Sunday Evening Worship Service

If you have your Bibles, turn with me to First Kings chapter 3 and we'll read verses 23- 27. As I mentioned earlier, what a tremendous word that we heard this morning from Pastor Mcool. It would serve us well to dig in the archives. You don't have to go too far back. Just one service and uh scroll through that and maybe get our highlighter out and uh and let that word speak to us throughout the week. Uh, and he I had uh some stuff about Joseph in my sermon toward the end. So, I'll just kind of paraphrase that and you could say amen to that since he already preached about it. So, that I'll even make it shorter. Uh, altar call is already getting fire everybody. That's that's how we do it. Uh, but um, but thank you, Pastor Mcool, for that tremendous word to give Bishop honor tonight. And remember uh pastor and sister Whitley as well. They're ministering down at the great Bethlehem church in Potts Camp uh Mississippi. First Kings chapter 3 23. Then said the king, "The one saith, this is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead, and the other saith nay, but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living." And the king said, Solomon speaking, "Bring me a sword." And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other." Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her boughs yearned unto her son. And she said, "Oh my Lord, just give her the living child and in no wise slay it." But the others said, "Let it be neither mine nor thine, but go ahead and divide it." And this, as we know, was the indication of who the true mother was. Then the king answered and said, "Give her the living child in a no wise slay. She is the mother thereof." And this speaks to a wider context, a wider story in our lives. And with this story as the the backdrop and the foundation for this sermon, I ask all of us to ask this question to ourselves. Are you a builder or a destroyer? Am I a builder or a destroyer? Let's all pray over God's word at this time. Heavenly Father, we thank you for what you have done in this house, Lord. Through every single song, through every single testimony, Lord, we believe the prayers that were sent up during uh focused prayer, we believe those are going to be answered. Lord, I thank you for all the songs that our choir sang about power in your name. Lord, I thank you for our student choir who declare that you're going to work it out. And father, through your word tonight, let it speak into our hearts that we put it into practice that we may be the example you'd have us to be on this earth. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. And amen. You can be seated. Are you a builder or a destroyer? There are some people who walk into a room and it is if peace enters with them, strength enters with them, stability enters with them. When they arrive, you feel safer. If there is a problem or an issue that takes place after speaking to them, you feel stronger. >> They know how to carry burdens and you're not worried about them spreading maybe intimate details or poison or exploiting a situation. They know how to also correct without crushing. They know how to stand in conviction without becoming destructive. And then there are others. Oh, somebody say others. >> It's as if they leave damage behind them everywhere they go. A lot of amens out there. Every disagreement becomes a war. Every correction becomes betrayal. Every offense becomes justification for destruction. They tear down relationships, families, friendships, even churches, and even their own futures because they refuse to confront the hostility inside of their own hearts. So the question tonight is not whether I attend church. The question is not whether I loudly proclaim Christ as king over my life. The question is, am I a builder or a destroyer? Because every person in the room, you're either building something up or tearing something down. You're either strengthening your marriage or you're weakening in it. You're either building your children up or you're damaging them. You're either protecting unity or you're spreading division. You're either helping people heal or you are giving them new wounds. And the terrifying reality is that many destroyers do not know they are destroyers. Oftent times they believe they are the victims while they leave devastation behind them. The classic story that continues to resonate throughout our culture is the story of Dr. Jackekal and Mr. Hyde, written by Scottish author Robert Lewis Stevenson. Dr. Jackekal was respected, admired, educated, and honorable. Mr. Hyde was cruel, destructive, selfish, and violent. One quote from the story, "Man is no truly one, but truly two." And it speaks to the duality of human nature. The genius of Stephvenson's story is that Jackal and Hyde were not two different men. They were the same man. Hyde was not an outsider who invaded Jackal's life. Hyde was the darkness that had always been hiding within him. And that's why the story has endured for generations. Deep down we recognize it in ourself. And too often when we hear a message such as this, our minds begin identifying immediately. Oh, the destroyers around us. Oh, they're so easily able for me to identify. We think about the toxic coworker or the difficult friend that we affectionately call friendnemy, the divisive church member. Oh, I can write a list out. Oh, the person who wounded us, but scripture has a way of turning that spotlight around onto our own hearts. And the real question is not who is the destroyer in my life. The question is where does the destroyer still live in me? Because if we're honest, every one of us have been both characters in the story. Oh, if I'm going to preach and give testimony to an event in my life. Oh, there's