Title: What Kind of House will you build for me?
Text: Acts 7:44-50
Theme: church, revival, God’s house, persecution, preaching, faith,
P.S. The house that God is building is a house where His power and Son are preeminent; His presence is pursued; and His purposes is practised.
Introduction:
1. Background 6:14-7:1 Stephen is arrested and charged with desecrating the temple. A charge which infuriated the religious establishment. He uses this occasion to preach. In his message he recounts the history of Israel, culminating with the building of three houses. Each house is significant part of Is reals History. Each house also stands as a symbol of different stages of the church.
a. Moses Tabernacle- House of Promise and Presence- period of beginnings. This was the ‘original recipe’. It was the beginning of Isreals journey with God to the land of Promise. During this period they learned to walk by faith. They learned the keys to warfare. They experienced God’s miraculous provision of manna and water. But That was not all, it was only the beginning.
b. David Tabernacle- House of Praise- period of revival and renewal. It amounted to little more than a tarp stretched over some tent poles to shield the ark from the burning sun. Yet God said, “I will rebuild this one.’ This represents the period of renewal in the life of the believer. God says, I will raise up that which has fallen. I will rebuild the ruins of your life.’ Oh how we love revival. It is spiritual party time! But that is not all!
c. Temple of Solomon- House of Prosperity and Prominence- period of stability, growth and prominence.
Of all the structures that were built, the one that stands out inour minds is the temple. It was a glorious edifice. It was inlaid with ivory, and covered with gold on the outside. Kings from all over the world came to wonder at this great building that Solomon had erected. The temple represented God’s presence with his people, stability, and power of God.
Why were the religious leaders so incensed over the claim that the temple would be replaced or not needed?
Because it was all they knew about God! Their thinking was, “This is it!”. It stood as a monument to the past glory of Israel. Everything that they believed and knew about God was contained within the safe walls of the temple. It spoke of history, power and prestige and tradition. They were safe within the confines of the temple. They did not have to be stretched in their faith. In short, their faith did not go beyond the confines of the temple courts. In their minds ‘This is all there is for me. I do not need anything else’.
The religious leaders had lost focus on why the temple was built in the first place. They had allowed their history and traditions to get in the way of the purpose of God’s house. As a result, they possessed power over the people, but did not exercise influence. Can this happen to a church today?
Illustration: (Show slide)Charles Spurgeon and the Park Street tabernacle- Why did it lose its influence?
When Charles Haddon Spurgeon first went to Park Street church in London, he was nineteen years old. There he found a church with a seating capacity of fifteen hundred but with an attendance of under two hundred. Nine years later the Metropolitan Tabernacle was built to accommodate the crowds which came to hear him preach; his sermons were published in newspapers around the world; a school had been established to train pastors; and a colportage business was started to print evangelistic booklets. It was said that over 23,000 people had heard him preach during those years.
During Spurgeons 38 years as pastor of the MetropolitanTabernacle, his congregation included 6,000 worshippers and added 14,000 members. Clearly the Metropolitan Tabernacle was one of the most influential churches of the 19th century.
In 1972, however, seventy-five years after Spurgeon retired, some pastors visiting his church counted only 87 worshippers for the morning service.
What had happened to this once great church? How did they lose their influence? Many explanations could be given. London had changed. People had changed. The church did not keep up with the times. It should have moved to the suburbs.
In simple terms the church had somewhere along the way, lost its focus.
We are always only one generation away from irrelevancy and extinction!
Stephen closes his sermon by quoting from the Prophet Isaiah. The question is a redundant one. Of course we know that it is impossible to erect a building where God can be contained. Stephen does not intend to insult the intelligence of the Sadducees or us. The question is a reflective one. It is meant to draw their attention to the true purpose of the temple. It is to declare that, ‘This is not all there is.’ God has more. (N.B. This was the second temple. It would be destroyed in just a few years time. Bu8ildings of stone and wood will decay and die, But God’s purposes will remain forever.)
He is saying to the Sadducees and to us, that the house that will stand the test of time, is the house that He builds!,What kind of House does God want to build?
The house that God is building is a house where His power and Son are preeminent; His presence is pursued; and His purposes is practised.
1. A House where His power is preeminent:-
God’s word says, Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool...”,- The house that God wants to build is one that cannot be measured by size, wealth, numbers, or programs. It is a house of power and providence . I heard a story that was told at our ministerial this week.
