Immortal Construction

November 10, 2013

Haggai 1:6-9 2 !essalonians 2:13-1" #u$e 20:2"-3%

In 2575 BC, in the nation of Egypt, a pyramid tomb was built by and for Pharaoh Djedefre, the son of Pharaoh hufu, on a mountaintop in !bu "awash# !t the time it was the third largest pyramid, but be$ause it was built on a mountain it was %nown to be the highest as well as the most beautiful pyramid e&er built# It may be that Djedefre's tomb was looted with a few $enturies of his death, but the stru$ture itself lasted until the "oman in&asion of the se$ond $entury when the "oman army began hauling the stones away to be reused in their engineering proje$ts# (tone $ontinued to be hauled away as late as the end of the nineteenth $entury# )oday little remains# )wenty years before *esus was born, ing +erod began a giganti$ building proje$t to e,pand and beautify the *ewish temple in *erusalem# During *esus' ministry and the time of the e&ents des$ribed in the -ospels, $onstru$tion of the )emple was still ongoing but nearing $ompletion# )he )emple in *erusalem was %nown to be one of the most magnifi$ent and beautiful buildings e&er $onstru$ted but in 7. !D, during the *ewish re&olt against "ome, "oman general )itus and his army utterly destroyed the )emple to su$h an e,tent that )itus hit$hed a plow to a mule and plowed the earth where the )emple had on$e stood# In /01., on behalf of the Dut$h 2est India Company, Peter (tuy&esant, using both sla&e labor as well as the labor of free $olonists, rebuilt the sto$%ade wall that prote$ted the northern boundary of the Dut$h settlement from atta$% by the British# )he earlier sto$%ade wall had been made of earth with a wooden pi$%et on top while the new wall was /2 feet tall, made of stone, and was far more substantial# )he street that ran along this sto$%ade had by then already be$ome %nown as, 2all (treet# (in$e then, as the $olony grew and was e&entually $onsumed by what is now 3ew 4or% City, the wall has almost $ompletely disappeared# 2hen I began my $areer in engineering in /566, I wor%ed for a $ompany that tested gas applian$es to insure that they $omplied with national safety standards# 7ne of the things that $aused me to be dissatisfied with that job was that we seemed to always be going in $ir$les# 2e would test a produ$t, e&entually it would pass, but later the manufa$turer would redesign it and the pro$ess would start all o&er again# I thought that my problem was that we were just shuffling paper all the time and so I e&entually too% a job with a $ompany that built, and rebuilt, furna$es and other e8uipment for $ompanies that melted metal# I li%ed that job# 2e still pushed a lot of paper, but on$e in a while we $ould go out to the shop and see a finished produ$t, $ompletely built and loaded on a tra$tor trailer 9or se&eral: ready to go to it's new home# But right around the time of the terrorist atta$% on the 2orld )rade Center I had something of a re&elation# 2e were building a new furna$e and a new hydrauli$ $radle that would pour the molten metal, when I reali;ed that the $ustomer already had one almost e,a$tly li%e it# 2hat they were doing was repla$ing a thirty year old furna$e and $radle with a new one that, naturally, in$luded se&eral new impro&ements that the inter&ening thirty years of te$hnology had introdu$ed# <y re&elation was that thirty years ago there was another engineer, just li%e me, sitting at a des%, mu$h li%e mine, doing almost e,a$tly what I was doing, and all of his wor% was about to be ripped out, s$rapped, and melted down# It was at this point that I began to wonder what the point was# 2hat was the point of my life= 2hat would I be remembered for= 2ould anyone $are, in a hundred years, that I had e&er li&ed= !ll of these e,amples, both from my life as well as from the histories of se&eral famous buildings $ause us to as%, what is it that &e are building= !re we building something that will be destroyed in thirty years, or a hundred years, or a thousand= 7r are we building something else= /

