{"id":31743,"date":"2022-09-10T15:42:20","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-life-and-ministry-lessons-from-a-haunted-house\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:42:20","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:42:20","slug":"3-life-and-ministry-lessons-from-a-haunted-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/3-life-and-ministry-lessons-from-a-haunted-house\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Life and Ministry Lessons from a ‘Haunted’ House"},"content":{"rendered":"
Photo – WinchesterMysteryHouse.com <\/p>\n

By Aaron Wilson<\/em><\/p>\n

Nestled in San Jose, California, is a bizarre and unnerving house that serves as a year-round \u201chaunted\u201d tourist attraction.<\/p>\n

The 24,000-square-foot manor called Winchester Mansion contains 160 rooms\u2014each one stranger than the last. Structural oddities include stairs that lead nowhere, doorways built into ceilings, chimneys that fall short of the roof, and exits that open to dangerous drop offs.<\/p>\n

The reason for these structural quirks is the house\u2019s original owner, Sarah Winchester, was obsessed with construction.<\/p>\n

She was convinced the only way to ward off evil spirits was through relentless building and thus commissioned workers to craft mysterious additions to the sprawling mansion for 38 straight years.<\/p>\n

But in an even stranger twist, Winchester refused to hire an architect for her elaborate construction project. She continually commissioned workers with no overarching master plan.<\/p>\n

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The end result was an impractical labyrinth of a home that, after she died, was balked at by appraisers and written off as practically worthless.<\/p>\n

AVOIDING A HAPHAZARD LEGACY<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Winchester Mansion serves as an object lesson for what it looks like to build in an arbitrary fashion with no end goal in site. And for Christians, who are called by God to build their life with intentionality, the lesson rings even louder.<\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re building a church or ministry, a family, a career, or even yourself through personal development, biblical principles will help you develop a holy\u2014rather than a haphazard\u2014legacy.<\/p>\n

Here are three ways Scripture directs believers to bring purpose and planning to their lives.<\/p>\n

1. BUILD WITH AN ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In Luke 12:13-21, Jesus tells the Parable of the Rich Fool, who, having been blessed with abundant provision, decides to invest in bigger barns in order to \u201chave many goods stored up for many years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus bluntly calls the man a fool since he would unknowingly die that very night, leaving his ambitious building project abandoned. Christ then ends the parable with the stern warning, \u201cThat\u2019s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this parable, Jesus doesn\u2019t criticize the man\u2019s plans, but rather his perspective. The rich fool had eyes only on the life that was immediately before him. In contrast, Christ directs His followers to shift their focus toward eternal goals so that their assets become kingdom commodities.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s likely you\u2019ve never considered building a barn like the rich fool\u2014or a mansion like Winchester\u2014but how are you currently using your resources such as time, money, gifts, personality, and energy within your spheres of influence?<\/p>\n

Does what you\u2019re building now\u2014even for ministry purposes\u2014allow you to be rich toward God as you go about it?<\/p>\n

2. BUILD STEADILY TOWARD AN END GOAL<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Luke can barely record the Parable of the Rich Fool before he visits another of Jesus\u2019 speeches about building projects. This one takes place in Luke 14: 25-34, where Christ is warning people about the cost of following Him.<\/p>\n

Jesus describes a person wanting to build a tower, but who doesn\u2019t first stop to see if he has enough funds to complete it. The overeager builder is met with ridicule from onlookers when he runs out of money and is forced to abandon his project midway through.<\/p>\n

Christ\u2019s point is that while grace is a free gift, Christian discipleship is costly and should be approached with seriousness. Jesus wants followers who are willing to sign up for long-haul faith.<\/p>\n

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See also  Is It \u2018Ministry Failure\u2019 To See a Counselor?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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But the principle also extends to any task the Lord assigns to us. Whether we\u2019re building up kids, a church, a career, or anything else, we honor God when we consider the goal with a spirit of endurance and dedication that enables us to hang in when things get tough.<\/p>\n

Are there assignments the Lord has given you that you\u2019ve lost focus and passion for\u2014areas of life in which you resemble Winchester by randomly addressing the tyranny of the urgent instead of operating under an overarching, long-term strategy?<\/p>\n

If so, take time to step back and reevaluate where it is your building project is taking you and what you need to do to reorient yourself and those around you so that you can finish well.<\/p>\n

3. BUILD WITH THE LORD<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Psalm 127:1-2 is a well known passage in the Bible. It begins with, \u201cUnless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain.\u201d<\/p>\n

This passage describes how human and divine synergy is important for everything Christians put their hands to. The warning here isn\u2019t just that one\u2019s work might suffer some loss of effectiveness\u2014but that it will be all for nothing if not connected to the Lord\u2019s purposes.<\/p>\n

Again, think of Winchester and the decades of manpower that went into building up her mansion, only to result in a property that was considered worthless at the end.<\/p>\n

To help us avoid such a fate, consider this extrapolated advice:<\/p>\n