Build Wisely: 1 Corinthians 3:12

Good morning, everyone.

If you would open your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 3, we're going to be reading verses 3 -17 and focusing specifically on verses 10 -15.

Hear now God's inspired word. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only

God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.

For we are God's fellow workers, you are God's field, God's building.

According to the grace of God given to me like a skilled master builder, I laid a foundation and someone else is building upon it.

Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is

Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become manifest, for the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire.

And the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.

If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys

God's temple, God will destroy him, for God's temple is holy and you are that temple.

Let's pray. Father in heaven, we come before you with the express purpose of worshiping you.

I pray, Father God, that your hand would take over my mind and my mouth, that I would speak the words that you've placed on the pages,

Lord God, and we would hear the voice of our Savior loud and clear. I pray, Lord, that you would get me out of the way and you would shine through.

Bless us, Lord, as we come to worship you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. When I went to high school, the

Iliad and the Odyssey were required reading. Now, I'm not sure if it's still required in school these days.

I know classical Christian schools have you read them. But at the end of the Odyssey, it mentions something called the

Trojan horse. And I'm sure most of you have at least heard the term, and some of you may even know the story behind it.

The Trojan horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war.

It's not mentioned in Homer's Iliad because the story ended before the war, before the war concluded.

And it's only briefly mentioned at the end of the Odyssey. However, the complete story of the

Trojan horse is told in the Aeneid by Virgil. After an unsuccessful ten -year siege, the

Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse at the behest of Odysseus and hid a secret force of soldiers inside of it, including

Odysseus himself. And they left it in front of the gate into the city. The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the

Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night, the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the

Greek army, which had sailed back under the cover of darkness. The Greeks entered and destroyed the city and ended the war.

Now, that's an interesting story and an interesting way to get inside of a city. And now that we know that story,

I'm sure none of us would fall for that silly plot again. So before we get into the text today,

I want to go through what Paul is teaching us. Before we get into the text and I go through actually what Paul is teaching us,

I want to first tell you what Paul is not teaching us. Now, I know that's not the norm, but there's a bit of confusion about this text, and I want to make sure that we start off correctly so that we end off correctly.

If you look at verse 13, this verse is commonly used by Roman Catholics to support the notion of purgatory, the notion that we are purified and purged of any remaining sin in our life when we die in order to be made fit for heaven.

And it lasts for an undisclosed period of time. Now, let me say with full confidence that this is not what this verse is teaching.

And even more so, the notion of purgatory is altogether wrong. Hebrews 10 .14

tells us that by a single offering, he has perfected, the word means purified, for all time those who are being sanctified.

It's one single offering for all time that perfects us, completes us, purifies us.

In other words, Jesus' death on the cross is sufficient for our salvation.

He paid it all. Don't believe me? Ask the thief on the cross.

He didn't have an opportunity to do any work or receive any purging of his sin. Yet, today he was with Jesus in paradise.

Second misunderstanding. This verse is not about a testing process to see if the work you've done on earth is good enough to get you into heaven.

Newsflash, we don't need a test for that. Your works are not good enough to get you into heaven. The Bible says that over and over and over.

All of your good works are filthy rags before the Lord. That's what Isaiah says.

If you're saved, if you're redeemed, if you're reconciled, rescued from all your sin, it's by grace through faith, and that, not of yourself, it's the gift of God.

Not by your good works, so that no one can boast. If you could get to heaven by doing good works,

God would never have had to sacrifice his son Jesus. If your works merited any part of your salvation, it would not be a gift, and you'd have reason to boast.

But you don't. The scripture says, let him who boasts, boast in the

Lord. We trust in what the Lord has done. So now that we've got those two misinterpretations, those confusions out of the way, now we can focus on what

Paul is actually teaching us in this passage. So what's he telling us? First, he's telling us that as Christians, your foundation has been laid already, and you are standing on the foundation of Jesus Christ.

Your salvation is secure in him and because of him. It's his work alone.

However, your works are still very important and are being used to build something on top of that foundation.

If you've been saved, you've been given much. And to whom much is given, much is required.

Your works will be judged by Jesus to see if what you build remains standing.

Your work and your contribution to the kingdom of God is very important to the furtherance of the gospel and your reward in heaven.

The amazing thing is that God will actually give us rewards for doing what we're supposed to do anyway.

So today we're going to talk about three things. We're going to talk about building, we're going to talk about testing, and we're going to talk about enduring.

Now each one of these points will overlap and intertwine with one another so there may be some repetition.

