"IT’S TIME TO BUILD.....PT 3"
(hey just a warning - I am not a great typist and I typed in all caps and spell check will not catch them.. sorry it was 8 years ago...)
INTRODUCTION
FOR 75 YEARS THEY HAD LIVED IN CAPTIVITY; 1ST UNDER BABYLON THEN UNDER PERSIA. MOST WERE BORN THERE; MOST NEVER KNEW WHAT FREEDOM WAS; MOST HAD NEVER SEEN JERUSALEM -- THEY HAD NEVER SEEN THE CITY, NEVER WORSHIPPED IN THE TEMPLE; AND THEY NEVER KNEW THE EXCITEMENT OF THE CITY COMING ALIVE DURING THE GREAT FEASTS...
BUT THOUGH THEY HAD NEVER SEEN OR EXPERIENCED JERUSALEM IN ALL HER GLORY, YOU CAN BE CERTAIN THAT THEY HEARD MUCH ABOUT HER. FOR 75 YEARS PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, AUNTS, UNCLES AND FELLOW JEWS TOLD AND RETOLD THE GRETA STORIES OF HER PAST. AND THESE YOUNGSTERS GROWING UP IN THOSE DISTANT LANDS COULD ALMOST SEE THE CITY AND HEAR THE SOUNDS.
AND THEY WERE REMINDED OF HOW THE NATION SINNED AGAINST GOD -- HOW SHE TURNED AWAY FROM THE ONE TRUE TO WORSHIP IDOLS -- THEY WERE TOLD HOW SHE HAD KILLED THE PROPHETS SENT TO WARN HER... AND HOW THE CAPTIVITY THEY WERE NOW IN WAS A PUNISHMENT FROM GOD FOR THEIR SIN.
SOMETIMES LOVE IS TOUGH, GOD LOVED HIS CHILDREN - BUT THEY NEEDED TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON ABOUT GOD.... THAT HE IS JEALOUS GOD AND WILL NOT ALLOW ANY RIVALS... GOD IS JEALOUS FOR HIS PEOPLE FOR THEIR OWN GOOD -- BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT ALL IDOLS ARE FALSE AND THAT THEY CAN SAVE NO ONE -- HE KNOWS THAT ONLY HE IS THE SOURCE OF LIFE.... THEREFORE, HE CAN NOT IDLY SIT BACK AND LET HIS CHILDREN TURN FROM LIFE TO DEATH; FROM HIM TO IDOLS...
IT WAS A TOUGH LESSON TO LEARN , BUT THE PEOPLE DID LEARN THIS LESSON ABOUT IDOLATRY... FOR YOU SEE, AFTER THIS CAPTIVITY NEVER AGAIN WOULD THE ISRAELITES WORSHIP FALSE GOD’S OR IDOLS...
THERE IS A SAYING THAT I LIKE (THAT APPLIES HERE) -- NO PAIN -- NO GAIN -- NO LESSON LEARNED.... GOD LOVED HIS CHILDREN BUT HE REALIZED THAT THEY MUST BE ALLOWED TO SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF THEIR ACTIONS IF THEY EVER WERE TO LEARN THE RIGHT LESSON....
BUT NOT ONLY WERE THEY TOLD OF GOD’S ANGER AND PUNISHMENT, BUT THEY WERE TOLD OF GOD’S GRACE -- YOU SEE, GOD GAVE THEM A PROMISE TO HOLD ON TO -- TO KEEP THEIR HOPES ALIVE THOSE 75 YEARS, A PROMISE THAT AFTER THOSE YEARS OF CAPTIVITY THEY WOULD BE RESTORED AS HIS PEOPLE AND RETURN TO THE CITY...
THE PEOPLE WHO WE ARE READING ABOUT IN EZRA -- THE 50,000 MEN AND WOMEN WHO MADE THE TRIP BACK HOME TO JERUSALEM WERE MOVED BY GOD; THEY MOVED BY THOUGHTS OF THE TEMPLE; THEY WERE MOVED BY THE POWER AND PROMISES OF GOD; THEY WERE MOVED BY GOD’S GRACE AND BY THEIR 2ND CHANCE AS A PEOPLE... DESPITE ALL THEY DID, GOD STILL LOVED THEM (HE HATED THEIR ACTIONS/PUNISHED THEIR SIN -- BUT EVEN WHILE SUFFERING IN THAT PUNISHMENT THEY ALWAYS COULD SEE HIS HAND OF LOVE REACHING OUT TO THEM...) AND NOW, HE HAS CALLED THEM/ HE HAS ALLOWED THEM TO BUILD HIS HOUSE.... THEREFORE, IN 536BC THOSE WHOSE HEARTS GOD HAD MOVED LEFT AND RETURNED TO JERUSALEM PREPARED TO BUILD THE HOUSE OF GOD....
