Do you like spicy food? Who here likes spicy food? Okay, well, I invite you to open the Bible and turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. And I'll tell you that this sermon we're about to have, this text we're about to look at together, is not mild. It's also not the hottest thing you've ever heard of in your life, either. It's one of those things where somebody tells you it's spicy, and you get that fake toughness. Anybody else know what I'm talking about? Right? Oh, yeah, it's spicy. Okay, yeah, you take a bite, and you got that face like it doesn't affect me, right? And you're like, see, it's fun. And then the heat kicks in. Do you know what I'm talking about right there? Are you there with me? 1 Corinthians 3:9-15. And I want to welcome everybody. We've had people watching this online, a lot of them have even reached out to me and let me know. Can we welcome them right now, everybody who's watching online? Come on in with us. Open your Bible, 1 Corinthians 3:9-15. And out of respect for God's word, I'm going to ask if we would all stand up for the public reading of Scripture. And I'm going to ask you to pay your full and undivided attention to this text because this is the word of God. And this is something that he wants you to think about as you live your life. So please follow along. This is 1 Corinthians 3:9-15.
“For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
That's the reading of God's word. Please go ahead and have your seat. And so, what happens here in 1 Corinthians 3, it looked back a few verses, and you'll see that Paul was using this agricultural analogy, and Paul was saying, as they were getting divided in the church in Corinth, like who follows Paul and who follows Apollos. And he's like, hey, Apollos and I were just servants. And then he says in verse six, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Neither he who plants, nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. And then he's talking about who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. When you do the work, you're going to get the reward; the laborer is worthy of his wages. And I did some work in the field. And then Apollos came, and he developed the field; and you are God's field. And then right there at the end of verse 9, he switches from an agricultural analogy to an urban city analogy of buildings – a little better for us Orange County folk here tonight. Right? And he says, hey, let's talk about a building. And then he says, verse 10, “According to the grace of God given to me like a skilled master builder… Now I know we're reading the Bible but did anybody else think about Legos when they heard the phrase master builder. Okay. And we can be honest here, right? I mean, the word there in Greek is Architekton. So, this idea that Paul's saying, hey, even though I was the architect of the church …
Now, I know and happen to be friends with an architect. I don't know if you've ever met one of these people who design buildings and engineer buildings, but we have actually had an architect who has helped this church from day one. In fact, I knew him from the church down in Aliso Viejo Compass Bible Church that sent us up here. He became my friend down there. We had one of our high school small groups at his house. This guy's name is Steve. So, the architect who helps us, his name is Steve. The man who owns these buildings, his name is Steve. So, if you're ever praying for somebody with construction, just pray for Steve around here and you'll be good. All right. And this guy, the other day, I went to his office, and he gave me a whole architectural plan for what he thinks we should do in that building across the way, to build an auditorium. For two and a half hours, we discussed the plans of the master builder, and he's got blueprints, and he's got design features. When you talk to Steve, you feel like you've never been in a room before because you realize, wow, there are so many things – like what's on the ceiling? And what's on the wall? And what's under my feet. And what are all the fixtures? You just start getting the headaches, like, wow, I never realized walking into a room was so complicated. This is overwhelming. Because he's a master builder. He's thinking through every detail, he's thinking through electrical and HVAC, and all the mechanical, and all these different things that have to come together to make a space permitted and safe for everybody to use in the best possible way.
And so, that's the idea of what we're getting into. We are all now considering what is Jesus building here among us, and all of us are called to be built to maturity in Christ. And all of us are called to be the builders. Who was here last night and learning that we're here to be the builders, right? So now we’ve got to think about, it's like now we're stepping back and we're looking at the plans like, what kind of thing are we really building here in Huntington Beach? And see, this whole Double Double week that we're doing, it all really has a double double meaning, because we're talking about, yeah, we can build the playground, and we can be in the courtyard, and there's an auditorium and another church. But really, it's about what is Jesus doing here among us? Who here is getting saved? Who's getting sanctified? Who's ready to make more disciples? Like, how are we doing as a church? Because see, when we finished that building, and Steve, he's the guy who designed Compass Circle, let me ask the high schoolers and the junior higher, do you like your new rooms in the Compass Circle building over there? A little bit of it? Apparently, they're all over here. A little bit of excitement about that. Yeah, I mean, I had somebody just the other day, they walked into the building for the first time, and they came back, and they were like, to be honest, I was like, why are they making such a big deal about that space over there? Wow, what an amazing space. Right? They were blown away. Right? Well, before that could ever get done. See, it had to get inspected. This was a big thing, like nobody, when we were doing the construction, and this was my first time really going through with an architect in building something from the plans all the way to finished project. And I can just tell, nobody like cuts corners, because they know, at the end, there's going to be an inspection. At the end, somebody from the fire department is going to show up, and they've got a certain code. And if anything is less than code, they'll make you go rebuild it. They're not opening the building, like nobody's meeting in there to worship Jesus until it passes inspection.