But let's start with building. Look at verse 10. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder,

I laid a foundation and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.

So right out of the gate, Paul likens himself to a master builder. He is building something.

He is laying a foundation. The word for master builder here is architecton.

Can you guess what English word we get from architecton? Architect. You're all scholars.

It means that he's a master planner, a builder. He's been gifted by God specifically and skilled for what he's doing.

Just like Michael the archangel, Michael is the archangel, the highest angel, Paul is the archbuilder.

He's the master builder. And he's not building the structure. He's laying the foundation.

The foundation that which upon all other building stands. Ephesians 4 tells us that Jesus gave us apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of the ministry for the building up of the body of Christ.

Paul and the apostles laid down the foundation of faith and we build upon it.

And we no longer need apostles and prophets anymore as they were the ones who worked and laid the foundation already.

You need only lay a foundation once. Don't get sucked into thinking that there are capital

A apostles out there today. There's not. And we can be certain and know for sure that there's not.

Thank God for the word of God. This is how we know. Revelation 21 14 and the wall of the city had 12 foundations and on them were the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the land.

So we know the names. All 12 of them. And I didn't see my name on there.

I don't see your name on there. Later in Revelation chapter 2 Jesus would say that the church in Ephesus, the very same church where Paul just told us about apostles and prophets laying the foundation.

He says to them, I know that you cannot bear with those who are evil, but I've tested those who call themselves apostles and are not and found them to be false.

If your name isn't one of the 12 names on the 12 foundations, please sit down and shut up.

You're what the Bible calls a false apostle. There aren't any new apostles just as there aren't any new lambs.

12 foundations, 12 names, 12 apostles, one lamb. Nothing else is necessary foundationally to be laid for us to build on.

That's been laid already. In fact, the very next verse, verse 11, Paul will remind us that no one can lay a foundation other than that which has been laid already.

Which is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the lamb, the foundation upon which everything else is built.

Not on Peter, not on an organization, not on a denomination, not on a church council, not on a creed or a confession, not on Mary and the saints, but on Christ alone.

And if you're not building on the foundation of Christ, you're not building anything of actual value at all.

Yours is a house of cards, ready to fall at the slightest breeze or bump of the table.

Now, you might see yourself as stable and secure without Jesus, but you might want a private message in Nebuchadnezzar to see how that worked out for him.

He ended up eating bad salad in the field. All that to say this,

Paul has already laid down the foundation and now we are building upon that.

And he cautions us by saying this, let each one take care how he builds upon it.

Each one of us is building. Each one of us needs to take care how we do that.

Every Christian is building. Each one of you and me are building something.

We have been saved to serve and we are to take care, to be careful, cautious, prudent, intentional in how we build.

This is not a business you're building. This is not a YouTube channel you're building. This is not a world in Minecraft you're building.

All those things will not last in the judgment. You're building upon the foundation of Jesus Christ as laid down by the 12 apostles.

Do you understand the magnitude of what you've been involved in? If you're a Christian, you are part of a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall it be left to another people.

It shall break into pieces all the other kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, says the prophet

Daniel. I can't wait to pass the preachers that one. But what exactly are we building on this foundation and what materials are we using to do it?

What we are building was told to us in Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry for the building up of the body of Christ.

It's the body of Christ, the church that we're building. And so what are the materials?

Look at verse 12. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one's work will become manifest, for the day will disclose it because it will be revealed by fire.

Here's where things get interesting. And just on a little side note, when you come across something in the

New Testament that you don't understand or may confuse you, might be difficult, you need to take a look backward into the

Old Testament to see if that word, that phrase, or that principle, that idea, appears there first.

This is going to give you insight as to what the New Testament writer is referencing or alluding to.

When Pastor did his series on hermeneutics, he went through Matthew 24, where it says

Jesus is going to come on the clouds. So many people misunderstand that. But when you look into the

Old Testament and see that clouds are a term denoting judgment, now it begins to make sense.

We need to do the same thing here. So here Paul lists gold, silver, precious jewels, wood, hay, and straw.

The materials go from the most expensive and precious to the least expensive and common.

So is Paul telling us to buy flashy and expensive materials, not the cheap stuff from bargain build and bohemia, to do the work?

No. He's pointing to us something much more significant than that.

Something that the Jews and some of the Gentiles in the audience would understand. What was wood, hay, and straw, or stubble, collected and used to build?

We read that in Exodus chapter 5 this morning. The Israelites were told to gather straw and sticks to make bricks.