BUT JUST LIKE TODAY NOT EVERYONE WENT -- NOT EVERYONE WAS MOVED TO BUILD GOD’S HOUSE.... NOTICED IT DOES NOT SAY "AND ALL THE PEOPLE PREPARED TO GO..." NO, IT SAYS THAT ONLY THOSE WHOSE HEARTS WERE MOVED BY GOD WENT...
YOU SEE THE ERST WERE UNMOVED BY GOD -- THEY HAD NOT GIVEN GOD THEIR HEARTS, THEY WERE COMFORTABLE RIGHT WHERE THEY WERE.... NOW WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE STILL IN CAPTIVITY -- THAT CAPTIVITY CHANGED DRAMATICALLY AFTER THE FALL OF BABYLON AT THE AND OF THE MEEDS AND PERSIANS... THE JEWS HAD HONES, LIVES AND JOBS IN THE LAND...AND SOME DID NOT WANT TO RISK THESE COMFORT TO GO BACK TO A DESTROYED CITY TO LIVE... WHERE WOULD THEY LIVE -- WHERE WOULD THEY WORK.... SO WHEN THE TIME AND OPPORTUNITY CAME FOR THE MOVE TO BE MADE FOR THE TRIP TO BE TAKEN THEY STAYED...
AND JUST LIKE TODAY I AM SURE THAT BEFORE THAT MOMENT OF TRUTH CAME; SOME WHO WOULD LATER STAY TALKED A REAL GOOD SPIRITUAL TALK... THEY GAVE THE IMPRESSION OF BEING PEOPLE WHO WERE MOVED BY GOD... SOME NO DOUBT LOOKED AT A MARVELED AT THE FAITH THEY SAID THEY HAD.... YES THEY ENJOYED THEIR REPUTATION OF BEING VERY STRONG IN THE FAITH.... BUT WHEN THE MOMENT OF TRUTH CAME -- WHEN THE TIME CAME TO PUT FEET/EFFORT INTO THAT TALK... TO LEAVE THE COMFORTABLE AND FAMILIAR AND VENTURE OUT FOR GOD -- WELL MANY JUST STAYED IN PERSIA -- YOU SEE GOD REALLY NEVER HAD MOVED THEIR HEARTS -- THEY HAD MERELY BEEN MOVING THEIR LIPS...
BUT THOSE WHOSE HEART GOD HAD MOVED -- NEARLY 50,000 STRONG -- DID LAVE THE FAMILIAR TO VENTURE OUT INTO THE UNKNOWN FOR GOD... TO JOURNEY TO A LAND THAT MOST HAD ONLY HEARD ABOUT BUT HAD NEVER SEEN.
THAT’S WHAT GOD IS CALLING US (HIS PEOPLE) TO DO TODAY; MOST OF US HAVE NEVER SEEN GOD’S CHURCH IN ALL HER GLORY... WE HAVE NEVER TRULY EXPERIENCED THE CHURCH AS GOD HAS CALLED HER TO BE...
BUT WE HAVE READ ABOUT IT.... WE SEE A NEWBORN CHURCH IN THE BOOK OF ACTS; WHO HAD EVERYTHING IN COMMON; NO ONE WAS IN NEED BECAUSE EVERYONE SOLD WHAT THEY HAD WHEN A BROTHER WAS IN NEED... WE SEE A CHURCH UNDER HEAVY PERSECUTION BOLDLY PROCLAIMING THE MESSAGE OF JESUS CHRIST; REJOICING WHEN DIFFICULTIES CAME THAT THEY WERE COUNTED AS WORTHY TO SUFFER FOR THE NAME; AND WE SEE A CHURCH WHERE GOD WAS ADDING TO THEIR NUMBER DAILY THOSE WHO WERE BEING SAVED.... A CHURCH WHOSE ENEMIES HAD TO EVEN ADMIT WAS TURNING THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN...
