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Home Improvement 1 – Build Your Home

Welcome to Redemption Church! We have no idea what year it is… It’s still the 1990s right?
I apologize for an intro video that features the Tim Allen show “Home Improvement.” We won’t be preaching about the sitcom, but we are launching a brand new series by the same name.
Welcome everyone in the room and online. Thank you for joining us for week 1 of the HOME IMPROVEMENT series.
This ministry idea came from a ministry moment last fall. I was talking to someone who was living on the street. We were enjoying an “In N Out” burger when I asked them what it was like to be homeless. I was surprised when they said “I don’t really feel homeless, because everyone lives somewhere… Wherever I stay, I try to improve the situation..”

Everyone lives somewhere… improve the situation…

I thought that was really valuable and a great positive outlook on life.
I don’t know where you live. I don’t know what your home situation is like. But I do know that we can all improve our home life situations.
MAKE PLANS to be here for every week of this series. I believe there are truths in God’s Word that will improve our home lives.
Home Improvement
Here is a quick over view of the series.

• Week 2 Fix Your Home.
  • Our world uses the term “broken home.” There are a lot of broken things in our homes, but God has a plan to mend the broken.
• Week 3 Maintain your home.
  • Every homeowner has to learn the art of maintenance. A little bit of prevention will save you from a lot of heartache.

• Week 4 Inheritance.

  • We are instructed in God’s word to leave behind an inheritance to the next generation. Our society is filled with consumers who devour everything they have with no thought of tomorrow. God has a better way.

Today in week one I want to talk to you about Building your Home.

Build your home

Many people set out to build their dream home and they discover quickly that it is not easy.

1. IT TAKES LONGER THAN YOU PLANNED.
   1. The construction alone takes about 6 or 7 months to build a single family home.
   2. There are so many delays leading people to inevitable moment where they ask… did we make a mistake trying to build this home.
2. IT WILL COST MORE THAN YOU FIGURED.
   1. Delays cost money. Problems cost money.
   2. The cost on paper is always different from the cost in the field.
3. IT IS MESSIER THAN YOU ANTICIPATED.
   1. You have visions of the white picket fence and beautiful manicured yards… but in the beginning it looks more like a mud pit as they are pouring the foundation.
   2. You dream of that peaceful home, but as it is being built there is the sound of heavy machinery, yelling, and hammering.
4. IT REQUIRES GREATER DETERMINATION AND MORE PATIENCE THAN YOU EXPECTED.
   1. People building a house will often let out a sigh and say “this better be worth it.”
   2. People building a house would be tempted to walk away from the stressful venture, except that they have invested too much, to just walk away from it.

I am talking to people today that want to build a house. You want to build a family. You want to build a life. You want to build a career. You want to build a business.
I know this about you today…

There is a space in your life where you are attempting to build something new.

I know this is true of everyone. As long as you are alive there is a drawing within us to build.
I want you to encourage you today, but I also want to be absolutely brutally real with you.

• It is going to take longer than you planned.
• It will cost more than you figured.
• It will be messier than you anticipated.
• It will require greater determination & patience than you expected.

I love building this young Church we call Redemption. Building this church has brought me in contact with all of you wonderful people. In this room I see people trying to build their lives.
I see Sean Enfield who finished his bachelor’s degree at the University of North Texas, and has been striving, patiently, for the next step of his life, career, and education. Sean was just offered an opportunity to be a teacher’s assistant at the University of Fairbanks Alaska, where Sean will obtain his Master’s degree. It is such a big jump from Texas to Alaska, but we are rooting for you Sean. We want to see you build your education, career, and life.
I see a few people who have had job difficulty. Maybe they lost the job. Maybe they are unfulfilled in their current job. Maybe they feel the need for bigger and greater through a promotion. Do not give up! We are cheering you on and we believe you can build the future you are dreaming of.
I see people who have gone through medical problems… and marriage problems… and ministry problems… I am talking to you today! Please open your hearts.
You are being drawn to build.. so let me ask you… where will you build?
Where will you build?

What you are attempting to build is too important to just build anywhere.
Turn with me to Matthew 7 as we contemplate “where to build.”
We don’t give as much thought to where we live as the pioneers of old. Pioneers wouldn’t just settle anywhere. They looked for a good location. It needed water & food sources. It needed to be defensible. They avoided areas of flood risk or other natural dangers.
Natural convenience has caused us to think less about the life we are building.
Our city gives us all access to water and trash collection. We all leave near a grocery store. We don’t think about these things in the natural, but I want to invite you to think about it today when it comes to what you are trying to build.
Matthew 7:24 (NIV2011) “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matthew 7:25 (NIV2011) The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
Matthew 7:26 (NIV2011) But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
Matthew 7:27 (NIV2011) The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
What you are attempting to build is too important to just build anywhere.
You need to build on an unchanging foundation.
Do not build upon…

• The culture around you.
• The economy, politics, or nationalism.
• A church or denomination.
• A personality. Don’t build your faith on a preacher/pastor.
• Emotions.

If you want to build something that will last you need to build upon something unchanging.
The only difference between the Wise & the Foolish builder was where they decided to build. They both built a house. They both faced hardship in the rain, streams, and winds.
The house built upon the rock did not fall. Verse 24 says clearly, the rock is the “words of Jesus.”
Build upon Jesus! He does not change!
Hebrews 13:8 (NIV2011) Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
Ephesians 2:20 (NIV2011) built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
Ephesians 2:21 (NIV2011) In him (JESUS!) the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
Where will you build?

Have you counted the cost?

