New years message 2021 Part 2: Called to build and plant

Last week we saw that God called Jeremiah to first break down and uproot the kingdom of darkness before God called him to build and to plant. We also saw how NOT to build and plant – not in arrogance and not in our own strength, making our own plans. This week we are going to look at a few pointers from Scripture that may help us to build – even in a time of pandemics and lockdowns it is God’s intention that we will live in hope and continue building His Kingdom while we still have time. There are three Scriptures I want to point out in this regard with three key principles to keep in mind:

1. The Master Builder

In Ps 127:1,2 we read:

“Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain”.

God is the actual builder – He employs us as labourers to build His Kingdom with His resources to accomplish His agenda. If not so – we build in vain. Unless He guards the city, those that are called to be the watchmen to make alarm when the enemy approaches, do so in vain. We need to get our perspective right. We do not build God’s Kingdom – He builds His Kingdom. We are merely labourers working under His direction and instructions! Anything we build apart from what is on God’s agenda is a waste of time, energy, resources, has no purpose and will not last.

2. The Foundation, The Cornerstone and The Rock

In Ephesians 2:19-22 we read that our foundation is the apostles and prophets (through whom God’s Word was given to us) and Jesus is the cornerstone that anchors the whole building. The building is described as fitting together and growing into the holy temple in the Lord. We are being built together as a dwelling place of God. When we depart from the foundation of truth that was laid, and from The Cornerstone, then the holy temple, the dwelling place of God cannot host His presence anymore.

In Mathew 7:24-25 Jesus told the parable of the man who built his house on a rock vs the man who built his house on the sand. The house that was built on the rock could withstand the rain and the wind and the storms, the house that was built on the sand collapsed when the storms came against it. In Ps 62 and Ps 18 respectively David says that the Lord is his rock, salvation, fortress, strong tower. His deliverer and the One in Whom he trusts.

God Himself is the Foundation, the Rock, when we build on Him as labourers in His Kingdom, we are building something lasting that will bear good fruit for His Kingdom.

3. How are we to build and plant?

Often our question is how do we practically build God’s Kingdom in the spirit? In Mathew 6:33 The Word tells us:  ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Isaiah 58 in its entirety gives us very practical direction as to how and what to build as God’s labourers. I summarize, but please read the whole chapter.

• Blow the trumpet – warn my people of their sins.
• Do not get stuck in religious activity that is void of heartfelt sincerity and obedience to God.
• Set people free by loosening the bonds of wickedness, lifting burdens, let the oppressed go free, break yokes.
• Share your bread and extend your soul with the hungry.
• House the poor and the outcast.
• Dress the naked.
• Take away the pointing finger, i.e. accusation and judgement.
• Do not speak wickedness.
• Keep ourselves from doing our own pleasure, keeping our own ways and speaking our own (idle) words on the Lord’s holy day.

 Then we will:

• Become a light shining in the darkness.
• The Lord will guide us continually.
• He will satisfy our soul in drought.
• Strengthen our bones.
• We will be like a well-watered garden whose waters do not fail.

And we will build:

• The old waste places.
• We shall raise up the foundation for many generations.
• We shall be called the repairer of the breech and the restorer of the streets to dwell in.

And finally:

• We will delight ourselves in the Lord.
• He will cause us to ride on the high hills.
• He will feed us with a good heritage.
• For He has spoken it.

Adding the image of sowing and planting to this picture of building, Hosea 10:13 confirms the same principles:

“Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you”

How do we sow and plant? We must sow righteousness so that we will reap in mercy. We need to break up the fallow ground – and seek the Lord until He rains righteousness on us! Nothing we plant will ever grow into fruition without the rain of God’s righteousness. To receive His righteousness-rain we must seek the Lord and the ground needs to be prepared to receive the rain, so that what is sown will grow and bear fruit.

Our way forward should be to seek the Lord until He rains righteousness on us. Then we can plant and build in righteousness, from the right perspective of being a labourer in God’s Kingdom, labouring for the King’s purposes and in obedience to the King.

Next week we will look at a few people in the Bible who were builders in spite of living in times when they were facing adversity to the point of their future looking bleak and without much to look forward to – and yet they continued to build the Kingdom of God. 

Come worship with Rend Collective:  Build your Kingdom Here

© Jan 2021 HG Venter

Free2bme on Zoom 29-31 January 2021

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New years message for 2021 Part 1 - Called to Root out, pull down, destroy and break down?

