"Encourage" (2-28-21)

Overview

Building One Another Up in Christ

Every believer is a spiritual house under construction. God begins with a difficult site—hearts tangled with sin and hardened like stone—and He prepares that ground through His Word and the waters of Holy Baptism. Onto that prepared site He lays the only foundation that will hold: Jesus Christ Himself. As Paul writes, "no one can lay any foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" 1 Corinthians 3:11. That foundation is the gospel itself—"God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:8—and the promise of John 3:16 that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

From that foundation, the framing rises: gathering with the church, hearing the Word, learning to pray. The wiring goes in as parents, sponsors, and the congregation pass on the stories of Scripture—creation, the patriarchs, Christ and His disciples. Insulation follows in the form of doctrine that explains why these things matter. Unlike a contractor's tidy checklist, this work is never finished in a single season; God continues to build, reinforce, and beautify us throughout our lives. And notably, He works from the inside out. As the Lord told Samuel, "the LORD looks on the heart" 1 Samuel 16:7. The Holy Spirit shapes the interior dwelling first, transforming the heart of stone before any exterior beauty appears.

But there is a second dwelling to consider: the spiritual home of your neighbor. A house-building ministry that only built homes for its own volunteers would bless no one. So Paul commands, "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing" 1 Thessalonians 5:11. We are not solitary builders. As members of Christ's body, we are called and empowered by the Spirit to help one another keep building on the one true foundation. The verses just before remind us that "God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him" 1 Thessalonians 5:9–10.

Genuine encouragement is not the same as making others comfortable in sin. If a friend were framing a house with rotted wood, real love would help them tear it out and replace it with something sound. So in the life of faith, encouraging one another sometimes means speaking the truth of God's law alongside the comfort of His gospel—because all of us have rotten wood that needs replacing with the pure timber of the cross. Our homes are not held together by the rusted hardware of despair but by the very nails that pierced Christ's hands and feet; they are not flooded by chaos but washed daily by the waters of Baptism and the mercy of Jesus. Bless the people around you by reminding them, again and again, of the foundation already laid for them—until that final walkthrough, when we cross the threshold and know that we are home.

Transcript

Good morning. 2s

If you would please open your Bibles to first Thessalonians, the fifth chapter, that's 3s

first Thessalonians, the fifth chapter. 9s

These past few weeks and in this sermon series, we have been talking about blessing others, 13s

how we can bless others, how God empowers us to bless others and what are the different 20s

ways that we see blessings in this world. 26s

I think of a lot of the charitable organizations that have been created in the name of 30s

blessing and helping others. 37s

We have clean water that has been given and being produced in third world countries. 40s

We feed the hungry and the destitute through organizations such as meals on wheels. 47s

Or we give medical care in third world countries through the organization doctors without 54s

borders. 62s

There are several organizations that are created for the sole purpose, the sole intent of blessing 63s

others and one that has been around for a long time that I think most of us are rather 72s

familiar with is habitat for humanity. 79s

In habitat for humanity, they bless others by building homes for those who need it. 83s

I have never actually built a home myself, but I think we can all agree that building 92s

a home for another person would indeed be a great blessing for them. 100s

So now we're going to ask, okay, so what does building a home have anything to do with 108s

God or building a home? 114s

Have anything to do with scripture or blessing others? 116s

I am so glad you ask and we're going to go right there. 121s

So we're going to start. 125s

I've never built a home as I've said, but I did find a list of the steps that go into 126s

building a home. 135s

So I'm going to read these to you in order to build a house. 136s

One must first prepare a construction site, so prepare a site and pour a foundation. 141s

The next step is complete the rough framing. 148s

Then you complete rough plumbing, electrical, and each back. 153s

The fourth step is to install insulation. 157s

The fifth step is to begin working on the interior with the dry wall, the fixtures, etc. 161s

And then you also just start to begin with some of the exterior finishes. 168s

Steps six through nine are various steps of beautifying the interior and the exterior. 174s

And the final step, the tenth step is the final walkthrough. 182s

Who knew? 187s

Ten steps to build a home. 188s

Well, using these steps that I shared with you, using those as our guideline or our outline, 193s

we are going to see how blessing others, how home building habitat for humanity or the idea of building a home. 201s

How indeed that does involve God, that does pertain to Scripture. 212s

So we have two dwellings that we're really going to be dealing with today. 219s

And the first dwelling that we are going to talk about is the individual dwelling. 224s

It's our own personal home. 230s

Now a few weeks ago when I preached, I talked about our spiritual house. 233s

And so we're going to talk again about that spiritual house. 240s

So the first step in building a home is to prepare a site and to pour the foundation. 246s

Well, if you think about the starting point, the construction site that is our spiritual home, 256s

our place, our starting point, we are born with this nature of sinfulness. 265s

So God has this construction site in each of us that is this tangled up mess of roots and weeds. 273s

And a filthy pit of muck and a hardened heart of stone that no person can break through. 283s