And it is such a great analogy that we see here in this text that we need to inspect, how are we building the church of Jesus Christ? Like what kind of quality of work are we actually doing as a church here in Huntington Beach, because Paul says, hey, look at verse 10. He says, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder,” and if you think that's he’s boasting, that's why he said, no, it's all by God's grace. But he did know how to plant a church. And he was experienced in it by the time he came to Corinth, and he says, so I laid a foundation and now someone else, Apollos, he's now the one building on that foundation. And then he says, this line and this line should really get us thinking here at the end of verse 10, “Let each one take care how he builds upon it. Like everybody, look at how you're building your life on the foundation of Jesus Christ. Look at how you are a part of building the church of Jesus Christ, like look at it, take a look at it. Are you really being careful how you build? And then it says in verse 11, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” Now just in case, you're like, oh, look at Paul, he's so full of himself for being the master builder of the church in Corinth. Now he's making it very clear, there's only one foundation that anybody's building on, and his name is Jesus. And so, I love that verse 11, it's like, hey, I want everybody to really think about how we're building.
First, let's take a step back. Nobody's building on anything other than the foundation of Jesus. So, let's get that down for point number one: Let's remind ourselves where it all begins. We talked about this on Tuesday night, but let's just remind ourselves tonight to testify that Jesus is your foundation. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that? Okay, we're not building our life on anything. And that's going to last. It's faith in Jesus as the Christ, who died for our sins and rose again. If you want to build your life on something where you can stand firm, and the rains that come down and the storms that blow, they're not going to knock you down, because you're on the foundation of Jesus Christ. We want everybody here to be able to testify, here's how Jesus saved me, here's how I repented of my sins, here's how I put my faith in Jesus. And I can tell you with confidence, I'm standing on the solid rock, the cornerstone. I've been saved by Jesus. That's the beginning of the building right there.
Turn with me to Isaiah 28:16. Well, we already looked at Psalm 118 that talked about the stone or the rock. Here's another reference in the Hebrew Bible. So even before Jesus said, hey, you're Peter, and I tell you on this rock I will build my church. In Isaiah 28:16, even before Jesus said that there were already in the Hebrew Bible prophecies about a stone that would become the cornerstone, about a sure foundation. Look at how it says it here. Are you there with me? Isaiah 28:16, “therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation.’” And then here's the quote of the night, “’Whoever believes will not be in haste.” So, here's God, and remember, this is over 700 years before Christmas, before Jesus is born, where God is saying, look at all the ways he describes it. There's a foundation, there's a stone, a stone that's been tested, that’s sure, and precious cornerstone, a sure foundation. He's saying it over and over here, there is a place that you can really build your life on top of, and this is all a prophecy of Jesus, and whoever believes in Jesus will not be in haste. Hmm. Why would you all of a sudden be in haste? Why would you all of a sudden be in a real hurry? What could happen where something would take you by surprise, and then all of a sudden, you would be rushed or frantic, or realize that you were running out of time? See, if you build your life on Jesus, the good news is, you won't ever experience sudden judgment. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that?
