You Are the Temple

1Corinthians‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭- Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

I'd like to show you a similarity between two things. It shows how the Old Testament has just as much to reveal as the New. Things that have taken place in the past relate to things of today. There are thousands of parallels, types, symbols, prophecies in the Old Testament. In fact Jesus can be found in every Old Testament book. 

Back in the Book of 1Kings I was reading about King Solomon. You know, he asked God for wisdom over anything else and God gave him so much more because of it. And it was he who wrote all the wisdom of Proverbs. Solomon was King David's son. He was given the privilege of building a temple, which was dedicated to God, a place where God's presence could reside, where the Ark of the Covenant was stored in the Most Holy Place. It is said it was a place where His name could dwell. The Most Holy Place could only be accessed by the Jewish High Priest. This place was completely shut off by a very large, heavy curtain, or veil, from everyone else.

Something to keep in mind, God does not need a building in which to reside. God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. (‭‭Acts‬ ‭17:24) Like a church today, the temple was a place for the Jews to come to worship God. If worship is done correctly God's presence will be there. It can be anywhere at any time. How? He is simply God. And even today, while we attend our church services, pay our worship to God on His holy day, we can worship Him any time. I just got done...

Here's an excerpt from 1Kings 9 where God speaks to Solomon after the temple is built:

1Kings‬ ‭9:3 - And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually."

There was a catch, though. "Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever... But if you ... at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight..." (1Kings 9:4-7)

This refers to Israel. But let me say this can refer to believers of Christ. This is one parallel or type. Before Christ, people followed and served God (sometimes). Today we follow Christ and serve Him (sometimes). 

What I'm getting at here is when we receive Christ as Lord and Savior, we become the temple where He resides. It is not built with human hands. It is built within a heart that has changed by Jesus Christ, simply by asking Him to reside there, change our hearts, give us wisdom to know Him in an intimate way. If we do not turn to Jesus and continue to worship our own lives as they are without Him, we will not be His. That's a pretty harsh statement. But God refers to it above. 

When the day of final judgment comes, we can be cast out of His sight. Jesus had this to say: Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" (Matthew‬ ‭7:21,23‬)

Remember when Jesus died? Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split... (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭27:51) This meant that access to God was open to anyone providing those "anyones" went through Christ, bowed their hearts before Him, repented of their sins and asked for His forgiveness...then lived for Him, through Him, by the power of His Holy Spirit. Jesus became our Great High Priest, One higher than any man. Do you see this? God does not dwell in temples made with hands; He will live in our heart. But we must ask Him in. He won't come in without our invitation. 

He died for, as my pastor says frequently, whosoever will call on the name of the Lord. He's thankful, as am I, to be counted as one of the whosoevers. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans‬ ‭10:13)

But we have the same catch as was explained to Solomon. ‭‭We must walk in integrity of heart and in uprightness. We must follow His commands, which means we must know them (through the Word). If we do these things, His throne will be established within our hearts, spiritually, forever. His presence will be with us always. He will be forever looking over us, protecting and providing for us. If we have chosen Christ, we are His people and are in the land that God has given us, just like the land that God had given Israel...we become His people.

Sound unimaginable? It's not. Call out to Him. Watch what He can do with your heart, soul and mind. He will dwell within your heart. You can become His temple, filled with His Spirit. He will give you wisdom. That veil has been torn for you. Access has been given to you. Go for it.

Ephesians‬ ‭2:19-22‬ ‭- Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

‭‭

The Temple

1Corinthians‬ ‭3:16‬ ‭- Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

I'd like to show you a similarity between two things. It shows that the Old Testament is just as important as the New. Things that have taken place in the past relate to things of today. There are countless parallels, types, symbols and prophecies of the Old Testament that relate to the New.

Back in the Book of 1Kings I have been reading about King Solomon. You know, the one who asked God for wisdom over anything else, who wrote all the wisdom of Proverbs. Solomon was King David's son. He was given the privilege of building a temple, which was dedicated to God, a place where God's presence could reside, where the Ark of the Covenant was stored in the Most Holy Place. It is said it was a place where His name could reside. The Most Holy Place could only be accessed by the Jewish High Priest. This place was completely shut off by a very large, heavy curtain, or veil, from everyone else.

Something to keep in mind, God does not need a building in which to reside. God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. (‭‭Acts‬ ‭17:24) Like a church today, it was a place to worship God. If worship is done correctly God's presence will be there. God can be anywhere at any time. How? He is simply God. And even today, while we attend our church services, pay our worship to God on His holy day, we can worship Him any time. 

Here's an excerpt from 1Kings 9 where God speaks to Solomon after the temple is built..

And the LORD said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually." (1Kings‬ ‭9:3)

There was a catch, though. "Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever... But if you ... at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight..." (1Kings 9:4-7)

This refers to Israel. But let me say this can refer to believers of Christ. There's one parallel, type. Before Christ, people followed and served God (sometimes). Today we follow Christ and serve Him (sometimes). 