moments where we were builders, where I was the builder. I spoke life into someone who was hurting. When we carried another person's burden, God's so lucky to have me, isn't he? When we strengthened a marriage, encouraged a child, restored a friendship, protected the unity of God's people, in those moments, we reflected the character of Christ. That's how I identify myself, right? But if we turn that spotlight around, there's moments when pride spoke louder than humility. Moments when anger wounded people we love. Moments when our words tore down instead of built up. Moments when resentment or jealousy or selfishness or bitterness left damage in our wake. The battle between the builder and the destroyer is not primarily happening out there but it's happening in here. Every day is a conflict within the human heart between the part of us that submits to God and the part of us that still wants to serve self. An Assembly is of God pastor the story said that he had his Bible. It was a a really just good-looking Bible. You know, you see a Bible, you're like, man, I like that Bible. It was a a a specific color of leather and um just a gentleman was complimenting him on his Bible and he began to he said, "Can I see that?" And he began to to look it over and he asked the pastor, he said, "Uh, do you have the he saw his name on it?" And uh so you know the different uh uh things you can list in the in the front on the pages. And he he said, "Do you have the the date you were saved in it?" He said, 'Yeah, but he goes, "I'm four pages in and I'm about to run out of pages." Indicating that there were some different moments in his life that uh uh maybe uh wasn't the reflection of Christ as he should have been. Before we examine anyone else's life tonight, we must allow God to examine ours. Because the most dangerous destroyer is often the one we refuse to recognize in the mirror. Most of us are not exclusively builders or destroyers. We are people in whom both impulses exist. And every single day, every single conversation, we have to decide which voice will have dominion over our hearts. Proverbs 14 tells us, "Every wise woman buildeth her house, but the foolish pluckketh it down with her hands." Notice, the foolish woman did not lose her house because of an enemy. She tore it down with her own hands. pastor told a story a few weeks ago said uh there was a church house and the devil was sitting outside the church house with his head in his hands and he was kind of pouting and kind of crying and looks extremely frustrated. Passer by said, "Devil, what what's wrong? Why are you so sad?" He said, "Those people in there blame me for everything. Some people are praying against devils while they themselves are the greatest source of destruction in their own lives. Tonight we look at two biblical portraits, one of destruction, one of building, and we ask the Holy Spirit, the Holy Ghost to breathe and burn inside of us. Our key text talks about the two women who came before Solomon, one with the living baby. One child had died in the night. Both women claimed to be the mother to the one that lived. There was no evidence. There was no witnesses. There were no DNA tests. No way to prove who the real mother was. And Solomon with his divine wisdom gave a shocking command. Bring me the sword. Can you imagine the silence in the courtroom? And then Solomon said, "Just go ahead and divide that child in two pieces and give half to one and half to the other. That'll solve this." But suddenly the builder cried out. The mother, the true caregiver, cried out and said, "No, this is not this is not worth death to take place. This is not worth destruction to take place. I would rather sacrifice my role as a mother. I would rather sacrifice my comfort. I would rather sacrifice my emotions in the moment and just let her have the child. So there is life. Let it be neither mine nor hers, but divided. And the the other woman said, "And Solomon immediately knew who the mother was." And that is the spirit of a destroyer. A destroyer says, "If I cannot have it my way, tear it down. If I'm offended, every single person is going to pay. If I'm corrected, then I will divide. If I'm exposed, I will burn down everything around me." Destroyers would rather kill the baby than heal the situation. A builder says, "Lord, show me my blind spots. Lord, reveal my pride. Lord, expose what needs healing inside of me." The destroyer says, "The problem is always everyone else." That person becomes spiritually dangerous. Many people who destroy others never intended to become destroyers. They simply refuse to deal with their flesh. And that is the tragedy. One story we could point to of Samson. He didn't become destructive overnight. His destruction was incremental. Judges 13 tells us that Samson was called before birth. He was separated unto God as a Nazerite. He had a holy vow, a holy calling upon his life, but his downfall began much before ever meeting Delilah. But until eventually the soul became weak by beending pretending to be strong, Samson kept violating the spirit of his calling. He never got his flesh under subjection. And while Samson was powerful outwardly, he was collapsing inwardly. And some people are exactly like that. Again, we're talking about self. They're all they're gifted. They have all of the talent imaginable, but yet they're unstable. They're anointed and there's no question, but they're unhealed in other parts of their life. They're charismatic. They're people are attracted to them. People listen to them when everything's good, but oh, they can be so destructive. And eventually the internal collapse becomes external destruction. The Bible says Samson finally received, excuse me, revealed the secret of his strength to Delilah. The enemy