And this is the site that God begins with from our very first, 292s

our very first moment of life here on this earth. 300s

This is the site which God begins to prepare. 306s

And he prepares the site of our heart in order to lay a foundation, 312s

the foundation which God or Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit says is Jesus Christ. 319s

In first Corinthians, Paul wrote no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid. 327s

The foundation is Jesus Christ. 335s

Now God prepares the site. 339s

He prepares our sinful nature. 342s

He prepares our Rudy, weedy mess of sin. 344s

And he prepares that gets ready to lay the foundation through baptism. 349s

He prepares the site through his word. 355s

And he begins to break through that hardened heart of stone so that he can lay the foundation. 358s

Now we look at that foundation. 368s

The foundation Paul writes is Jesus Christ. 371s

In Romans, we read God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. 375s

In the gospel of John, Jesus in his own words tells us that God so loved the world that he gave his only son, 384s

so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 394s

You are probably familiar with that verse specifically or especially because it is such a foundational, 402s

a foundational verse in our Christian faith in our lives. 412s

Jesus, the salvation that we have through his death and resurrection, that is not only a foundation, 417s

it is the foundation of our spiritual home, our spiritual house. 424s

So we have the site prepared through baptism, through God's word. 431s

We have the foundation which is set that is the truth of the gospel that Jesus Christ came to, 436s

to die for us was raised to die for us to save us. 445s

And so then we're going to have that initial framing, the initial framing of our spiritual home. 449s

We go to church, we read the Bible, we learn how to pray, how to talk with God. 457s

And in all of this, God is using his church, he's using his word, he's using that prayer that we have. 464s

And he's framing our spiritual house, he's securing us in his word, he's securing us and framing our spiritual house in his grace and in his promises of mercy. 473s

So we've got the first step, we've got that site prepared, we've got that foundation laid, 488s

we've now had the framing starting to take place through his words, through going to church, through his, through praying to him. 494s

And then we start getting that hard wiring put in, we get the plumbing put in, we get all of the systems within the house that are getting put in place. 502s

And then this is where God uses parents and grandparents and baptismal sponsors or God parents. 514s

God uses the church and through a variety of ways, we learn the stories of creation, the stories of Noah and Moses and David and Mary and Jesus and his disciples and their ministry. 525s

And we start to see the spiritual house taking shape and being formed and being built, all built on the site that God has prepared through baptism. 542s

All built on the foundation that has been laid through us that verse of John 316, the truth that Jesus Christ came to save the sinner, all who believe in him will not perish but have eternal life. 559s

We've got that foundation set, we start learning and praying and going to church and we get that, that frame built up. 575s

And then we start that hard wiring through learning the stories that God has for us, the story of him, in creation, the story of him and his ministry in Jesus Christ. 586s

And as those framings and the hard wiring gets done, everything is built on the one foundation of Jesus Christ and we start to insulate our spiritual homes. 602s

We know what we're insulating and now we get into the nuances we get into doctrine. 616s

We get into why the stories that we have framed our home in, why they matter, what they mean, what exactly is this foundation that our house has been built upon. 625s

Why does it matter? 643s

The steps in building a home as I read to you earlier, they're laid out one after another and it progresses so smoothly, so evenly and you take one step out of time and you move into the next. 648s

But when God builds our spiritual home, it isn't just one step done at a time. 664s

It's a continuous building, it's a continuous framing, it's a continuous insulating and hard wiring. 674s

We have the site prepared through one baptism. 686s

We have the foundation laid, the one foundation which is Jesus Christ. 691s

And then the rest of the house continues to be built and worked on and grown throughout our entire lives. 699s

And I want you to notice how when the foundation is laid and the frame is built, everything is indoor work for a good while we work God works on the interior. 709s

If you think about it, when one is building a home, no one ever begins with the exterior, no one ever begins by putting up sighting and landscaping to make sure it looks beautiful on the outside. 726s

If we concerned ourselves when building a home with the exterior first, we would be walking into a very empty shell of a home. 741s

We'd be walking in to really a non-home, nothing that is livable inside. 754s

The Holy Spirit does not begin with the exterior either. 763s

In first Samuel, the Lord tells Samuel, do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature because I have rejected him. 769s

For the Lord does not see as mortal sea, they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. 778s

The Holy Spirit is able to build within each of us dwelling a dwelling of beauty to and for him. 789s

He works on our inside. He works on our heart constantly taking that sight, that hardened heart of stone and molding it and transforming it and beautifying the inside of our home. 800s

The inside of our spiritual dwelling, the dwelling in which his spirit dwells. 818s

And each of us has been called by the Holy Spirit into faith and each of us who has been called into faith through the Holy Spirit has been given that foundation of Jesus Christ. 826s

We have the framing, the hard wiring, the insulation, it's constantly being reinforced, but there's only one dwelling, but that's only one dwelling. 843s

And I promised that we would deal with two. So we understand the makeup of that individual spiritual home. 856s

We understand that individually we are all called into faith, individually God builds a spiritual home for us, building us from the inside out, changing us, beautifying us and reinforcing his own love and mercy within us through his words. 865s

