You Were Built For This!
Written by Brigitta Tedja
Watch Ps Eric preaching here
Pastor Eric Butler preached a provocative message to move us into action, to move us forward, and to encourage us. Below is an outline of his sermon:
God Built
1 Corinthians 3:9 “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.”
Hebrews 3:4 “For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.”
Man Built
Jude 1:20 “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.”
Luke 14:30 ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.”
What Builds Grace and the Word?
Acts 20:32 “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
Proverbs 9:1 “Wisdom has built her house as He has cut out her seven pillars.”
What are You Building? A House?
Psalm 127:1 “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; unless the Lord guards the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”
Are You Building According to the Pattern?
Hebrews 8:5 “Who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, ‘See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.’”
“You were marked by God.” What is the pattern you are following in your life? Take it, don’t shake it. Do not do anything that God did not show you what to do.
The Test of Your Building
Are you building on hay, wood, or stubble? If you are, it will collapse. 1 Corinthians 3:12 stated,
“Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones—it will stand.”
The Storm (Built House Upon a Rock)
Matthew 7:26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”
Built to Last by Jim Collins examines a selection of “Visionary Companies.” Collins believes that “good enough never really is good enough.” He stated, “Visionary companies are premier institutions, they are widely admired by their peers and having a long track record of making a significant impact on the world around them.” Ford Company and Walgreens are signature companies, they have been around for a long time.
Build the House Upon a Rock – Colossians 2:7 “Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.”
Build something that has the intentions of the future in it while you are laying the foundations
Jesus became the Captain of our salvation. Why? Because He knew that He would be the redeemer of many souls. Hebrews 12 stated, “He is the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before Him . . . ” When Jesus knew He was going to die, He went through it because He could see us and that was what made Him keep going. He saw the future Church!
Build Something that Will Outlive You
Build with Strong Foundations
Ephesians 2:20 “Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.” We are built on something that is strong! The apostles were strong and built the Church in the 1st century, the disciples were deeply rooted and we are the proof of their ministry!
1 Corinthians 3:12 “Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones . . . “
Build the Ruined Places. Amos 9:11 states, “I’m going to build again the ruined places. I will raise up its ruins. The Master Builder will build the forgotten, the left-behind, the rejected, neglected, not-selected, and the not-protected.
Build the Old Waste Places
Isaiah 61:4 “And they shall repair the ruined cities . . . ”Isaiah 58:12 “Shall build the old waste places . . . “
Hebrews 8:5 “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you in the mount.”
Salt & Light Ministry: Do not only vote, but run for office! You are the light in the darkness. You are being called out of your comfort zone to be salt and light. What are you going to do when you get up with all this power after being soaked in the presence of God? The Soaking Era is over, it is the Era of Visibility and Engagement that is coming back to the Church! Isaiah 60 states, “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.”
Pastor Eric challenged us by asking again, “What are you going to do with all the power after the soaking in the Spirit? Don’t you get excited when you hear about people of faith from the past?” These were people who built their foundations on the rock and did not waver. These Christians did all these things before we were even born and they are who we are following after now. We are still talking about them today. This is the Church!
Missionaries:
David Livingstone:
Missionary (1813–1873) David Livingstone was a Scottish missionary, abolitionist and physician known for his explorations of Africa. He was a staunch abolitionist after witnessing the horrors of the African slave trade.
Hudson Taylor:
Was an English missionary to China.
Founded the China Inland Mission which at his death included 205 mission stations with over 800 missionaries, and 125,000 Chinese Christians
Was in China for 51 years, raised $4 million by faith
35,000 were his own converts
Baptized some 50,000 people
Martyrs:
John Hus was a Czechoslovakian Theologian
Executed and burned at the stake
Spoke out against indulgences
Preached Wycliffe DoctrineJoan of Arc was burned at the stake in France, May 30, 1431
Tried for witchcraft and heresy at 19 years old
She was a virgin – A maid of Orleans
Violated the divine law of dressing like a manEarly Christians in Rome
Grotesque executions: Covered them in animal skins, had them torn apart by dogs, doused them in tar and used them as human torches to light the night sky for dinner parties
Men:
James was beheaded (Acts 12)
Stephen was stoned to death (Acts 8)
Peter was crucified upside down at his request, since he did not feel worthy to die in the same manner as His Lord in Rome under Emperor Nero (AD 66)
Paul was beheaded in Rome, under Emperor Nero (AD 66)
Andrew went to the “land of the man-eaters,” in what is now Russia. It is claimed he was the first to bring the gospel to that region. He also preached in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), and in Greece, where he is said to have been crucified.