AND THIS DREAM OF GOD’S CHURCH IN ALL HER GLORY -- OF CHRIST BRIDE IN ALL OF HER BEAUTY -- DANCES IN THE DISTANCE AND IN THE HEART OF THOSE WHOSE HEART HAS BEEN MOVED BY GOD; THOSE WHO ARE MOVED BY HIS LOVE; HIS GRACE; HIS PROMISES; HIS PRESENCE AND HIS GRACE/THE SECOND CHANCES HE GIVES US EVERY DAY... THOSE WHO ARE MOVED HEAR GOD’S CALL TO BUILD HIS HOUSE... THEY FEEL HONORED TO BE EVEN CONSIDERED WORTHY TO DO SO.... AND THEY LEAVE THE FAMILIAR/THE COMFORTABLE..... AND THEY GLADLY VENTURE OUT INTO THE UNKNOWN WITH GOD...
BROTHERS AND SISTERS WILL IT TAKE/TIME; WILL IT TAKE EFFORT; WILL IT TAKE WORK; WILL WE HAVE TO SACRIFICE PRIDE AND ALWAYS HAVING TO DO THINGS OUR WAY TO BUILD GOD’S HOUSE... YES.... IT’S NOT EASY TO BUILD GOD’S HOUSE; THAT IS WHY WE SEE AS THEY SAW IN EZRA’S DAY THAT NOT EVERYONE WILL ANSWER THE CALL... YOU SEE, THOSE WHOSE FAITH IS MORE TALK THEN WALK -- WILL NIT GO WITH US... AND THEY WILL BE SHOWN FOR WHAT THEY REALLY ARE -- SHALLOW WATER DISCIPLES... FLOATING AROUND WITH THEIR SWIMMIES ON....
ARE YOU READY TO LEAVE?
GOD IS CALLING US TO BUILD HIS HOUSE; HE IS CALLING US TO A NEW LEVEL OF CHRISTIANITY AS INDIVIDUAL AND AS A CHURCH... IT IS TIME TO BUILD TO SADDLE UP OUR HORSES AND LEAVE LONG FACED, COLD MEDIOCRE RELIGION IN A CLOUD OF DUST BEHIND....
GOD IS CALLING US TO PUT FEET ON OUR FAITH... TO HAVE A VISION FOR HIS CHURCH ... TO HAVE A VISION THAT THE LORD STILL CAN ADD TO THE CHURCH DAILY IF WE ARE FAITHFUL TO HIM AND TO OUR CALL...
IS HEART SIRED BY THE POSSIBILITIES.... DOES YOUR BLOOD PUMP FASTER AS YOU CONSIDER THE IMPACT THIS BODY CAN HAVE FOR THE LORD... CAN YOU SEE THE CHANGED LIVES; THE SAVED SOULS -- THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN BORN ANEW IN THE LORD....
CAN YOU SEE CHRIST BECOMING MORE AND MORE REAL TO HIS PEOPLE HERE -- CAN YOU SEE RELATIONSHIPS RESTORED, MARRIAGES RESTORED ; FAMILIES GROWING CLOSER TO CHRIST... CAN YOU SEE MEN BECOMING REAL MEN -- TENDER WARRIORS (WE’LL TALK ABOUT THIS IN DETAIL ON FATHER’S DAY) MEN BECOMING REAL MEN STANDING TOGETHER, BUILDING GOD’S HOUSE... RASING THE STANDARD FOR JESUS CHRIST...
CAN YOU SEE A BODY THAT TRULY LOVES AND SUPPORTS EACH OTHER, WHERE THE FLOCK IS TRULY TAKEN CARE OF AND IS FEED, LOVE AND PROTECTED... WHERE THEY PRAY FOR EACH OTHER, CONFESS THEIR SINS TO EACH OTHER...
CAN YOU SEE A BODY THAT GATHERS EACH SUNDAY IN JOY AND EXCITEMENT AT WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY HAVE -- READY TO PERUSE AND WORSHIP GOD FOR THE HEART... CAN’T YOU JUST HEAR GODS’ PRAISES RESOUNDING FROM THE WALLS OF THESE ROOM...
A YOU STIRRED AT THE THOUGHTS OF A PLACE LIKE THAT?
WELL, THOSE WHOSE HEARTS ARE MOVED BY GOD WILL JOIN US IN THAT JOURNEY.... AND TO BE TRUTHFUL SOME HERE WILL NOT MAKE THAT JOURNEY WITH US.... AND I WISH THEY WOULD... BUT I AM NOT STAYING WHERE IA M IN MY CHRISTIANITY.... I HAVE SADDLED UP MY HORSE AND I AM READY TO BLAZE A TRIAL INTO THE WILD BLUE YONDER UNDER GOD’S AMAZING GRACE....