For what? To build Pharaoh's palace. They had to gather straw and sticks, which is basically dead wood, that were used to make the bricks for Pharaoh's palace.

And it was an arduous task that was made even harder by his decree. Conversely, what was gold, silver, and precious stones used to build?

They were used to build the temple of God in the Old Testament. The temple and all of its utensils, with the curtain overlaid with pure gold.

It was adorned with precious gems. It had silver bases holding up the brackets to hold up the curtain walls that surrounded it.

Gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and straw. Do you see the contrast of the picture that Paul was drawing for them and us?

You are either building with wood, hay, or straw, used to build Pharaoh's temple, a temporary worldly house that was arduous to build, and that will burn down when tested.

It's an exercise in futility. Or, you will be building the house of God, the temple, the body of Christ, which is eternal and which will survive the testing because you used gold, silver, and precious stones.

You are either laboring with the right materials, which will last and endure for eternity, or with the wrong materials, which will burn and be fleeting.

Paul is contrasting for us the difference between the works of the flesh and the works of the spirit.

Unless the Lord builds it, its labor is labor in vain. J .B. Lightfoot says, a palace on the one hand, and a mud hut on the other.

So Paul is laying a foundation, and each one of us is building upon it, sometimes with wood, hay, and straw, sometimes with gold, silver, and precious jewels.

And what we're building will be tested. It will be tested by fire to see what sort of work each one of us has done.

So after we build, we get tested. Testing will answer the question, what materials did you use?

Testing is the way to learn the genuineness of something, to prove what something really is.

Now my grandfather on my dad's side was a carpenter. He was always building. He was always making something.

And when he made something, it was heavy. It was sturdy. It was made to last.

He built me a desk for my room made out of an inch and a quarter plywood covered with formica.

You don't build houses with an inch and a quarter plywood. The desk was over 200 pounds.

It was impossible to carry, even harder to maneuver, but it was built to last.

In fact, my parents still have cabinets that he built and a credenza in their garage that he built. If my parents' house happens to collapse, those cabinets will remain standing.

He built it to last. It's the same mindset we need to use when we're building the kingdom.

We need to have long -range goals. How will what I'm doing here last into the next generation and the next generation?

Again, look at verse 12. If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and straw, each one's work will become manifest, for the day will disclose it because it will be revealed by fire.

So the testing and its results are dependent on the materials you use to build, which means that the materials you use to build are important.

So let's consider the characteristics of wood, hay, and straw. Wood, hay, and straw are all found above the ground, and they're found laying on the floor.

Each one of them, wood, hay, and straw, can easily be burned and disappear in ashes if the wind blows.

Wood, hay, and straw were all alive at one time, but now are disconnected and fell from the life of the tree.

Some of it, straw, is even used to feed animals. Each one, wood, hay, and straw, is disposable, and it's not something that you spotlight or put on display.

I've never been to any of your houses, and you say, come look at my twig collection. It's ugly.

What are the characteristics of gold, silver, and precious jewels? All of them are found below the ground.

They're not visible to the eyes. All of them need to be mined to get.

It takes work to obtain them. Two of them, gold and silver, are purified when they're burned.

All of them are cherished and displayed, and sometimes even passed down to future generations like a family heirloom.

I know a lot of people have their great -great -great -grandmother's wedding ring. Well, maybe not great -great -great -grandmother's wedding ring.

You pass it down from generation to generation. You display gold, silver, and precious jewels.

Another interesting contrast between the two are their sizes, the amount of space that they take up.

Now, if I had $500 and I bought hay, you could get approximately three bales of hay.

I looked it up. You know, reasonable -sized bales of hay. But if I had $500 and bought a diamond or gold,

I could hold it in my hand, and you'd never even see it. In other words, with the hay,

I could make a big show of what I was building. Look. Look at it. I could draw attention to it.

You don't see it. But not with the gold, silver, and precious stones. I could have that in my pocket.

You would never even know it's there. There would be no attention drawn to me, no fanfare, just the precious stone.

The materials that will survive the test and not be burned up have to be mined. They're not easily available and not easily seen.

It's the quality of the materials, not the quantity of the materials, that's important.

Tragically, some shepherds are trying to make a show for all to see. And it pleases the masses when we're called to please the master.

It's either make the masses happy or make the master happy. That applies to all of us.

So what do gold, silver, and precious stones represent biblically? If these are the materials that we're to build with, we'll need to know what they are.

