Don’t Be Negligent Now (pt.2)
“The Temple Worship Restored – Steps to spiritual restoration”
2Chronicles 29:1-11 & Selected Passages
1 Hezekiah became king when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah the daughter of Zechariah. 2And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father David had done. 3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD and repaired them. 4Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, 5and said to them: "Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place. 6For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the LORD our God; they have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the LORD, and turned their backs on Him. 7They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel. 8Therefore the wrath of the LORD fell upon Judah and Jerusalem, and He has given them up to trouble, to desolation, and to jeering, as you see with your eyes. 9For indeed, because of this our fathers have fallen by the sword; and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity. 10"Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that His fierce wrath may turn away from us. 11My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before Him, to serve Him, and that you should minister to Him and burn incense."
LETS TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT HOW THIS PASSAGE IN
2 CHRON. APPLIES TO US.
1) Hez. Opened the doors of the temple and repaired them.
In the O.T. the presence of God dwelt in the temple…but the doors of that temple were locked and its furnishings were used to make idols.
Now that Christ has come we are the temple of the Lord.
2Cor. 6:16 tells us,
“What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
Perhaps, the doors of your heart are closed to the Lord…
-You may have accepted Christ once – but areas of your life are being sharedwith
-idols.
-drugs
-alcohol
-adultery
-hatred for others
It doesn’t matter if it is because of your own negligence or the negligence of others… If you will open the doors of your heart to the Lord – He will repair them… So the Holy Ghost can freely fill your life!!!!
Jesus said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.” Rev.3:20
Hez didn’t only open the doors and repair them he also…
2) Brought in the Priest and the Levites, and told them… Sanctify yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God… Carry out the rubbish from the Holy place.
In Hez.’s day only a select group of people known as the Priest and the Levites could enter the holiest places of the temple.
-It was their job to keep the temple pure.
-Their Job to offer animal sacrifices to God.
a) Before the temple could be cleaned – the priest and the Levites had to be cleaned.
-Hez. Said,
“sanctify yourselves…sanctify the house of the Lord.”
Before the temple could be sanctified and returned to a proper place of worship – the Leadership had to be sanctified.
Perhaps, you look at Calvary Chapel and say… we could use a cleansing… we could improve in a lot of areas…
- we have neglected some areas…
Hez. Cleansing started with the priest but it also included the Levites!
-As we pastors fall on our faces before the Lord and seek cleansing it must spill over to the other leadership as well!!!
Are you a Board Member?
Are you an Elder in the Church?
Are you a Children’s worker?
Are you a Royal Ranger worker?
Are you a Soup Kitchen worker?
Are you a Wm.’s worker?
Are you a Missionetts worker?
Are you a Sunday School teacher?
Are you a leader in any ministry?
***Then you have an obligation to Confess you iniquities before the Lord! – withyour Pastors!***
– Because You’re a leader and the ministry has been entrusted to you!
Until the rubbish is taken out of our lives the rubbish will remain in the Church!!!!
In Case you are setting here this morning and you are thinking… I got off the hook on that one… I DON’T DO ANYTHING! -- let me remind you that we are living in New Testament times and…
1Pet.2:9-12 says,
9But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
11 Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 12having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.
That’s not just a word to the Leaders that’s a word to every person who calls themselves a Christian!
The rubbish cannot be taken out of the church, until the rubbish is taken out your life!
If you want Calvary Chapel to be a better church it has to start with you!!!
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I heard about one man who was visiting a church – he walked up to the pastor and said –
“Pastor… I’ve decided that this is a perfect church… I want to become a
member.”
The pastor responded, “No you can’t! – You’ll ruin it for us!!!”
3) Hez. Opened & repaired the doors, The priest &
Levites removed the rubbish – The restoration of
the temple could not be done alone … everyone
had their roll and they had to work to gether!
If we were to read beyond our text we would see that
2Chron. 29:15 says,
“they called their brethren & sanctified themselves according to the commandment of the king!”
v.s. 16 says, “The priest went to the inner part of the temple to remove the debre, and the Levites took it from the courts of the temple and carried it out.