did not take his strength first. The enemy first took his discernment. Because when compromise blinds you, you start trusting what is trying to destroy you. And after his eyes were gouged out, Samson ended up grinding in prison. The mighty man had now become a slave. But then in his final moment, Samson pushed against the pillars and tore the building down. And tragically, he destroyed more in his death than in his life. What a picture. A man called to deliver Israel. A man handpicked, given supernatural strength, all the talent, all the prestige, all the honor, all of the makings and provision in the atmosphere of a hero. A man called to deliver Israel ends up dying in destruction due to his own gifting and his own strength. We must adhere to God's word tonight. People who refuse to control their impulses eventually become dangerous to everyone around them. Because when pride or anger, you can fill in the blank for your own life, rules a heart, destruction follows. Some people destroy every environment they enter. No matter what it is, if they're there, they're t h e i r t h e r e. If they're there or no, it's t h e ey e y apostrophe one of the theirs. Okay? If they are there, so you'll remember that tonight. If they are there, there is going to be some drama. There's going to be something happen. There's going to be an explosion of some type. If they're on the job, it's it there's going to be a toxic situation that exists sometime throughout the day. if they're involved in the friendship that sooner or later that grenade's going to go off. There's going to be some moment of drama or or this po this portion of a church group's going to get divided or families are going to become exhausted if they if they have a hand in it. And the question never seems to come across their mind of what if it's me that's the common denominator in all of this. I'm dealing with all of this controversy and all of this drama and all of this conflict in every capacity of my life. What if just maybe just maybe it's me? If I'm the there you go. Every relationship seems to end in some kind of chaos. Every person is against you. Every friendship ends in betrayal. At some point, we have to look at God's word. We have to look at that individual in the mirror and say, "Maybe the issue is not everyone else, but me." And this is deeply important because people are affected by your spirit. There are people that could potentially be walking on eggshells around some of us having to measure every single word because they fear what the reaction is going to be. I better I better say it like this or or if I don't say it like this or if it doesn't go like this then I'm going to have to deal with the grenade going off. Fear of the instability or the emotional explosion. Maybe this is at work or in the home or whatever capacity of life. It's a type of emotional bondage. A mature believer should bring stability, not chaos. So the question is, am I building or am I tearing down? When moments of chaos ensue or or moments of instability take place, do I improve the situation or do I step in it and even more biblical strength is controlled power. Jesus had all authority yet he still washed feet. Builders know how to absorb pain without spreading poison. Destroyers spread their wounds everywhere. Hurt people often hurt people because they never surrendered their pain to God. Jesus said in Luke 17, "It's impossible that offenses will come. People will fail you. People will mistreat you. People will misunderstand you. People will disappoint you. These things will take place at some point in your life, but it does not give mature believers permission to use this offense as destruction. Jesus restores. Jesus heals. Jesus reconciles. Jesus gathers. The enemy scatters. Builders protect what is precious. builders think about the overall consequences that are going to take place and the ripple effects that are going to be the outcome of my emotional outburst. Destroyers think only about the feelings in the moment. So the question is what moments in my life, what situations in my life have I become the destroyer? Was it physically, emotionally, relationally, spiritually? Do my words build or do they poison? Do my reactions heal or do they wound? Do my attitude strengthen unity or do they tear it apart? There are people whose lives hang in the balance of your spiritual maturity. Especially especially if you're a minister within the church in whatever type of capacity. Your words make a difference. Your reactions, your emotions matter. Your example matters. Your witness matters. Your children need a builder. Your church needs a builder. Your ministerial field needs a builder. Your marriage needs a builder. Your workplace needs a builder. The world already has enough destroyers. Pastor Mcool told us this morning about the life of Joseph. He had every reason to become destructive. betrayed by his brothers, thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, falsely accused, forgotten in prison. Yet the bitterness never defined him. That's one of the greatest miracles in scripture. He suffered deeply without becoming poisonous. Many people are not destroyed by suffering. They're destroyed by the bitterness that follows suffering. But he kept building wherever he went. In Piper's house, he built. In prison, he continued to build. He continued to dream. In Egypt, he built. Even in his suffering, he became the source of blessing. The chaotic moments and stressful moments and emergent moments of our lives are often times the greatest opportunities for God's people to stand up and be the builder that he has called us to be. That is the spiritual maturity. >> Can you build when life hurts? Can you encourage when disappointed? Can you still serve when overlooked