Deal Or No Deal: This Choice Is Yours - It's Not My Temple, It's His

Deal or No Deal? The Choice is Yours

It’s Not My Temple…It’s His!

A few weeks ago, we began a new sermon series entitled Deal or No Deal? The Choice is Yours!

I wanted to talk about making the choice to obey God and not waver from His ideal for your life in the following areas of your life: Your Time * Your Treasure * Your Temple * Your Testimony * Your Talents

Our theme verse for this series is a verse that summarizes this so clearly and profoundly:

I Corinthians 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

John 3:30 He must increase, but I must decrease.

And I want you to make the BEST CHOICES…not just “ok” choices or “good” choices but the BEST choices in life. Luke 10:42 But one thing is needed [necessary] , and Mary has chosen that good part [best], which will not be taken away from her [eternal impact].

This series is all about making a CHOICE on how to use this life of yours.

It’s Not My Temple, It’s His!

Today, we make our one singular choice to Follow God’s Way…with our “Temple” our bodies/heart/mind. Let me first define what I am referring to when I say “your ‘Temple.’”

The word “Temple” was used in two different ways in the Bible.

1) The physical temple (like the temple I referred to on Easter Sunday)

2) Our own hearts/minds

You see, the temple was a place where people would worship God corporately. And there were specific requirements that needed to be met in order to keep the process pure and according to God’s commands. Likewise, when I say, “It’s not my Temple…It’s His,” I am saying that God calls for us to offer our hearts, lives and bodies to be a pure sacrifice…similar to what the physical, Jewish temple was utilized for.

Paul, in his statements to the religious debaters on Mars Hill, made this statement about how God dwells in our hearts – our spiritual temples – if we are believers in Jesus Christ.

Acts 17:24-28a NKJV “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being…”

Acts 17:24-28a NLT “He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, 25 and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. 26 From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries. 27 “His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. 28 For in him we live and move and exist…”

So, I would like to compare the way in which people prepared coming to the physical Temple for worship to the way in which we need to prepare our own temples to present to God in worship. God desires our Temples to be in Five Spiritual Conditions of your Spiritual Temple:

1. Our Temples Must Be Temples of WORSHIP!

When you would approach the Temple in Biblical times, you had to approach the Temple prepared to worship.

Jeremiah 26:2 "Thus says the LORD: Stand in the court of the LORD’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the LORD all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word.

You see, my friend, when you say “No Deal” to sin and offer your heart as a Temple that is full of praise and thanksgiving to God…and you give to God all His due praise, it will be a an acceptable and well-pleasing offering to God! …and a testimony to others (which we’ll talk about more next week).

In fact, the moment Jesus ascended back into heaven after rising from the dead 40 days earlier, notice where the disciples went/and what they did: Luke 24:50-53 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53 and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen.