Transcript

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Good morning. I hope you rested well and so
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grateful that our brother prayed.
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But it's just a habit sometimes, to pray before we open God's
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Word again. And so join me as we bow our
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heads and our hearts, more importantly before the Lord.
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Lord, we are overwhelmingly grateful that You have sustained
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us through our sleep and that our eyes open this morning.
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We have every reason to believe that because we are alive today,
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you have a purpose for us. And, Lord, we are eager to know
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your purpose as we expound the Word and hear your voice through
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your established revelation. And so, Father, we asked for a
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special grace your hand upon the delivery of this Word.
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Lord, your mercy upon our hearts to receive and to discern your
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voice. Let every obstruction, any
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interference be cancelled by your power and Lord.
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May the living Christ be made more known, more alive, more
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real to us as we come into your presence, as God's people, your
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temple that you are creating and working on.
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As we speak In Jesus name we pray.
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Amen. The nation of Israel has
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undergone many administrations. During their interesting history
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as a people, they have endured many monarchs, many kings, many
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rulers, and generally those rulers have failed to inspire
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the spiritual prosperity of the nation of Israel, and as a
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result they have not prospered in virtually every other area as
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a nation and as a people. And now there were early signs
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for Israel to see a shaky future because they couldn't last past
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the third king established to see unity.
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What was one government up to the third king became two
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different kingdoms in one land. That was never God's plan.
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But man, sin, selfishness, pride, idolatry unfortunately
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interfered with what the Lord designed initially.
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And so, up to the Babylonian exile, you had a divided
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country. A divided country that even went
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to war with one another at times.
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And it's not difficult to see that the testimony of Israel's
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political leadership is disappointing, to say the least.
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All you have to do is read first kings.
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All you have to do is read second kings to get that.
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And though the various biblical records of these kings would
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make the reader blush, there is one era.
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There is one specific period, a timestamp of 40 years, that even
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if you ask, a Jew today would confess was the golden age for
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the nation of Israel. It was a time of unprecedented
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peace. It was a time of unmatched
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prosperity for this people, and I am speaking specifically as
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and to the reign of King Solomon.
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The reign of King Solomon was unlike any other.
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The accomplishments of this one man in the span of four decades
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is remarkable. And when you come to the
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scriptures, you see that the Holy Spirit takes His time to
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describe the list of his achievements, the cities that he
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has built, the the wealth that he bestowed upon this people,
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the flourishing commerce by land and sea.
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The diplomatic relationship with the nation is the fullest
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occupation of the physical promised land, the peak of
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national security, the absolutely professional and
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impressive administrative program that he had with those
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who assisted him. The giftedness of even those who
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came by his side, the men that he raised up and trained to do
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what he did with his wisdom, was something that you did not see
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even with his father David. The political and the economic
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flourishing that came about from King Solomon, even David did did
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not reach, and unfortunately, after Solomon's reign, it was a
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downward spiral for this nation. There were some episodes of of
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hope, of restoration, but no other king.
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No other succeeding throne has ever reached the heights that
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Solomon has reached. And on top of all of it, this
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same man was privileged to be called by God to build the
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resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, the very first temple
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of God in Jerusalem. And so it's no surprise that if
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you were to talk to a Jew back then, if you were to talk to a
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Jew even today who believes in Israel's history, they would say
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there was no other time like Solomon's.
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And even many would say we yearn for what Solomon was able to
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usher in, to be repeated again. And that's really their hope and
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the Messiah. But you look, you look on and
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you read, and you realize that that was never to be really
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repeated. Even when the nation of Israel
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came back from Babylonian exile and attempted to restore what
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was lost in Ezra chapter three, you see that the foundation of
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the temple was laid and there was mixed reaction.
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You had people who were rejoicing, right?
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But at the same time you read in Ezra 3 that you had people who
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were weeping, weeping, and you wonder, why are people weeping?
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And then you read, because they were old men.
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They were priests and Levi's and others who were old enough to
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remember what it was like to live under Solomon's reign and
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to see what Solemn was able to create with the blueprint that
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God had given his father David. And this restorative program did
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not even cut it. It never came close.
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That's the reputation that this man Solomon had.
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That's the impact that he had generationally.
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Even the memory of him ruined people's present experiences.
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And I I paint that portrait, that brief portrait, for you to
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get an idea of the force of Jesus's words in Matthew 1242,
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when he stood before the religious leaders of his day and
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he said something greater than Solomon is here.
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What do you think went through the minds of those Jews in that
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moment? Here is a man who held no
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political position. He had no princely attire.
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He had no palace to his name. He didn't have a pillow to his
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name, and yet he had the audacity with absolute
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confidence to look at these men in their eyes and say something
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greater than Solomon is here. I am surprised that nobody
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interfered. I'm shocked.
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I wonder why nobody in that very moment did not interrupt and say
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what makes you think you're greater than Solomon.
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And it makes you wonder if that thought passed through their
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minds. I'm sure it did for some.
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It did for me when I read that verse.
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As you heard last night, we know that Jesus is greater than
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Solomon. But I stare at that verse over
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and over again and throughout these past few days and weeks,
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wondering, Lord, how are you? How are you greater than this
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great, brilliant king? And when you compare Jesus to
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Solomon, you know what? You find out He is greater in
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every way, not just in some ways, in every way Christ is
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greater not just in his piety. He's greater than wherever you
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see Solomon to be great. He outshines Solomon in his
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wisdom. He outshines Solomon in his
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wealth. He outshines Solomon in his
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ability and his achievements and even the blessings that he was
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the overflow on those who are willingly to rest under his
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reign. Christ is greater in every
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single way, and I hope that you will see that this weekend
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Christ is even greater than Solomon in his crowning
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accomplishment, the building of the temple.
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That's what Solomon was really known for.