What I'm getting at here is when we receive Christ as Lord and Savior, we become the temple where He resides. It is not built with human hands. It is built within a heart that has changed by Jesus Christ, simply by asking Him to reside there, change our hearts, give us wisdom to know Him in an intimate way. If we do not turn to Jesus and continue to worship our own lives as they are without Him, we will not be His. That's a pretty harsh statement. But God refers to it above. When the day of final judgment comes, we will be cast out of His sight. Matthew 7:18-28 will show this. 

Remember when Jesus died? Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split... (‭‭Matthew‬ ‭27:51) This meant that access to God was open to anyone providing those "anyones" went through Christ, bowed their hearts before Him, repented of their sins and asked for His forgiveness...then lived for Him, through Him, by the power of His Holy Spirit. Jesus became our Great High Priest. Do you see this? God does not dwell in temples made with hands; He lives in our heart. But we must ask Him in. He won't come in without our invitation. 

He died for, as my pastor says frequently, whosoever will call on the name of the Lord. He's thankful, as am I, to be counted as one of the whosoevers. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans‬ ‭10:13)

But we have the same catch as was explained to Solomon. ‭‭We must walk in integrity of heart and in uprightness. We must follow His commands, which means we must know them (through the Word). If we do these things, His throne will be established within our hearts, spiritually, forever. His presence is with us always. He is forever looking over us, protecting and providing for us. If we have chosen Christ, we are His people and are in the land that God has given us, just like the land that God had given Israel...His people.

Sound unimaginable? It's not. Call out to Him. Watch what He can do with your heart, soul and mind. He will dwell within your heart. You can become His temple, filled with His Spirit. He will give you wisdom. That veil has been torn for you. Access has been given to you. Go for it.

Ephesians‬ ‭2:19-22‬ ‭- Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

An Ordinary Mother

Luke 1:46-48 - And Mary said: My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. 

Okay, so Mary, mother of Jesus wasn't exactly ordinary. I mean, come on, conception by the Holy Spirit? How often does that happen?

However, what we know of her shows her to be not of an elevated status, but a typical girl from a typical, simple family in Nazareth. I did a little research on what Nazareth would have been like. There is not much mention of this town so one can conclude that it was not a prominent town or village. One account stated it could have been between 480 and 2,000 people. Mary was considered a humble peasant girl, so I am assuming all of Nazareth was comprised of people of humble means, yet not necessarily all humble spirits.

John 1:46 states, Can anything good come out of Nazareth? I'm guessing the town did not have the greatest reputation. If you recall Jesus returned after His ministry began and was rejected, most likely because He was only the Son of Mary, a peasant girl, and Joseph, a carpenter. I'm guessing the people really wondered at the way Mary conceived since who had ever heard of this. Oh, the skepticism. Can't we all be like that at times?

The other night we had a women's dinner at church for the Christmas season. It was called An Extraordinary Night. The speaker, Sandy Bradford, spoke on the things we don't often think about regarding what Mary went through as being chosen, conceiving and giving birth on that extraordinary night to this Son who was the Son of God. Bradford asked the women who had children to imagine all the feelings, thoughts, concerns Mary might have had.

I'm not going to reiterate all her thoughts. One thing is clear, Mary was ordinary...yet not. A peasant girl suddenly to become the mother of the Son of God...all in nine months' time. She didn't even have time to prepare for this. Only God could have given her the strength and more importantly the faith and trust she would need. The point I'm making is that it had nothing at all to do with anything she determined to do, apart from trusting, which alone is a huge thing.

God purposely chose Mary. Part of this purpose is to show how He uses ordinary people in life to achieve His purposes. We all know that Jesus, God, came down from His throne to live among us sinners. He walked and talked with the basest of people at times...prostitutes, thieves, liars, the proud and arrogant. He chose His disciples not from the elite class but the humble. He Himself, despite being the King of kings was humble. Isn't that just the perfect example of what we are to be?

What makes any of us think we are so great? Remember yesterday I mentioned Mitch's comment: But I realized that night that I'm not better or smarter than anyone. We are told that we are not to worship the creation but the Creator. And we are to worship nothing other than Jesus Christ.

Mary herself said these things about her own Son:
My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior...For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. (Luke 1:46-47,49)

She understood. She understood she was ordinary put into extraordinary circumstances. Imagine all she had to go through beyond just His birth. She was the mother of God yet she had the same feelings about her Son as we would have about our children...frustration, fear, sadness, joy, hope, pride, ending in abject grief. She learned first hand that she could not tell Him what to do...He was in His Father's house when she complained about His not telling them where He was going to be and His time had not yet come when she asked Him to do a miracle at a wedding.

Mary endured His comings and goings as His ministry took, literally, legs and sent Him all over the countryside. He claims to not have had a place to call home. He exclaimed, My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice, when told she and his brothers wanted to see Him. Imagine how she might have felt. And the worst feeling of all was the helplessness of being a mother seeing her Son whipped and beaten for telling the truth about Who He was, and then led to His crucifixion.