In Haggai 2:6-9, we hear -od tell his people that while they are rebuilding the temple that had been destroyed by the Babylonian army, !e is building something that mu$h more than just a building>
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This is what the Lord Almighty says: In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will ill this ho!se with glory," says the Lord Almighty. # The silver is mine and the gold is mine," declares the Lord Almighty. $ The glory o this %resent ho!se will be greater than the glory o the ormer ho!se," says the Lord Almighty. And in this %lace I will grant %eace," declares the Lord Almighty.& -od reminds his people that e&en though his temple lies in ruins, the future is brighter than the past e&er was# -od says that all of the wealth of the world belongs to him# )he new temple, whi$h by all a$$ounts was mu$h smaller than the one (olomon had built, would be more filled with the glory of -od than the pre&ious one# )he future of -od's house would be a future as a house of pea$e# E&en though they are tempted to gi&e up be$ause of the ruin that lay around them, the people of -od are $alled to understand that -od has ama;ing plans for his people and is building something for the future# In #u$e 20:2"-3%, *esus also tries to e,plain that -od is building something une,pe$ted and he points to a different %ind of a future>
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(ome o the (add!cees, who say there is no res!rrection, came to )es!s with a *!estion. '# Teacher,& they said, +oses wrote or !s that i a man"s brother dies and leaves a wi e b!t no children, the man m!st marry the widow and raise !% o s%ring or his brother. '$ ,ow there were seven brothers. The irst one married a woman and died childless. -. The second -/ and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. -' 0inally, the woman died too. -- ,ow then, at the res!rrection whose wi e will she be, since the seven were married to her1&
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)es!s re%lied, The %eo%le o this age marry and are given in marriage. -3 4!t those who are considered worthy o taking %art in the age to come and in the res!rrection rom the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, -6 and they can no longer die5 or they are like the angels. They are 6od"s children, since they are children o the res!rrection. -7 4!t in the acco!nt o the b!rning b!sh, even +oses showed that the dead rise, or he calls the Lord the 6od o Abraham, and the 6od o Isaac, and the 6od o )acob." -# 7e is not the 6od o the dead, b!t o the living, or to him all are alive.& )he (addu$ees, while they belie&ed in -od, did not belie&e in resurre$tion or an afterlife and they $ome to *esus with a 8uestion that they thin% will trip him up and ma%e him loo% foolish# It is, e&en today, a 8uestion that s%epti$s li%e to throw out be$ause it seems to be ridi$ulous# )oday, we might $all this the Eli;abeth )aylor 8uestion# )hey as%, ?If there is su$h a thing as an afterlife, and a woman tries to follow the law, and in this weird $ase, ends up legally marrying a su$$ession of se&en brothers, in the afterlife, to whom is she married=' But *esus' answer doesn't $ome $lose to satisfying them# *esus refuses to fall for their trap and tells them that they'&e got it all wrong# In hea&en, things don't wor% li%e they do here on earth# )he rules are different# In hea&en, people don't get married and what's more, they don't die# In answer to their 8uestion, *esus reminds them of <oses' prayers to the -od of !braham, Isaa$ and *a$ob# If they were dead, it would be odd or at least silly to say something li%e that# 2e $ould say that -od used to be the -od of !braham, but not that he is the -od of !braham# *esus says that -od is not a god of the dead, but a god of the li&ing, for to -od, all of his $hildren are ali&e# *esus says, 4es, there is an afterlife, and yes, we &ill all li&e again after death# But why= 2hy would -od $reate us, and sa$rifi$e his (on for us= Did he do all so that we $ould li&e in hea&en with him= Paul, in his se$ond letter to the $hur$h in )hessaloni$a '2 !essalonians 2:13-1"(, says this> 2

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4!t we o!ght always to thank 6od or yo!, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, beca!se 6od chose yo! as irst r!its to be saved thro!gh the sancti ying work o the (%irit and thro!gh belie in the tr!th. /2 7e called yo! to this thro!gh o!r gos%el, that yo! might share in the glory o o!r Lord )es!s 8hrist.
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(o then, brothers and sisters, stand irm and hold ast to the teachings we %assed on to yo!, whether by word o mo!th or by letter.
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+ay o!r Lord )es!s 8hrist himsel and 6od o!r 0ather, who loved !s and by his grace gave !s eternal enco!ragement and good ho%e, /7 enco!rage yo!r hearts and strengthen yo! in every good deed and word. Paul says that -od $alled us to belie&e the truth about his (on *esus, so t!at we $ould share his glory# -od lo&es us so mu$h that he wants to share his glory with us, he wants to share his life with us, and he wants to share his hea&enly !ome with us# -od, li%e in the days of +aggai, is building something new, a new house, and a new $hur$h# 2e, all of us who belie&e in *esus Christ, will be there# But if -od is sharing with us so that we $an share in his glory, we are also $alled to share that good news with others# *esus said that -od $alled us, so that we $an share in his glory, and I belie&e that means we are not only to share the glory of *esus in hea&en, but that we are to share *esus here and now with our neighbors and friends# It is in this way that we ta%e part in building the $hur$h, both here and in eternity# )he tomb that Pharaoh Djedefre built lasted for almost four thousand years> but it's gone# )he )emple in *erusalem is gone# )he wall of 2all (treet is gone# E&erything that you and I build in our li&es will, one day, be gone# +omes and $hur$hes, no matter how spe$ta$ular, $annot stand the test of time# E&entually, the elements and the flow of human e&ents will o&er$ome them all# But there is one thing that we $an build that will last fore&er# Bearing $hildren ma%es a more permanent mar% in the world, but e&en if your des$endants are interested in genealogy, most of us won't be mu$h more than a name on a page# But tea$hing $hildren, and adults, about *esus and passing to them the good news of the -ospel message is another story# 2hen we share the good news of *esus Christ we are building something far more substantial than wood, and bri$% and stone# 2hen we share *esus, we are helping to build a $hur$h that will last fore&er and we are sharing the glory of -od with people who will li&e in hea&en with us for eternity# !nd so, I thin% ea$h of us must as% oursel&es two 8uestions# @irst, A+ow am I spending my life=B !nd se$ond, A!m I building for eternity=B

4ou ha&e been reading a message presented at )rinity Dnited <ethodist Chur$h on the date noted at the top of the first page# "e&# *ohn Partridge is the pastor at )rinity of Perry heights in <assillon, 7hio# Dupli$ation of this message is a part of our <edia ministry, if you ha&e re$ei&ed a blessing in this way, we would lo&e to hear from you# Eetters and donations in support of the <edia ministry or any of our other proje$ts may be sent to )rinity Dnited <ethodist Chur$h, C757 Ein$oln 2ay E#, <assillon, 7hio 11010# )hese messages are a&ailable to any interested persons regardless of membership# 4ou may subs$ribe to these messages, in print or ele$troni$ formats, by writing to the address noted, or by $onta$ting us at subs$ribeFtrinityperryheights#org# If you ha&e 8uestions, you $an as% them in our dis$ussion forum on @a$eboo% 9sear$h for Pastor *ohn 7nline:# )hese messages $an also be found online at httpGHHwww#s$ribd#$omHPastor *ohn Partridge# !ll ($ripture referen$es are from the 3ew International Iersion unless otherwise noted#