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And you might be wondering how how how is Christ greater than
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Solomon in that fashion? And my answer is this, because
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Jesus Christ today, even as we speak, is building a greater
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house even now if we can put up Hebrews chapter 3, verse 6.
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And if you want to see that reference briefly, let me give
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you the proof of Jesus being a builder of a house, a greater
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house than even that glorious majestic building called the
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Temple in Jerusalem, we are told in Hebrews 3-6.
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But Christ is faithful over God's house as a Son, and we are
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His house. We are His house, If indeed we
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hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
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Hebrews Out of all the places, that is where we are told we are
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his house. Hebrews the audience, are Jewish
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Christians. And this author is telling this
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people who are very acquainted with the old covenant system,
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who understood the Levitical precedent or understood the
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functions and the furnishings of the Tabernacle.
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This writer says with absolute boldness.
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Christ is building a house. We are that house.
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Staggering, shocking. At least it would have been to
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them. Those who cherish and prized the
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temple, the Tabernacle, are now being told that address of God's
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abiding place has now changed. You're now the House of God.
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We are now the House of God. And you think about that further
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and you realize, well, this is something significant.
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It is the place that was supposed to host the presence of
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God with veiled splendor and majesty.
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The place that God established to give man the access to give
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God acceptable worship has now transferred to flesh and blood.
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Christ now is committed to perpetually and faithfully work
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on us in order for us to now be the meeting place with God and
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for us to be able to display His glory to whoever would look upon
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us and know us and be acquainted with us.
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That's what's happening, and I hope we understand just how
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massive that truth is. If not, I'll say it as plain as
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possible. No longer does God look at a
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building. No longer does He look at a
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structure to speak for his glory.
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He recruits blood, bought people and adorns them.
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No longer does Christ look at specific instruments with
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materials such as gold and wood to offer pleasing aromas.
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He now looks to those that he has redeemed, and he asked for
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your hands, your feet, your eyes, your meditations to give
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him that pleasing aroma. Everything has changed in the
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New Covenant. Everything has changed and we
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need to grasp this or else you will fail to see the privilege
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of belonging to him. And you will also fail to
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realize the all that it is when we come together as God's
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people, recognized as the temple of the Holy Spirit.
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Peter put it this way. In First Peter 25 we are a
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spiritual house. Paul clarifies, an asset, saying
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that we are being built together as a dwelling place for God by
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the Spirit. That's Ephesians 222 And so it
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is sprinkled throughout the Bible.
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We are now individually the temple of the Holy Spirit and we
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also corporately express the House of God, hosting His
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presence and displaying his glory.
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That's what happened in Christ, and Christ is currently building
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that. He's currently making that more
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real, more accurate, more to his desire and design.
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And for some reason, if you don't have the awareness of how
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glorious that is to be the House of God or to realize the divine
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efforts that went into making that possible, I hope this
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message will change you. And the way that this message
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will challenge us to see how Jesus is greater is by looking
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at how Solomon built the the temple, paralleling it to how
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Christ foreshadowing how Christ is building his temple and how
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Christ has even greater greater plans and greater purposes for
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the House of God. And so this morning we're going
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to look at three simple things. We're going to go look at the
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the timing of the building of the temple.
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We're going to look at the method of the building of the
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temple. And lastly, we're going to look
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at the glory of the temple itself, the timing of the temple
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being built, the method of the time of the temple being built,
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and lastly the glory that went into the temple that was being
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built. And our time is going to be
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consecrated in one specific chapter, First Kings chapter 6
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and those this turn, our bibles that are first first kings
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chapter 6 beginning in verse one.
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And let's look at the timing in which the Temple was built,
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seeing how it points to Jesus Christ in so many ways.
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In first kings, one in the 480th year and after the people of
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Israel came out of the land of Egypt in the fourth year of
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Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the
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second month, he began to build the House of the Lord.
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Be honest, how many of us would have skipped over that verse?
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Ziv. 80th year, 4th year, second month?
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Give me something for my life today, right?
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But read carefully and read closely.
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Look what the Holy Spirit is doing.
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Notice the detail of the precise timing of the building of the
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temple. You're not only told the year,
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you're not only told the month. But in God's mind, he is
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connecting, tracing the commencement of the Temple being
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built with the Exodus. Did you see that?
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In the 480th year after the people of Israel came out of the
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land? This is when the temple began to
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be erected and created. And you think to yourself, why?
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Why is the the Holy Spirit trying to bring our minds to the
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Exodus and how does that relate to and why is it significant to
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the building of the temple? And as you think about and as
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you look into, you realize that perhaps God is trying to say
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something loud and clear concerning the Exodus and the
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temple and how it relates to this.
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Could it be that the construction of the temple, the
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construction of the House of the Lord, is the express purpose for
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why God, God's people, were brought out of Egypt to begin
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with? In other words, for this
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building to be connected with the deliverance of the people of
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Israel from Egypt is meant to communicate the goal of God in
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saving Israel from the oppression of Pharaoh.
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The temple was the great anticipation that God had.
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The temple was the longing that God.
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The temple was the the aim of bringing God's people out.
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And it's finally here. This is what the Lord wanted to
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bring his people to. This is what the Lord wanted to
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bring the people, to experience this glorious thing that's not
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just a building, but it's it's a it's a gateway into something.
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To meet with God, to worship God, to behold the glory of God.
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This is why God brought them out and that is why the author links
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the creation of the temple to their salvation.
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He might be saying, well then they have the Tabernacle early
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on in the wilderness. Yes, they did have the
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Tabernacle. That just further proves the
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point that God wanted to bring them into the wilderness to
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worship him. But the Tabernacle was
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temporary. The Tabernacle was mobile, it
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was not fixed. Whereas the nature of the temple
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is permanence. It speaks of something that is
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there, something that is will continue constancy.
