Temple - House Of The Lord

“Temple - House of the Lord “

Text: Ephesians 2:19-22

19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Subject; What can the biblical motif of temple teach us about worship?

Complement; God desires to meet with his people and God’s people desire to worship him.

“temple mediates God’s presence until we are in God’s presence.”

Idea: Temple mediates God’s presence and anticipates it's fulness.

Introduction...

For some people the sacred space is their garage... their cabin... their fishing spot... it's a place that refreshes and renews...

Mountains are often places of worship – height and view...

For believers we think of the church building/sanctuary as that sacred space...the place where we worship/pray/repent/hear the preached word...

And since March its been missing and placed in a unique online format...

In scripture the place of meeting with God is woven into the fabric of the story of redemption.

Scene 1 Garden of Eden - Genesis 1

God among his creation

No barriers; no go-between needed.

Then the Fall...

Genesis 3:8 ...the Lord God ... was walking in the garden in the cool of the day,... 9 ... the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

{...they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden}

God calls “Adam where are thou”?

Scene 2 Exiled from Eden...

Sin is the great barrier that separates.

Reconciliation is needed.

Notice our text eph 2:19 “foreigners and strangers...

Also v. 12 ? “separate....excluded...without hope...without God”

Everyone of us begins life in exile... are away from God... all through life he is calling us home... come home... come home

“Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling... calling o sinner come home”

Why do you linger when Jesus is calling...calling for you and for me...see on the portals he’s watching and waiting... waiting for you and for me...

Scene 3 Abraham – God makes a covenant and Abe builds an altar...

Genesis 12 “ I will bless you...through your seed A. all the world will be blessed.”

Gen 12:7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring[c] I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

**** ~The makings of a temple in very basic form...

Scene 4 Moses – builds a “Tent Of Meeting” (Tabernacle)

Exodus 25

8 “Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.

...right after giving of the law...

Portable

proto-type of tabernacle!

(includes Holy of holies/ark of cov)

God’s presence -- Above the cherubim of the ark of the cov

Ex 25:22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.

Note: it's God’s idea/plan... he gives the design to Moses.

***Tabernacle -- Access to God’s presence is still limited and depends on the priest entering holy of holies (once a year); day of atonement

Scene 5 Solomon’s Temple (~970 BC)

Solomon builds the 1st permanent temple ( 1 Kings 5)

7 year project

Ark of the covenant is brought into the Holy of Holies

Temple is Filled with smoke...God dwells/abides – 1 Kings 8:10

Scene 6 Destruction/Exile; 70 Years. (586-539 BC)

Approx. 400 years of 1st temple usage

**Now...A great Crisis for Israel!

Where is God?

Why did this happen?

***We think no church for 6 months was difficult... imagine no church buildings in the entire city/province.

Crisis of faith!

Away from the temple = away from God (temple mediates)

Away from the land

Pray toward Jerusalem ... while in Exile

Jere 29:5 – 7

God’s word to exiles...? build houses and settle down... pray for the prosperity of the city; if it prospers, you too will prosper.

Then after 70 years ... a re-gathering.

“God desires to meet with his people”

Scene 7 2nd Temple Is Built By Zerubbabel (_539 BC_)

(King Cyrus of Persia makes a proclamation- 539/right after the Exile!)

Plain...modest in comparison.

However, Herod expands it... 43 years of construction

Jews have great pride in its magnificence & splendor

Haggai 2:9 “the glory of the present house will be greater...”

Scene 8 Jesus dwells among us (John 1:14) as the “temple”

“the word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood...