After a Building Program: Primary Dangers

Driving home: There is no sin ever committed by the people of God at any period in the history of the people of God of which we are not capable and to which we are not vulnerable.

The transition of Israel from 40 years of wandering to settled dwellers in Canaan is used as an analogy for the church's transition into a new building, highlighting the peculiar relevance of Deuteronomy 8.

The motif that is obviously set forth in the passage that was read, in your hearing, Deuteronomy chapter 8. And this passage has peculiar relevance, because it, along with the other sections immediately preceding and following it, were addressed to the people of God as one very significant period in their life was coming to a close, and a new period was opening before them. You will notice, in Deuteronomy chapter 9 and verse 1, that God specifically states, Hear, O Israel, thou art to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than thyself. From a situat...

3:36 - 5:05 Read in full sermon

Driving home: There is no sin ever committed by the people of God at any period in the history of the people of God of which we are not capable and to which we are not vulnerable.

Considering dangers in the wrong way, focusing only on their magnitude and one's own weakness, is likened to leading to despair or spiritual paralysis.

the removal of their lampstand, unless they repent of the sin of losing their first love, how can we think that we are exempt from any such sins? But I want to address myself to those sins which are our primary dangers, given the peculiar history that we have as a church, and given the peculiar chemistry of our congregation in its present expression. So much about why I use the word primary. Now, I want to speak briefly about why I use the word primary. I want to speak briefly about the matter of how we should engage in such an exercise and to do so to our profit. If we consider the primary da...

7:59 - 9:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Seek to discipline your mind and heart to confess vulnerability, cry to God for grace, and determine to be watchful as dangers are addressed.

The balance of watchfulness and prayer is illustrated by the hymn's teaching: 'watch as if everything depended upon our watchfulness and then to pray as if all depended upon the grace and power of God.'

And then thirdly, such an exercise ought to lead us to perpetual watchfulness lest we fall into these sins. Jesus said in Matthew 26, 41, Watch as well as pray that ye enter not into temptation. It is not enough for us to pray and to look off to the living God and to His Son for strength and grace, not to fall. But then we have the responsibility to do as we sang in the hymn, to watch as if everything depended upon our watchfulness and then to pray as if all depended upon the grace and power of God.

12:10 - 12:52 Read in full sermon

The point: Remember that the church's blessings came from God's mighty power, not human wealth, and never forget that.

Martin recounts how visitors, expecting an ornate church, were disappointed by their old, rented junior high school building with graffiti and peeling paint, making pride difficult.

I mean, there wasn't much you could do to take a person by the arm and say, I want you to come to church with me and see the lovely place we meet. Stage props all over the place, graffiti on the chairs, paint floating down on your head if you sat in the wrong place. And I have seen what's happened when people who've been helped by the tape ministry and when they knew something of how God had caused in the language of the Bible, our vines to spill over the wall and to extend the ministry of this assembly to the ends of the earth. And they came expecting to see some ornate cathedral or something...

30:02 - 31:06 Read in full sermon

The point: Remember that the church's blessings came from God's mighty power, not human wealth, and never forget that.

A businessman's assessment that building the new facility was impossible 'on paper' due to assets and inflation is used to highlight that the current debt-free status is a work of God's mighty power, not human wealth.

Whoa, look back and remember how we trembled when we thought of what it would cost to raise the building and said, How can we do it? Some of us remember when one of our men who is a businessman came and met with the board and sat down. and said, look, on paper, we're never going to be able to build that building. Here are our assets.

31:47 - 32:06 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should drift away from them.

The danger of carelessness is illustrated by a boat drifting in a strong current or tidal flow, losing its bearings without realizing it, leading to destruction.

Some of you have been out in a boat, in a situation where you had a rather strong current on a river, or where there were strong tidal flows, and you pick up anchor, and you don't feel that you're moving at all, and you drift off into a sleep, or you're so busy, casting out and reeling in and casting out. Before long, you don't know where you are. You've lost all your bearings. What's happened?

36:21 - 36:45 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not settle for a 'nice little comfortable cozed church fellowship,' but long for growth and the 'blessed inconvenience' of reaching pagans.

The inconveniences of parenting are used to illustrate that blessings often come with challenges, arguing that parents wouldn't trade their children despite problems, and the church should similarly embrace the 'inconvenience' of growth.

Blessings and inconveniences. Those of us who are parents would never go back to the state where our houses were bereft of children simply because of all the problems our kids have caused us. I don't understand those people. The wife that Linda Sanders interviewed or who handed in a questionnaire.

46:15 - 46:36 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not settle for a 'nice little comfortable cozed church fellowship,' but long for growth and the 'blessed inconvenience' of reaching pagans.

A survey where 70% of parents of teenagers regretted having children is cited as an example of terrible selfishness and a hedonistic age, contrasting it with the biblical view of children as a heritage.

Do you remember the... Some of you heard of that.

46:36 - 46:40 Read in full sermon

The point: Exercise whatever gift and opportunities God has given you for the benefit of the body of Christ in this place.

A child's initial joy and gratitude for a Christmas toy, followed by disinterest two weeks later, illustrates the fleeting nature of gratitude once novelty wears off.

You see the little kid dancing a jig on Christmas morning when he gets that toy that he's wanted and oh, he's all hugs and kisses with mommy and daddy. Can't thank him enough for getting his...

50:49 - 51:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Give thanks to God daily for all His benefits, especially the new building and privileges, and do not let the novelty wear off.

Pastor Dixon's humorous warnings about the time limit in the old building are recalled to highlight the new freedom from such pressures and the reason for gratitude.

Some of you laugh because you were around this morning when he spooked you by coming by and saying with a serious face, five minutes to one, five minutes to one.

54:49 - 54:59 Read in full sermon

The point: Give thanks to God daily for all His benefits, especially the new building and privileges, and do not let the novelty wear off.

An elder's meeting discussion about a brother's constant thankfulness in everything is used as an example of the attitude believers should cultivate.

Every time we drive through that driveway, not just the first two weeks, but when the novelty, come on, is the gift any less great? Of course not. And there is, as it were, the constant fingerprint of the goodness of God over all of this. And someone was mentioning in the elders' meeting last night concerning a certain brother that the more they interacted with him, he's no one in our congregation, the thing that struck them, among other things, was his constant thankfulness.

55:40 - 56:12 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin defends the 'negative' nature of warnings, asserting they are a sign of God's care and a source of encouragement, comparing them to warnings about potholes. He concludes…

Being warned about a pothole in the road is used to illustrate that warnings are a sign of care and should be received with gratitude, not offense, especially concerning spiritual dangers.

God cares enough about me to warn me. I never get mad at a man who says, hey, you're going such and such a place. Well, listen, three miles down the road, watch out, there's a big pothole. I've dropped a tie rod there two weeks ago.

63:59 - 64:10 Read in full sermon