God's Major Renovation Project

Well, thank you, Mr. Graham, I think. Happy Sabbath to all of you.

Well, do you ever get discouraged with your progress in life?

Do you ever feel that my life is a mess?

It may just be an overall feeling of frustration with ourselves, or what's going on in the world. We may make the mistake of watching the news for five minutes and get a little discouraged about that, what's going on around us.

It may be a feeling of weariness. The good things just don't seem to happen in my life.

And it becomes very easy to begin to feel that one day of life just merely rolls into another without much change, without anything seemingly any different than the day before or the day before that.

And we may feel that looking down some days that our life is just an absolute mess.

Well, do you know why this is? I have some good news and I have some bad news.

First, the bad news. Your life and my life is a mess.

Now, the good news. It's supposed to be that way.

The reason that our lives are a mess is that God is doing a major renovation work in your life.

This is the very essence of who and what God is, and it's His purpose that motivates God to do these things.

Because God is a builder, God is a re-creator, God is a renovator, and He's doing a major renovation in your life.

God the Master Builder is doing major renovation work each and every day in your life.

Let's begin by going to Genesis 1 and verse 26.

If I were to look at a dictionary definition of what a builder is, it says that it's a person who contracts for and supervises the construction of a building.

Well, God is the Master Builder, and His toolset is His Holy Spirit.

That's the tool that He uses to build us into something totally different than we were when we started out on this journey of life.

Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26 says, Then God said, Let us make man an hour image according to our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing, the creeps on the earth.

So God created man in His own image, and the image of God He created Him, male and female He created them.

So God created both male and female. He created both of them in His own image.

And it doesn't mean the visage of a nose and eyes and ears. We've been told that could possibly be true.

It means in the image of desiring to build, desiring to create things, desiring to make things. That's what God is.

And for the human race, that's the way we've been from day one. We have wired within our DNA the desire to make things, to build things.

Let's continue here, picking it up in verse 28.

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

So have leadership, God says. God's a leader. He does things. He says, You also be a leader. Do things with this creation that I've given you now.

Do it responsibly with the life that I've created. Don't just raid it and don't abuse it, but be a guardian over this creation and use these things to your benefit for the glory of God and to improve your world, to improve your technologies, to improve the things that you've created.

Go ahead, do that, is what God says. Then down in chapter 2 and verse 1, Thus the heavens and the earth and all the host of them were finished.

And that's, of course, talking in context about the physical earth that God had created in six days, and he rested on the Sabbath.

I think what's important for us to realize is that God not only built a physical world and universe, he is also daily building a new you from the inside out.

Why? Because God is a builder. He's the builder of worlds. Look at the planets that surround just our own solar system, our own galaxy.

He's the builder of people, physical people. He's the builder of families. He created the concept of family, going all the way back to Genesis 1.

That's lasted thousands and thousands of years until the 21st century when some degenerates decided that they wanted to redefine what a family is.

God created what a family is. And God is the one who is doing a major work in your life of doing a renovation of who and what you are from the very top of your head to the bottom of your feet.

We were created in His image, and that means that as human beings we too are builders. Just take a look at history. Open a history book and look at the civilizations.

You will see that since the time of Adam and Eve, what humanity does is build stuff constantly. Since ancient times we've built homes, temples, palaces, and unique cultures around the world.

The archaeological evidence is everywhere beneath our feet in ancient ruins. Individually we also build things.

We might call it make, for example. A woman may have a gift of making a quilt. We don't call it building a quilt, but that's exactly what she's doing.

She's taking strips of fabric and she's sewing it together in a very artistic, beautiful way to create, to build something. That's wonderful. That's because it's wired in her DNA to make things.

It's the same as crocheting, the same with someone who likes to work with wood, the same with a musician. We don't use the word build, but a musician is building musical pieces when he or she writes music or plays an instrument.

Our entire race of people throughout this world has within our DNA the desire to build, to improve, to make things better. Genesis 11, verse 1. Let's take a look at an example of this anciently. Again, chapter 11, verse 1.

So they had asphalt like a glue between these stones in order to make a very large tower, and they said, And not just any city, but a city that would be magnificent, a city that would make a statement that would say, God, Creator, we've arrived. Take notice of us human beings. Look at all that we can do.

Look how great we are. Look how far we've come. Come, let us build cities and a tower whose top is in the heavens.