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This is it. This is being parked here.
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It's not going anywhere. At least that was the intention.
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And when we think about that how God links the Exodus with the
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temple, the temple, which is the place where he wants to meet
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with us, then you understand also that Christ's deliverance
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in the gospel has no different goal.
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Is it not the intention of God in Christ that by delivering us
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from the world, delivering us from Pharaoh, delivering us from
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sin? He longs to bring us to himself.
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He longs to bring us into His presence.
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He longs to bring us into knowing Him.
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That is the goal. One of my favorite verses that
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proves that is First Peter 318, where he speaks about the
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sacrifice of Christ and what that sacrifice was intended to
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bring us to. What do you think it is, Heaven?
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What do you think it is into a more harmonious life?
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Into a more stable marriage? No.
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Here's what it is for Christ also suffered once for sins, The
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righteous. For the unrighteous that he
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might bring us to God, to God. Not out of hell.
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Not out of the world, primarily. Not even out of sin.
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Yes, those things are true. And it doesn't even say into
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heaven or into a more sense of fulfillment in your existence.
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The primary aim in Christ's suffering, dying, redeeming us
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with His blood is to bring us to God himself.
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What does that imply? Personal knowledge?
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What does that imply? Fellowship.
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What does that imply? Relationship with God?
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I've said it before, I'll say it again, if you don't want God,
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you don't want heaven. It's plain and simple, because
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the essence of heaven is God himself.
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The glory of heaven is the glory of God.
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The enjoyment of heaven is God himself, but not just heaven.
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Now today he brings us to God himself.
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So never fail to associate your salvation with that glorious
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goal, God, God. And so in salvation, if you
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claim to be saved and there is no desire for God, you have to
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question your salvation. With all due respect, you have
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to question your salvation. Because the very intent of him
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saving you, filling you with the Spirit, changing your heart, is
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that you would have this new found yearning for God to desire
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Him and long for Him. And so, even from the beginning
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of this conference, ask yourself, even if you've been
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here, this is your 10th year, ask yourself this question.
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Does that testify of my desire? Does that testify my ambition
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and my pursuits? Do I long for God?
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God creating this new temple in us is for that purpose.
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And if there's not that purpose at all, if it's non existent,
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then you have to ask yourself if you even came out of Egypt to
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begin with. You might be still in shackles
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my brother, your master still might be Pharaoh and you might
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not even realize it now. In reality he brings us to God.
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That is the heart of God in creating the temple.
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It was the heart for the Exodus. Bring them here.
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And 1st Kings chapter 6 verse one.
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And it is still the heart of God today when people say, oh Lord,
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set me free, redeem me with your blood, wash me.
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He wants to make you a place where you can know God and give
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God acceptable worship your very own heart.
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Not a location in Jerusalem. A forgiven heart becomes a new
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meeting place between you and God where you enjoy him, know
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him and love him. But we look here further at the
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method of the building. Look at verse seven of First
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Kings chapter 6. When the house was built, it was
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with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer
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nor axe nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was
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being built. What a fascinating detail for
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the Holy Spirit to give us. This is so interesting.
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The Spirit saw necessary to inform us that there was no
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sound of tools colliding with the material.
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When the temple was being constructed, it was at a
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distance. All the raw stone and all the
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things that they used to bring about the structure was done at
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a distance. And so you wouldn't hear the
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furnishing. You wouldn't hear the pulling,
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you wouldn't hear the polishing. You wouldn't hear all of that.
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When those materials were ready to be placed and brought
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together, they would do so in the city where it was planted.
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But you wouldn't hear it. There was a reverential silence.
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There was this elegant rhythm where you would go about in your
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home, at your workplace, and you, you would barely hear the
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whisper even of this grand, majestic thing being put
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together. Now why would the Holy Spirit
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show this? Why is this even important?
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For me? To know that the project of the
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building of Solomon's Temple was generally silent.
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It was not immediately perceived.
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Periodically you would look out and you would see it getting
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larger, coming together more and more.
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But if you were distracted to the slightest, you would not be
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able to understand what was happening.
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At least you would not be able to perceive it.
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And I look at this and I think to myself that this is an
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encouragement. This is an encouragement that
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you have to link when you realize that you're the temple,
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the church is the temple, and Christ is the one building it.
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A brilliant man said once Andrew McLaren, that this is a lesson
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not to mistake noise and notoriety for spiritual
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progress. Do not mistake noise and
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notoriety for spiritual progress.
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What does that mean? It's very simple.
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There are many believers who equate their spiritual
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effectiveness, their spiritual growth, with the attention and
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the recognition that they might receive from others.
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That's how people esteem, their value, their worth, their
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fruitfulness. The Lord has to let what's
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happening in me be made known in order for it to be true and to
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be genuine and to be powerful. And if it's not known, if it's
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not receiving that attention and that recognition and that
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appreciation, and maybe it's not really God working in me and
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Solomon's temple would testify otherwise.
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Because the Lord does not need to announce his work in order
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for it to be legitimate. He doesn't need to advertise
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what he's doing in you. Your growth, your godliness,
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your character being chiseled, your fruitfulness, your gifting
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does not need to be known to the masses in order for it to be
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authentic. And some people, unfortunately,
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live with discouragement because they feel as though they are
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often overlooked, unappreciated, not praised, not recognized.
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And if you feel that way, especially as you look out and
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you see other men and women being raised up, being
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acknowledged by prominence. And here you are, little
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Christian, trying to just raise your children and be faithful to
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the ministry in your local church.
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Don't forget the temple. Don't forget the temple.
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Even that glorious place was being built silently.
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When God works, it's not always loud.
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And we think if God works, it has to be loud.