*Hez.’s Job was to be the king. – He could not go to the inner courts – but he could issue a command to restore the temple.
*The priest- could go to the inner court of the temple, but could not issue the
command to unlock its doors.
The Levites Job was to dispose of the waste – while the priest cleaned.
NO ONE HAS A MONOPOLY ON THE KINGDOM OF GOD --- WE NEED EACHOTHER!
- If you are going to be faithful to God – you must be connected to other believers.
- We must each do our part!
Heb. 10: 24-25: “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not neglecting the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much more as you see the day approaching.”
4)Hez. Recognized God’s mercy and made a covenant in
his heart with the Lord that God’s wrath would be
turned away(2Chron.29:10)
A covenant is a 2 sided agreement between 2 parties.
-Each party must fulfill their part for it to be
binding.
Hez. Did not just confess his sin – Then return to the sins of his father Ahaz.
-He made a covenant in his heart with God.
Hezekiah determined to be faithful in his service to God.
·Have we made a covenant with the Lord or just
confessed our sins to Him?
When we sin God is faithful to forgive us if we confess our sin to Him… But He really desires us to make a covenant in our heat with Him --- that we will do our best to be faithful!
5) Hez. Assured the priest and Levites that they were
chosen by God. But he also reminded them of their
responsibilities in the temple.
(V.s.11) Hez. Reminded them that they were chosen with a purpose to:
Serve / Minister and to burn incense to the Lord
-The words serve / minister are almost
identical in the original language …
meaning : to worship and wait upon the Lord.
The burning of incense was symbolic of praise.
Hez. Was reminding them that their primary Job was not to:
-remodel the temple
-watch over the temple facilities
-speak words of comfort to the people
-or even offer sacrifices
These were all important aspects of service to the Lord… but their #1 duty was to worship the Lord!
-to serve Him
-to minister to Him
-to praise Him
-to stand before Him
The attitude of the heart is always what matters most to God!
That is a word to us!
-Whatever we do in life our primary focus should be
the worship of God!
Closing:
When Hez. Took over the kingdom of Judah things looked bleak … but Hez. Knew where to turn.
*Because of Hezekiah’s covenant to serve the Lord and
turn Judah from the worship of Idols to the proper
worship of God – Every thing changed during the 29
years of his reign.
+ Hez. Offered refuge to the few Israeli citizens who
remained in the northern kingdom after it had been
conquered by Assyria.(ch30)
+The Passover celebration became the best sense the
time of Solomon and was extended an extra week.(ch 30)
+Not all the priest and Levi’s were willing to
participate in Hez. Reforms but those who did were
overwhelmed by the tithes and offerings which came in.
-a nation which not long before was struggling began
to flourish with grain & produce! (Ch31)
+Hez. Amazed a great storehouse of personal wealth
(ch 32).
+When the Mighty army of Assyria attacked Judah –
Assyria lost! The bible says,
“Because the king put his trust fully in God!”
(ch 32)
+Hez. Built a conduit to secure Jerusalem’s water
supply – which exist to this day!
-Hezekiah could have thrown in the towel in the beginning when the odds were against him!
-Hezekiah could have continued in the evil ways of his
father – until his spoiled inheritance wasted away!
-Hezekiah could have gave up when many people failed
to support his effort to bring spiritual reform.
-Hez. Could have surrendered to the seemingly
overpowering Assyrian army.
BUT HEZEKIAH WAS NOT A QUTTER – HE PUT HIS TRUST IN GOD!
WHATEVER YOUR STRUGGLE THIS MORNING
WHATEVER YOUR NEED THIS MORNING
WHATEVER YOUR BATTLE
TURN TO THE LORD…LET HEZ. WORDS STRENGTHEN YOU…
“DON’T BE NEGLEGENT NOW, FOR THE LORD HAS CHOSEN YOU TO STAND BEFORE HIM, TO SERVE HIM, AND THAT YOU SHOULD MINISTER TO HIM AND BURN INCENSE.”
!!DON’T BE NEGLEGENT NOW!!