Again, a symbol to this Creator. Look, here we are. We're coming up to get you.

Satan tried to pull you down, so we're coming up to pull you down.

Take notice of us. Let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.

But the Lord God came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built.

And the Lord said, Indeed, the people are one, and they have one language, and this is what they begin to do.

Now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.

God said, If I don't intervene, they will accelerate humanity to the point where it would destroy itself before all of these things that I have planned will occur, including the birth of Jesus Christ to be the Savior of the world.

They've got their act together. They have one language. They have one purpose. If I don't go down there and intervene, they will destroy themselves prematurely.

Remember, when Adam and Eve were taken out of the garden, God in essence said to them, Fine, you don't want to listen to me? You want to be rebellious children? Go ahead. Create your own civilizations, your own languages, your own cultures, your own religions.

And I'm just going to sit back and give you time to realize that you can't do this by yourselves.

But I always reserve the right to intervene in behalf of those who cry out to me or intervene in world events when I see fit to fulfill my plan.

And that's in essence what God did when Adam and Eve rebelled against him. And this is one of the situations where he intervened in the goings-on of humanity.

So again, we wouldn't prematurely destroy ourselves before God's plan was fulfilled. So let's pick it up here.

Verse 7, Come, let us go down there and confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.

Therefore, its name is called Babel, because the Lord there confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

So what this confirms, this scripture, is true to our heritage. A man is a builder of cities, of empires, of kingdoms, of governments, of organizations. We always like to make stuff.

We always like to build and create. We are wired to have an uncontrollable need to create and build. Look at children at play.

You give a young child three or four small square blocks, and you know what they'll do within a couple of minutes? They'll be pointing one block on top of another one.

And the third block on top of that, because it's wired in our DNA. We can't help ourselves. Why? Because we were created in the image of God.

And that's the way God is. God is a master builder. And right now in your life, God is embarked on a major restoration project.

Now, God is not interested in doing an upgrade in your life. He's not interested in some cosmetic changes. He's interested in a complete renovation. From top to bottom. From inside out.

That's what our great God, the master builder, is doing in our lives. Now in the case, unfortunately, of the scripture we just read, this building program was not for good. It was for evil because they intended to confront God with what they were building.

From there, let's go to John 5 and verse 5 and see something that Jesus said about himself and the Father after healing a man. John 5 and verse 5. You know, God doesn't take the Sabbath off. Well, that doesn't shock too many of you. The Sabbath was made for man. It's made for our benefit. God doesn't need a Sabbath. Now the very first Sabbath, he rested to establish what day the Sabbath day was. But God does not take the Sabbath day off. John 5 and verse 5. Let's pick it up here. This is the story of an event at Bethsaida, the Bethsaida Pool by the word the Hebrew or Aramaic word Bethsaida means house of mercy.

This is now a certain man was there who had an infirmity 38 years. And when Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, he said to him, do you want to be made well? And here's how the man explains why 38 years he hasn't been healed. The sick man answered him, Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. There was a tradition that an angel would come and stir up the water of the pool and whoever got in that water quickly would be healed. Obviously, if you're paralyzed and sick, you don't move very fast. We call that mobility challenged today, right? He was mobility and mobility issues. So he could not get to the water. But while I am coming, another steps down before me. And Jesus said to him, forget all this water stuff. Forget the fancy stuff, Jesus says. Rise. Here, I'm going to make this simple. Rise, get up, take your bed and walk. Have a nice day. And immediately the man was made well, he took up his bed and he walked. And that day was the Sabbath.

Verse 10. The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, it is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry your bed. And he answered them, he who made me well said to me, it's his fault, he said to me, take up your bed and walk. And they said to him, who was, who is the man who said to you, take up your bed and walk. But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn a multitude being in that place. So Jesus, there are so many people around Jesus who was kind of incognito, able to blend into the crowd. And the man really didn't know who he was. Verse 14. Afterward, Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, see, you have been made well.

Sin no more lest a worst thing come upon you. You see, we're healed to be a light and example to others. We're not healed so that we can live a life of sin, so that we can be a skunk. We are healed to be an example of others, of faithful, godly living. This reminds me of what Jesus told the woman caught in the act of adultery. He said, you're forgiven, but sin no more.

Change your life. Make your life godly as a result of the forgiveness that you have received. Verse 15. The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who made him well. For this reason, the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him because he had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, My father has been working until now, and I have been working.