John was boiled in oil and miraculously escaped unscathed and died a natural death in Patmos
Thomas was murdered in India. He was stabbed and pierced through with the spears of four soldiers
Phillip had a powerful ministry in North Africa and then Asia Minor, where he converted the wife of a Roman proconsul. In retaliation, the proconsul had him arrested and cruelly put to death
Matthew was stabbed to death in Ethiopia
Bartholomew was martyred in South Arabia
James (Son of Alpheus) was stoned and then clubbed to death in Syria
Simon the Zealot was killed in Persia
Matthias was burned to death
Three Hebrew boys was in the fire but there was a 4th dimension man in the fire that stopped the burning (Dan. 2)
Pastor Eric reported being moved by them and reading about their lives helps him keep going and that he will not quit now. He stated, “I will take the coat of worship with me, but wherever I go, I will not give up on the call. I will stand up in my generation, stand in this time that I am called to be in, and preach the gospel, because now I am the light of the world. You are the light of the world. We are the light of the world. There is a world out there dying and God says, ‘Give me your heart!’”
So perhaps you are thinking, “Why them? Why did they have to go through this?” They were built for this! God is raising up a generation in 2022 who will have the Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, worship in our lives, the prophetic and apostolic gifts, so that we know we were built for this! This is our generation, our time to stand up. We are called to be living RIGHT NOW. Other generations had their seasons. You were born at a particular time for a particular reason! Go back to the purpose of Jesus. “For this purpose, was the Son of God manifested, that he would destroy the works of the devil!” Do you realize why you are in the Kingdom? To be the light of the world! You are built to serve God for this generation!
We Are Built for This:
Unusual Ways
Uncharted Territory
God tests the validity of your words. He comes for what you say. He will test what you say. All is recorded. Nothing spoken on earth will be wasted. Every prayer spoken is held in the heavens right now.
Hebrews 11:32-40 “And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms . . . ”
Ukraine is not hopeless. Rees Howell, a powerful European intercessor in WW2, prayed with a team of intercessors and knew Hitler’s strategies every week and stopped WW2. It was the intercessors who stopped the war. Mr. Putin is not invincible because he is not greater than Jesus.
“ . . . worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trials of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, but God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.”
We are the other side of their faith! Your life and testimony, standing for Jesus today, is what made them keep going, believing something better will come out of their situation.
YOU WERE BUILT FOR THIS
Romans 8:31, 37-39 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
Isaiah 59:19 “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.”
2 Corinthians 4:1, 7-11, 13, 16-18 “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak, therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
JESUS WAS BUILT FOR THIS
John 12:27 “Father, save me from this hour.”
1 John 3:8 “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested.”
Acts 26:16 “For I have appeared unto you for this purpose to make you a minister and a witness.”
Romans 9:17 “Even for this same purpose have I raised you up, that I may show my power in you, and that my name will be declared thought all the earth.”
John 16:33 “In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
Do not be afraid! This is our moment. There is nothing better than the moment you are in right now. You were born for this moment! To live is Christ, to die is gain. We will not live forever, so live this life with the revelation of doing and fulfilling the ministry of Jesus; winning the lost, being visible, being the salt and light to this world. Do not lose your flavor. You are the preservative of America right now. We carry the government of God. Gather the intercessors! Rise up! You were built for this!
>> Pastor Eric prophesied a powerful Word of God. Please listen to it again here <<
Prayer Points:
Pray to be built on the Rock, a strong foundation, to stand
Pray to come out of your comfort zone
Pray to build something that outlives you
Pray to build the ruined places, to build the old wasted places
Pray to rise up in worship, the Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit
Pray to be activated, to be visible, to be engaged
Pray to understand on how to be salt and light to a dying world, your calling
Follow Jesus’ pattern
Preach the Word, bring souls into the Kingdom of God, heal and set people free
Pray to fulfill our purpose in this generation. The generations are connected, we are on the shoulders of those in faith who have gone before us
Be the Salt & Light
Pray for California
Pray for Godly candidate to step up and run for governor of California.
Pray for the churches to be awaken and take their position in the government mountain.
Pray for America:
Pray that God will pour out His wisdom upon our leaders to craft our domestic energy policy that will benefit the American people and bring down the inflation.
Pray that God will pour out His wisdom upon our leaders to de-escalate the Russia - Ukraine war.
Pray for God to raise up Godly candidate for SCOTUS justice to replace Justice Stephen.
Pray for our southern border. Pray for wisdom upon our leaders to enact and enforce a just and lawful immigration policy.
Pray for Ukraine:
Pray for peace to be restored in the region. Pray for the release of truth in the region that will lead to peace.
Pray for the churches and all of God’s children in Ukraine.
Pray for provisions for Ukrainians. Food, water, gas etc., are in short supplies especially on the besieged areas.
Pray for the refugee camp: provisions and no infectious diseases.
Pray for the children displaced by this war.
I pray that we all build a strong foundation on the Rock, to be activated in the Holy Spirit, and to fulfill our calling in this generation! Rise up! We were built for this!