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There has to be, at Maranatha Bible conference, Year 25,
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thunderous conviction and rivers of tears that we have to clean
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up and explosive miracles. God, if he's working, surely has
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to be noisy and obvious and undeniable.
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Oh yeah, what about the temple? Silent, subtle, sometimes even
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missed. But still, God was working on
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something, and God was building something.
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And sometimes we look at our own lives and we feel as though
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there's been periods, long periods, where monumental
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moments, even miraculous moments have not been experienced, have
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not worked through you or to you.
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And you think to yourself, Lord, have you stopped working in me,
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Lord? Have you stopped working on me?
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Lord, Have you stopped working through me?
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God's work is not always loud, and God's work is not always
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instantaneous. How long did it take to build
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this temple? Well, Scroll down with me here
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and look at verse 38 of first king 6 and then the 11th year.
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In the month of bowl, which is the 8th month, the house was
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finished in all its parts and according to all its
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specifications, He was seven years in building it.
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Seven years. You know, David confess in First
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Chronicles 2819 that this blueprint for the temple came
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from the hand of God. This was not man's initiative.
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This is what man's idea. They didn't have a bunch of
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architects come together and say what?
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What can we build from? God gave the specifications for
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what he expected from his own house, and even though this
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originated in the mind of God, it didn't take a day, it didn't
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take a month. It took seven years.
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When God works on something, he gladly and often takes his time
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to do it. And that's helpful for the
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person who is eager to arrive somewhere in their godliness,
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eager to arrive somewhere in their effectiveness, The Lord
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takes his time. You know, there's a wonderful
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song that says promotion comes from the Lord.
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You can't promote yourself, You can't expand your influence.
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You can't do that. You can't even make yourself
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arrive. Some of those sanctification is
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a partnership with God. Understand that the Lord knows
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exactly what he's doing with his syllabus, with his program for
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your life. So seven years taking to build
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this building and our simplicity, We think that if God
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does something, it has to happen overnight.
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It has to happen right there and then.
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No, He takes time when he makes his men.
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He takes time when he makes his woman.
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Look at David. We've been studying David in our
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local church all the years in the wilderness, being pressed
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and crushed. Look at Joseph.
27:24
He he has this glimmer of hope, this little spark that he's
27:26
going to get out of prison, all for that guy to forget to
27:30
mention him after he interpreted his dream.
27:32
And he's in that prison for two extra years.
27:36
When God sanctifies, is often in a slow cooker.
27:42
He knows exactly when and where and how.
27:46
And I love to see the temple being built in this way because
27:48
it encourages me to know that even if you're part of a
27:52
ministry, even if you're part of a local church, and you long for
27:55
it to be something to gain attention, to win people's
28:01
affection, the Lord takes his time.
28:04
And so don't be discouraged. Don't be downcast.
28:06
Don't wonder. Just trust him and look to him
28:10
and believe Him as you go. Just submit to his work day by
28:14
day and let him take you where he wants to take you.
28:17
That's it. It's so simple.
28:19
Rest, relax. Enjoy him as he builds you.
28:24
But I look at this and I think to myself also this, this
28:28
silence. I wasn't even planning to say
28:31
this, but I'll say it anyway. Solomon's name means peace.
28:35
It derives from the word Shalom. God did not use David to build
28:39
his house because David was was a man of war.
28:42
His hands were stained with blood.
28:45
God did not want a man associated with war to be the
28:49
direct agent to building his house, and so he rises up.
28:53
His son Solomon names his name peace, and that was the
28:56
manifestation of his rule in his reign, his whole rule and reign,
28:59
except by the end of his life because of his apost.
29:01
He never knew war, never knew civil distress, never knew
29:06
foreign oppression or strife. It was.
29:09
It was calm and tranquil throughout it all.
29:13
And even in this you see that the building of it was silent.
29:16
It was peaceful. It was.
29:18
It was beautiful. There was no clashing.
29:22
There was no disruption. There was no painful anything.
29:27
There was a grace to it. Let me say this because it's
29:30
important. There are many churches.
29:31
I've said this in our own church, but I want to say this
29:34
for those who represent different ministries here.
29:36
If you want to be somebody who's part of God's building program
29:39
for his church in this hour, God uses men and women of peace.
29:46
God uses men and women of peace. If you're a troublemaker, right,
29:50
God's not going to use you to build his house.
29:52
He's not. If you're a person that enjoys
29:55
drama and strife and gossip and problems and slander, if that's
30:00
the thrill, if you come to the House of God just to create
30:03
problems, if that's you, you will never be used by God to be
30:07
part of his building program for the church.
30:09
In fact, you're in trouble with God, and so let me say that
30:13
you're eager to to know a participation in this temple
30:16
building. Be a person of peace.
30:20
Esteem others higher than yourself.
30:21
Fear God, Please fear God. Fear Him.
30:24
Tremble before him. Realize how holy and sacred it
30:27
is. Even though you come together
30:30
weekly and you're familiar with the people, you're with those
30:33
people that you're familiar with, that local church that
30:36
you're gathered with. That's the temple of the Holy
30:39
Spirit. And God is wanting to build
30:43
something that would more reflect his beauty.
30:46
Don't get in the way of that. Be a person of peace.
30:52
There's another thing even with the silence, something that
30:55
blesses me tremendously. Not only is it the silence of
30:59
God's work in our lives per se, not only is it a a nudge to to
31:03
remember that when God builds something, when he desires to do
31:05
something, to to really magnify his presence and to showcase his
31:09
power. You must be a person of peace.
31:11
But even this God desires to build us in silence.
31:20
Yes, trials and afflictions. They have a way of chiseling us
31:29
and creating something in us. But when I look at this, I also
31:32
realized that there's a theme, and the theme is this, that
31:34
there is something, a valuable production that is realized in
31:37
the place of silence. Solitude with God, getting alone
31:46
with the builder of your heart, the renewing of your mind,
31:52
silence before the Lord has a way of stretching you and
31:57
developing you. And I believe because it's a
32:00
lost art, many people are stunted in their growth because
32:04
of a lack of realizing the treasure it is to separate
32:08
yourself from everything and to just be with God alone.
32:15
Being with God alone, I know quiet time, what you like to
32:21
call it. That right is a luxury for some
32:23
people. Like brother.
32:25
If you only knew what my life looked like, I would pay for
32:28
quiet. I would do anything for quiet,
32:33
to which I would respond. You would be amazed to know what
32:35
God can do with your 5 loaves and two fishes.
32:40
If you just give him what you can give him, you would be
32:41
amazed to know the miracles that he can do if you just come with
32:46
that sincerity and humility. Say, Lord, this is all I have.
32:49
This is all I'm able to give with all the other God-given
32:51
responsibilities that you have bestowed on me and Providence.
32:55
Can you do something with this and the Lord can do something
32:57
with it? Do you get quiet before God?
33:04
Do you? Do you have a habitual practice
33:08
of pulling yourself away from all the noise, Even the noise
33:15
that you would say is ministry? Look, Lord, I'm busy.
33:19
Ping, ping, ping, Look what I'm doing for you, Lord, look, look,
33:22
look. That's wonderful.
33:22
The Lord's happy, But but the Lord wants to do something with
33:25
you in silence. There's something.
33:30
There's a perspective that is built.
33:32
There is a fortification that is known.
33:35
There is a conviction that is realized as you step into his
33:39
light alone and you allow his voice and you allow that closed
33:47
room to be the place where your father is able to do what he
33:52
wants to do when he rewards you in secret.
33:57
Silence. The temple was being built in
34:00
silence. You will know something of
34:02
growth when you commit yourself to saying I I'm going to just
34:06
step away and meet with my God. You know, Christ did that often.
34:12
Christ did that often. And one of the most notable
34:14
times that he has done it was in John 6.
34:16
After he fed the 5000, he fed the 5000.
34:20
And we are told there that they realized that he was the
34:22
prophet. Like Moses, Moses multiplied
34:25
food in the wilderness. Now here's this Jesus who
34:27
miraculous made food appear in the wilderness.
34:29
He's satisfied. This is the guy that we've been
34:31
waiting for. And they at that time were ready
34:34
to make him king. That's a good thing, isn't it?
34:39
No, it wasn't a good thing. They wanted Jesus to be king for
34:44
the wrong reasons, and Jesus was not supposed to be king without
34:48
first going to the cross. Satan frequently tempted Jesus
34:55
to pursue his ministry, to pursue his end without the
35:00
cross, even at the very moment Jesus is hanging on the cross.
35:05
The very people said come off the cross and prove that you're
35:06
the son of God. Satan tells him you can have
35:10
this whole world if you just bow down and worship me.
35:13
Satan frequently tempted even through one of his closest
35:16
followers tempted Jesus to not go to the cross.
35:21
Peter rebuked him and Jesus returned to rebuke.
35:25
Get behind me Satan. And we know that the the the
35:29
cross was our redemption. But in in like manner, Satan
35:32
today tempts Christians to live across this life, crossless
35:37
Christianity, Christianity without sacrifice, A
35:40
Christianity without dying to self.
35:43
A Christianity that doesn't go to war with your sin and your
35:45
pride and selfishness. Now he wants you to live your
35:48
Christian life without A and then we expect at the end of the
35:50
road to get a crown. How?
35:51
It's not going to happen. So you have this crowd
35:57
approaching Jesus and he's hearing the murmurings within
36:01
the thousands saying let's make him king, let's let's make him
36:04
king. Now we can overthrow Rome.
36:07
He will feed us. We will know prosperity again in
36:10
the land. How tempting would have that
36:13
been for Jesus to to refuse to go to the cross and to become
36:19
king right there and then to exercise his power as he has
36:23
just won the allegiance of multiple thousands of
36:25
Israelites? You know what he doesn't said in
36:27
John 6:15. And John 615 says, perceiving
36:31
then that they were about to come and take him by force to
36:35
make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by
36:39
himself. And Mark he sends his disciples
36:44
on the boat. He goes, boys, go, I'll meet you
36:45
on the other side. And we're told why he withdrew
36:49
by himself. It Mark tells us he went to go
36:51
pray. What a model of Christ when
36:59
everything around him was persuading him to veer off the
37:03
will of God. Jesus, the Son of the living
37:08
God, goes by himself to a mountaintop and prays, teaching
37:18
us what prayer is capable of doing.
37:21
It cuts off the hooks that try to pull us away from God.
37:26
It stabilizes us. It realigns our perspective on
37:31
life and and helps us know. I have been called by God to
37:36
obey his word, not not to have the easy way out, not to have an
37:39
easier Christianity, A worldly version of it.
37:42
And what prayer does is that it empowers you.
37:46
God gives you something in that place when you get alone with
37:50
him. People wonder why they struggle.
37:56
People wonder why they stumble. People wonder why they don't
38:00
excel. And it's been year 10.
38:02
It's been year 15. Well, how much do you value
38:06
silence with God? How much do you protect that?
38:11
You know when Moses had the meeting place early in Exodus,
38:16
after the Israelites committed that grave sin of creating the
38:18
golden calf, right? Which is significant.
38:24
They created the golden calf. We were talking about this
38:25
yesterday. Where did the Israelites get the
38:28
material to build the golden calf?
38:30
Anybody remember they got it from Egypt.
38:32
They got it from Egypt. God told the Egyptians, or
38:35
rather the Israelites, you're not leaving this place empty
38:37
handed. And so the Israelites on their
38:40
way out into the wilderness on Passovernight, they went up to
38:44
the Egyptian neighbors and they gave them their silver and their
38:46
gold and their jewelry. Why?
38:48
So they can look bougie in the wilderness.
38:52
People have limited to that to say this is reparations.
38:55
This is God's way of saying if you enslave a people of you, you
38:59
should pay it back. That's the surface level.
39:01
God asked for those materials so that when they went into the
39:04
wilderness, they would have something to build the
39:06
Tabernacle. That's what it was for.
39:11
And what do they do with the gold that they received from the
39:14
Egyptians? They built the golden calf
39:15
instead. It's amazing what we can do with
39:19
the blessings of God. Amazing what we can do with the
39:22
gifts of God. God gives us gifts, He brings us
39:25
out of Egypt, out of the world, and he gives us something in our
39:27
hands to use for His glory. And we make idols out of it
39:30
instead, right? Jesus here meets alone with the
39:36
Lord. You and I are also called to
39:40
meet with the Lord alone and know a fortification and a grace
39:46
that can only come from there. So you look at the method of the
39:50
building, right? Look at how God takes his time.
39:53
Look at how God often makes his men and woman and quiet, unseen,
40:02
overlooked. If you're not famous, doesn't
40:05
mean you're not spiritual, OK? If people don't ask for you,
40:09
doesn't mean that you're not being worked on by the Lord and
40:12
being alone with God will excel and protect will protect it.
40:17
I was talking about the Tabernacle, right?
40:20
The Tabernacle, they make that sin with the golden calf.
40:23
And then Moses meets with God as the people are waiting for the
40:26
next step, because the Lord said my presence, I'm not going with
40:28
you. So Moses meets with God there in
40:31
Exodus 33 and it says he had a meeting place with God.
40:35
There was a tent of meeting, and every time Moses would go there
40:38
to meet with God, the people would come out of their tents
40:40
and look and see Moses meeting with God.
40:42
And they were so excited because they saw that their mediator was
40:45
meeting with their God and that there perhaps there's hope in
40:48
this. But there's a little interesting
40:49
detail in Exodus 33 that whenever Moses left the meeting
40:53
place, he had Joshua stay at the entrance.
40:58
He had Joshua wait, his assistant, to wait.
41:00
Why would he have Joshua wait at that tent of meeting his
41:04
personal meeting place with God? You know why?
41:07
Because Joshua was to protect it.
41:10
And it's a picture of you protecting our meeting with God.
41:18
Busyness, the devil. Even ministry would love to,
41:23
would love to have you vacate that place.
41:27
So he said. Joshua, protect this tent of
41:29
meeting. I'll be back to call for us to
41:32
guard and to gauge how has my time with Lord the Lord alone
41:37
been, because so much depends on it.
41:40
So much depends on it. Lastly, we talked about the
41:46
timing of the building. We talked about the method of
41:47
the building. Now we come to the glory of the
41:49
building. The glory I'm speaking about is
41:53
is often associated with the actual presence of God, right?
41:57
But that's not the glory I'm speaking about.
41:58
And it's true that without the presence of God in the
42:00
Tabernacle, without the presence of God in the temple, all you
42:04
have is a hollow religious museum.
42:07
The essence of that holy place was the holiness of God and
42:12
God's manifest glory. But I'm not speaking about that
42:15
glory. I'm speaking about the structure
42:17
itself. The very building of the temple
42:19
was in itself glorious and every component and facet of it showed
42:25
something about God. It actually foreshadowed
42:28
something about Christ. And so when you look at the
42:31
details of the the Tabernacle and the temple, don't skip it as
42:36
or what is this trying to say about God.
42:38
And there's one feature about the temple what that was new.
42:42
You don't find it in the Tabernacle and I want to show it
42:44
to you. It's not in first king six, it's
42:46
in first king seven. It's neighboring chapter and I
42:48
want you to see this in verse 21 at First Kings Chapter 7.
42:56
It says here in First King 7/21, he set up the pillars at the
43:00
vesicle of the temple. He set up the pillar on the
43:03
South and called its name Yakin, and he set up the pillar on the
43:08
north and called its name Boaz. And on the tops of the pillars
43:14
was Lily work. Thus the work of the pillars was
43:17
finished. So at the very entrance of the
43:20
top of the temple, rather, you had these massive towering
43:24
pillars. Just two.
43:26
Two of them. And these pillars were so
43:30
significant that God was telling Solomon that they needed to be
43:34
named something. Each one had a personal name.
43:38
The one name of the one pillar was Yatkin, the other Boaz.
43:42
We're familiar with the name Boaz.
43:45
Why would the Lord ask for these pillars to be named?
43:51
And it's because the message of those names were to be seen just
43:56
as reliable as the very pillars that they were on.
44:02
The pillars associated with those names were to communicate
44:07
these names. What they mean are fixed and
44:11
established and completely trust.
44:13
You can build your faith on these truths.
44:16
That's what a pillar signifies. So then, what are these things
44:19
symbolize? The name Yakin, right?
44:23
There's no J in Hebrew. Yeah, I can means he will
44:28
establish. He will establish.
44:33
The name Boaz means swiftness. But most people also agree that
44:40
it can mean in him is strength. He will establish in him is
44:49
strength. I mean, it makes sense, right?
44:53
So you would walk up the courts into the temple.
44:56
You would see the temple. And here's the message that's
44:59
being conveyed. When you look at Yak and you
45:00
look at Boaz, God is the one who established the temple and God
45:06
is the one who is able to sustain the temple.
45:11
That's what was being communicated.
45:13
But I wonder if there was a secondary purpose.
45:16
I wonder if when these worshippers would come into the
45:20
House of God, they would look at those pillars, they would be
45:23
met, they would stand in the shadow of these monuments.
