Good morning, and welcome to God's house this morning! It is always a pleasure to see each of you on Sunday mornings. Our prayer is that, as you sit here, you will begin to feel an upswelling of God's Spirit working in you to bring you closer to Jesus Christ than you have ever been before.
Today's message is a dedication service. As Christians, we always want to dedicate everything we do and everything we have back to the Lord, and that is what we are going to be doing today; dedicating our newly remodeled sanctuary back to God.
We have stepped out in faith, as one body in Christ Jesus, to accomplish a new work for His glory. Look around you for a moment. Isn't this a beautiful place? They worked so hard to accomplish so much in so little a time. We very much appreciate their work and their dedication to this project.
A beautiful sanctuary may act to help us feel comfortable in our worship, and all the latest technology may help us worship in better ways, but it is not these things we dedicate back to the Lord. We dedicate the place - a holy place - to be consecrated and set-apart for the Lord's will to be done.
Today, you will hear me talk about giving. I am not talking about our tithes and offerings today. I am talking about our hearts, and what we are called to give from our hearts to God.
Throughout the bible, we read about how important a sanctuary is to God.
In EXODUS 25:8, God told the Israelites;
"Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them."
Did you catch that? God's desire is to live among us, not apart from us. He does not want us to live and worship here while He is somewhere else. He wants us to be close to Him, in body and spirit, so we can feel His glorious presence!
And so, today, we will act on that premise to make this sanctuary set apart and holy while giving it back to the Lord, so he can dwell in here and be near us as we humbly worship Him.
Let us begin by going into prayer.
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Heavenly Father,
You have blessed us with your love and mercy far beyond anything we deserve or could expect. And as you continue to bless us with Your love, we would ask that You create in us a heart of worship, Lord. A heart that puts you above all things. A heart that desires to draw nearer to You.
Help us to feel your Holy Spirit in this place and in our hearts. And as we dedicate this sanctuary back to You this morning, we invite Your Spirit into this place, to make it His dwelling place, also.
In Jesus name, Amen.
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As we look through the bible, we will find many events that were so important, they actually changed people's lives and even changed the course of history for nations. These events were holy events because they always exalted the Lord above all things.
This sanctuary is an example of that. What is it that makes this room holy? The answer is very simple: It is holy because God is here and we worship Him. This is a place where it is not about you or me; but it is all about what you and I can sacrifice to God from our hearts.
The idea of dedication is not a new one. It is found in both the Old and New Testaments.
In 1 SAMUEL 1, we read about a woman named Hannah. She was barren and without child. She craved to be a mother and so she prayed for a baby. She didn't just pray the occasional prayer, though. This woman prayed diligently, with all her heart, that God would let her have a baby of her own! Hannah was extremely serious in her prayers and she prayed with the expectation that God would answer her prayers.
In verses 27 and 28, we find the results of those prayers.
27 - "I have prayed to have this child, and the Lord gave me what I prayed for.
28 - "So now, I give him back to the LORD. For my child's whole life will be given over to the Lord."
Hannah's child was Samuel, and we know that his entire life was in service to the Lord. This woman had extreme faith, and she backed it up with faithful actions.
In LUKE 2:22-23, we read where Mary and Joseph dedicated their son, Jesus.
22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, 23 for the law of Moses says, "If a woman's first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the LORD."
LEVITICUS 27 talks about the monetary value of a vow made to God, and about dedicating real estate to the Lord.
NEHEMIAH 12, talks about the re-dedication of the new wall around Jerusalem. Nehemiah invited all the Israelites to come from all over and take part in the celebration of the new wall, and they came with thanksgiving in their hearts.
They brought their lyres, harps, and cymbals and when they got there, they sang songs of praise. They even followed the priests as they climbed on top the wall and walked around it, all the while praying to and praising God.
And in each case, whatever, or whomever, they dedicated back to God became holy.
Today, when we dedicate this sanctuary to God, we will covenant with God to use it for His purposes, and not just our purposes. And we will ask Him to bless us as we do so.
It is a wonderful privilege to have a beautiful sanctuary; one that has all the latest technology and beautiful decorations. And while there is nothing wrong with having these things, it is not these things that we are dedicating today. We are dedicating this entire sanctuary by setting it apart and consecrating it to the Lord, and in return, God will bless this place by making it a holy place - a place where His presence dwells.
There was a man named Moses who was tending his sheep in the wilderness of the Sinai Desert one day. As he walked along near the flock, he noticed something different. There was a bush that was on fire. It was not a brush fire, as only one bush was burning. And as he watched it burn, he noticed that even though it was fully engulfed in raging flames, the bush was not consumed by the fire. The busy just kept on burning.
So Moses, being a person just like we are today, walked over to investigate it further. But when he got close to that busy, he heard a booming voice from heaven saying, "Moses! Take off your sandals as you are standing on holy ground."
What do you think it was that made that little patch of sand more special than any other little patch of sand in that desert? The answer, of course, is God was there. That is what made it different. And God was there to communicate and be with His creation.
Whenever the Lord makes His wondrous presence known anywhere, that place is turned into a holy place. God has made His presence known in this church and in this sanctuary, and that makes the place you are sitting in this morning a holy place.
Never forget for one moment that as you walk into this building, you are not just walking into a building or entering into real estate. As you enter into this building and into this sanctuary, you are walking on God' holy ground!
The term "holy" means to be set apart from for a distinct and unique purpose for God's glory. That can be a patch of sand, a remodeled sanctuary, or even a person who has made the conscious decision to dedicate their personal live to Jesus Christ.