If you want to follow along in your Bible, Proverbs chapter 2, we're going to read verses 1 through 7. Solomon says,

My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the

Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He's a shield to those who walk in integrity.

So being attentive to and receiving wisdom and understanding the fear of the Lord is likened to seeking silver and hidden treasure.

Proverbs chapter 3, verse 13. Blessed is the one who finds wisdom and the one who gets understanding.

For the grain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.

She is more precious than jewels. Nothing you desire can compare with her. We need to find, mine, build with God's wisdom.

It's like finding hidden treasure and its gain is better than actual gold, silver and precious stones.

Blessed is the one who finds it. We have to remember the context that this is written in.

Paul is addressing the Corinthians who were all puffed up with their wisdom. In chapter 1 he says, he's addressing their love of wisdom, worldly wisdom.

He says, for it is written, I, God, will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the discernment of the discerning

I will thwart. Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age?

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

God's wisdom or man's wisdom? God's wisdom. We can build using the wisdom of God or the wisdom of man, but only one will last.

The other one won't. There are physical, worldly materials, actual gold, silver and precious jewels.

And then there is the wisdom of God, which is immaterial, spiritual, heavenly gold, silver and precious jewels.

And that's what you want to mine out. That's what you want to seek in the Word of God.

The irony is that if you pursue worldly gold, worldly silver and worldly precious stones in this world, you really are just collecting wood, hay and stubble and building an earthly life that will perish and fade away.

Church, our testing will be based on us using the wisdom and the teaching of God in the fear of the

Lord to build up the body on the foundation of Jesus Christ in which there is great reward.

If you've ever done any counseling with any of the elders, you don't want their opinion. We're constantly opening up the

Bible. Why? You want to hear from God. You want to know what he says about the creation that he designed.

Using the wisdom of man is likened to collecting wood, hay and straw and building

Pharaoh's house. And it's not only using God's wisdom that counts, but the motive behind it.

Look at Solomon. God asked Solomon, out of everything you want, what can I give you?

So telling. Solomon says, give your servant therefore wisdom to govern the people.

That I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?

It pleased the Lord that Solomon asked for this. His motive, his heart issue was right. God said to him, because you have asked for this wisdom and not asked for long life or riches or life or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right,

I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind.

I will give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you all your days.

Solomon asked for wisdom to help guide God's people, not further a selfish agenda, or so that he could show off and look smart and wax eloquent on all these different topics, so that people would be in awe of him.

His heart was for the people. He loved the people. Building up the body of Christ, the kingdom of God will depend on us using

God's wisdom in the fear of the Lord for the sake of God's people and God's glory.

We do not want attention drawn to ourselves and steal God's glory as if we're something, because Paul says earlier, neither him nor waters is anything.

Right? It's God who gives the increase. The testing process will prove what materials you used and will determine if your work will endure.

And there's so many, so many ways to do this. We can go on a series on how we can use God's wisdom to build people up.

We can evangelize with the preaching of the gospel. That's how we get saints into the ministry, onto the foundation of Jesus Christ.

We can pray. One of our most valuable weapons, praying on Wednesdays. Fasting.

We need to fast more. Serving the saints and loving our neighbor in physical ways. We have the ministry of mercy that you can be a part of.

We have lots and lots of ways to pour out to people. Part of the GPS plan, the trade guilds, the pro -life, the political and the schooling movement, the classical

Christian school that we want to promote is all part of using godly wisdom to leave a legacy and see

Long Island turned right side up. The list is endless. But I'll leave you with this. Three questions to ask yourself.

First, how do I spend my time? Next, how do I spend my money? And last, how am

I using my giftings? Are you using them with godly principles in the fear of the

Lord to sow into another soul? But before you do that, you first need to be nourished by God's word first, so that you know that you're using gold, silver and precious stones.

Our studying God's word and putting his words into action shapes our soul, so we in turn can shape someone else's soul.

The word of the Lord is living and acted sharper than any double -edged sword. Taking in wisdom from God and the fear of the

Lord involves work. It involves reading and studying and meditating on God's word.

It's mining for those gold, silver, precious jewels. And in God's economy, that will build up your own soul first, so that you can pour out into another soul.

And in that way, your work is multiplied. It's two -fold. You're actually building yourself up with the word of God and then pouring into someone else.

You're building up two souls at the same time. Paul himself does this in 2

Timothy 2. He says, what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.

So Paul hands it down to Timothy and he expects Timothy to hand it down to someone else. And that someone else is to hand it out to other people too.

