This Sanctuary We Dedicate

THIS SANCTUARY WE DEDICATE—1Kings 7:51—8:53

King Solomon dedicated the completed temple to Israel’s God.

Any sanctuary must be properly dedicated to the Lord.

To what purposes is this sanctuary dedicated?

6 purposes to which our sanctuary is dedicated.

1—This sanctuary we dedicate to God’s

COVENANT(:1-9)

—Explanation/Argumentation/Illustration:(:1-9)

:1—“Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel & all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD from the city of David, which is Zion.

:3—“Then all the elders of Israel came, & the priests took up the ark. :4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD & the tent of meeting & all the holy utensils, which were in the tent, & the priests & the Levites brought them up.”

CALLED MEN

Elders & Deacons

:5—“And King Solomon & all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled to him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep & oxen they could not be counted or numbered.

SACRIFICE

BLOOD

SIN

Jn. 1:29,36—“The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, & said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”....“& he looked upon Jesus as He walked, & said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

:6—“Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim. :7 For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, & the cherubim made a covering over the ark & its poles from above.

:8 But the poles were so long that the ends of the poles could be seen from the holy place before the inner sanctuary, but they could not be seen outside; they are there to this day.

:9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.”

COVENANT—Agreement

—New Covenant

Jer. 31:31-34—““Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel & with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, “declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them, & on their heart I will write it; & I will be their God, & they shall be My people. “And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor & each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, & their sin I will remember no more.””

Heb. 9:22—“And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, & without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Lk. 22:19-20—“And when He had taken some bread & given thanks, He broke it, & gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.”

2Cor. 3:6—“who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

—Application:

?Will you join with us in dedicating this sanctuary to God’s COVENANT?

?Will you join with us in honoring & wholly dedicating this sanctuary to God’s service?

2—This sanctuary we dedicate to God’s

PRESENCE/Glory(:10-11; 12-13)

—Explanation/Argumentation/Illustration:(:10-11; 12-13) Experience

:10—“And it came about when the priests came from the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

Visible manifestation of God’s transcendency. His glory which is unapprochable by sinful mankind. this same tenscendeny can be experienced here in worship. It is what drives true worshipers of God to our knees.

:11—“so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD.

In ovewhelming awesomeness & felt presence of God, our ministries are transformed into God’s ministries.

Setting aside self.

:12—“Then Solomon said, “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.

Unapproachable perfection.