AND LIKE THOSE WHO WERE MOVED BY GOD IN EZRA’S DAY WE TOO NEED TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT OUR PERSONAL PURITY -- WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT OUR SIN EFFECTS THE BODY AND WE ARE TO STRIVE TO BE HOLY BECAUSE GOD IS HOLY....
AND WE ALSO LIKE THOSE IN EZRA;S DAY MUST GIVE OUR BEST.... WE MUST GIVE AS THEY GAVE "ACCORDING TO THEIR ABILITY.." AND BROTHERS THIS IS A SURE SIGN WHETHER OR NOT GOD HAS MOVED YOU... YOU SEE, IF YOU ARE NOT GIVING YOU BEST GOD HAS NOT MOVED YOU HEART AND YOU HAVE NOT BEGAN THE JOURNEY TO BUILD GOD’S HOSE...YOU HAVEN’T EVEN SADDLED UP YOUR HORSES YET.... THE ONLY TRIAL YOU HAVE RIDDEN IS IN YOUR OWN MIND.....
OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO 50,000 TIRED, TRAVEL WEARY DREAMERS WHO HAD BEGUN THE JOURNEY HOME ASSEMBLED IN JERUSALEM "AS ONE MAN.." READY TO BUILD/READY TO WORK....
BUT THEY KNEW THEY WERE JUST BEGINNING -- AS ALL THAT STOOD IN FRONT OF THEM WAS DRY PALESTINIAN SAND... AND A DRAM OF WHAT GOD COULD BUILD IN THIS PLACE IF THEY ALLOWED HIM TO WORK THROUGH HIM....
TOADY AS WE LOOK AT A FEW MORE PRINCIPLES FOR BUILDING GOD’S HOUSE -- I AM LOOKING FOR DREAMERS.... WHO HAVE BEGUN A JOURNEY WITH GOD.... WHO REALIZE THAT WE ARE JUST BEGINNING HERE AT EAST TAMPA; BUT WHO CAN SEE MORE THAN WHAT WE ARE.... WHO CAN SEE WHAT WE CAN BECOME AS A CHURCH IF WE REALLY LET GOD’S AND HIS SPIRIT MOVE IN THIS PLACE... I WONDER HOW MANY DREAMERS ARE HERE TODAY.... TIME WILL TELL.
TURN IN YOUR BBLE TO EZRA CHAPTER 3 WE WILL BE READING SEVERAL VERSE IN THIS CHATPER; THE 2 PRINCPLES FOR BUILDING GOD’S HOSUE THAT WE ARE GOING TO DISCUSS TODAY ARE LOCATED IN THESE VERSES.
EZRA 3:1-11
PRINCIPLE NUMBER 5; TO BUILD GOD’S HOUSE WE MUST BE A PEOPLE OF COURAGE
ON THURSDAY SCOTT O’GRADY A 29 YERA AIR FORCE PILOT WHO WAS SHOT DOWN IN HIS F-16C OVER BOSNIA 6 DAYS EARLIER WAS FOUND AND RESUCED.... THE RESUERS SPEED THROUGH CLOUDY SKIE IN 2 AH-1W SEA COBRA ATTACK HELICOPTERS. O’GRADY LITE A YELLOW FALRE THAT SENT SMOKE UP TO HELP THME LOCATE HIS POSTION.... THE FIRST COPTER LANDED 20 MARINES HIT THE TURF AND SECURES THE AREA -- O’GARDY COME RUNNING OUT OF THE BRUSH PISTOL IN HIS AHND AND IS HAULED IN THE 2ND COPTER BY HER CREW CHIEF... AND WITHIN 2 MINUTES OF KLANDING THEY ARE OUT OF THERE....
AND ON THE WAY BACK THEY WERE SHOT AT SEVERAL TIMES FORM THE GROUND...
ON THURDAY NIGHT I WATCHED THE NEWS -- AS THEY RETOLD THE EVENTS.. ON THE NEWS PROGRAM I WAS WATCHING THEY INTERVIEWED SOME OF THE MARINES WHO WERE IN THE RESCUE; THEY TALKED ABOUT THER DNAGER OF THE MISSION. AND ON MARINE SAID SOEMTING TOI THE EFFET OF THESE; "SURE IWAS SCARED, GOING INTO WHERE WE WERE GOPING -- YOU’D HAVE TO BE SCARED... AN DI YOU SAID YOU WERE NOT YOUR EITEHR LYINH OR CRAZY...
THESE MARINES PERFORMED THEIR MISSION; THEY WERE MEN OF COURAGE... YOU SEE, COURAGE DOEN’T MENA WE ARE NOT AFRAID... AS A MATTER OF FACT WITH OUT FERA THERE IS NO COURAGE. IT IS WHEN WE FACE OUR FEARS -- IT IS WHEN WE CONTOIUNE ON IN SPOITE OF OUR FEARS THAT WE ARE TRULY A PEOPLE OF COURAGE....
WE JUST READ IN CHAPTER 3; "THAT DESPITE THE EFARS OF THE PEOLE AROIUNF THEM, THYE BUILDT THE ALTAR ON IT’S FONDATION AND SACRIFICED BURNT OFFERINGS TO THE LORD..
THEY WERE RETURNING TO ENEMY TERRIORY THEY HAVE BEEN GONE FOR MANY YEARS AND THE PEOPEL WHOI SETTLED IN THEIR LAND WERE NOT VERY FRIENDLY TO THEM... THEY FACED OPPOASTION... AND THEY WERE AFRID SCRIPTURE SAYS OF WHAT THEY WOUDL DO TO THEM --- BUT THEYT WERE PEOPLE OF COURAGE AND DIDN’T LET THEIR FERAS OVEROCME AND STOP THEM FROM PERFOMIN GTHEIR MISSION...
LIKE WISE TODAY, IF WE ARE EVER GOING TO REALLY BUILD THE LORD’S HOSUE -- IF WE ARE EVER REALLY GOING TO BE THE LORD’S PEOPEL -- IF WE ARE EVER GOING TO TAKE OUR CHRITIANITY TO A HIGHER LEVEL... WE TOO MUST BE A PEOEL OF COURGAE... BECASUE THERE WILL BE OIPPSTION -- THE MISSION IS NOT AN EASY ONE.... WE WILL BE FRIED AT BY THE ENEMY... AN ENEMY WHO DOES NOT WNAT TO SEE THE MISSION OF BUILDING GOD’SHOSUE ACCOMPLISHED... AND HE WILL SURROUND US WITH FEAR; AND IF WE ARE NOT A PEOPLE OF COURAGE WE WILL STAY HOME... JSUT LIKE IF THE MARINES WERE NOT MN OF COURAGE -- FAITHFUL TO THEIR MSSION THEY WOUILD HAVE STAYED HOME, THOSE 2 HELICOPTERS WOULD HAVE NEVER TAKEN OFF FROM THE USS KEARSARGE....
BUT TO BE A PEOPEL OF COURAGE WE MUST BE ABLE TO OVERCOME OUR FEARS.... HOW DO WE DO THAT...? I AHVE A FAVORITE PASSAGE IN SCIPTURE THAT ILLUSRATES JSUT HOW WE OVEROCME OUR FEARS... I’VE SHARESD IT BEFROE -- I WILL SHARE IT NOW -- AND I WILL WITHOUT DOUBT, SHARE IT AGAIN.... AND I MAKE NO APOLOGIZES FOR DOING SO.... IT’S GOD’S WORD AND IT IS TRUE....
The words, DON’T BE AFRAID -- is a phrase that occurs 88 times in the Bible -- and is mostly spoken by God to his people.... And when these words are spoken by God.... we can trust them.
2 KING 6:15-17
WHEN WE TRY TO BUILD GOD’S HOSUE WE WILL F3EEL LIKE ELIJA’S SERVANT...
And let me tell you what will happen when God opens our eyes...
1. WE WILL SEE THE TRUE NATURE OF THE BATTLE
Elisha’s servant thought the battle was 2 against 1,000 armed men.... Just him and Elisha, against all those men, horses and chariots....
But he was wrong wasn’t he? -- It wasn’t just him and Elisha -- no it was him, Elisha and the armies of the Almighty God against the forces the enemy!
You see, when we, like Elisha’s servant, open our eyes we will see the true nature of the conflict. When fear grips us and steals our joy and immobilizes our service, when we feel outgunned and out numbered -- WHEN OUR EYES ARE OPENED -- we will see that the struggle is not as Paul says, "against flesh and blood -- but against principalities and powers who at work in this wold to hurt, to destroy, to grip us with fear....and to steal our joy. WHEN OUR EYES ARE OPENED WE WILL SEE THE NATURE OF THE BATTLE/OF THE STRUGGLE, AND WE WILL SEE THAT WE ARE NOT ALONE -- IT IS NOT US AGAINST THEM, BUT RATHER GOD AND US.