When Christians talk about marriage, they refer to it as "holy" matrimony and not as a "civil" union. That is because "holy" is from God and "civil" is from mankind. Likewise, when we speak of a church's sanctuary, we say it is "holy" because it is for the purposes of God, and not mankind.
My wife and I have a history of not only pastoring churches, but also of planting churches where there was no church. That is a particularly hard thing to do, especially when you plant them without any monetary backing at all.
The first thing you have to do is search for those few and special people who have a desire to help build a church from scratch. And then, you need to hurry and find a very affordable place to rent, which is not always easy. And then, you need to start your church.
The first church we planted was a karate studio during the week. We would go in late Saturday night and set up of our chairs, tables and keyboard for the next morning's service. And as we sat there worshiping Jesus on Sunday, we could still detect the aroma of sweat from the previous workouts of the karate students.
Another place was an small older building that used to be a meat barn. The hook they hanged the beef on was still hanging from the ceiling. It had no running water or facilities in the building. We did have an outhouse with a flushable toilet, but it was across the gravel parking lot.
But make no mistake about these places. They were both consecrated and set apart for God's usage. They were holy sanctuaries! And both churches grew like wild flowers because God blessed our efforts to honor and exalt Him!
This morning, as we offer this sanctuary up to God, we come together as one body of believers to do so. We go forward continuing to read God's Word in this place; we will continue to lift up our praise in song; and we shall continue to pray and communicate to our Lord those things that are upon our hearts and the desire for His will to be done in our lives and in our sanctuary.
As Christ-like disciples, we sacrifice our prideful hearts so that we can exalt our God above all things at all times. And in so doing, we carry on the very long tradition of those in the bible who honored God; who pursued God; and who worshiped Him.
Today, we live in the New Testament times, also known as the Church Age or the Age of Grace. We have been blessed to have a personal relationship with the living Son of the living God.
The first Christians were persecuted and banned from the Jewish synagogues, but today's churches welcome all in the name of Jesus. And we do so to help grow people to spiritual maturity and knowledge in Christ.
2 PETER 3:18 tells us of that need.
Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And to Him, we give the glory, both for now and forever.!
So, how do we grow to spiritual maturity?
EPHESIANS 4:15-16 tells us how to start and sustain that growth.
15 - Speaking the truth in love, will help us grow to become in every respect like Christ; who is the head of the church. 16 - He makes the whole body fit together perfectly, and helps the other parts grow, and it is done, and kept, in truth & love.
We must speak the truth of God, and speak that truth in the love of God. Anything less than that will be equal to not speaking the truth at all. And if we are to be mature Christians, we should prepare our hearts on worship even before we enter the sanctuaries.
When you wake up on Sundays, start by praising God you were able to wake up. And then praise Him again, acknowledging that He gave you warm water to shower in and nice clothes to put on. Praise Him as you eat what He has provided, and do so again as you drive in the car He gave you so you could go to church.
PSALM 100:4 reaffirms this need to focus on God even before we enter our church.
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
The ancient Israelites had people called "gatekeepers" whose jobs were to stand outside their synagogues and ask the people who were coming in a question to make sure they were properly focused on God. And the people would answer that question.
The question and answer is found in PSALM 24:3-4.
3 Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy
place? 4 Those with clean hands and pure hearts; those who do not trust in an idols or swear by false gods."
Aren't we glad that we do not have to go through that before we can enter our churches?
In those days, the people had to bring a sacrifice with them as they came to worship. We should do the same today. We do not bring animals, however. We bring our hearts. Our pride. Our strong wills. We bring these things to lay before God, asking Him to replace them with a humble heart for His Son.
And we should also have the same level of desire King David had to be in church.
In PSALM 27:4, he penned these words:
"One thing I ask of the LORD - that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
Sanctuaries offer peace to the people. A good example of this is found in PSALM 73, where we read about a man named Asaph. He was discouraged and disillusioned; ready to give up his faith. But he went to the sanctuary and things changed for him.
Scriptures tell us that when he went into the sanctuary and "focused on God", he regained a proper perspective in his life and his spirit was renewed in God.
Why do we go into our sanctuaries in the first place? We go to put our focus on God and to offer Him our praise and thanksgiving for what He has done for us.
We go to pray and communicate to God, thereby drawing closer in heart to Him. We go to covenant with Him and to refresh the newness of our lives in Him. And we go to receive His blessings in return for full attention on Him and our complete obedience to Him. In short, we go to our sanctuaries to be near our God and to receive His peace in our lives.
In the Old Testament, the high part of their worship came after the High Priest made the atoning sacrifice. He would then pronounce God's blessings over the people. Those blessings are found in -
NUMBERS 6:24-26
24 "May the Lord bless you and protect you. 25 May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. 26 May the Lord show you His favor and give you His peace."
Let us now dedicate this newly remodeled sanctuary back to the Lord. Let us do so as one body, together in Christ. Please repeat after me.
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"Dear Lord, hear our plea now. As we give this place back to you, we vow our faithfulness to you and we pledge our worship to you so that we might honor you.
"As we consecrate this place, we ask you to bless us, God. Give us your peace, your grace and your Holy Spirit in this place. And protect us as we bow before you.
"We make these requests in the name of your beloved Son. Amen."
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In the name of our Almighty God, this sanctuary is now consecrated and set apart for the purposes of God.
In closing, I again ask: What is it that makes this place holy?"
The answer is: The presence of God among us.
CLOSING PRAYER