45:27
And they were also being told that in the House of God you
45:32
will know establishment, and in the House of God you will know
45:36
strength in the House of God. So the the place of worship, in
45:44
essence promised and reminded and guaranteed a sense of
45:50
establishment and a knowledge of God's strength.
45:55
Is it any different with the House of God today?
45:58
It's not different every time that we gather, as we're
46:02
gathering this weekend, every time you go to the local church
46:04
that you are in covenant with. I hope the moment you walk in,
46:09
you should be reminded, and you should be confident that in this
46:13
place, with God's people, I will know a strengthening I will know
46:19
an encouragement. I will know a building up.
46:21
I will know a protection. I will know a nourishment.
46:26
I will be helped by God here. Isn't it sad that the experience
46:32
of Christians and many local churches is the opposite?
46:34
It shouldn't be. But when the house is truly
46:37
there for the glory of God, those are the promises.
46:40
Those are the foundational promises that you can expect
46:43
when you come to the House of the Lord.
46:45
I know you think that you can do it on your own.
46:48
I know you're very spiritual. I know that you know your Bible
46:51
inside out. I know that you want sermons all
46:54
throughout the week. But you will never know the
46:58
fullest extent of flourishment if you do not have that
47:02
conviction about the House of God.
47:04
Not talking about the church building that you pop in and
47:06
escape the moment the guy says Amen.
47:09
I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about being planted
47:13
in the House of God. You know Psalm 92, right?
47:18
Psalm 92, Verse 13. I love how the King James puts
47:22
it. I know.
47:22
I love how the new King James puts it.
47:24
Let me read to you how the ESV puts it in.
47:25
Psalm 9213 says here they are planted in the House of the
47:29
Lord. They flourish in the courts of
47:33
God. The King James says those who
47:37
are planted in the House of the Lord or they who are planted in
47:41
the House of the Lord, what's the promise?
47:43
They flourish in the courts of our God.
47:47
Planted. You know what it means?
47:48
Rooted. Firmly fixed.
47:51
That's where your address is. When you're planted in
47:54
something, you're not going anywhere else.
47:58
And with the Temple of God, then we realized that He's speaking
48:01
about the temple. But we're also seeing that in
48:04
the New Covenant lens. It's true of the Church of God.
48:06
When you choose to be planted in the House of God, only then will
48:11
you flourish spiritually with the Lord.
48:16
Only then, only then will you know blessing and fruitfulness
48:22
and fragrance. Apart from that you will not
48:25
flourish. This is what the Word of God
48:27
says. It's not my opinion.
48:28
This is what the word of God says and in this individualistic
48:32
society and in the way we treat the local church as though it
48:35
is, it's a place of my convenience and if it's not for
48:39
my convenience then I choose to divorce myself from relating to
48:42
it. You will not flourish.
48:44
It doesn't matter what kind of mind you have, doesn't matter
48:47
what kind of personality, doesn't matter how
48:48
self-discipline you are. God's mind is not our minds.
48:52
God's law and God's will is not our subjective interpretation
48:55
and is not subject to it. You have to be planted in the
48:58
House of God in order for you to flourish.
49:03
What is flourishing look like? Look at verse 14.
49:06
Tell me any born again believer that doesn't want verse 14 to be
49:08
real. They still bear fruit and old
49:11
age. They are ever full of SAP and
49:15
green. That's life that is linked to
49:18
verse 13. Do you want to love the Lord?
49:21
Do you want to remain devoted to him even into your old age?
49:24
Be planted in the House of God? Parents, do you want to see your
49:29
children flourish? Lead by example and don't be
49:33
cheap with the House of God. Don't show them by example the
49:39
absolute supernatural value that comes from loving the House of
49:45
God. Loving the House of God.
49:47
Hey, single people, pay attention to this.
49:49
I don't mean to make this more difficult for you than it
49:51
already is. I get that the dating scene is
49:53
not easy. I get that the prospects are
49:55
becoming less and less. I get the idea that people who
49:59
present themselves as Christians are living contradictions.
50:04
I get it. It's not easy.
50:05
So I don't mean to make it more difficult.
50:06
I'm just trying to protect you because the pain of marrying the
50:08
wrong person is much more severe than remaining single.
50:13
Find somebody if you're going to look for anybody.
50:15
Look for somebody who has high esteem for the House of God.
50:23
If you meet any Christian, if you meet anybody who claims to
50:26
love the Lord but doesn't love His bride, put a giant question
50:29
mark on them. You want your marriage to be
50:33
blessed? Find somebody who's planted in
50:35
the House of the Lord. You want your children to be
50:37
blessed. Find somebody who is planted in
50:39
the House of the Lord. Somebody who is sporadic has no
50:45
sense of commitment and devotion to the House of God.
50:50
I wouldn't consider it. That's just my opinion and Bible
50:53
opinion. Bible opinion planted in the
50:58
House of the Lord. You know, there are many parents
51:01
who asked for help from ministers.
51:03
I've seen it throughout the years considering their wayward
51:05
children. You know what's amazing?
51:06
A lot of them. You don't see them in church.
51:08
They just appear when their kids are in trouble and they often
51:12
ask for. But can you please, can you
51:14
please come to our home? And we're more than willing to
51:17
like, can you please talk to my son, my daughter?
51:18
They're getting all swept up and all these things.
51:20
And here's what I often say, and I've been saying it lately more
51:21
than ever. With all due respect, where have
51:26
you been? With all respect, I'm more than
51:29
willing to listen to you. But are you plugged into a local
51:33
church? Do you have elders in your
51:35
lives? Do you do you serve in any
51:37
ministry? Oh, no, I'm very busy.
51:38
OK, well then how do you expect my visit to do something when
51:46
for 1520 years you've set an example for your children that
51:50
going to God's house is not important?