If you know that you're saved by Jesus, you are not afraid to die. If you know that you are saved by Jesus, you're ready for Jesus to come back at any moment. See, there is nothing that could rush you or hurry you, because you're already ready, because you built your life on the foundation. Whoever believes in him will not be put to haste. And so, what we're going to do in this sermon is we're going to talk to people who are a part of the church, who are building the church. And we're going to talk about how we should evaluate how we're doing. But see, sometimes when we're in a room of people this big, with so many souls here tonight, I'm always a little hesitant to just start talking to the Christians, because I know not everybody in the room is on this foundation. And see, that's where this sermon, because it's for Christians, will not be the hottest sermon you've ever heard. Because some people in this room, if you're not on the foundation of Jesus, when judgment day comes, there will be such haste in your soul. There will be terror, there will be panic. I have a fear of public speaking. I don't know if anybody else has that same fear. But I will have bad dreams all the time about walking up here and having no idea what I'm supposed to say. Or I’ve got to go work on the sermon, and yet it's already time to do the sermon, and there's this great haste, this great panic, like, oh, no, the moment is here. And I'm out of time. I don't know if anybody else has dreams like this. Maybe this is just past your nightmares. But this is how it goes down. Right? Preach the sermon right now with no time to prepare. Oh, the haste! Right? No, that's how people in this room, if Jesus comes back, some of us, we have put our trust in Jesus. And when he comes back to get us, we're going to meet him in the clouds. I mean, or the day that we die, our soul it will leave our body and it will be in the presence of our Lord, and we will see that Jesus is ready for us, and we were ready for him, and what a day of joy that will be when we get to wear these robes of lightness and be in the glory of Jesus Christ, praising him, seeing Jesus with our eyes, face to face. But for other people, death will be a nightmare. And the Bible says that when Jesus comes back, riding on the cloud, like some of us will go and meet him in the air, and everybody here on planet earth will mourn, they will weep, they will wail, they will make haste and flee for their lives, because the Day of Judgment is coming.
So, there is a foundation, and if you build your life on it now, you won't be in haste when the end comes, because it's a sure foundation. It's a precious stone, it's been tested, and it's been proven, and if you build your life on Jesus, you can testify, you've got a real foundation for your life. And if you have not built your life on Jesus, the judgment, when it comes, it will be terrible, it will be hot, and a place where the fire is not quenched, where there is no light, and a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. But I want you to have a testimony, something that you have confidence in, I've been saved by Jesus.
Okay, so go back now to our passage, because it assumes that you have the foundation of Christ, and Paul is talking about, hey, I'm building, and everybody should be careful how they're building, and everybody should look or see how they're building. But then, he takes a step back in verse 11, make sure you're on the foundation of Jesus, make sure you have a testimony, and you can explain how Jesus has saved you. And if you don't have a testimony, hey, let's talk about it tonight. We've been doing church three nights in a row, we're having a service about being judged at the end of your life, like no better time to get ready than right now. There'll be Brad in the back at the Compass Connect table; I’ll be here up front. If you're like, hey, I don't have a story of how Jesus saved me, let's talk about it before you leave here tonight. But for everybody who does have that story, go back to the end of verse 10. “Let each one take care how he builds upon it.” Then we go to verse 11, back to the foundation. Now go to verse 12. “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, day with a capital D. Day of, what kind of day are we talking about there, everybody? Day of the Lord, the Day of Judgment. So, this is clearly for people who are building on the foundation of Christ. This is a passage for Christians, saying, you're going to be judged for how you built. There's going to be an inspection for how you built. And I don't know if a lot of Christians have really thought this all the way through, because I know that one thing that happens is that fear of judgment is a part of the fear of the Lord. And it's a part of what maybe leads you to salvation. When you realize you're guilty of sin, you don't want to be judged by God. And so that's part of what maybe helps you turn to God. But I don't know if Christians, I think then they think, okay, well, I was afraid of being judged, then I believed in Jesus; now I'm saved, and I won't be judged. And I think they just forget about it. Like now I'm just going to go to heaven, and everything's going to be awesome. Well, it says here that your work, whatever you build on the foundation of Jesus, however you contribute to the building of the church, your work will be seen. You should look, you should see how you're building because on the Day of Judgment, it will be seen how you built on the foundation of Jesus. Like, I'm not sure every Christian is realizing, yeah, I'm not going to be judged. There's no condemnation. Perfect love has cast out fear of judgment. But there is going to be an inspection when I'm done building by Jesus Himself.