See, Jesus was even working on the Sabbath day. He was healing. Now, the Sabbath was made for man, not for God. God established the Sabbath day. It's a tool. It's a way to acknowledge God's supremacy and to take the time off and worship God and acknowledge Him. But we need to understand that God hears prayers and heals and intervenes every day of the week, including the Sabbath day. So what kind of work is the Father and Jesus Christ doing? Well, here, for example, Jesus Christ is healing. Among other things, they are constantly building. The universe is constantly expanding. They are daily building and sustaining the universe, preparing a people, building a spiritual family, building and preparing for the New Jerusalem, and a spiritual kingdom to eventually be on this earth. So as Jesus said, My father has been working until now, and I have been working. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 6. Let's see what Paul says about this major renovation project going on in our lives. 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 6. Paul is talking about the role of the ministry in serving the Corinthian congregation. Paul had a very humble approach to what his role was. He said, I planted, but Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. God gets all the credit. Paul says, All I did was one of the laborers. I planted. Apollos was one of the laborers. He watered, but it's God who gives the increase to the congregation, so that neither he who plants is anything, nor is he who waters, but God gives the increase. Now, he who plants and he who waters are one. They're on the same mission. They're laborers out in the field, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. Not the other person's labor, their own labor. Verse 9, For we are God's fellow workers, you are God's field, you are God's building. And God is doing a major renovation in your life, in your existence, transforming you from the way that we started, carnal, self-absorbed, into a spiritual creature in Christ. And you don't achieve that with cosmetics. You don't achieve that by doing a minor upgrade. You only achieve that by doing a major renovation, a reinvention, a transformation from one to the other. Verse 10, According to the grace of God, which was given to me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. He's referring to Apollo, so follow him. But let each one take heed how he builds in it. Where no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. That's got to be the foundation. That's the only legitimate foundation there is. And the early part of my Christian walk, unfortunately, I saw a lot of people build their Christianity and the wrong foundation. Some build it on being in some safe place to protect themselves from pain. That's the wrong foundation.

Some build it on knowing prophecy in all end time events. As interesting as that may be, that's not the right foundation. The only foundation is not idolizing a man or men or organizations. It's the foundation of who and what is Jesus Christ.

Now, let's continue here. It says in verse 11, we'll read that again. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, now we're getting to the junk pile. Wood, hay, straw. Each one's work will become clear, for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is. Now, this isn't talking about the foundation. This is talking about the superstructure on top of the foundation. So, if fire goes ahead and it hits gold, what does it do? The gold remains. It might get a little burnished, but the gold remains. How about silver? If you heat up silver, what does silver do? Well, if you heat it up long enough, it will liquefy. But if a fiery, short-term trial comes through, silver is not affected. Precious stones are not affected. How about wood? What happens when you light a match to wood? How about hay? How about straw? Obviously, those ladders are consumed rather quickly. They don't last. That superstructure collapses. And it says, each one's work will become clear, for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is. Because if anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, that superstructure is cheap and shallow material. Wood, hay, straw. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet as though through fire. So it says, God will put us through whatever tests and trials we need to go through in life until we get the right superstructure that's made of quality character, like gold and silver and precious stones in contrast to the junk theology that a lot of people want to build their lives around and want to focus on all of the time. Let's continue here, verse 14. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, again, wood, hay, straw, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. So Paul tells the brethren that they are God's field and God's building. Now most of us in the Church of God have the right foundation, but God is rebuilding a new superstructure for almost all of us. We may have a good foundation, and that's wonderful. Congratulations, that's awesome. And the only sure and right foundation is Jesus Christ. If our spiritual foundation is in him, we can face any personal trial or tragedy. And though our superstructure might be wiped out, God, if we stand tall, God will help to build it bigger and better than other. If we endure, our lives will be renovated. And then even our foundation can be reinforced and strengthened through those trials, through the things that we go through in this life.

Let's go to Hebrews 11 and verse 7. Hebrews 11 and verse 7.

To see what the author Hebrews, perhaps Paul himself, writes here.