2. AND WHEN WE OPEN OUR EYES WE WILL ALSO EXPERIENCE THE PRESENCE OF GOD
When we open our eyes, we see the Lord... And We are reminded that he is there, as he promised, "AND SURELY I AM WITH YOU EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE..."
There is something about being in the presence of someone who is stronger than we are, that soothes our fear and melts our terror.
. A child’s fears after a terrible dream go away, when he is in his parents room...
. A boy confidently walks by the bullies who had beat him up, because his older brother now walks beside him.
. The wife who has had a terrible day when the whole world seems to be against her, rests in the arms of her husband.
. The shepherd boy with just a sling, faces a 10 foot giant that has an entire nation shaking in their boots, because he knows the Almighty God is with Him....
Remember I said earlier that the phrase "Don’t be afraid" appears 88 times in the bible -- mostly spoken by God and by Jesus (that is significant) -- And it is also significant to note, that nearly every time after saying, "Don’t be afraid," God then reassured the people of His presence:
WHEN ISAAC WAS AFRAID, THE LORD APPEARED TO HIM AND SAID, "I AM THE GOD OF YOUR FATHER ABRAHAM. DO NOT BE AFRAID I AM WITH YOU..." -- GEN 26:24
WHEN THE PROPHET JEREMIAH WAS AFRAID OF THE KING OF BABYLON GOD SAID TO HIM, DO NOT BE AFRAID OF HIM FOR I AM WITH YOU..." -- JER 42:11
IN HIS FAREWELL SPEECH TO THE PEOPLE MOSES TOLD THE PEOPLE AS THEY WERE ABOUT TO ENTER THE PROMISE, "DO NOT BE AFRAID BECAUSE THE LORD YOUR GOD GOES WITH YOU..."
When we, open our eyes, we will experience God’s presence; and when we feel His touch, hear His voice -- when we know He is there (and bothers and sisters in Christ, He is!!) -- Like the child, the little brother, the wife and like the shepherd boy, we will find our fears quick subsiding as we rest in the presence of our Lord, one who is stronger than we.
WHEN WE OPEN OUR EYES WE SEE THE NATURE OF THE STRUGGLE, WE EXPERIENCE THE Presence OF THE LORD.
What did Elisha tell his servant -- "DON’T BE AFRAID" --
BECAUSE, THOSE WHO ARE WITH US ARE GREATER THAN THOSE WHO ARE WITH THEM..." GOD IS GREATER THAN OUR ENEMIES IS WHAT HE IS SAYING.
And we see King Hezekiah saying essentially the same thing over 100 years later as he tells the commanders of his armies to not be afraid of the Assyrians who were approaching Jerusalem,
"BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS. DO NOT BE AFRAID OR DISCOURAGED BECAUSE OF THE KING OF ASSYRIA AND THE VAST ARMY WITH HIM, FOR THERE IS A GREATER POWER WITH US THEN WITH HIM...." -- 2 CH 32:7
And the apostle John 700 years later said much the same thing in I John 4:4 when he said, "GREATER IS HE THAT IS IN YOU, THEN HE THAT IS IN THE WORLD...." {REPEAT}
DO YOU BELIEVE THIS! IT’S TRUE!!
IF WE HAVE JESUS WE DO NOT NEED TO FEAR THOSE WHO SURROUND OUR CITY, NOR DO WE NEED TO FEAR THE GIANTS OF THIS LIFE... THAT COME AND STAND IN OUR VALLEYS AND TAUNT US, STEALING OUR JOY...
PRINCIPLE NUMBER 6; TO BUILD GOD’S HOSUE WE MSUT BE A PEOLE OF WORSHIP.....
JOHN 4:19-24
When the Samaritan women diverted the conversation from her own troubled domestic life to the theology of worship, she gave the Lord the opportunity to express words that rivet our attention and rock our assumptions about what worship really is... And ever since the Lord spoke those powerful words anyone who has seriously reflected on the subject of worship has been driven back to John 4 to considered those priceless words once again...
"THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND in TRUTH.."
The women at the well was asking Jesus about the true nature of worship -- and she saw only 2 options the Samaritan method (at the altar built on Mt. Gerizim) and the Jewish method (worship at the temple), but Jesus points her to God’s method declaring that both the Samaritan and Jewish method are wrong and deficient.
