The old song by the Carter Family says, "I'm workin' on a building for my Lord." It tells how the writer is working on their own personal building, their self. The song talks of making one's self presentable to God.
"If I was a liar, I tell you what I'd do; I would quit my lying and work on a building too."
Each of us, whether we realize it or not, are also working on our own building. We want God to be pleased with who we are and what we have become. But while we work on ourselves, we are also working on another building.
As saints of the Most High God, we are called to build His Kingdom. That is a building much different than the one we visit every Sunday morning. That is a building that we cannot pin-point to a specific, geographical location. That is a heavenly Kingdom, very present on earth, nonetheless.
We preach sermons, teach classes, have bible studies, write books, and hold revival services focused on building the Kingdom of God. But too often we get that confused with building our own church.
I don't know of too many churches that don't want to grow. New methods of church growth are presented to us on a regular basis. Writers and teachers have so many different ideas and suggestions for growth that we can become overwhelmed by the influx of information. When that happens, we attempt to institute many of their ideas into our church and get distracted from the reason why we are the church.
Church growth is a wonderful thing. But when it becomes our focus, we've lost track of our real purpose - Kingdom growth. The moment we are born again, every one of us is called to be a witness for Jesus Christ. We aren't called to build a church. We aren't called to fill the pews. But we are called to be the hands, feet, and mouthpiece of God in this world. He wants to use us to reach folks with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, so that they too can be born again and become a part of the Kingdom of God. Church growth should not even be an issue when witnessing to the lost.
The Bible tells us in Matthew 16:18 that Jesus told Peter "upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." He is not referring to a physical building with pews and a pulpit. He is talking about the Kingdom of God, or His church. Not the big white building on the corner with the steeple on top. Jesus said, "I will build my church." But for that to happen, you and I must do our part. And what is that?
I mentioned earlier that we are here to be God's hands, feet, and mouthpiece in this world. In other words, it's up to us to go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in. In where? Not the church building, but the Kingdom of God. In order for that to happen, they must hear the gospel (from us) and see the gospel (through us).
When we do that, lives are changed and they become citizens of the Kingdom of God. When souls come into the Kingdom, Jesus is well pleased and in turn, directs some of those souls to our local congregations. That's how our churches are built. Not by programs and giveaways and feel-good messages. Not by compromising our standards so that the world will fit in. But by simply being living, walking, talking presentations of the Gospel.
The scripture also states that, "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (the church)." So, if we would focus our efforts on building the Kingdom of God, He would fill our churches with souls and cause us to be unmovable and unshakeable in the work of the Lord. It's all about Him and His Kingdom, not ours. If what we are building is our kingdom, we've already lost the war. We won't be able to stand when the enemy comes calling. But when we build His Kingdom, we are unbeatable!
So, as we continue working on our own personal building, let's not lose sight of what He has called us to do. Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
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