It says, chapter 11 and verse 7, By faith Noah, being divinely warned of the things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household by which he condemned the world and became heir of righteousness, which is according to faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go to the place in which he would receive an inheritance. I want you to notice he makes the connection faith and obedience. It's not faith or obedience, it's faith and obedience. That's what Paul is saying here. Verse 8. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called out to go to the place in which he would receive an inheritance and he went out not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of him of the same promise. Verse 10. For he waited for the city which has foundations whose builder and whose maker is God. You see, God works every day and he's building something great in your life. He's doing a major renovation project. And God is building a new Jerusalem that eventually is going to come down to this very earth as part of the throne and center of the universe. This is an example, like Abraham, of someone having the right foundation. He lived by faith. Remember, faith is believing and knowing something even though you can't prove it with any of your five senses. Faith is something hoped for that has no proof or evidence. If you could taste it or hear it or smell it or touch it or see it, it wouldn't require faith because you have evidence or proof of its existence. For example, I know Mrs. Thomas exists. I don't need to have faith in her existence because from my senses I can see the amount of money that she spends. Therefore, I know that she exists. I don't need to have faith in her existence. She lives by the philosophy, I shop. Therefore, I am. She's not here, so I get to have all this fun. It's a blank seat up here.

All kidding aside, we have faith when we don't have any evidence. That's when faith is required. When none of our senses tell us something can be proved, that is exactly when we have faith. And that's the way Abraham was. Abraham said, if God promises it, then it's as good as done. That's all he needed to know. That's all he needed to hear.

And because of his faith and his foundation, he will dwell in the new Jerusalem that's being built by God. Now let us go to Acts 20 and verse 28 and see Paul's expression in another way here. Luke's comment here in Acts chapter 20. It's Paul speaking. Paul's part of this, but Luke wrote it. Acts chapter 20 and verse 28.

This had occurred in Miletus, which was a port city for the city connected to Ephesus. Acts chapter 20 and verse 28. And Paul is giving a warning, he's talking to the elders of the congregation about their responsibility and about the way that they should approach the awesome responsibility that God gives them as trustees of his flock.

Verse 31. Therefore watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn you of the day that I was born, everyone, night and day with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

How can God do this? Because God is doing a major renovation in your life through everything that we experience. The good, the bad, the joyful, the painful. They all have a part to play in God's renovation project in our lives. So Paul's reminding the elders of their responsibility towards the flock. The sheep don't belong to any person or people or group.

They belong to Jesus Christ alone who purchased them with his own shed blood. He is the Good Shepherd. Elders are simply overseers who are expected to nurture and care for the flock. Paul also mentions here that an elder should point the flock towards God and his word. When this is done faithfully, God grants each person favor and he is able to continue to build up his people. When the focus is on Jesus Christ and not on peripheral things that have nothing to do with God or Jesus Christ, when the focus is on Jesus Christ, that's when favor is granted and that's when the building process can be accelerated and great things can happen.

A healthy church culture is about building and motivating each other according to God's specifications. It's not about trying to control everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5 and 9. Once again, this happens to be one of Paul's actual letters. 1 Thessalonians 5 and 9. Paul writes through the church in Thessalonica, verse 11. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another just as you also are doing. Now the Greek word here, that we translate edify, is the Greek word ocódemo and it means to be a house builder.

So what he's saying is therefore comfort each other and build each other up. Help the master builder in his renovation program with your neighbor, with your brother and sister in Christ. Build them up. Don't tear them down. Verse 11 again, therefore comfort each other, edify one another just as you are also doing. This Greek word means to build a house, to construct. Instead of judging and competing with one another, we should be comforting and building one another up. And why do we struggle with that? Why sometimes do we struggle with encouraging other people?

Well, it's because we have to realize that there is another spirit in the world. Yes, God is spirit and he's the master builder. There's another spirit in the world that is contrary to what the master builder is doing. And in Revelation 9 and verse 11, he's called Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. And both of those terms relate to Satan the Devil and his plan of destruction and everything he touches he destroys.

Whether it's individual lives, whether it's human cultures, whether it's church organizations that aren't focusing on the right foundation, whatever Satan the Devil influences, he destroys. He's the anti-builder. He doesn't want to make things. He doesn't want to build things. He wants to tear them apart. He wants to shred them piece by piece.

So we have to be very careful that we're not tuned into this spirit, this dark spirit world that is negative and will tend to make us critical of one another, judgmental of one another, because that's not healthy for God's people and it's not healthy for us as a congregation. So what do these kinds of things that I've been talking about have to do with your life?

