designed and made us for a purpose. According to the Word of God: which we believe to be trustworthy – inspired without mistakes – we can know what we were made to live for…
Know what we are saved to:
Knowing God, we live with God / walk with God forever.

Remember “Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” Genesis 5:24

“As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God…
By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is
with me – a prayer to the God of my life.”Ps. 42:1,8

Let us be growing in the knowledge of God,
Having our lives transformed by God.
“You are not your own, but have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus.”
Offer your body your whole being as a living sacrifice to God.

Paul exhorts believers to use their gifts and talents to serve the one true living God.
This happens as we continually renew our mind so that you are able to think God’s thoughts after Him. Renew you mind, your thinking according to the word of God continually and then with the power of the Holy Spirit you are able to live a life that is being transformed more and more into the likeness of Jesus.

Don’t be squeezed into the mould of this world.
Ask God to form you into His mould.
Then you will be able to fulfil His good purpose for you.
What is your gift?
Everyone of us have at least one.
To discover the Creators design for our life and to walk according to that design is what we are called to do everyday.
We have union with God and with His people.

God has saved us so we may contribute our gifts and talents for the well-being of each member of the body of Christ.
Here already we are being used to make a difference in God’s world that is going to last for ever.
How????
As we say to the Lord, show me your way and help me to do what you want me to do as your representative on earth.
We dedicate our whole life to God’s service.
Some here have some big choices still to make.
Ask God to show you what career path He wants you to follow.
Ask Him to show you if marriage is for you – and if it is – who you should marry.

Ask Him to direct your path…
WHAT DO I MEAN????
As you serve the Lord, you cannot help but be an instrument in His hand to change the course of history so that His purpose is fulfilled. Each one of us who truly acknowledge Jesus as Lord have the Holy Spirit living, working within us.
The Holy Spirit writes the laws of God on our heart.
The Holy Spirit guides us into the truth.
Are we listening to Him, keeping in step with Him, being obedient to Him?
He comforts us, giving us peace and joy in the Lord.
The Holy Spirit has been sent as the agent of the New Covenant giving us faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
He strengthens and enables us.

The people of God are His instruments for the fulfilment of God’s plan to save sinners. The Holy Spirit, the 3rd person of the Godhead has chosen not to work in a vacuum. He uses MEANS to achieve his goals.
God the Holy Spirit uses the Gospel to bring people to faith. Of course God, if He wanted to could give people a vision or dream of the saving work of Jesus and so convict them of sin and bring them to faith. But God has chosen to use the Scriptures as the means to accomplish this task.
“The word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
And He uses people in a loving relationship with Him and the Body of Christ to share the Love of God in Christ. The Holy Spirit uses means or instruments to build the body of Christ as each member is doing their bit. If we do not understand this point, we will miss the boat as far as being what God has ordained us to be. Not only does the Holy Spirit dwell in the believer, but we in turn are members of a greater spiritual body. “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each of these members belongs to the other.” Romans 12:4-5

The term body of Christ paints a rich picture of the work of God the Holy Spirit.
You are Members of the Body of Christ.
How did this occur?
The Word of God preached by those whom the Holy Spirit has given the gift.

We believed because the Holy Spirit is the giver of faith in Jesus.
Now we are United with Christ, we share in all the benefits of Christ’s sacrifice and perfect obedience. We have been justified by faith alone in Christ alone.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee of our union with Christ.
We who are many are united to each other.
This is a key point that has many implications.
We are related to each other by blood – Jesus blood.
We belong to each other.
We are to care for each other.
No man is an island.
We are responsible for each others wellbeing – spiritual, emotional and physical.

What is the message we are going to give to others?
Whilst we are not promised an easy road, God does promise a safe arrival.
The messages we give others are shaping the rest of their lives.
I hope your life fits with our text this morning.
The only thing that counts is faith working itself out through love, trusting in the promises of God.

Amen