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The Wise Master Builder (Part 13)

For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. (1 Corinthians 3:9)

The Apostle Paul switches metaphors in verse 9. He refers to us as those who are doing the work (God’s fellow workers) and switches to those who are being worked on (God’s field or building). In other words the Master Builder is also one being worked on while he works. Those who are doing ministry for others are still in need of someone ministering to them.

This poses a dilemma for most people who are in the beginning stages of investing their lives into others. They ask, “I’m just starting to grow in Christ myself, how could I possibly help someone grow in their faith?” Great question but it should not paralyze us in our efforts to help others spiritually. One of the great secrets of Christian growth is that God does a major work in my own life when I reach out to others. As I turn to my brothers and sisters and begin to minister to them, God seems to teach me the most important and exciting lessons about walking with Jesus. So as God’s fellow workers we work as we are being worked on.

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© 2008, 2009 Following Jesus by Chuck Wood All Rights Reserved

So Who's Doing the Work?

The Wise Master Builder (Part 12)

I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. (1 Corinthians 3:6)
Is it God or me doing the work to develop a man spiritually? Yes! Well how much does He do and how much am I responsible for? All! We really don’t like these kind of answers because they are vague and ambiguous. But the truth of the matter is, we can’t answer these sovereignty/freewill questions. My friend Rusty Bean says, “It’s like a grilled cheese sandwich. Once you grill it, there’s no pulling it apart.” As much as we would like to separate God’s responsibility and ours, we must live in the tension of knowing God’s will is being accomplished and we freely participate in that will.

So, when it comes to helping others follow Jesus and grow in their faith, I take a very simple approach. I work hard to do everything I can within the limits of my gifts, talents, and resources (Phil 2.12) and then pray and praise God that ultimately His will is being accomplished in their lives (Phil 2.13). I guess that makes me a Calmenian (1/2 Calvinist, 1/2 Armenian).

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Fellow Workers with God

The Wise Master Builder (Part 11)

For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. (1 Corinthians 3:9)

I helped my Dad change the transmission in a dump truck once. Really, I wasn’t very much help. I handed him tools and talked to him while he turned the wrenches. Even when it was time to lift the heavy transmission into place, I could tell my contribution was minimal. But there was more going on under the truck than mechanics. It was the bonding of father and son.

As “God’s fellow workers” it is much the same. I mean really, how do we help the creator of the universe? More than anything we are allowed to participate for the sake of relationship rather than effect. Don’t get me wrong, I believe our contribution in ministry is real but God does not need our help. He enjoys us working alongside Him in the family business. So when God asks us to get under the hood of someone’s life and help change the heart, He's not asking us because He needs us. He’s asking us to get greasy with Him, spend time working on what He loves, to commune around the most important work in the universe, the lives of people.


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Teamwork in Spiritual Reproduction

The Wise Master Builder (Part 10)

Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. (1 Corinthians 3:8-9)

I stepped back and admired our handy work. We had just finished a 12x12 cabin in the woods behind our house. The cabin really had only one main purpose: to build something. It’s amazing how there is this innate compulsion to make something or cause something to grow within all of us. The Apostle Paul recognizes this God given desire and uses the two metaphors of building and planting as it relates to spiritual reproduction. Just as a builder constructs a house or a farmer plants his fields, we are to be engaged in the creative growth process of another human being’s spirituality. Both farming and building take knowledge, skill, and patience. Both are also done better when it is a collaborative effort between several individuals. In fact, when we build or plant something alone the work is harder, slower, and usually incomplete. We need others to join in the work of spiritual reproduction (Ec 4.9-10).

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© 2008, 2009 Following Jesus by Chuck Wood All Rights Reserved

Knowing the Will of God - The Harbor Illustration

Understanding the will of God is one of the most popular sermons or workshops. This illustration shows how to line up five crucial factors that will help a person seek and understand the will of God. Each light represents a factor and the safety of the harbor represents God’s will. As we line up the lights (factors) we can sail safely into the harbor (God’s Will).

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© 2008, 2009 Following Jesus by Chuck Wood All Rights Reserved

Just Me and Jesus?

The Wise Master Builder (Part 9)

And if you give yourself to the hungry And satisfy the desire of the afflicted, Then your light will rise in darkness And your gloom will become like midday. (Isaiah 58:10)

Now all this talk about spiritual offspring may seem a bit overwhelming. In fact, knowing the complexities of relationships, practicing appropriate doses of grace and truth in their lives, and absorbing their wrongs may just cause one to retreat from the messy business of ministry altogether. We are tempted to adopt the mantra of “If it weren’t for people, ministry would be great” and practice the “Just me and Jesus” mentality. The problem with such a sentiment is that it is completely uncharacteristic of Jesus Himself. It sounds like a comforting prospect but in actuality Jesus didn’t model this notion nor would He endorse this lifestyle for any of His followers. He completely engaged Himself in the lives of broken people and fully expected His disciples to do the same. We may have more excuses than Moses (Ex 3.11-4.17) but the fact of the matter remains; if you want to be a follower of Jesus, you must spend your life on behalf of others (Mt 4.19, 28.18-20, Jn 13.34-35).

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© 2008, 2009 Following Jesus by Chuck Wood All Rights Reserved

Raising Half Kids

The Wise Master Builder (Part 8)

"Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father,' for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. (Luke 3:8)

When my oldest Son was born it was quite an event. I was in the mountains training Ranger students and ended up hitching a ride on a US Army helicopter to the hospital for his delivery. What would you think if, on every birthday, I talked about the cool chopper flight but never mentioned my son? Obviously I would be missing the point.

In similar fashion, we miss the point when we only reproduce physically and not spiritually. God never intended us just to have kids. His desire is that those kids relate intimately to Him. God did not judge the earth in Noah’s day for lack of population. They had failed to reproduce spiritually. Jesus brings another dimension into the generational mix. He commands us to rear spiritual children that we did not physically bring into the world. This is the incredible privilege and potential of having hundreds of spiritual offspring.

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© 2008, 2009 Following Jesus by Chuck Wood All Rights Reserved

The Promise to Abraham

The Wise Master Builder (Part 7)

Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore… (Genesis 22:17)

Why is a promise given to a 75 year old man who lived some 4000 years ago so important? Because it captures God’s intent and purposes for man from beginning to end. The Father’s desire was to fill the earth with people who would love and glorify Him. The promise is a reflection of the first command given in the garden, “Be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1.28). His command was reiterated by Jesus 2000 years later when He commissioned us to “make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28.28-20). And now in the 21st Century we continue to fill the earth with His image bearers from generation to generation. God created every man, woman, and child to intimately walk with Him. He is overjoyed to see scores of people who choose to love and follow Him (Mt 4.19, Jn 17.18). This is the great romance; God’s promise to as many as will respond to His love to create spiritual off spring through us from generation to generation. From the garden to Abraham to Jesus to us, a golden thread woven throughout the entire Bible.

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© 2008, 2009 Following Jesus by Chuck Wood All Rights Reserved