NATIONAL COMMUNITY CHURCH
August 23, 2015
The Moral of the Story: The Wise Builder
Mark Batterson
Welcome! It is a joy to have you with us! A few weeks ago, Lora surprised me with a day trip to
New York City. I’ve always dreamed of hoping on a train and going up to Carnegie daily and
getting on a train and coming back home. So sabbatical was an opportunity to do that. We took
the train into Penn Station, as I approached Times Square, I became like a Pavlovian dog and
started salivating as we approached. We got there, we posed outside for the obligatory Instagram
and then walked up to the door to discover a sign that said Closed. Not since Clark Griswold
drove across the country to Wal-Mart with his family has someone been so disappointed for
something to be closed. The moose outside should have told us!
Honestly that has nothing to do with my message this weekend but thanks for letting me process
that. So instead of eating at Carnegie Deli, we hoped over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I
had read a book this summer by the former director of the museum and he had played a little
game with his staff called the curator’s game. The key to art curation is an eye for detail. So
every week he would take a small photograph of one of the pieces of art and based on that visual
que, the staff would have to guess what piece of art it was from. Let’s have a little bit of fun with
this. Look at the picture on the screen. You may or may not recognize it but you will probably
recognize the couple that is posing in front of it. It is American Gothic. If you got that, you are
probably going to heaven!
This weekend, we begin a new series called The Moral of the Story. There are three dozen
parables in the gospels depending on who is counting. Most of them are less than 250 words but
they are full of amazing truth. They are brilliant stories told by the wordsmith Jesus Himself and
I want you to think of them as word paintings. Each parable is intricately nuanced like any one of
the masterpieces at the Met. So over the next seven weeks, we are going to play the curator’s
game, if you will.
Let me first say that it is good to be back. I feel like I should introduce myself to those of you
who are new at NCC this summer. The three months sabbatical I took this summer was
wonderful! No alarm clock, did a lot of reading, had a few adventures. One of them, Josiah and I
rafted the Colorado River for five days. The lowest high temperature was 107 degrees but the
river was 47 degrees so we could cool off pretty quickly. Then we got to the Grand Canyon and
then we hiked out the Bright Angel Trail up to the South Rim and it was epic! So I want to say
thank you to you and thank you to our staff. We have an all-star team! Special thanks to our
campus pastors! I have come back with a renewed appreciation for things. One, it takes a team to
accomplish a dream, so from our kids ministry to worship and discipleship, administration,
facilities, media, production, I am so grateful for our team and for our volunteers. It takes
hundreds of people to pull off every weekend at NCC. And I have a renewed appreciation, unless
the Lord builds the house, they who labor, labor in vein. Amen! So thank God for what He is
doing!
Matthew 7:24
24 “Therefore
everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise
man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds
blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the
rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a
foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds
blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Last weekend, Lora and I dropped our daughter Summer off for her freshman year of college at
Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. And like every parent of college kids, we took a
little trip to Target and we picked up some things for her dorm room. A shelf, the simplest shelf
in the store. One shelf, eight screws and I screwed it up. I constructed it, deconstructed it and
then reconstructed it twice! So it is a little ironic this weekend to be preaching on the parable of
the wise builder! I have never been accused of being a builder, let alone a wise builder. But this
parable isn’t about building a house or even a shelf, it is about building a life. Life is a little bit
like that shelf project, there is a lot of construction but my hunch is that there are some of you
who are in a little bit of deconstruction. Maybe a little gut job needs to happen emotionally or
spiritually and then reconstruction. Maybe some of you are rebuilding a marriage or a reputation,
so it really all of those things and everything in between. So let’s talk about this parable.
Verse 25 says he build his house on the rock. Luke’s version says he dug deep and laid a
foundation on the rock. I love the skyline of New York City but what fascinates me even more is
the city beneath the city. There are now 6,000 miles of sewers that run beneath New York City
circulating 1.3 billion gallons of waste water. There are 9,000 manhole covers in the city and
they service those sewers along with 92,000 miles of utilities, including the gas line that goes
into Carnegie Deli which is why we couldn’t eat there. There are 722 miles of subway tracks
beneath the city built about a hundred years ago. If they were laid end to end, they would stretch
from New York to Chicago. When they first opened, it was quite the fascination for New
Yorkers. In fact, subway explorers would actually go in and walk down the tracks and the trains
we slow moving so they could jump out of the way when the trains came. They were called
dodgers, which is where the Brooklyn Dodgers got their name. So there is the skyline of New
York and then there is the city beneath the city. Then beneath the city that is beneath the city,
that is the key because that’s where the rock is. It has a named. It is called Manhattan schist. It is
the rock that everything on that city is built on. It is pretty critical. In some places, bedrock is
pretty close to street level. Rockefeller Center got lucky because the Manhattan schist is pretty
close to the surface, but the Woolworth building, which was the tallest building in the world until
1930, they had to dig down 120 feet to hit bedrock and once they did, they had to sink 69
concrete pillars into the ground. Here’s my point, the above ground city is really just a mirror of
the subterranean topography. No matter what you are building, you have to find bedrock. We are
in the process right now with the Blue Castle. We have geotechnical engineers who are using
ground penetration radar to help us figure out what is beneath the surface of the Blue Castle. We
have to do that work before we try building anything on it.