51:53
That hearing God's word worshipping with God's people is
51:55
not important. Planted in the House of the
52:00
Lord. They will flourish.
52:03
They will flourish. Let me say one more thing.
52:06
I've said this before, but I'll say for those who've never heard
52:08
it before and my also my personal experience when it
52:11
comes to counseling and marriage.
52:14
I've noticed one thing for the most troubled marriages under
52:17
the banner of Christianity, The most troubled marriages had this
52:20
one common denominator, though the problems varied, and it was
52:23
this one or both. People in that marriage were not
52:28
serious in their commitment to the church.
52:34
They didn't have believers in their lives to hold them
52:37
accountable, to encourage them to give them counsel.
52:39
Didn't have elders in their lives to supervise and watch
52:41
over their souls didn't have any of that.
52:44
At least one or both. You might have one who was and
52:46
the other wasn't, or you have both who weren't.
52:49
And so this is, this is not just like psychological tricks.
52:52
There's a spiritual principle here be planted in the House of
52:56
the Lord. You saw those two pillars in him
52:59
is strength he will establish. And that's not just a testament
53:04
of what he will do for the universal church.
53:06
That's something that you can expect when you put yourself
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there and you become a consistent worshipper with the
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people of God. Something happened to these
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pillars as I close. It's in Second Kings verse 25 or
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chapter 25 verse 13. After so many succeeding kings,
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subsequent monarchs, Eventually the Babylonians came and
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ransacked Jerusalem and Judah and even the Temple, and we read
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here in Second Kings 2513. What's what happened to these
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pillars, specifically chapter 25 of Second Kings, verse 13, And
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the pillars of bronze that were in the House of the Lord, and
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the stands and the bronze seed that were in the House of the
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Lord. The Chaldeans broke in pieces
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and carried the bronze to Babylon.
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So these these two pillars he will establish, and in him his
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strength were ultimately cut in pieces, destroyed, and taken up
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into Babylon. What happened to God
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establishing and God's strengthening his house?
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You can see that as a warning that you and I is the temple of
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the Holy Spirit. We can, we can sabotage what God
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wants to do in us. But I'd like to see it in a
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different lens, because that is the temple that Solomon built
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and God was willing to protect it along the way, right?
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But the house that he's building today, Jesus made a promise.
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And the promise is this, that the gates of hell will never
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prevail, that no enemy will be able to overcome and overtake
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the house that he is building today.
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And so as you look in this world and you see maybe apostasy and
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and you see disappointment and you see a failure and spiritual
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leadership, realize that nothing, no one will be able to
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overtake what God started. That is true corporately.
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It is true individually. The work that Jesus Christ began
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in you, He will bring it to completion.
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He will complete it. You may not see it now, you may
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not comprehend now, but understand that as long as you
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remain in him, you will know His favor and his faithfulness until
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the end. And even in those moments where
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we do fail, we get up, we plead for forgiveness, He restores us
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and he never puts a pause on that which he started.
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He will continue until the end. Nothing will ever be able to
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separate you from the love of Christ.
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Nothing. That temple is non existent
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today. That temple is nowhere to be
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found. It will be rebuilt one day, and
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that's a whole different teaching.
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But the temple, the spiritual House of God that started 2000
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years ago, will continue until the end of the age.
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I'm so glad to be part of an institution that will never
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fail. I'm so glad that I'm Christian
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before I am American, right? You're not American before
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you're Christian. You're a Christian and your
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citizenship is in heaven. I like to joke with people.
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They say, how many citizens do you have?
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I'm Canadian, I'm American. I have a third one.
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I say, where's heaven? Heaven.
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You can't say that at the border, but you can say it with
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other Christians. They understand that stuff, the
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glory of the temple. You and I have to understand
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that the Lord wants to shine his glory through us, and you will
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never know. You'll never experience the
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glory of God until you first are convinced that it is glorious
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and that this is something that you need to be a part of by your
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participation. Not just by your theology, but
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by your participation. So there is a timing of that
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temple that testifies that the foundation of this whole thing
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is Jesus Christ dying for us so that we can know God and meet
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with God. There is a method that we need
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to trust throughout the years that there is a silent work that
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God is doing. You may not perceive it.
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There are days that go by that you might not be able to sense
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what you want to sense from God, but that doesn't mean that he's
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not working in you in a deep and significant way.
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And there is a glory that you can expect by being part of the
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House of God. Don't you forfeit that by your
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foolishness? Don't you forfeit that by your
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foolishness? And there's something that the
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Lord, as you commit being planted in the House of God,
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that promises you until the end of your life.
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You will know SAP, and you will know life, and you will know
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fruitfulness in your old age and even in your family.
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That's his promise. Lord, we claim those promises by
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faith in Christ. And we thank you that in Jesus
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Christ you are building a better house.
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And we ask, O Lord, that our vision of your house would be
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clarified. Help us see with the eyes of
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faith. We're not looking to actual
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pillars. We're not looking to physical
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gold. We're not looking to towering
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stones. We're not looking to veils and
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inscriptions, Lord. We look at people from different
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tribes and nations. We look at different materials,
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physically speaking, things that naturally would divide us.
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Lord, you are bringing and building something with.
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And so as we even stand in this very room, help us see the
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absolute beauty of what you are doing.
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As we go back to our local church and we get up every
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Sunday morning and we make our way to the House of God, may
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there be a sense in our hearts realizing I am going ready to be
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established, ready to be strengthened, ready to be a
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means to strengthen others as well.
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Lord, help us see the absolute majesty of the house.
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We are your house and would you receive all the glory for it?
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But we love you and we worship you in this place as the temple
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of the Holy Spirit. May you receive acceptable
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worship, a fragrance on this Friday morning that would be
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pleasing to you. In Jesus name, Amen.