Henry Brown of KasCon , our general contractor (left) and me.

Last week we received our building permit from the city of Gaithersburg.  With it, the construction teams have descended on our building this week and are hard at work.  But did you know that God has applied for another building permit?
Drive past 13 Firstfield this week and you’ll hear some very different sounds.  The sounds of construction crews hard at work.  Removing old walls, replacing a 10,000 square foot roof, and moving us forward in our mission of unleashing new ministry space for generations to come.  They’re working under a building permit issued by the city of Gaithersburg.  That permit says, “You’ve got a green light to come on in and do the work that is outlined in your documents.”

And while we as a church applied for (and received) that permit, there’s another building permit that’s more important.  It’s the one that God has submitted.  To you.

You see, God is in the building business.  Remodeling, if you will.

Jesus famously said, “I will build my church.”  (Matthew 16:18)

And his disciple, Peter, put it like this:

…you also…are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood. 1 Peter 2:5

But God doesn’t barge into your life.  Rather, he submits an application…a request to build.  Complete with design specifications.  He has submitted a building permit application to you.  He’d like your permission to remove the old, rotting, decaying habits and thoughts and patterns and values.  And he’d like to re-make you into something new…into a new creation.  Someone who increasingly looks like the model – Jesus.

The student who is fully trained will be like their teacher. Luke 6:40

You’ve probably seen the building permit application recently.  It may look a lot like a passage of Scripture.  It may look a lot like a convicting message that keeps popping up in sermons, songs, and silent moments in your life.  And yes, it involves surrender to God and his will.

You alone have the authority to grant the building permit.  You have the authority to say, “Yes, you can come in and tear down that wall, replace that belief, install new relationships, hang new habits, and throw out old ones.”

The question is: Will you approve the building permit?  Will you give him the green light to come on in and do the work that is outlined in the document?  Will you let God re-make you into his design?

So that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  Ephesians 4:12-13

-Pastor Mark