I. What does it say?
     A. Oikodomeo
          1. To build up
          2. To restore to rebuild or repairing
     B. Other uses of the same word (38 times)
          1. Acts 20:32 "the word...to build you up"
          2. Romans 15:17-21 "lest I build on another's foundation"
          3. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 "not all things build up"
          4. Matthew 7:24-26 "like a wise man built his house"
II. What does it means?
     A. No structure is more solid than its foundation
          1. Footings on relatively small/light structures
          2. Piling a on relatively large/heavy structures
          3. Designed for pressure/weight to be passed through the structure, to the solid ground beneath.
     B. So it is with us
          1. Rains WILL fall, the floods WILL come
          2. By encouraging one another, we prepare one another for the difficult days
          3. When the storm comes, it is too late to build the foundation
          4. Sometimes after the storm you will need to rebuild
III. What is does not mean?
     A. Flattery and untruth does not build up well
          1. A structure may look solid, but in truth be poorly prepared for the storms
     B. Our own wisdom and experience are insufficient
          1. The structure relies on the foundation and the foundation relies on the solid ground.
Let our only bedrock be father, Jesus the savior, the Holy Spirit the Helper, and the inerrant infallible eternal word of God.
IV. How do we build one another up?
     A. Tearing down takes a moment, but building takes time.
     B. Shower one another with genuine love and affection
     C. Speak truth into one another's lives.
     D. Encourage faithfulness and holiness
     E. Exhort fallen/struggling brothers and sisters to put off/put on (rebuild)

Seek to do good to One Another
I. The resolve of doing good
     A. The use of the NT word- seek, to impel, to set into motion
     B. The urgency of the word- strive for peace, persecuter-one who goes after truth
II. The responsibility of doing good
     See to it!
III. The requirement of doing good
     ALWAYS!
IV. The recipients of doing good
     A. One another - fellow believers
     B. Everyone - no exceptions
Next Steps:
     > What does it mean to do good?
     > What does it take to do good? We work at it, it takes effort and must continue.
     > Note the bookends of this command. Don't retaliate, but seek to do good and rejoice. Not self-centered and self-focused if we are to do good to everyone.