Or perhaps occasionally when you say to yourself, my life's a mess. Or maybe you talk to one of your brothers and sisters in Christ in the Sabbath. I've had these conversations and you walk away and say, that person's life's a mess. I'm sure you've had those feelings. Well, we are messes. As I said, that's the bad news. All of us are a work in progress. The good news is that it's supposed to be that way because that is part of the building process.

You know, in the New Testament, the Greek word for disciples is methetes, which means a learner. What that means is that nothing in your life, none of your experiences in life have been wasted. God intends every experience you've had, good, bad, happy, sad, to be part of a process to mold us into His image.

Because God is not short-sighted like we are. We look at someone, we talk to someone, we think, oh, that person's a mess. And we think, well, since we don't know much about the future, we just assume it'll always be that way. We may say that about ourselves, my life's a mess, nothing seems to be going right, I'm frustrated. And we think that's going to be that way forever. It's because we're short-sighted, we're human beings. But God looks into the prism of the future, and He doesn't see you just as the way you are today.

He can see you the way you will be, and shall be when you are spirit and a full child in His family. God sees us in the light of the future. That's how God views all of His precious children. Not simply as the troubled and limited souls that we are today struggling with our own foibles and weaknesses and personal challenges. God sees our potential, what we can be, what we will be. He knows that we are living construction sites, and construction sites get really messy sometimes.

But we have to have faith like Abraham had, that God will have us ready before the grand opening. That God will have us as a place and to the point we need to be as long as we're doing what we need to be doing.

And if you say to yourself, I could become a better disciple, that's true. We could all become better disciples. We could all become better children of God. But remember that ancient Chinese proverb that states, the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.

So if we feel we can do more and do better, stop putting off what we could have done 20 years ago or a long time ago, because God wants us to help him. God is building a new you. He's in the process of literally changing what we are, not simply, again, doing an upgrade in your life.

He's not simply doing an enhancement. He's doing a renovation, starting with our foundation, to get our foundation from not being so carnal and physical and selfish, to being a foundation that's based on Jesus Christ.

Paul mentions in Romans 12 and 2, he said, Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

That word transformed, which is metamophu, which means to transfigure. It's the same Greek word that we use in English, metamorphosis.

If you've ever seen a caterpillar go into a cocoon, that process is called metamorphosis. That butterfly that comes out of the end of that process is totally different than that lowly caterpillar that entered that cocoon. As a matter of fact, they have shown that every cell in that caterpillar changes. Inside of the body of that cocoon, it becomes soup. Every cell is repurposed so that a butterfly can be created.

And brethren, that's exactly in a spiritual sense what God is doing within our lives.

Paul also said in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. A new creature is what he's talking about here that eventually doesn't even resemble the way that we started out in life. How did we start out this carnal physical life? Selfish? Wanting it to be my way? Wanting myself to be pleased all the time? Wanting people to do what I want them to do? That's how we start out this physical life. But the way that God wants us to end up in this life is what does God want us to do? What does God want me to do? What disciplines? What character? What ways do I need to deny myself so that I can live and act the way Jesus Christ lived and acted? How can I be transformed from selfish carnal to spiritual, sanctified, set apart by God's Spirit? Brethren, complete renovation is messy. On a part of my career, I probably visited 200 or more job sites in my career because I sold supplies to construction people. So I would go to new construction sites all the time. And there is debris and stuff all over the place. There's junk everywhere until the last week or so is there before they get ready for the grand opening. Then they clean all of that stuff up. You know, recently in our building, we by no means have done any renovations. Probably the closest thing we had to a renovation is when Walden, I believe Mike Rebar, cut a hole in a mason block wall so that we could have an additional kitchen. So that women in one room could pass something to another room. And if you may recall, they put plastic over the doors. They're in there. Dust is flying. They came out there, covered with mason dust. It's all over everything in those rooms! It's a mess! Because that's what happens when you're doing renovation work. And recently, on our own building here, just in this room. Now, it was just an upgrade. It wasn't a major renovation, but there were drop cloths. You weren't here during the week. There were drop cloths. There were paints splattered from the ceiling that had to be cleaned up on the carpeting. There was plaster dust because there was plaster put on the cracks of the walls. Those had to be sanded. Those had to be painted. There was dust. There were cardboard from all these new light fixtures that had to be towed out and taken someplace because the cardboard was a mess. There were obsolete light fixtures that had to be disposed of because of our upgrade in our lighting. This is just like our lives. There's obsolete stuff in our lives that we need to get rid of. Let it go! There's also a lot of junk in our lives that would serve us well if we helped God in this renovation project that he's on. And things tend to look really messy until you're getting ready for that grand opening.