Stick with me. In 1865, a civil engineer published a topographical map of the island of
Manhattan and he superimposed the location of all the streams and waterways with a grid of the
city streets. Engineers continue to reference that 1865 map as the key to building. Well, not
everybody because when Chase Manhattan Plaza was built, the chief engineer did not look at this
map. If he had, he would have known that in 1865, a stream ran right over where they were
digging and he discovered quicksand which made it very difficult to build.
Here’s my point, if you don’t build on a bedrock, you are in big trouble. That’s it. The
subterranean topography is the key to what happens above the surface of the ground and I think
that it true of our lives even more than it is true of a physical building.
So the question is – what is bedrock? I think it is at least three things. I think it is core beliefs. I
think it is core values and I think it is core vision.
We value a statement of beliefs on our website at www.theaterchurch.com and I encourage you
to check it out. What you will notice is that there is a little preamble. In the 16 th Century, there
was a little bit of theological controversy happening in Germany and there was a theologian who
helped bring unity to the church with one rallying cry. This has stood the test of time because it
is still good 400 years later. He said, ‘In the essentials, unity. In the non-essentials, liberty. In all
things, charity.’ I know that theologically where you draw the line between essential and nonessential is pretty critical but here was the point. There are some theological controversies that
really are not a litmus test when it comes to a relationship with Christ and your eternal destiny.
Are they important? Absolutely! But they are non-essential to salvation. So we should have a
little bit of liberty in those areas. Now, when it comes to essentials, we better be on the same
page. But in all things, let’s show love to one another.
Let me tell you what I believe is essential, or what is bedrock theology. The early church had a
creed that was three words: Jesus is Lord. That was it. What we believe at National Community
Church is that Jesus lived a sinless life, fully God and fully man, lived a sinless life, died a
substitutionary death on the cross bearing our sin and was raised again on the third day. That is
essential. That is a litmus test if you will. He is the Way the Truth and the Life. There is no under
name under heaven given unto man by which you must be saved. Romans 10:9-10 says
you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him
from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified,
and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
9 If
There are those three words: Jesus is Lord. That is bedrock. When all else fails, you need to be
able to fall back on something. I think Romans 8 might say it best.
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons] neither the present
nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will
be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
38 For
That is bedrock.
Now, I have what I call fallback positions. When all else fails, I fall back on these promises. Do
you have some fallback positions? Here are mine. Proverbs 16:9
In their hearts humans plan their course,
but the Lord establishes their steps.
Sometimes when I feel a little lost or a little disoriented, I just need to remind myself that God is
ordering my footsteps.
Philippians 1:6
6 being
confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
I believe that.
Ephesians 2:10
10 For
we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared
in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 3:20
20 Now
to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his
power that is at work within us,
Those are bedrock promises for me. What are your core beliefs? If you have not surrendered
your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, that is where it starts. That is where the spiritual journey
beings. That’s how you build your life on the rock.
Let me talk about core values. The Message paraphrases verse 24 this way
24-25 “These
words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life. They are foundational
words, words to build a life on.
There is no question here that Jesus is talking about the Word. Jeremiah 1:12 says that the Lord
is watching over his Word to perform it. So more important than anything else is that you build
your life on the Word of God. That is the foundation for us as believers. But let me ask, do you
have some foundation words? I think our family has four foundation words that we would love
for those words to define us as a family. They are humility, generosity, gratitude and courage.
Many years ago, we went through a process of trying to discern who we are, what we are about,
what is our bedrock, what are our core values as a family. I promise you we are works in
progress!
Humility, if you stay humble and you stay hungry, there is nothing that God cannot do in you or
through you. I believe that. Humility, we are striving after it.
Generosity, joy is found on the giving side of life. Good news, you can’t out-give God!
Generosity is a foundation word for our family.
Gratitude, my goal this year was 1,000 gratitudes. Inspired by a wonderful book 1,000 gifts. I’m
on number 561, a little more than half way. Almost every day, what I try to do is find something
that I am grateful for. Gratitude is a core value for me.
Courage, I need more work in this area. If you asked me what the Lord showed me over
sabbatical, there were a few things but I think one of them was this wonderful moment with
Mary and Martha. Remember Martha was so busy making preparations and she was a little
nervous and scattered and Jesus said something interesting to her. In the King James Version, He
said, ‘Thou art careful.’ One of my moments on sabbatical, I felt like the Lord said thou art
careful. There was a day where courage for me was facing the fear of failure. Not that I don’t
still experience that but I think that when you experience a measure of success in something, if
you aren’t careful, you can begin to play it safe and you start to rest on what has already
happened instead of continuing to take risks and stepping out in faith. And I felt like the Lord
exhorted me so pray for me that I will have a little bit more courage.
If you don’t have foundation words, do some excavation. A year ago, I did a life plan. That was
wonderful. It helped me identify core values and core convictions. Do you don’t have to do a life
plan. A little bit of reading and praying will go a long way in helping you discover those
foundation words.
