What Are You Building???

Reflection: Today we end the book of Acts, the remarkable story of the growth of the Christian church in the 1^st century, with Paul in Rome.  As we move to the book of Romans tomorrow, we will see the first chapter talks about Paul’s longing to make it to Rome, albeit under interesting circumstances.  Even today we read he and other prisoners are on the island of Malta, where the ship ends up at out of the storm. Paul is at work healing the chief official’s father from fever and dysentery. Despite Paul’s bad circumstances, God keeps using him to propagate the Gospel in word and deed.  Paul uses these circumstances to show whose Lordship he is under. Though he is a prisoner, we see who he is really in chains for. 

I’m sure you realize the Christian life can be a struggle.  Even after the Jews were given permission by King Cyrus to rebuild the temple, right away people stirred up opposition to them and tried to get the new kings to stop the building project for fear they would grow powerful and take taxes from the King.  God is working sovereignly though as the new King Darius comes into power and extends the hand of kindness that King Cyrus had given them.  We see the leadership of Zerubbabel, when the enemies come and ask to be a part of the building project though there motives were not to worship the Lord, but to see what the Israelites were doing. Zerubbabel discerns this and says, “You have no part with us in building the temple to our God.  We alone will build it for the Lord our God as King Cyrus, King of Persia commanded us.” 

God has called us to build the Church in the Great Commission by “making disciples who make disciples”.  The bible assures us with the promise given to Peter, “On this rock (of Peter’s confession) I will build my church and the gates of hades will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:18 Fortunately in our country we are given freedom to build the church, where others build it under the threat of persecution.  If you are a part of a local church you are part of the most important building project known to humankind.  And just as it takes all kinds of different laborers to construct a house or building, God uses all sorts of people to build His church for His glory.  It is the only thing that will last for eternity.  And the cornerstone of the church is Jesus Christ, and all those who follow him are built into this spiritual building.     

May you be strengthened in the role you play in building the church where you live!  We all have lots of responsibilities in this life and time is of the essence, so make sure you have time in your to help build the church and make a difference that will last for all of eternity.  Amen. 

Psalm 33:1-5

1 Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;

    it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

2 Praise the Lord with the harp;

    make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

3 Sing to him a new song;

    play skillfully, and shout for joy.

4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;

    he is faithful in all he does.

5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;

    the earth is full of his unfailing love.

Ezra 4

Opposition to the Rebuilding

4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, 2 they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.” 3 But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.” 4 Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. 5 They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Later Opposition Under Xerxes and Artaxerxes

6 At the beginning of the reign of Xerxes, they lodged an accusation against the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 7 And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. The letter was written in Aramaic script and in the Aramaic language. 8 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king as follows: 9 Rehum the commanding officer and Shimshai the secretary, together with the rest of their associates—the judges, officials and administrators over the people from Persia, Uruk and Babylon, the Elamites of Susa, 10 and the other people whom the great and honorable Ashurbanipal deported and settled in the city of Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates. 11 (This is a copy of the letter they sent him.)

To King Artaxerxes,

From your servants in Trans-Euphrates:

12 The king should know that the people who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city. They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.

13 Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute or duty will be paid, and eventually the royal revenues will suffer. 14 Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king, 15 so that a search may be made in the archives of your predecessors. In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place with a long history of sedition. That is why this city was destroyed. 16 We inform the king that if this city is built and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates.

17 The king sent this reply:

To Rehum the commanding officer, Shimshai the secretary and the rest of their associates living in Samaria and elsewhere in Trans-Euphrates:

Greetings.

18 The letter you sent us has been read and translated in my presence. 19 I issued an order and a search was made, and it was found that this city has a long history of revolt against kings and has been a place of rebellion and sedition. 20 Jerusalem has had powerful kings ruling over the whole of Trans-Euphrates, and taxes, tribute and duty were paid to them. 21 Now issue an order to these men to stop work, so that this city will not be rebuilt until I so order. 22 Be careful not to neglect this matter. Why let this threat grow, to the detriment of the royal interests? 23 As soon as the copy of the letter of King Artaxerxes was read to Rehum and Shimshai the secretary and their associates, they went immediately to the Jews in Jerusalem and compelled them by force to stop. 24 Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Acts 28:7-16

7 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. 8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. 10 They honored us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.

Paul’s Arrival at Rome

11 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. 13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. 14 There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged. 16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

Rise up, come to our help. Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love. Psalm 44:26

Christ says, “For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” Luke 17:21

Most Holy One, thank you for Jesus, your son, who showed us how to live, how to love, and how to be one with you. Thank you for your unconditional, everlasting love. Amen.