Until you get near the time of the final stage and you need to clean up. And when we look at ourselves or our brethren, we may see a mess. We may see disorder. We may see confusion. But underneath, God is doing his renovation work. So the question is, will we help God in his renovation work in our lives and in his renovation work with our brothers and sisters by encouraging them? Or will we be a hindrance to God in the renovation work that's going on in our lives? Acts 9 and verse 26. If you'll turn there with me. Acts 9 and verse 26.

This is our final scripture today.

Luke records that when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him. This is after his conversion. Obviously, he had persecuted the church. He was not, shall we say, warmly welcomed. After all he had done to the church, when he shows up, people are suspicious. Then that's natural. They were afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple. Verse 27. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, the road to Damascus, and that he had spoken to him. And now he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming and going out, and he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and disputed against the Hellenists. Those were the Jewish people of Greek culture who had adapted Greek culture. But they attempted to kill him. When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. In verse 31. Then the churches throughout all, Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, had peace and were edified. Again, that's that Greek word that means they were being built up. We have a phrase in our own culture. We see something magnificent and tall, and we call it an edifice because it's big and usually imposing. And we stand in awe of an edifice. Well, these people were edified. They were constructed. They were being built up because of the example of Paul. Imagine how excited everyone would be when the church's biggest enemy suddenly, overnight, becomes the church's biggest advocate and is preaching powerfully about Jesus Christ. Think what an asset that Paul was to all of them. Brethren, our God is a master builder. He designed and built the physical world that we live in.

He made humankind in his own image with our desire to construct and build. And we continue to do that every day as a people and individually in our own hobbies and in our own lives. God is building character in us through a major renovation project. God is building a spiritual family. And he wants you to be part of that family.

And this is in total contrast to the adversary, Satan the Devil, who is a destroyer. He's a master divider. He's a control freak. He wants you to destroy families, destroy nations, destroy churches. Ultimately, he wants you to destroy all mankind. And he would if God would not intervene in Jesus Christ's return, if I can use the expression, in the nick of time, to save this world from itself. The enemy desires perpetual chaos and confrontation. He wants us to have contempt for each other. He wants us to discourage one another. He wants us to judge people harshly for the renovation project going on in their lives. So whose example should we follow? God the Master Builder, or Satan the Master Butcher? The borrow a line from the Ten Commandments movie. Brethren, I encourage you to be like God. Follow his example and be a people builder. Encourage others who are living in a mess because their lives are in a personal renovation project. Become an answer to someone's prayer. Instead of being an obstacle, being critical, being harsh, become a solution. Become an answer. Become a disciple and an advocate. Make it your life mission to build up everything and everybody around you, whether it's your church, your community, wherever you go, be a builder and realize in his church that you and the person sitting next to you are going through a difficult major renovation project and it is messy. And it will continue to be messy. Now, you might say, well, Mr. Thomas, if I make it my life mission to build up everything and everyone around me, will it always be appreciated or respected? Are you kidding? No! Most of the time it will not be appreciated. It will not be respected. But that's not why you do it.

Think how many times God does good things for us and we're not appreciative and we don't recognize his grace and his mercy and the fact that he's our biggest advocate and that he does so many things for us. That's just being human. If you do good things and you don't get a response, don't take it personally because that's not why you should do it in the first place. As I said earlier, I've been to hundreds of construction sites and I have observed that just a few weeks before the grand opening of any magnificent building, there's trash everywhere, scattered construction junk, top to bottom. And you may feel that your life is like this right now. But don't get discouraged. Don't question the wisdom or the plan, the process of the master builder. Work with him. Support him in his renovation work in your life. Support him in his renovation work with the brothers and sisters of this congregation. Have faith in the process and know that he will bring it all together just before the grand opening in his kingdom. Be patient with yourself and please be patient with your brothers and your sisters in Christ Jesus. Please don't ever forget that you are God's building project. He's doing a great renovation in your life. Stay humble. Repent daily. Grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord. And help God so that that work can continue. I do wish all of you a fulfilling and a wonderful Sabbath day.