And through his sacraments. 886s

I have a question. Do you live somewhere? Do you have a dwelling, maybe you have a home or an apartment or a condo or maybe you have an RV? 891s

Do you have a place that you live in that you're blessed to live in? My guess is yes. You are worshiping with us this morning from your dwelling place. 904s

And you have a spiritual home which God has built for you. He is blessed you certainly with your spiritual home. He has blessed you certainly with your physical structure of a home around you. 921s

Do you bless others just by being in your own home? Do you bless others by the very fact that you have a place to live? 938s

Would habitat for humanity be a successful charitable organization if the volunteers were just building homes for themselves? 950s

What impact would that have on the community? What impact would that have on others? 961s

Habitat for humanity is a successful charitable organization. It's successful in blessing the community because it works to help build homes for others. 971s

Those who volunteer with habitat for humanity are not concerned about building their own home. They're volunteering their time and their efforts in their skills to build and bless homes or bless others with homes that they build. 987s

And this is where we come to our reading for today in first Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 11, where Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit wrote, 1002s

therefore encourage one another and build up each other as indeed you are doing. 1016s

In this reading Paul has given us two imperatives, encourage which can also be translated as comfort and build up. 1026s

Those are two imperatives, those are two directives from him, from the Lord through him. 1036s

We're not called to build our homes alone. We're not called to build it by ourselves to figure it all out by ourselves and we're not called to call, 1043s

we're not called to build our own world as individuals with no bearing on one another. We are part of the body of Christ. 1066s

We are part of the greater congregation, the Holy Little Sea Catholic Church, the entire Christian Church. 1074s

That is the congregation to which we have been called and we bless others by helping them to build their spiritual homes. 1084s

God has laid the foundation. He has framed our homes. He has hardwired our homes through his word, through baptism, through the sacraments. 1095s

He insulates our homes through continued growth and learning and prayer in his word, through his word, by his spirit. 1107s

And then he calls us to bless others, by helping them to grow and build their homes. 1119s

The Holy Spirit in his grace empowers us to bless others, in building upon the foundation that has been laid, the foundation of Jesus Christ. 1129s

And as we help them to build, we are called to encourage them. 1142s

When we're called to encourage, we face a great, great temptation. 1149s

The great temptation that we face is in this directive is that we mistake, encourage, or comfort others as make others happy, or make sure others are happy. 1157s

And we're tempted to encourage one another in sin. 1175s

We're tempted to make allowances for or to aid others in sinful choices because we think that it's kind to make sure that they're comfortable in the home in which they live, that they're comfortable in their dwelling place. 1181s

If you were to go to the construction site of a friend who is building a home, and you saw that all the wood that they were building with was rotted or cracked or weak. 1204s

Would you say, hey, you have great materials, you are set to live in a dream home. 1222s

No, of course you wouldn't. Instead, you would help them to go to the lumber yard and to pick out pure and good and sturdy wood that is reliable that will build a strong and sturdy home. 1230s

And sometimes that would mean that you need to help them tear down some of the rotting wood. 1248s

Get rid of some of that weak wood and help them to replace it with strong, sustainable sturdy wood. 1255s

In our faith lives, as we encourage one another, as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to help others to build up their spiritual houses. 1268s

Sometimes we need to speak the truth of the law. 1282s

We need to share God's word that what they're engaging in, different choices they're making. 1289s

Well, it's rotted wood. They're engaging in sin. 1298s

And the thing is is that all of us, all of us have rotted wood in our spiritual homes that we need one another to help tear down. 1303s

We need one another to replace it with the sure, strong, pure word and wood of Jesus Christ of God's word. 1316s

We bless one another by encouraging each other in the faith that has been given to them. 1329s

We encourage one another in building on the foundation that has already been laid for them in God. 1336s

If we look at first desolony in five, those couple verses before 11, we read that God has destined us not for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, 1347s

so that whether we are awake or asleep, we may live with him. 1363s

We need one another to keep us grounded and to keep us building on that one true and sure foundation. 1370s

We need one another to keep us in the truth of God's law and the truth of God's gospel, which is filled with His mercy for us. 1382s

We can bless one another by reminding one another that our homes are not built with the rotting wood of sin, but our homes that God is continuing to build for us is built with the pure wood of the cross on which Jesus hung. 1397s

Our homes are not held together with rusted hardware of our despair, but our homes are held together with the very nails that pierced Jesus' feet and hands. 1416s

Our homes are not running with water that floods our homes. 1432s

Our homes are running with water of holy baptism that cleanses us every single day in the mercies and forgiveness from Jesus Christ. 1439s

We are empowered through the Holy Spirit to encourage one another and to help one another to continue building upon that foundation that Jesus Christ died for your sins. 1453s

The final step that we read in house building is that final walk through that final check over. 1470s

And as we continue to grow and build upon the foundation that is Jesus Christ that is the promise that while we were sinners he died for us. 1483s

That is the grace and the mercy of His love and salvation for us that's been so graciously given to us. 1497s

As we live in these spiritual homes that have so mercifully been built for us upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, we look toward that day in which we will cross into heaven, cross through the gates and know that we are home. 1511s