 
What you are trying to build will cost you something. You won’t be surprised that it will cost you time & patience.. but you may be surprised that it may cost you…

• Friendships/relationships
  • • You will have to distance yourself from those who hold you back from the life you are called to build.
• Your lifestyle
  • • As you progress, YOU CHANGE. Your priorities will change.
    • As you are promoted in life, more will be asked of you.
    • God is calling you deeper, but often our lifestyle stands in the way of the call.
• Your status quo
  • • Building greater will cost you your status quo.
    • You can’t bring important change into your life… without changing your life.

Have you counted the cost?
Luke 14:28 (NIV2011) “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?
Luke 14:29 (NIV2011) For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you,
Luke 14:30 (NIV2011) saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
If it’s worth building, it is worth budgeting.
I think budget might be one of the least popular words in the English language. I think the word budget induces sleep. Budgets are not exciting… building is exciting. But budgets are necessary if you are ever going to complete the build.
You have this dream in your life. God endorses this dream in your life. He wants you to be wildly successful and happy. But you must count the cost BEFORE you start the build.
You want to marry this person? Have you counted the cost of “for better or worse?”
You want to start a business? Have you counted the cost? The money, the time, the resources?
You want to be used by God? Have you counted the cost? You do know that He will take you out of your comfort zone right?
In the middle of the project is not the time to decide if you can finish the project. You must decide BEFORE!
One of my favorite military stories has become a motto for my life.
Carlos Hathcock ii

During the Vietnam there was a sniper with 93 confirmed kills. This US Marine, Carlos Hatchock ii, was used to strategically & surgically take out enemy combatants of high rank.
The Viet Kong named Hathcock “White Feather” because Hathcock fearlessly wore a white feather on his hat almost daring the enemy to try to get him.
They did try to get “white feather”, and there are amazing tales of him in a duel with an equally skilled sniper named “the cobra” who devised a trap to collect the 30 thousand dollar bounty the Vietnamese placed on the Marine.
There are many books about Hatchcock filled with amazing stories, but I want to tell you about “His Longest Mission.”

The Longest Mission

 
The top brass of the military approached Hathcock about a top secret sniper mission. It would require him to crawl through a large open meadow guarded by enemy patrol to place him in range to take out an important target.
It would be an incredibly difficult and extremely long mission. This mission would require perfection and focus. There was also the likelihood that Carlos Hathcock would not make it out of this mission alive.
Carlos made the decision that he would take this mission and that he would see it through.
For 4 days the sniper crawled through a meadow under constant guard. He moved inch by inch in the day and by night. Ants crawled into his clothes and bit him. He came face to face with a poisonous viper and stared the snake down to continue his mission. He fought pain, stress, and isolation on this long and constant mission.
For nearly 100 hours white feather gave his full attention to this impossible mission until he arrived at the site to take his shot. He had one shot and a small target the length of a football field away.
Carlos made the shot. Carlos escaped and returned to camp.
The question he was asked the majority of his life following the mission was “How did you do it? How did you stand up to such a stressful task? How did you not give up? How did you not turn back?”
I read Carlos Hathcock’s response and have never forgotten it. I believe you will never forget it either. The marine said…
I made the decision when I was in my right mind

Before he took the mission, he made his decision. He didn’t take the mission and then make his decision. He didn’t crawl out into the meadow and then make the decision when it was difficult. He didn’t make the decision when he faced hardship. He didn’t make his decision when he experienced pain and discomfort.
“I made the decision when I was in my right mind.”
Hathcock made a decision 1 time and then trusted it throughout the mission. He was in his right mind when he made the decision. He counted the cost.
It insinuates that in the middle of the mission is not the time to make the decision. In the middle of the mission you may not have your right mind…
In the middle of the struggle we are often not in our right mind. That is not the time to make the decision.

• In the middle of the marriage argument is not the time to make a decision to separate. You are not in your right mind. You were in your right mind when you said at a marriage altar “I DO.” Don’t turn back from your mission soldier!
• In the middle of a bad day at work is not the time to decide to quit your job. You made the decision you wanted this job opportunity when you were in your right mind. Don’t make your decisions inside the moment of hardship.

Far too often we make the decision on a moment by moment basis.
I love you… do I still love you.. yes. do I still love you.. kinda.. do I still love you.. a little more than yesterday. do I still love you.. not today. do I still love you.. well things have been tough. do I still love you.. I want a divorce.
If you are ever going to build something of value you must COUNT THE COST!
And in the middle of the struggle you must HOLD TO YOUR DECISION!
When you made the decision to follow Jesus, you were in your right mind. You weren’t crazy. No one coerced or forced you to receive Jesus. You made the decision.
I don’t know what hell you are going through, but now is not the time to decide to turn back.
Let’s be real… some of you aren’t in your right mind today. Don’t you dare make a decision when your mind is not right.
Hold to your decision

Some of you are worried to death about something and you feel like you might decide to walk away from God. DON’T! Hold to your decision!
Some of you are facing disappointment and you are tempted to turn around. DON’T! Hold to your decision!
Today your dream doesn’t even look possible and you feel like a fool for trying. DON’T! Hold to your decision! The promises of God are still true.
You decided to build your life on the unchangeable Lord Jesus Christ. Hold to your Decision!
Your dream is still possible.
Your completed project is still in front of you. There is no completed project behind you.
I have a 1 minute point and then I want you to come quickly to Talk to God. BE READY!
Who will build?

Are you going to build this thing? Your effort is absolutely needed. I would never tell you to not give your best effort, but I want to share a scripture with you as I close.
Psalm 127:1 (NIV2011) Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.
Perhaps you shouldn’t be in charge of your building project. Perhaps the Lord could do a better job if He were in charge.
Who is in charge of this building project?
Come today if you want the Lord to be in charge.
Come today if you want to build your dreams on Jesus and be built by Jesus.
Come now if you want your family to be built by the Lord.
Come now if you seriously want the Lord to be in charge of your future.