Why did Jesus say that the Samaritans worshipped "WHAT THEY DO NOT KNOW.." You see, the reason they worshipped in ignorance was because the Samaritans only accepted the first 5 books of the Bible and rejected the rest. AND Their worship was characterized by enthusiastic worship without proper information.... Like Paul said in Romans 10, "THEY HAD A ZEAL FOR GOD, BUT THEIR ZEAL WAS NOT BASED ON KNOWLEDGE.."
Now the Jews when they worshipped, it was the opposite situation. They accepted all the books of the OT, THE JEWS had the truth, but lacked the spirit.. Jesus said about them that when they prayed, fasted and gave their tithes their heart was not in it... Jesus said they had cleaned the outside of their cups, but the inside was still dirty towards God. They were hypocrites, phonies, actors , game players -- they were white washed tombs full of dead mean bones.. In Mark 7:6, Jesus told the Pharisees and scribes, "RIGHTLY DID ISAIAH PROPHESY OF YOU HYPOCRITES, AS IT IS WRITTEN, `THIS PEOPLE HONOR WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEARTS ARE FAR FROM ME..."
One writer says,
"THE WORSHIP THAT OCCURRED ON MT GERIZIM, WAS ENTHUSIASTIC HERESY. THE WORSHIP OFFERED AT JERUSALEM, WAS BARREN, LIFELESS ORTHODOXY. JERUSALEM HAD THE TRUTH, BUT NOT THE SPIRIT AND GERIZIM HAD THE SPIRIT BUT NOT THE TRUTH... AND JESUS REBUKED BOTH STYLES WHEN HE SAID, "GOD IS SPIRIT AND THOSE WHO WORSHIP HIM MUST WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH.."
THE 2 ENEMIES OF TRUE WORSHIP ARE GERIZIM AND JERUSALEM. SINCERITY, ENTHUSIASM, EXCITEMENT AND EMOTIONS ARE IMPORTANT, BUT THEY MUST BE BASED ON TRUTH... AND TRUTH IS FOUNDATIONAL, BUT IF TRUTH DOESN’T RESULT IN AN EAGER, EXCITED, ENTHUSIASTIC HEART AND FAITH, IT IS ALSO DEFICIENT... ENTHUSIASTIC HERESY, IS HEAT WITHOUT LIGHT. BARREN ORTHODOXY, IS LIGHT WITHOUT HEAT...
THE SAME 2 EXTREMES STILL EXIST TODAY.. ON THE ONE HAND THERE ARE GROUPS THAT CRY, CLAP, DANCE, SWAY, SING , SHOUT, ROLL -- AND SOME SPEAK IN ECSTATIC UTTERRINGS -- NOW THOUGH YOU CAN’T FAULT THEIR ENTHUSIASM, IT IS MANY TIMES A ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE.... WE MUST ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT ZEAL AND SINCERITY ARE NEVER A TEST FOR TRUTH -- I AM SURE THAT THE MUSLIMS, MORMONS, JEHOVAH WITNESS, NEW AGERS -- EVEN SATANIST ARE ENTHUSIASTIC IN THEIR WORSHIP, BUT THIS DOES NOT MAKE THEIR WORSHIP, OR THEIR BELIEF TRUE....
AND ON THE OTHER HAND WE STILL HAVE THOSE TODAY WHO LIKE THE JEWS, WORSHIP WITHOUT SPIRIT. THESE ARE THOSE WHO HOLD FIRMLY AND CONFIDENTLY TO SOUND DOCTRINE, BUT WHO HAVE LOST THEIR SPIRIT OF EXCITEMENT AND ENTHUSIASTIC JOY FOR THE LORD... SURE THEY KNOW THE TRUTH, AND YES THEY HOLD TIGHTLY TO THE GREAT DOCTRINES OF SCRIPTURE, BUT THEY JUST CAN’T, OR JUST WON’T GET EXCITED ABOUT IT -- BA HUM BUG!! IS THEIR BATTLE CRY....