or everything hasn't gone exactly the way you think it should have gone in the moment? >> Joseph did not spend his life trying to get revenge. He spent it becoming trustworthy. Eventually, Pharaoh would ask the question rhetorically building Joseph's character up. Can we find such a one as this? A man in whom the spirit of God is to the pagan idolatrous Pharaoh who claimed to be God. He looks at Joseph because of his life and because of his example and because of his longsuffering in the midst of trial and essentially says, "Is there any doubt that the spirit of God is inside of this man? Amen. >> Joseph became the man everyone could depend on. That is what builders become. When famine came, Joseph gathered resources. Joseph preserved life. He protected nations. Destroyers consumed. Builders preserve. And pastor mentioned it this morning. Skipping through everything I had written out because he already preached it. He sees his brothers and he weeps because builders value restoration more than revenge. And Genesis 50:20, you meant evil against me, but God meant it unto good. Only healed people can speak like that. Destroyed people destroy others. Healed people heal others. And tonight, God is asking us, what is it that I aspire to? What is it that I am becoming? Do I gather or do I scatter? Do I heal or wound? Do I build or destroy? The question is that straightforward. The kingdom of God needs builders. They needs people who can be trusted in difficult situations where a brother or sister can uh confide in them issues that they have and to know that it's not going to be spread about or used against them at another point of time. or uh or builders that that know how to speak peace in the midst of hostility, not to exacerbate and uh throw a grenade on an already hostile situation. People who do not spread chaos. People who do not panic emotionally. People who can carry responsibility without creating destruction. Some people cannot be trusted with pressure because pressure exposes instability there. Maybe you can identify certain people in your life where maybe a an emergency situation has taken place or there's an immediate situation and you're you're scared to give them the information because you know they're not going to be able to handle it in the moment. You're going to have to spend some moments calming them down and talking them through without being able to take the next step forward to reconciling or resolving the conflict at hand because they're not necessarily emotionally mature to enough to handle the information that's being given to them in the moment. You know, when you tell them even though you're speaking calmly, it's not it's not minimizing the severity or the importance of the situation. But you know when you tell them they're going to like go oh get and get all flustered and then you've got to spend 10 minutes trying to like hey this is what we're going to do and then you're trying to manage them now when there's something even more important that needs to take place. >> We must be stable. Emergencies will take place. Chaos will take place. Uncertainty will take place. Well, we resort to doubt and skepticism. Oh, I don't know if the church is going to be able to make it through that or I don't know, pastor, if we're going to be able to do that. I don't know. And you're like, what? There's a larger issue that we're trying to address. There's a giant that we're trying to fight, and I'm I'm over here kind of petting you, making sure that it's going to be okay. Builders say, "How do we fix this? How do we heal this? What can we do to restore this? What can we do to take a step forward out of this? How can we grow from this? Musicians can come on up. Pain will come. Hurts will come. Betrayal will take place. Misunderstanding will happen. But we still have a responsibility before God in our response. We can become a weapon of destruction because I'm wounded or we can be a builder who seeks to resolve. The cross calls us higher. Builders do not become builders accidentally. When people think of you, when people identify you, do they say, "Thank God they are here." Or is the response the opposite? Is there an emotional tense up? Is this somebody I'm going to have to manage or I'm going to have to deal with this, too? Are you someone that people can trust in the difficult moments? Or are you someone that must be managed oh so incredibly, oh so temporally? Do you bring strength to environments or do you exhaust them? It's not an issue of calling. It's not an issue of anointing. It's not an issue of talent. It's not like Samson. It's not an issue of strength because eventually your spirit, my spirit becomes the reputation. The beautiful thing about the gospel is Jesus can transform destroyers into builders. And pastor read it off to us this morning. Such were some of you. If we hear this message tonight and I'm instead of writing all those times I've been saved down, if I'm writing down names of Yeah, that person's a destroyer. I remember when they did that. If I'm doing that tonight instead of looking right here at this person, then I've completely missed what God has intended for us. The gospel is about transforming destroyers into builders. >> We read that Elijah went and rebuilt the altars that had been torn down. the genesis of our church building efforts for this sanctuary and probably the what we call the event center now and probably the same one under a tent when 123 West Colombia was being built. Nehemiah was quoted about let us rise up and build most of the translations and the story and that's still correct contextually >> but in the most literal sense it's let us rise up and rebuild. Something had been torn down and Nehemiah was going to rebuild. He was going to BUILD IT