 

© Photo Jan 2021 Lizaan Venter

 

I so wanted to start this year with a good, encouraging and very hopeful message. However, the more I contemplated the year ahead and considered the word I sense from the Lord, I realized that it is not a hopeless word at all but it is first and foremost an admonishment. We are going to have to pay attention to God’s admonishment to be able to access the hopeful encouragement that He wants us to journey towards this year. As we look ahead to 2021 and as I was listening this week to several leaders’ new year’s messages, I realized that all over the world people are trying to send out a message of hope and a message that these days will pass and that we as a human race will eventually win the battle against Covid-19 and that we will rebuild our society. Many are confidently declaring that our new society will be better, stronger, more progressive, inclusive, and beneficial for all. Although this is a great goal to have and it does give us positive objectives to focus on, there are basic principles that we need to have in place before we will be able to realize this dream. This made me think about the theme of building in the Bible and it is a theme or a prophetic picture that is often used by God to bring home godly principles for His Kingdom. I am going to share what I believe the Holy Spirit is showing me for my year forward. I invite you to share the journey and ask the Lord if some of this applies to your journey as well.

1. Called to Root out and pull down…

In Jeremiah 1:9-10 we read:

9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: “Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”

I believe we live in a similar time as the prophet Jeremiah. God called Jeremiah and empowered him to speak the Word of God to the people. Specifically, He told Jeremiah that he was firstly called to root out and to pull down – to destroy and to throw down. At first glance this may seem unlike God to tell a prophet to break down and to destroy, but if we continue to read the book of Jeremiah, we see that God wants the people to root out ungodly things like idolatry. God is using the prophet to speak to the nation and to admonish them to root out, pull down, throw down and destroy the kingdom of darkness in their midst BEFORE they start to build and plant again. We cannot even consider trying to build and plant anything new while continuing to sacrifice on the same altars of idolatry as ancient Israel did. Oh yes, we are very quick to say we do not commit idolatry, but truth is rather that we still commit idolatry - it just took on a new, more stylish, modern, and sophisticated manner. We live in a time where what God calls evil is being called good and what God calls good is being called evil. He warns us about this in Isaiah 5:20-23 when He says:

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

21 Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
And prudent in their own sight!

22 Woe to men mighty at drinking wine,
Woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink,
23 Who justify the wicked for a bribe,
And take away justice from the righteous man!

2. Called to build and to plant

The second part of God’s Word to Jeremiah has to do with building and planting. However, in scripture God is also clear on how not to build and plant:

I believe there is an admonishment in Isaiah 9:9-10 when God says:

Who say in pride and arrogance of heart:
10 “The bricks have fallen down,
But we will rebuild with hewn stones;
The sycamores are cut down,
But we will replace them with cedars.”
11 Therefore the Lord shall set up
The adversaries of Rezin against him,
And spur his enemies on.

And in Hosea 10:13 the following:

Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.

13 You have plowed wickedness;
You have reaped iniquity.
You have eaten the fruit of lies,
Because you trusted in your own way,

If we build in arrogance and make our own plans to rebuild better and stronger than before, we are heading for trouble. There is nothing wrong with rebuilding our lives and our communities, in fact we have already seen that God is calling us to do this. However, if we do it in defiance of God, when we in arrogance say we will come back and we will be stronger than ever before, when we make our own plans and build in our own strength, we are heading for a disaster rather than for a better society.

We can only build with success if we have broken down the old structures that do not belong in God’s Kingdom and we can only plant in good soil once we have ploughed up our fallow ground. In both instances the foundation or the ground must be cleaned, levelled, and prepared thoroughly. Once this is done, we need to start building and planting. An empty piece of land will very quickly become a dumping ground for all kinds of trash and the soil will become polluted and unable to sustain healthy plants. We cannot just leave the land empty – we must once again build and plant on it.

Let us take some time to contemplate with a humble heart and ask the revelation of the Holy Spirit to show us which altars of idolatry we need to pull down and destroy. Where am I wise in my own eyes? Where have I replaced Light for Darkness? Is my fallow ground broken and ploughed to receive the good seed? I honestly believe that if we ask Him with a sincere heart that He will show us – and that we will stand silent at what He shows in many instances. Let us then commit our hearts to making the hard choices to change and do those things He points out differently.

Next week we will have a look at how to build and plant in righteousness and in God’s Kingdom. 

 

 Come Worship with Rend Collective in their song Jericho

 

©2021 HG Venter