Our attention of late is on the purchase of a portion of land to build a meeting house upon. As this has proceeded there are many things that I have thought and prayed about and would like us to bring before the Lord tonight.
1. Everything we do must aim toward fulfilling Christ’s commands
1) Evangelizing the lost through personal witnessing and public preaching of the gospel;
2) Edifying believers through the systematic teaching of the Bible, public worship, ministry of believers, observance of the ordinances, and the administration of biblical discipline;
3) Equipping believers to do the work of the ministry for the maturity, protection, and growth of the body;
4) Exalting the Lord Jesus Christ as we gather in public worship;
5) Establishing churches of like faith and practice at home and abroad; and
6) Earnestly contending for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.
WE MUST CONTINUALLY REMEMBER THAT our purpose is not to have a building; this isn’t to say that we shouldn’t have a building; it’s saying that we don’t exist for the building, the building exists for us.
2. We must be working to make disciples of the lost
3. We must be working to mature disciples of believers
4. We must be zealous about missions
5. We must be a praying people—not leaning on our own understanding
6. Wisdom
1) Biblical wisdom is the correct and skillful application of God’s Word
2) Biblical wisdom is found in the multitude of counselors
3) Biblical wisdom is characterized by the fear of the Lord
7. Unity—disunity in a church affects its inner harmony and public testimony
8. Financial Provision—It costs money to do this (Matt 6:33)
9. The process of purchasing land will go smoothly and good relationships will be established and strengthened.
10. The process and result of building will
1) Cause us to praise God more
2) Help us to make more disciples
3) Strengthen our unity
4) Increase our number for the unity, maturity, protection, and growth of the body
5) Encourage and enable us to give more for the Lord’s work