Later, he'll say, take it in and pass it on. He says in Philippians, what you've seen and heard from me, put into practice.

Later in Corinthians, he says, what I've received, the creed, the gospel, I pass on to you.

So we're vessels. We take God's wisdom in and we pour it out on the people in front of us.

We are called to build and take care how we build. Are we using godly wisdom and are we doing it with unselfish motives and God's glory in mind?

We build knowing that our work will be tested. But even better than that, they actually earn rewards in heaven.

Some 30 -fold, some 60 -fold, some 100 -fold. So that's the testing part.

Let's move forward and talk about enduring. Look at verse 14. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.

So first you're building, then you're tested, and now we'll see if what you've done survives. Will it endure? And I want to use

Matthew's gospel here for some help. Because he told us in Matthew 6 verses 19 and 21,

Do not lay up for yourself treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy or where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourself treasure in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Later in Matthew he says,

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field again.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Laying up treasures, finding hidden treasures, buying a field, buying pearls.

What does this all mean? How does all this stuff survive the testing by fire and get into heaven and endure?

Do we call FedEx? Take it up. Do we call heavenly hunks hauling earthly junk? Bring it up.

Noah's Ark and Moving Company? Right? No. And this confused me for a long time. Is there money?

Is there currency in heaven, like a monetary system? What are the actual treasures and pearls that are in heaven?

So it made me ask the question. What exactly gets into heaven? What makes it there and how can

I store up treasure there? And again, church, our answer comes only from the word of God.

The only thing that enters heaven is souls. And the souls entail what you have sown into them.

How you treat others and how you pour into their lives is what makes it into heaven and endures.

This is why Paul tells us to be careful how we build, because what we sow into them goes with them.

Solomon asked for wisdom to govern and edify, build up God's people, which is what Ephesians 4 says.

People's lives and souls are shaped by our words and actions.

Do we edify and sow into people using the wisdom of God? Are we using gold, silver and precious jewels?

Are we using or are we using the wisdom of the world? Think about what you are teaching, building and sowing into the lives of your families, into your friends, into your co -workers.

Are you building them up with God's word or are you feeding them the words that the world gives?

Look at verse 15 again. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

Be careful. You can be building and yet suffer loss because it wasn't done with God's wisdom.

It was worldly wisdom, a work of the flesh, maybe with wrong motives.

Egyptian building permits aren't valid in heaven. When you invest in souls, invest wisely.

Use the word of God. None of your earthly material, worldly goods or valuables gained by worldly wisdom will survive the test or be laid up for you when you get there.

But what will be there is souls. The only thing that enters heaven is souls and what you've sown into them.

How you treat others and pour into their lives is carried with them and endures forever.

The book of Revelation gives us a glimpse into the souls that are in heaven. Revelation 6, 9. When he opened the fifth seal,

I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had bore.

The souls are in the presence of God and their witness, what they said, accompanies them.

A while back, I talked about the priests and the sacrifices that they made at the tabernacle in the wilderness and how they would wear white robes when they did their work.

And when they were carving up the animals, they would get blood all over themselves. It was a graphic image of the horrors of sin.

The priests would have red blood all over their white robes from carving up the animals. And Leviticus says, the life is in the blood.

They had blood all over them. Are you willing to get blood on your robe and do life with your neighbor?

Are you willing to sacrifice some of the comforts in this life for the benefit of another person, another soul?

The life is in the blood. Are you willing to get some of theirs on yours? Because that's gold, silver, precious jewels.

There's great reward in that. When life gets tough, the world runs away, but the fateful run in.

Why? Because that's what Jesus did. The wisdom and commandment of God is to love your neighbor as yourself.

That's building with gold, silver, and precious jewels. That's what's going to endure. Paul's so clear on this point.

He says, for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory.

Beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.

For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

It's the unseen realm that's eternal. The unseen gold in your hand, the unseen godly wisdom that you pour into someone else.

Verse 16 of our passage says, do you not know that you are God's temple? And that God's spirit dwells with you?

The temple of God is made up of people. Souls.

Paul says, you like yourselves. You yourselves are like living stones being built up as a spiritual house.

To be a holy priesthood, we have to get blood on our robes. To offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus.

And our reward will be based on what we built. What we sowed into the souls that God has placed into our lives.

Everything we did to build, edify, and support the people of God while on earth. Building with gold, silver, and precious jewels is what will be tested.

