“god’s Ministry From The Sanctuary” Part 1 Series

Manifest Presence Series

“God’s Ministry from the Sanctuary” Part 1

(Inspired by Don Nori Sr.’s Manifest Presence: You Can Live Within The Veil)

January 21, 2015 CFBC Chester, IL Dr. Mike Fogerson, Speaker

Introduction:

A The “Bottom Line” in our Christian walk is not how well we sing, preach, teach, serve but rather how soft our hearts are before the Lord.

1 It is the soft heart that God can shape, transform, sculpt.

a Our ultimate service is not done before people or the pastor, but before Him.

b When we realize this fact, we’ll understand that we are always operating/ministering before the presence of a Holy God.

2 Hebrews 8:1-2 (NASB) 1 Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2 a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.

a His Word changes our lives, shapes us.

b He wants to rule as our King.

aa God has never intended His Church to be without a King, our hearts to be unoccupied.

bb He has always desired to abide, dwell with His people.

B He will have a people who will allow Him to dwell within them.

1 They may be a small group/great in numbers; but they will not be satisfied with anything less than God’s abiding presence.

a They won’t give up, give in, quit.

aa They know that God will work with broken hearts, soft hearts, flexible hearts.

bb Will to have anything/everything changed for the sake of serving God.

b These will be the people God will establish (and is establishing) His throne and dwell/minister within the sanctuary.

2 I believe that often times we confuse the “flow” of His Spirit with “Fullness of His Presence.”

a IL. Flow=Flashlight; Fullness of His Presence=Flood lights.

aa We can’t live with just a lil’light, see yes, but not fully.

bb When the lights are on we see everything in the room, each other.

b When we look for “flows” we have limited visability, but when we’re ministering from God’s fulness we see & perceive in His fullness.

C Zechariah 8:2 (NASB) 2 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'I am exceedingly jealous for Zion, yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her.'

God wants to establish His throne & His sanctuary within us.

1 God is jealous for His Church.

a When we act immature, childish, petty . . . we resist His Presence.

aa Where these things abide, His presence is absent.

bb We must have a life style that draws His Presence to us.

b Zechariah 8:3 (NASB) 3 "Thus says the LORD, 'I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts will be called the Holy Mountain.'

aa Many folks act different at church than at home/work/school.

bb God sees us the same irregardless of where we are.

2 Religion tells us it’s okay to act differently in the world than we do at church.

a If we’ve truly been saved & abide in Christ we are not satisfied/happy being hypocritical.

aa We know that hypocrisy chokes out His Presence, Power in our lives.

bb It dilutes His anointing within us/ruins our witness.

b On the other hand, we are to love God for His sake alone.

aa We obey Him even when no one is watching, on other days than Sunday.

bb He will always manifest Himself in mighty ways through those lives.

I Zion is The Place Where God Dwells

A Israel has always been the type of the Church, but Zion is the type of the dwelling place of God.

1 Typically, people think of Zion as Jerusalem, but that is only part of it.

a Zion is a hill in the middle of Jerusalem.

(Image of Temple Mount)

aa Jerusalem is in the center of Israel, but Zion is the center of Jerusalem.

bb Zion is where the sancturary of God was, where David’s Tabernacle was situated . . . free access to the presence of God.

b Disclaimer: God can do whatever He wants . . . the only limitations that God has are the ones He puts upon Himself.

aa Can God destroy the earth with a flood ever again? No, not because He can’t, but because He promised He wouldn’t.

bb Could the Father send the Son to die again for the sins of the world? He can, but He said He wouldn’t.

c God’s Presence filled Israel through Zion.

aa He wouldn’t come through Samaria, Persia, spaceship . . . Zion had to be the place because that’s what He said He’d do.