I HAVE BEEN IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH FOR NEARLY 15 YEARS AND I HAVE ATTENDED MANY CHURCHES AND I HAVE PRETTY WELL REACHED THE SAME GENERAL CONCLUSION. FROM THE ENTHUSIASM LEVEL WHEN SONGS ARE SONG AND THE EXCITEMENT AND EAGERNESS WHEN THE WORD OF GOD IS TAUGHT AND PREACHED TO THEIR OVERALL EXCITEMENT ABOUT BEING GOD’S CHILDREN -- IN MANY OF OUR CHURCHES YOU WOULDN’T THINK THAT IT IS A MEETING OF THOSE ARE THE REDEEMED OF GOD, ONES BOUGHT BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS, FILLED WITH HIS SPIRIT, COMING TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE: HIS GOODNESS, HIS SACRIFICES AND LOOKING FORWARD TO HIS GLORIOUS RETURN (NO THEY OFTEN LOOK MORE LIKE PEOPLE WAITING TO HAVE A ROOT CANAL)... WE HAVE THE TRUTH, BUT MANY ARE NOT HUNGRY FOR IT OR EXCITED ABOUT IT!!... AND CHURCH, WORSHIP AND SERVICE ARE MORE OF A CHORE THAN A BLESSING, JOY AND A PRIVILEGE.
The worship that God desires is both doctrinally sound and enthusiastic, both spirit and truth. I believe God’s truth is exciting, do you?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WORSHIP GOD FROM THE SPIRIT?
By spirit Jesus is referring to our human spirit, our inner person. Worship is to flow from the inside out... Worship is not simply about being at the right place, at the right time, wearing the right clothes, saying the right words, singing the right songs -- Worship is also about our inner spirit praising our God...
And maybe your thinking well that sound s good but how do i do this.... How do we worship God in spirit?, Well first of all we have to saved and have the indwelling of the spirit -- and then we have to center our thoughts on God and his word (and not just sunday mornings).
Worshipping in spirit also involves dealing with our personal sin -- because the only one who he come into the presence of a Holy God is one who has dealt with His sin. The Bible says that to see God We Must be pure in heart and "That to come to His Holy Hill we must be blameless"...
Therefore, we must be like Isaiah confess our sin before God -- and allow God to purged the sin from our lives...
Listen to what David said in PS 139 (he wanted to make sure he had dealt with his sin), "SEARCH ME O GOD AND KNOW MY HEART: TRY ME AND KNOW MY ANXIOUS THOUGHTS; AND SEE IF THERE BE ANY HURTFUL WAY IN ME, AND LED ME IN THE EVERLASTING WAY..."
So worshipping in spirit involves centering your thoughts on God dealing with your sin And to worship in spirit we also need to undivided heart towards God -- God must truly be number one in our lives, not just on our lips -- (before all things, even before ourselves), Is He? David prayed, "UNITE MY HEART TO FEAR/WORSHIP THY NAME A DIVIDED HEART CAN NOT WORSHIP GOD, A MAN CAN NOT WORSHIP 2 GODS...
When our sin is dealt with, when WE spend time with God in His word, in prayer and meditation, when we have an undivided heart -- When God is number one -- we can’t help but be excited about your Lord, we can’t help but love Him, we can’t help but be filled with His joy and we will worship Him in Spirit.
AND WE MUST ALSO WORSHIP IN TRUTH
What is truth? Jesus said in John 17:17, "THY WORD IS TRUTH.." THIS IS TRUTH (HOLD UP BIBLE)
JESUS SAID THAT WE ARE TO WORSHIP IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH... AND JESUS THUS LINKED WORSHIP INSEPARABLY TO TRUTH. WORSHIP IS NOT SIMPLY AN EMOTIONAL EXERCISE WITH GOD WORDS THAT INDUCE CERTAIN FEELINGS... WORSHIP IS A RESPONSE TO THE TRUTH AS FOUND IN GOD’S WORD.... TRUTH IS EXCITING !!! [AMEN}
AND IN NEHEMIAH CHAPTER 8 WE SEE THE POWER OF GOD’S WORD/TRUTH TO INVOKE WORSHIP IN THOSE HEARTS WHO ARE OPENED TO HIM... WE SEE WORSHIP COMING TOGETHER DRAMATICALLY IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH:
Nehemiah and the people had come back to rebuild the walls and city of Jerusalem after they had been exile for 70 years following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians... And after they had been home for 7 months they asked Ezra the scribe to read from the scroll containing the word of God.... Listen to the responses of the people gathered as Ezra read from daybreak to noon from God’s word..Observe how they responded to God’s mercy, power an grace....
"AND ALL THE PEOPLE LIFTED UP THEIR HANDS AND RESPONDED, `AMEN! AMEN!’ THEN THEY BOWED DOWN AND WORSHIPPED THE LORD WITH THEIR FACES TO THE GROUND... AND ALL THE PEOPLE WEPT AS THEY LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF THE LAW.."
The truth of scriptures resulted in the kind of worship God desires in Spirit and in Truth.
Worship is where spirit and truth meet together in praise to God....