Finally, let me talk about core vision. Let me talk about it as a church. We have some core
values. Everything is an experiment. Love people when they least expect it and least deserve it.
Pray like it depends on God and work like it depends on you. We have some core convictions.
The church ought to be the most creative place on the planet. The church belongs in the middle
of the marketplace. God will bless us in proportion to how we give to missions and how we care
for the poor in our city. Those are bedrock convictions for us. But we also have a core vision. We
have a 20/20 vision and that is to have 20 expressions as a church by the year 2020. Some of
those are campuses. We have seven campuses currently. It might be a café, a place where the
church and community can cross paths, like our Ebenezer coffeehouse on Capitol Hill or our café
in Berlin, Germany. Some good news, fences are up around the Dream Center! We are ready to
go! That Dream Center is an expression of National Community Church.
This weekend, I want to make a pretty significant announcement. I got back and the first day
found out that we are launching and eighth campus! It wasn’t a total surprise but I’m so excited!
This is bedrock for us. Jesus said upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will
not prevail against it. The church is called to play offense and one of the ways we do that is we
continue to launch new campuses and new communities where we can reach more people with
the good news of the gospel. So drumroll, we are going to launch our eighth campus in north DC
at the Echo Stage! It is one of the largest music venues in the city. I think we’ve got some
pictures. Two things about the location because I don’t want anybody to be surprised. Listen, I
will tell you right now, there is a marijuana dispenser right across the street and a gentleman’s
club right next to it. We think that being in the middle of the marketplace means right there. That
would be a great place for us to be. So don’t let that scare you away! It is so strategically located
so you’ve got Brooklyn and Fort Lincoln, a nice drive coming in, and of course Capitol Hill. So
it is going to be a wonderful place for us to see what God is going to do next. And we have a
wonderful campus pastor, Terrance Sutton and his wife Kate and their three children will be
leading this launch and I want to give you a couple of dates. October 18 is when we look to
launch, just a couple months from now. We have information meetings on August 30 and
September 13. And one of the days we are going to try to pull off a worship night, hopefully
September 20. We will let you know and there is more information on the website. So I ask you
to pray this prayer, Lord do you want me to be part of this launch or do you want me to stay right
where I am. He will tell some of you to stay where you are and others He might tap you on the
shoulder. Don’t let distance of geography be a deterrent. Pray about it and be part of those
information meetings. We are believing that God is going to bring together a wonderful core
group and we are going to launch the campus for the glory of God. Amen!
Verse 24 says
24 “Therefore
everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise
man who built his house on the rock
There is no distinction between knowing and doing. There were not two different words for these
things. Knowing is doing and doing is knowing. If you don’t do it, you don’t know it. And that is
critical as you are listening to what Jesus is saying. In other words, don’t show me your
transcript, I don’t want to know what you know. Show me your resume. Don’t be hearers of the
Word only but doers of it. Listening without doing is called disobedience. My great fear as a
pastor is that if all you do is listen to a sermon but you don’t do anything with it, all that is
happening is that you’ve been educated further beyond the level of your obedience already. Jesus
is not going to say, ‘Well listened good and faithful servant.’ No! Well done good and faithful
servant.
Let’s get practical. A dream without a to-do list is called a wish list. Whatever it is you want to
accomplish for the kingdom, you have to have a to-do list. You have to do something about it.
On April 19th, I preached a message called One Little Yes and I think I said something like you
can’t finish what you don’t start. The next day, an NCCer emailed me and said he had a dream
that was 14 years and two months old but hadn’t done anything about it but something about that
message challenged him to take a step of faith and as an act of accountability, he emailed me
with his idea and he said now he was going to write it. I said go for it! Then I went on sabbatical.
And a time or two, I wondered what was happening so I opened up my email and sure enough
there was an email from him with an attachment of the finished manuscript. 49,000 words! He
didn’t just listen, he did something about it.
GK Chesterton said Christianity has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult
and left untried.
A quick challenge, Thomas Shepherd, who actually help found Harvard College in 1636 had a
little catch phrase. I read his biography this summer and I loved it. He said, make a new
experiment. He said make a new experiment with secret pray then come forth from your secret
prayer and make immediate experiment on more love and more patience and more consideration
for other men. Here was the backdrop. He said why do people experiment in the sciences but
they don’t experiment with Scripture?
Here’s my last point, if you think of a spiritual discipline as a spiritual discipline, it might seem
like discipline. It might be more helpful to think of it as a spiritual experiment. Try a prayer
experiment. Pray for a person or a situation for a week or a month or 40 days and see what God
does. Try a fasting experiment. Try a reading experiment. Maybe read through Luke’s gospels
and turn one of the parables into an experiment. Maybe it is a tithing experiment. Try it for six
months. Or just turn a verse into an experiment. Go the extra mile. Pray for those who persecute
you. It is pretty simple. Make a new experiment and see what God does.
Father, help us to not just be hearers of the Word but doers of it. In Jesus name, Amen.
Transcribed by:
Ministry Transcription
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