Go over to Luke 19. Everybody, go back to Luke 19, and let's look at one of the parables, like to the kind of parable that Jesus told while he was here. Because Jesus knew that he was coming once, then he would be gone for a while, and then he would come again. And he told parables to that effect. Here's the parable of the ten Minas. This is Luke 19:11, I don't know if you've heard this parable before, or if you've really ever thought about it, but it is clear that there is a master who is going to get his kingdom. And when the master returns, he's going to look at all of his servants, and he's going to say, what have you done with what I gave you? Look at it here, Luke 19:11. “As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.” They thought Jesus was going to start being king, and taking over nations, and judging the world when he came the first time, and so he tells this story. “He said therefore, ‘A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.’” You think the kingdom is coming now? No, I'm actually going away to get the kingdom, to be exalted to the name of Lord, and then I will return. So, he's starting to help them think how this is going to work. Verse 13, “Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten Minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’” Or the idea of, make a profit until I come. But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, we do not want this man to reign over us when he returns. So, we just skipped like two thousand years right there. “When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.” Where is your profit? And “The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten Minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five Minas.’ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten Minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten Minas!’ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’” Wow. What a story that Jesus tells. So, Jesus was putting this idea clearly. You can see there in verse 27. There are people who are rejecting Jesus, there are people who do not want to live like Jesus is Lord, they do not want to live to obey his commands. They want to live, like we heard Brad say earlier, to do whatever they want to do, and make their own choice about how to live their life. People who reject Jesus, they have nothing but judgment coming, and a certain fire that will come to consume the adversaries of Jesus Christ. That's what you see there. But do you also see that the servants of Jesus get evaluated, they get inspected when their master returns, when he comes in his kingdom? And notice what does he say to his servants? To his faithful servants? He says what, everybody? What did he say to those servants? What? I've heard Christians quote this my entire life, “Well done. good and faithful servant.” Does anybody want to hear Jesus say that? Okay, then here's the thing. What are you doing? He can't say well done if you're not doing anything. That's when I don't think a lot of people have thought like, no, these guys made a profit. While Jesus was gone, these guys conducted his business that one guy turned one Mina into ten Minas. One guy turned one Mina into five Minas. And Jesus was like, Well done, well done. Because while Jesus was gone, they were building up his business. They were making a profit. See, this is the thing when you meet Jesus, and he does an inspection on what you are building. How is Jesus going to be able to say, ‘well done’ to people who haven't done anything? So, you need to examine the quality of your investment.
Let's get that down for point number two: Examine the quality of your investment if you are going to be a builder on the foundation of Jesus in the church. Okay, well, what are you building with? What are you doing to make a profit to gain for the kingdom? And so that's what our passage … so clearly, Jesus is saying that he will come back, and he will evaluate what his servants, not just the people who are getting judged, but know there's an evaluation and even a reward given to his servants who have been faithfully doing something while he was gone.
So go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 3. And let's get back into our building analogy. Because there are different qualities of materials that we can build with here. Notice what it said in verse 12. “Now, if anyone builds on the foundation” … You're building your life on Christ, you're seeking to build up the church of Jesus. Well notice how it says six different things here: gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw. Some of that sounds to me like the king's palace. And some of that sounds like three little pigs. Anybody know what I'm talking about right there? Okay. So, let me ask you, I'm asking you to evaluate how you've been building your life on Jesus, specifically, how you are building other people in the church, or how you're seeking to serve and minister and be a part of the church, getting it built up. And you can think about how you're investing your time, your money, your hearts. Like you can think about it any way that you want, but I'm here to ask you, are you gold, silver, precious stones? Or are you wood, hay, straw? Like, what kind of investment are you making? I mean, see, that's the thing. It's like, when I'm meeting with the architect, he wants to go over every fixture, every material, everything that we're going to need to order. Like, it's mind boggling! All the lights, all the conduits, all the things that go into making a building, and you can get like the cheap stuff, or you can get the good stuff. And are you building the church with the cheap stuff? Or the good stuff? What kind of thing are you doing with your life? It is very common for people who claim to be Christians and think that Jesus has saved them from going to hellfire, and they're going to be with him in glory, to act like the church is kind of the leftover time, leftover money, leftover heart of their life. That's become common. And, in fact, people often regularly this has happened to discharge over the last seven years, people come to church and think, Hey, do you guys want my leftover junk? People say that about church all the time. Like, hey, I've got some leftover stuff that I don't want anymore. Do you want it at the church? That's a regular attitude people have about church these days. That sounds like wood, hay, and straw to me. That doesn't sound like I'm all in like, what can I do? What? How can I give my money? How can I give my time? How can I give the very best of what I have to offer? What are my gifts? And how can I use them for God's glory and other people's good? Like, I'm here to do two things. I'm here to love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and I'm here to love you like you're more important than I am. I want to see Jesus build his church. Is that your attitude? Or is your attitude, what's this church doing for me lately? And I'll decide if I want to do anything to invest in the church. See, this is so interesting here. And it makes so much sense to me now that we've done construction. It makes so much sense because look at it there in verse in verse 13. You've got these different materials in verse 12, and then it says, “each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by … what does it say there, everybody? See, the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