She was an ordinary woman then. She had no power or strength of her own to change the situation. She may have even found it difficult to trust in God during this time. She also knew that her salvation came through her own Son! I imagine what it was like after He arose and returned for a period of time. Was the sadness removed? Was the joy resurrected in her life? Did she fully understand now all He had to have gone through?

We are all ordinary people. We might think otherwise, but we still are. We only elevate ourselves with our sinful, prideful natures. We might learn a lesson from both Mary and her Son about humility. As Mary honored Jesus, as Jesus honored His heavenly Father over His earthly parents, so should we honor the Man who came to an ordinary woman and humbled Himself for all us sin filled people that we might all receive His free gift of salvation.

Our pastor, Rory Grooters, this morning asked us also to imagine what her life was like. Here was the gist of it, in my own words! She was the actual first temple of God, carrying Christ in her, having the very God within her, going through the difficult days when people didn't understand what she was going through and how it all happened, all the flapping gums and gossip, just like we go through because we have Christ in us...and doesn't that make us different? BUT what did she do? She delivered that Baby, the Baby that was to be all for us. And we are to deliver Christ in the same way to those around us, that they might also have the power of God within them.

So if, as followers of Christ, God chooses us for something, are we prepared as ordinary people? We may not think so but He has given us all we need to do what He desires. We are His ordinary people whom He has chosen to become in Christ, or better yet, have Him in us. He has given us talents and life experiences. All ordinary things. Coupled with trust and faith in Him we are able to do. It's all about Him. We are as ordinary as Mary. We are as ordinary as the fishermen, the prostitutes, the thieves and liars. He changes us. He takes the ordinary and makes them extraordinary...all to glorify Him.

Will you humble yourself as Jesus did? Will you come down from whatever place you're at, like Jesus did? Make no mistake, you are ordinary! Let Him make you extraordinary. Mary understood that. The mother of the Son of God...ordinary to extraordinary...all by the hand of God.

James 4:10 - Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

Consider Your Ways

Haggai 1:3-5 - Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways!" 

There are a lot of things in the Bible that have more than one meaning. While this scripture talks about building a physical structure like a temple or a church, I believe it's also speaking to us of our own hearts. Even in the midst of admonition, God has a promise if we choose to not stop up our ears and wait long enough for that promise to emerge in the message.

Israel had strayed from God, looking to their own worldly pleasures. God was using Haggai, a prophet, to speak to them and draw them back. He used the analogy of their own houses and the importance they had upon the people while the House of God lay in ruins. Our body as a child of God is to be His temple, His dwelling place. He does not necessarily reside in a building but resides in the hearts of those who receive Him as the Lord and Savior of their life.

Haggai was a minor prophet in that he gave only one brief prophetic word. But a powerful one just the same. Like the world in which we are living, we are doing what we want, paying less attention to God and more attention to ourselves. Our nation alone has been known to have more than any other. That's not all bad, but when we take it for granted... He is the One who created us and has given us all things. Verse six is quite a hard word to hear: "You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes." I think about what Jesus often said about His being the Living Water, the Bread of Life and not worrying about what we eat, drink or wear because He will provide.

Like in verse five above, God then goes on to repeat Himself, which is a sure sign of His desire for us to listen up: "Consider your ways!" Exclamation point, no less! There are three other instances where He tells the people to "consider." We are all to consider our ways. Consider what is truly important in our lives. Is it the "stuff" we have or our physical house, or is it our spiritual house? Where is your heart's desire? Luke 12:34 makes this point: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Ouch. Sadly, we can all be guilty of this.

I'll tell you, and I've said it many times before, there isn't a day when I'm not thinking on God, seeing Him at work, seeing His character in the beauty around me. But like Haggai has warned, Consider your ways! It's our heart He's most interested in and it's a heart that is thinking on Him He desires. I'm not saying just because I think about Him each day makes me totally submissive to Him.  I'm painfully aware that there are still changes He wishes to make within me. 

These changes all start with our hearts. Through Haggai, God said: "You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?" says the LORD of hosts. "Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house." I believe He's referring to our spiritual heart that lays in ruins while we take care of our physical house, our physical needs. Because of this we are likely to never be satisfied because God is all we need; My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26  What a great promise. He is our provider in all things.

God will shake our lives until we "get it right." And because He is the One doing the shaking, it is His glory that will be seen. The LORD had Haggai tell the people to not fear, that He would be with them always, as He covenanted with them. That is what He tells us today. The covenant is there for the asking; when we enter into covenant with God, He WILL be with us always and there is no need to fear...keep that spiritual house in order and all will go well.  He further states that "in this place I will give peace."

Haggai--and God--shows us that before we choose to build His temple within our own hearts we are missing something. He tells us to consider from the day we choose to do this, from before we laid the first stone (gave our lives to Him), how things change in our lives; how we prosper spiritually after not having all we could have through Christ, how He blesses us. He then tell us:

Haggai 2:18-19 - "Consider from this day forward...the day the foundation was laid...consider it...and I will bless you."