BACK UP. AND this is the gospel message. JESUS SAID, "DESTROY THIS TEMPLE and in three days I will raise it up." WHAT WHAT OUR FLESH DESTROYS, we serve A GOD WHO PUT RESURRECTION POWER INSIDE of us, THE HOLY GHOST, WHO GIVES US THE ABILITY. YEAH. When I look back over my life and I look at situations with uh interpersonal relationships, whether it be at workplace or within my friends or my family or my ministry, I can look back and say, man, I was a destroyer in that situation or I LOST MY TEMPER IN THAT moment or man, I I I REALLY GOT ANGRY OR AT THAT PERSON. BUT THE GOSPEL MESSAGE is that he transforms >> destroyers into builders. And we have to have the supernatural touch of the Holy Ghost because while I like the story of Dr. Jackekal and Mr. Hyde, the Apostle Paul uh said, "Really inside of me, there's not two natures inside of me. There there there's no clean thing. It's just sin. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The only way to deal with that inner self, that dark self, that destroying self, is to have God's word flowing through me each and every day. Stand with me. Have God's spirit working and leading and guiding me. Whether I'm with my family or whether I'm serving IN MY CALLING, WHATEVER THE CONTEXT IS, I'VE GOT TO REMEMBER THAT GOD HAS CALLED me to be a builder. Jesus said, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up." So maybe you're dealing currently with a situation where you might have been like Samson and you just push the pillars apart or maybe you got heated said, "Yeah, sure. Go ahead and divide the baby." God is able to transform the destroyer into a builder. And this generation desperately, desperately needs builders. Builders in homes and in churches and marriages and leadership and friendships. And my prayer tonight is that when crisis comes, when the events of daily life takes place, are people going to have to manage you and and work around you and say, "Well, I hope I don't set them off." Or if I if I say the the least thing to them, it's going it's it's going to be a battle. Or are you somebody that I can run toward? Are you somebody that that that your family can look at? Are you are you a saint of God that I can run after and say, "Hey, I need your prayer. I I need your words of wisdom in this situation. I I I need your friendship right now. I I need you to be a a voice of stability in this season of chaos. I want to open this altar tonight. We talked about Elijah. We talked about Nehemiah. And we talked about Jesus. Maybe your story is identified with Elijah where before God's power was going to move in the situation with the false idol God bail. The first thing he had to do was rebuild what had been torn down. If that's your story tonight where there had been destruct you destruction in your life and maybe you're the one that tore the altar down. I open this altar tonight for you that needs to rebuild an altar in your life. Maybe your story tonight lies like Nehemiah where there's a community of people relying on you in the midst of heartache, in the midst of chaos. Maybe it's a father or a mother over a family who they're looking for you and they've been scattered abroad instead of a father who they say, "I don't know if we're going to be able to make it through this. I I don't know if we're going to be able to handle this." A father and a mother that steps up and says, "Let us come together and build. We can fix this. We can resolve this. We can build what has been torn down. We can build it back up. We can build this marriage back up. We can build this conflict back up. We can build this relationship back up. Or maybe you need the power of God to work in a situation and have a resurrection power that only Jesus can provide. Where he says, "Destroy this temple." Oh, the flesh has destroyed it. Humanity has destroyed it. But the Jesus we serve, the power inside of you, he says, "Destroy it, but I can raise it up. I can bring healing back to it. I can bring life back to it. I can bring my resurrection power back to it. And there can be a wholeness once again." So I ask you to pray that prayer right now with no one looking around but praying the prayer over your life. Lord, help me to be a builder tonight. Lord, help me to be a builder tonight. Lord, if there's something I destroyed, Lord, let me build it back up. Yes, Jesus. Yes, Jesus. >> Don't let anybody pray alone tonight. Don't let anybody pray alone tonight. >> He's in the room. He's in the room. >> Yes, Jesus. God will prove everything that's dead comes alive when you feel the room. God fill this room. Oh, chains will break. Demons will run away. You fill the room. every night. >> Oh, somebody make that commitment right now. >> I'm going to build. I'm going to build. I'm going to build for my family. I'm going to speak words of healing. I'm going to speak words of life. I'm going to build this Jesus. I'm going to fill this >> everything comes alive. You feel resurrect. She will break and demons will run away. You feel when you enter the room. He's in the room. He's in the room. He's in the room. He's in the room. He's in the room. He's in the room. >> >> can be resto. Go away. Everything that comes alive to me. Jesus break your everything to restore your He's in the trust. He's in the right hand. Glory. Glory. Thank you, Pastor Anthony. I would remind us all that there will be one one influence or another in our lives. Scripture gives that stark contrast for scripture says the enemy comes but to steal, to kill, and destroy. But Hebrews tell us tells us that Abraham as he sojourned and generations of Isaac and Jacob, they looked for a city whose builder and maker is God. Will the destroyer affect your life or will the builder be in your life? Will you take the posture of the builder?