So, what we're talking about tonight is really very simple. If you're a part of the church, and you're starting to build your life on Christ, and you're starting to be a part of building others up, and building the church of Jesus, well, then here's the thing, you should look now at what kind of investment you want to make in the church, because there will come a day where fire will test and it will be seen what you built on the foundation. So, the wisdom here of our passages, you look at it today so you know that you'll be ready and you're prepared, because the fire is coming. And we're going to see if what you built was of these precious materials that can withstand fire, or whether what you said you were building just burns up and there's nothing really there in the end. So, look at it now because it will be seen; the fire will make it known; it will manifest it; it will burn it all away. And we'll see if it was true, and you really did it for Christ, or whether it just burns up, and there's nothing really to what you've been building. And you can see it gives it both ways there. Verse 14, somebody's work is going to be burnt, but it's on the foundation it survives, it remains. It still matters in eternity. What you did with your life is echoing in heaven. You're going to get a reward, you're going to be like, hey, way to go, here's more; well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master. But then verse 15 says, somebody else’s work is burned up, and it's like, it's all lost; he will suffer loss. And notice this person is still going to be saved. They're still a Christian, but it's like they wasted their life. It's like they have no reward. It's like, they're now looking back at all that time and all that money and all that heart they could have put into it. And there's a sense of loss, yes. Are they going to heaven? Are they saved? Yes, they are. But it's like, what did you do with your life? What did you build with it? You didn't really build anything that lasts.
So, I'm talking to Christian people. And I'm here to say that there's an inspection coming. And some brothers and sisters, you don't need to fear judgment, but you need to make sure you're prepared for the fire inspection that's coming. And you don't want to realize later on that you wasted your life here on earth.
So, let's get this down for point number three: Prepare for the fire that's coming. Prepare for the fire that's coming. There is a fire test that is coming on your life. And Jesus will decide what kind of reward you receive, or whether you even receive an award based on the quality of how you invested your life, how you built. There will be an inspection. And I'm telling you this is the first time I was really ever a part of a construction project from the architect’s plans all the way till the final inspection. And guess there was this guy who came walking around our building, and he's setting off all the alarms. He's checking all the sprinklers, because he is the fire inspector. And all of a sudden, I'm talking to the Steves, and I'm talking to Scott Shew. And all of a sudden, everybody's walking around. Everybody's like, wait a minute, you guys told me this was done. You guys told me you could open this weekend. I went and told the church it would be open this week. And they're like, well, if the fire inspector says so. And you realize, wow, this guy is going to come, and if this building, you can't even build a building these days, you can't have people assemble in a building unless it is ready for fire. If it's not ready for fire, we can't even open it. We can't even go inside.
I want to make sure that all my brothers and sisters here are ready for a fire inspection. Because it's common, I know Christians who I don't know if meeting Jesus is going to be the joy that they think it's going to be. It says, look at it again. Verse 15. “If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved.” So, we're talking about saved people having a fire inspection, feeling a sense of loss. And do they get to go to heaven? Yes, but it's as though only through fire. It's like, well, here come the flames. You just barely made it through. See, I don't want that to be you. I don't want you run, praise the Lord. We passed that fire inspection, and we opened up that building. Everybody, praise the Lord. What joy there was on that day. That's how I want it to be for you when you enter the pearly gates and walk the streets of gold. When you get to see Jesus with your eyes, I want you to hear, well done, good and faithful servant. So, I'm asking you, what are you doing? What are you building? Where is your gold, silver, and precious stones? Please stop it with the wood, hay, and straw. So, this is a chance for you to look at your life and say, hey, if today was the day, if today was the day that there was a fire inspection, and Jesus came back today, or if I'm asking you tonight, like if tonight is the night and tonight's the night that you see Jesus, not worshiping him in songs or reading the Scripture here at the church, but tonight's the night you see Jesus in all of his glory, with the eyes of fire looking into your soul. Are you ready right now for your fire inspection with Christ? See, I'm hoping that tonight will be a night that some of the Christians realize, I need to change the way I've been thinking about this. Because right now, if Jesus came, I don't know if he's saying to me, well done, good and faithful servant. I might have been building with wood, hay, and straw. So, this is a time for us to consider.