ILLUSTRATION: A man had purchased an expensive painting. It was contained in a rather large frame. He wanted to place it one a wall so that it would be prominent. Each wall he placed it on seemed to be too small for its immense size. Finally he went to the artist.
The artist said, when I go to hang a painting, I first of all take all the furniture out of the room. Then I hang it on the wall. I then arrange my furniture in the room around the picture. The picture is then no longer prominent, it is preeminent.
That is what God is saying. He does not want to be merely another part of our program. He says He wants to be the program. He has set Jesus as the head of the church. The Apostle Paul said it like this,
He(Jesus) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created; things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the church; He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.
God is building a house where His power and His son are preeminent, But that’s not all... His building a house where,
B. A House where His presence is pursued:
The Lord asks, “ Where will my resting place be? While God cannot be contained within structures made of steel, concrete, wood and glass, Isaiah says that He is looking for a restingplace. Where is that resting place? It is our hearts. As Paul says,
‘Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by His Spirit.(Eph.2:19-22)
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL...
C. A House where his purpose is promoted:- Jesus and the temple Mark 11:17; Why was Jesus so incensed at the presence of money changers in the temple? What does Jesus say is the purpose for God’s house?
I. Jesus was so incensed because Program became more important than God’s purpose. And what is that purpose? First of all it is to be a ...
Ii. House of Prayer- What do you mean to tell me pastor, that after taking out a $2000,000 mortgage and spending several months constructing this building, all God wants is a prayer room? That is the simplistic answer Jesus is giving. More importantly God is saying that my house shall be a place where God can meet with man.
Each Sunday we come together in our various churches to ‘meet with God’. And we bring our laundry list of needs and requests that we ‘leave at His feet’ until next Sunday when we go through the same regimen.
However, church is not just the place for us to meet god. He wants to meet with us. What a difference that makes to our relationship. He desires our company. Our fellowship. Our love. place where God could be experienced. How do we builda house where God’s Spirit is welcomed and manifest? Acts 2:4, Acts 4:31; 4:32; Eph.4:3
Ii. House for all people- ‘...A house of prayer for all peoples/nations’: When you meet with God and He meets with you, invariably He reveals His heart. His heart is people! This why Jesus was so filled with indignation. When people came to the temple to sacrifice and worship, they came from great distances. They could not afford to bring a lamb, goat or bull. So they would buy a sacrifice at the altar. However, the money changers would give them deformed sacrifices. In short they were being offered second best.
They transformed the temple into a place for those who had the best sacrifices and those who didn’t. Between Real Jews and those who were gentile converts. Between those who were deemed worthy and those who just because of The house that God is building is a house where His power and Soin are preeminent; His presence is pursued; and His purposes is practised. their colour, social status or lack of wealth, considered second class. THIS JESUS HATED because it was God’s will that His House be for all people,; read and yellow, black and write they are all precious in His sight.
No matter how large God causes your church to grow, always open your heart to include one more
Illustration: and conclusion: September 11 and emergency workers.
September 11 is a date that will be forever etched in the minds of the world. The mention of the words immediately brings to mind thoughts such as, terror, horror, disbelief, death, sorrow, war, tragedy, hopelessness, confusion, anger, hate.
As I sat, transfixed in front of my Television set that week, there was something in the solemnity of the tragedy that made me realize that this was not just something that was happening to another city 12 hours away in anothercountry. This tragedy happened to the awestruck crowd, rescue workers, the city of New York, The United States, Canada and to the world. And in a sense it happened to me.
As the importance of the event hit me, I noticed something remarkable about the crowd and rescue workers. It was neither black nor white, rich nor poor, cultured nor uncultured, though it was all of these. It was humanity. No one was thinking about Collor, creed or social status. At a time like this the people of New York were just fellow human beings, drawn together in their compassion for loved ones, known and unknown who had been trapped in the mountain of concrete, glass and steel
As the critical 36 hour mark drew near, the fire fighters were working with what seemed untiring speed, determination and resolve. When one fireman was asked, why the intensity, the quick answer was, “there is someone dad, husband, wife, friend in there,. We believe that just one is still alive we will do whatever it takes to save them.
In a world that has ben terrorized by Satan and his legion, our call is to link arms and courageously, faithfully, diligently go and rescue sons, daughters, moms, dads, bosses, workmates, school chums. The critical hour is approaching. Now is the time to go, as the hymn says, ‘Rescue the perishing, Care for the dying Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.!
