Building the Temple

So Willingly

1 Chronicles 29:9 NASB

Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

King David and the people gave of what they had been given by God, and to supply what was needed for the building of the temple of God. They made their offerings to God, not begrudgingly, but with their whole hearts.

The temple of God today that is still under construction is the people of God, i.e. those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of our lives. We “are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 2:5 ESV). We “are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:22 NASB).

We, his body, have been given the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists and pastors and teachers to equip us “for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:12-13 NIV).

As well, “speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work” (Eph. 4:15-16 NIV).

So, what we have been given by God is first of all his Spirit, who dwells in the lives of followers of Jesus Christ. Within us is the Holy of Holies. Because His Spirit lives within us, we also have been empowered from on high to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to God. And, we have been given spiritual gifts and ministries, by the Spirit, and as assigned by God, which we are to then use within the body of Christ to build one another up in our faith.

This is how the church is supposed to function. This is what it means today to build the temple, not with physical bricks and with human hands, but with our hearts, minds and bodies committed to Christ and his kingdom work, ministering to the needs of others within the body of Christ, and sharing his love and grace with the world around us.

Blessing the Lord

1 Chronicles 29:10-13 NASB

So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.

One of the ways in which we are being built up in the faith to maturity in Christ to be a holy people, surrendered to our Lord, is by giving our God the honor, praise, adoration, respect, service and obedience to him which he so deserves. But, this is not with lip service only.

Merely voicing the praises of God and proclaiming his many attributes and godly qualities and character traits, or merely voicing thanks to him for all the wonderful things he has done for us, is not truly blessing him, though it is part of it. As well, singing “worship” songs in a “worship” service may or may not mean we are truly worshiping God.

We bless and we worship God by our lives, by our love for him, our devotion, and by our commitments to him and to his kingdom work (See: Rom. 12:1-2). By our lives we show whether or not we truly believe what we say with our lips. For, if we truly believe that God is all powerful and that he is the victor over sin, and that he is fully sovereign over our lives, and over all that he has made, it should be reflected in our lives by how we live.

By our lifestyles we would show that God is all powerful and that he is the victor over sin and Satan, and that he is sovereign over our lives, and that he has empowered us to live in victory over sin. Thus, we wouldn’t still be wallowing in the same sinful addictions, feeling powerless to overcome them. But, we would be claiming the victory that is ours in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Therefore, we would die with Christ to sin and self and live with Christ, in newness of life, to his righteousness, all in his power and strength within us. Daily we would die to sin and self and put on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil schemes against us, and we would combat his lies against us with the truth of God’s Holy Word (Lu. 9:23-25; Eph. 6:10-20).

We would live holy lives, separate from the world of sin, and separate unto God and to his service, because we believe what we say with our lips.

It All Comes from You

1 Chronicles 29:14-17 NASB

“But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope.
 O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours. Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You.

When we give to God our lives, our service, our praise, and our thanksgiving, we are not giving him anything which he did not give us first. For, even the faith to believe in him is a gift from God (Eph. 2:8-10). Even the fact that we desire God and Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives is because God has first of all drawn us to faith in Jesus Christ (Jn. 6:44). All things good come from him, so all the praise belongs to him, too.

We are on this earth on borrowed time. This world is not our home. We are just passing through. There is no hope, no assurance that any of us have tomorrow or the next day or the next. Our lives and our futures are completely in God’s hands. We are like renters (tenants) and God is our landlord. And, we owe him our very lives. All that he has given to us is to be given back to him for his service, according to his will and his purposes.

Direct Our Hearts to You

1 Chronicles 29:18-19 NASB

O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You; and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and to build the temple, for which I have made provision.”

Dear God, I pray that all this would become a reality in each one of our lives forever and ever, to where we would serve you with all of our hearts from now and forevermore. I pray that the intentions of our hearts would be pure and honest towards you, and that we would honor you, not just with our lips, but with our entire lives, as well.

I pray, too, that our hearts would be directed toward you in all that we do, think, are and say, that we may give honor and glory to you always. I pray that we would desire you above all else, and that you truly would be Lord (owner-master) of our lives, not in name only, but in what we practice.

I pray, as well, that we would all be faithful in our service to you, and in our service to the body of Christ. I pray we would all come to a full understanding of who the church is and what our parts are within the body for the building up of her to full maturity in Christ. And, I pray, that having that understanding, we would all do our parts so that we, the body of Christ, might all reach full maturity in Christ Jesus, our Lord. In Jesus’ name I pray these things. Amen!

10,000 Reasons

Matt Redman

Bless the Lord oh my soul

Oh my soul

Worship His Holy name

Sing like never before

Oh my soul

I'll worship Your Holy name

The sun comes up

It's a new day dawning

It's time to sing Your song again

Whatever may pass

And whatever lies before me

Let me be singing

When the evening comes…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDGE_lRI0E

Monday, June 4, 2018, 5:00 a.m. – Amen and Amen!