And then go back with me, and now that we're deep in this building analogy, and we're thinking about sprinklers and fire alarms, and all the signs that say “Exit,” has anybody walked into our building over there and there's like three signs that say “Exit” above the receptionist desk, who's ever known that before? That's weird. That's all like, how did that happen? Because it's like the fire inspector is coming. Exit Exit Exit, right? I mean, it's like, let's make sure people know how to get out of here in case there's a fire. Right? I mean, people are like we better be prepared. Why put one exit sign up when three will do? You know what I'm saying? Let's let everybody know they glow in the dark. Get out of here. Right? For a fire that we hope will never happen.
I'm here to tell you this fire is coming. Fire is coming, and everything you've done with your life in the name of Jesus will be inspected by fire. It will burn. You will watch it burn and then you'll see if there's anything left after the fire consumes it. And if something remains, I mean, imagine this moment. I mean, have you really thought about this? A lot of people they'd like to downplay this, they'd like to say, Well, I'm not in it for the reward. I'm just happy with Jesus. I'm just happy to go to heaven. Well, don't say that to Jesus, because he thought giving you a reward was going to be a really big deal. Can you imagine that there is a fire inspection, and you see what you've done with your life burn up there in front of you. And after the fire reveals, makes it known what you've done, there is something actually still there. And Jesus comes to you, and he has real joy in receiving you. And Jesus says, well done. This is what you did; here is your reward. Can you imagine something like that? I mean, the affirmation, the validation that all the sacrifice, all the denying yourself, all the dying to yourself every day, all the saying no to sin, all the not fitting in in the world, all of it, the day that you see some work that doesn't get burned up. And there's something that you built on the foundation of Jesus, and Jesus comes to you and said, hey, here's what you did. Here's your reward. Welcome in and welcome into my house; I prepared a place for you. Come on in. Your name is in the Lamb's book of life. Here's my secret nickname that nobody else knows but me and you. I mean, can you imagine that moment right there that you're going to share with Jesus? Have you ever had somebody that you respected, that you loved, that you actually cared about, what they thought about you? And when you could tell that they thought a good thought about you, it encouraged you. Can you imagine that with Jesus Christ? I don't think we think about this nearly enough. Everything you do in the name of Jesus matters. You give somebody a drink of cold water, part of the reward, you genuinely put somebody as more important than yourself in the name of Jesus. It matters.
Go with me to Matthew 25. Let me show you one of the criteria that Jesus is going to use on the day of judgment. Here it's called the final judgment, the heading of Matthew 25:31. I want everybody to look at this passage because it shows you the way that Jesus is thinking about how he's going to do this fire inspection of your life. And it says in Matthew 25:31-34, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’” So here you are, good and faithful servants, come on in and get the inheritance. This was what was promised to you. Now you can come and experience the inheritance of heaven of the eternal kingdom. And then look what it says verses 35-40, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” I wonder how many times some of us have walked in and out these doors here at church with strangers all around us and we didn't even greet them at church. I guarantee you if Jesus was ever coming to church, would everybody stand in a line to greet Jesus? And he says, “when you do it to the least of these my brothers, you do it unto me.” He said, you go show hospitality, you go lovingly receive a stranger. You see, some junior high or some high school or somebody sitting in a church, you don't know who they are, you go out there and you give them the right hand of fellowship. Or these days, it might be the pounding of fellowship, or it could even be the distance wave of fellowship, and you let them know that you want to receive them. In the name of Jesus, you go up to a stranger and you love them like a brother or sister. Jesus says, hey, you're doing it as unto me. He says, wow, is that how we're thinking about it? Like, like you're saying everything I do for somebody else in the church that I really do it for Jesus, and I'm going to be rewarded for that. He's keeping track of that; that matters to him. That's what we're saying here tonight. I'm saying that Jesus knows what you're doing. He sees it. He sees when you're not doing it to get other people to look at you. You know that's your reward right there. You're not doing it because you're full of yourself. No, that's your reward right there. But when you really do it for Jesus, and you really do it for other people, Jesus says, you will by no means lose your award. Jesus says the laborer is worthy of his wages. And so, the question is, what kind of labor are you building in the Church of Jesus Christ? How are you ministering to other people, because as you minister to other people, so there will be something that will pass the fire inspection, and Jesus, your Lord will have something to say, well done to you about it. I don't think we're thinking about that enough. I'm sure that more strangers would be greeted, that more people would be ready to serve, that more people would be like, what else can I do? If we really thought I want to give my absolute best to build the church of Jesus Christ? Can I get an Amen from anybody on that?
Go back to 1 Corinthians 3, because this is what I wish I had said last night. Even if you were here last night, you're like, what more could you have said? I mean that when pretty late, we're not doing that again, tonight, are we? Right? See what happens here at church is like people are like, I wish I could get a place to serve here at the church, or I need to sign up for a spot to serve. And that's true. And that's something we have a plan to improve that; we want to empower people to use their gifts in spots of service in 2022. So, I understand what people mean by that. But let me just make it very clear here tonight, you don't need a position to serve God's people. All you’ve got to do is show up and love people. All you’ve got to do is show up and greet strangers. You don't have to be a part of the greeting team to care about somebody you don't know. You don't have to be a leader to share something from the Bible that you're learning with somebody else. You don't have to be on the prayer team to pray for your church. So, people are like, put me in and then I'll take it seriously. That's not how it works. Prove yourself faithful and you get given more to do. That's actually how it works. So, you don't need a spot to start serving the Lord Jesus at this church. And let's just make it clear. What are we serving? Because in the building analogy, which is teaching us something, that there's going to be a fire inspection and you’d better make sure that what you're constructing with your life is fire ready, because it will be burned up. And we'll see what's left at the end of it. Even in that analogy, we can start to think of church as a building, as a place where, yes, we want to take good care of this place that God has so graciously given to us. And people clean this place. Some of our people are here cleaning this place all the time, you know. I know the cleaning people. You know why they do it? They do it for you, because you're going to sit in the seats. They're not cleaning the building for the building’s sake. People aren't given money so we can have a room for high schoolers or a room for junior highers, or even more of an auditorium, just because we want more seats. No, we want more souls. See, the church is the people. It's the people. This idea that has become so common that you can be a Christian who loves Jesus, but you don't really have to like the church or reach out to other people, I just want you to know Jesus completely rejects that. And Jesus’ mind, you are God's field, God's building. It is the whole reason we have the building is so we can have the people. That's what it's about.
And so, let's really think that through. I'm supposed to make some kind of profit. I'm supposed to build something with gold, silver, and precious stones. So, that's not just serving the church, that's not just doing something at the building. No. If I'm really going to build something that's going to last into eternity, it can't be something physical, it has to be people. See people is what you need to be building. So don't get caught up in this whole idea of corporate church or building church or service time church. Take a look around you. This is the church; we are the church. So how are you building into people? And specifically, the way we're going to build the church, and not enough people are thinking about this, to build the church, we want to build up in maturity. We talked about that last night. But to really build the church means more people being the church equals more people getting what? Get saved. So who are you helping get saved? That's something that a saved person is not going to be consumed by the fire, can I get an Amen from anybody on that? A saved person is going to live forever in the presence of Jesus Christ, and if you got to share with them the good news, if you got to be those two guys who walked up to Bruce Blakey, if you got to see Brad Comstock back before he was saved, and his friend who invited him here to church, if you got to talk to somebody, and they ended up getting saved, are you going to feel like you did something worthwhile for the rest of your life and all of eternity? See, if you want to build the church, you’ve got to help people get saved, you’ve got to tell them the good news. See, to build the church, we're going to have to actually go out from the church into the world and bring some of them with us to be the church. See, there's this fire that is coming. And, yes, maybe you're not going to get burned, but do you realize that everybody you know who's not on the foundation of Jesus, it's all sinking sand, it's all going to crumble, and everybody, you know, who's not on the foundation of Jesus is going to burn. So, I mean, we're not just like, well, maybe you're like, well, I don't care if I get a lot of reward, or if it just burns up. I hear people say this all the time, as long as I'm going to heaven I’ll be happy. Well, let me just tell you, brother or sister, you know people who aren't going to have it. Are you happy about that? Or are you saying, what can I do? How can I give my gold, my silver, my precious stones, so that they can be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ? See this idea of judgment, this idea that Christians today want to just not think about judgment anymore. Oh, you're not going to preach one of those hellfire brimstone? See, we're kind of a weird church, because if the Bible says it, we’ll preach it. In fact, if I walk in here, and I say, who likes spicy foods, some people, they're already three levels deep in their analogy, and they're like, oh, I'm going to like this one. I can't wait to share this with so and so later on, right? I mean I'm just saying, there's, you know, who you are in the room, right? Some of you even know who I'm talking about right now. Right? People are like, yeah, bring the whole book, nothing but the book, if it's in there, let it be said. Let me just tell you, this world is going to burn. And people, they're investing their lives and so many things, it will all be consumed by fire, and none of it will stand in the end. You should be building something into your life that you know will survive the fire and remain for eternity. If you stop, if you're a Christian person, and you stop thinking that the fire’s coming, I'm not sure you're reading the same book that I'm reading. Because there's going to be a fire inspection for us, much less everybody else who's going to be consumed by the fire. The Bible has no problem. God has no problem, the Holy Spirit inspiring these men to write these words, have no problem saying there's going to be some burning, don't be a part of it. I don't know why we have a problem with it, but the scripture sure doesn't. And that should not only for your own fire inspection, but for the reality that people … Turn with me to Revelation 20, and let's look at the full judgment that is coming on those who are not built on the foundation of Christ. If you think what we're talking about for our fire inspection is intense.