And rewarded. Here's what Warren Wiersbe says about the wise builder. Substituting man's wisdom for God's word means building with perishable materials that will burn up at the judgment seat of Christ.

The wise worker uses lasting materials. Gold, silver, precious jewels. And not the cheap, shabby things of the world.

Wood, hay, and stubble. The builder seeks to honor Christ, aiming for quality that will glorify Christ.

Not quantity that will win the praise of men. Wise builders use the word. They pray and depend on the spirit, and as a result, their work is lasting.

When the fire tries their work in glory, it will stand. True treasure, real treasure, real spiritual gold, silver, and precious jewels is found in the building up of souls.

The souls that make up the temple of God. Here's what Wiersbe says about the worldly builder.

The second builder uses materials that cannot stand the test. This is the Christian worker who, in a hurry, is trying to build a crowd, but does not take time to build the church.

These workers do not test people's profession of faith by the word to see if they're truly born again. They merely take them into the church and rejoice in bigger statistics.

When the ministry is tested in eternity, it will burn up. The worker will be saved, but there will be no reward.

Like Lot, the worker will be saved as through fire. Again, true treasure, lasting treasure, is found in the building up of souls.

Using God's wisdom for God's glory, unselfish motives, that is the only thing that will endure.

All right, so far we talked about building, testing, and enduring. And all of that involves people, souls.

It also reflects the two greatest commandments. All of the law hangs on two commandments.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. We pray that every week, right?

Now think about it. Right after we're told that we're supposed to love God the most, comes what we are to love the next most.

People. People are the image bearers of God. They are the work of His hands.

Jesus came to save people. He loves people.

When Jesus was tempted, the devil offered Him food, bread to satisfy His hunger. Nope. Man does not need to live on bread alone, but every word out of the mouth of God.

The devil offered Him the kingdoms of the world and all the glory, anything to keep Him from going to the cross.

The devil offered Him power. Nope. No. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross for sinners, for people.

And in Psalm 2, it says, The Father says, ask of me and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession.

As Jesus was seated at the right hand of the Father, He asked God for people, the nations.

The scripture tells us that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in Christ. He is the wisdom of God in flesh.

When you recognize that He is your treasure, then where your treasure is, your heart will be also, begins to make sense.

Souls are the invisible currency that Jesus loves and dies for and will endure all eternity.

And we have the opportunity right now in our lives to build and sow into them. Seek to please the master, not the masses.

Now the souls of the people will last for eternity in only one of two places, heaven or hell.

God ordains the means of the proclamation of the gospel to save sinners, to save people, souls.

Everyone here has a soul that will last for all eternity. And I would command you, if you don't know the

Lord, to repent and believe the gospel. Jesus came to save souls. As an unbeliever, you stand on the foundation of your own effort and your own record.

That is a disastrous place to be. Believers have the same record as you.

They're just standing on the foundation of Jesus Christ and His perfect record. Get off the throne of your own heart.

Repent and ask Christ to take that seat. And church, when you build on the foundation of Jesus Christ, it is for the building up of His body.

The church, His temple. You are to use biblical wisdom, biblical principles, biblical truth to sow into them and build souls.

Invest in souls and it builds up not only them, but you as well.

Build wisely. The final picture of the church is in Revelation 21 and following.

John says, and I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, the church, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband.

The holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal.

The wall was built of jasper while the city was pure gold, like clear glass.

The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. Get the picture? No wood, no hay, no straw.

Just the byproduct of truth and wisdom. Gold, silver, precious jewels.

If you're part of the church, you're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it. The story of the

Trojan horse is a mythological one. But unfortunately, the principle behind it is one that many people still fall for today.

People think that they can use worldly wisdom and worldly means to earn rewards in heaven.

But that type of work won't cut it. It will be burned to ash. That horse will finish the race, but only in last place.

The term Trojan horse has come to mean any strategy that tries to sneak in something visually attractive, but is extremely dangerous.

To sneak it into a place without the other person knowing. It would also become the name of a malicious computer program that tricks users into unwillingly running it.

Unsuspecting users click on it, and the virus goes into their system unknowingly. The Trojan horse is still active today, so be careful.

You may see it circulating around from time to time. While that kind of scheme still exists down here, it does not exist in heaven.

No matter how hard someone tries to get earthly stuff into heaven through worldly means, it will not survive the test by fire.

The only thing that gets into heaven is souls, built up and edified with biblical truth.

The souls of the body of Christ will be adorned with gold, silver, precious stones. Build wisely.