Well look at Revelation 20:11-15, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of” what, everybody? Fire. Wow. Can you imagine? Can you imagine if there was a fire on a building, and the sprinklers didn't put it out, and the fire alarm didn't go off, and people were trapped inside a building? I mean, that's why we have these guys, we got so many brothers who serve this way here at our church. They do this for a living. We have firemen who will go in there to rescue people out of situations like that. That's what we're here to do. We're here to snatch people out of the fire. You make your life about snatching people out of this fire. And when the fire comes to inspect your life, something will remain for all of eternity. That's how you can be a part of building the church of Jesus Christ. And think about that, that's chilling to think that there is a book of Bobby Blakey, there is a book of your name. And everything you've done is written down in that book, and we're going to evaluate what you've done. And you will be judged according to what you have done, unless your name is written in the book of life. And I think we see maybe this passage is more famous than 1 Corinthians 3, and people think, my name is in the book of life, I don't have to worry about this. Praise the Lord. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that? Okay.
But now you do have something else to think about. And just let's look at how you're building right now. Let's think about it right now. Who do you know that would be in this lake of fire? Are you just hoping someday the heavens will part, everything will move in slow motion? Ryan Pierce will be there singing a song, and then you'll share the gospel with them? Or you think and how do I give my gold, my silver, my precious stones? Like how do I give the very best that I have? How can I put myself in the way of people who are going to go to the fire? And how can I snatch them out of those flames? Like what can I do with my life to build on the foundation of Christ, to build up the church? How could my life be spent so more people get saved? See you live thinking like that, you won't need to get ready. There won't be haste at the end of your life; there won't be panic, oh no, I'm not ready. If you're living to see people get saved every day, then you're staying ready for the day that Jesus comes back. So, let's look at what we're building here at Compass HB before it is revealed by fire. Let's pray.
Father in heaven, I just want to thank you for your word, for this specific passage that tells us, all of us are building and there's going to be a fire inspection. And I pray that you would teach us from your Word, that you would put this on our heart, that it would lead to real examination of ourselves here tonight. I pray that we would first of all, all have confidence that, in Christ we have been saved, that we are standing on the foundation of Christ; that we can testify, Jesus is my precious cornerstone. He is my sure foundation. He is my solid rock, and I believe in Jesus, and there is no haste in my heart. I'm not afraid that judgment is coming, and I won't be ready. I pray for everybody here that they would know they're on the foundation of Jesus. And then I pray for my brothers and sisters, that we would have a look at what we're building on Jesus Christ. Are we really giving our best to build the church? Are we really greeting strangers? Are we really handing people cups of cold water? Are we really looking at people around us who are on their way to the fire and thinking, Father, how could they get saved? How could you use me? I want to build the church of Jesus. I want to make a disciple. I want to share the good news. Father, I pray that you would put it on our hearts tonight, that we don't want to meet Jesus empty handed. We don't want to meet Jesus and watch our whole life burn up in front of us. We want to meet Jesus, and have that fire inspection, and see something remain for all of eternity. We want to do something so we can hear, well done. We want to serve so we can be called faithful servants. And so, Father, I pray that you will help us think about this the right way, help us look to what we're building here at Compass HP. And that lives will change because of your word that we've heard here tonight. Oh for the robes of whiteness, oh for the joy of being in a place without sin, oh for the glory of seeing Jesus face to face. Father, I pray that when we get to see your son on that glorious day, and we have joy in our souls, that we will suffer no loss because we will have built up his church, and given it our very best, and we pray this in his name. Amen.