1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,360 I'm going to invite you if you can, join me in the book of Exodus chapter 25 and verse 5. 2 00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:12,880 I have one short verse to read. Exodus 25 and verse 5. Amen. 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:19,120 Church, I'd like to preach just for about 30 minutes today, but I'm going to need your help. 4 00:00:19,120 --> 00:00:24,560 I need to know that you're going to be with me. If I go a little over than that, well, then I do. 5 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:31,840 But amen. How many of you are going to open your hearts today to God's word? Amen. 6 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:34,960 The verse says, 7 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:41,920 And let them make me a sanctuary. 8 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:50,480 That I may dwell among them. And my title is very simply, Make me a sanctuary. 9 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:55,280 I'm going to invite you there to pray with me before we, before I preach. Father, I thank you 10 00:00:55,280 --> 00:01:00,720 for your spirit that I feel in this place today, God. Thank you, God, for waking us up this morning, 11 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:06,880 starting us on our way and allowing us to come once again. Now that we have worshiped, 12 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:12,800 now that we have exalted your name, Lord, we ask that you would speak to us, God, with the spirit 13 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:21,040 that is saying to the church. So I pray, God, that we would all help us to turn on our spiritual 14 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:27,840 hearing so that we might hear what your will and your purpose is for us today, God. In the name of 15 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:34,080 Jesus, Lord, have your way. Annoy these lips of clay, God, in Jesus' name. Everyone say amen. 16 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:40,000 You may be seated. My heart's a little heavy today, church. I have a burden and lots to share. So 17 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:46,160 given the time constraint I've given myself, I'm going to do the best I can. But when you hear the 18 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:52,800 word sanctuary, I realize that different images may come to mind. You might think of a church 19 00:01:53,600 --> 00:02:01,840 or some other religious place, a place that is separate, unique from everywhere else. 20 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:14,000 The dictionary defines sanctuary as a sacred place, a place of refuge or a nature reserve. 21 00:02:15,040 --> 00:02:21,840 There are sanctuaries all throughout the world, sanctuaries in nature, for instance, that provide 22 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:29,760 safe haven for wildlife in the warm waters that surround the coast of the Hawaiian islands, 23 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:39,760 provides a sanctuary for nursing humpback whales. And my wife and I have witnessed that a few times 24 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:47,360 while vacationing there. The humpback whales swim around in those waters because there's a safe haven 25 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:57,040 there. It's a sanctuary, a marine sanctuary. The canopies over the Amazon rainforest, the trees 26 00:02:57,040 --> 00:03:06,960 provide sanctuary for the exotic wildlife that thrives underneath the shady coverings. Those are 27 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:15,760 sanctuaries in nature. Beyond that, there are also political sanctuaries or sanctuaries within 28 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:24,560 the political arena. Political refugees can seek asylum in the US from their oppressive governments 29 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:33,840 that they are escaping and find sanctuary here in the United States. Likewise, you as a US citizen, 30 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:40,080 if you ever find yourself in danger on foreign soil and there is a US embassy nearby, 31 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:46,160 you can run to that US embassy. Hopefully, you could just knock on the door or ring the doorbell. 32 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:50,320 I don't really know how that works, but I would imagine that if you could prove that you're a 33 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:59,760 citizen, you can find sanctuary. All the laws and the protection of the US government, you can find 34 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:05,520 safe haven there as a sanctuary, a political sanctuary. There are other types, even within the 35 00:04:05,520 --> 00:04:12,800 social sphere, different organizations that provide sanctuary and safety for victims of human 36 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:19,440 trafficking, domestic violence. These are all types of sanctuaries. We use this term. But then, 37 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:25,280 of course, there is a sanctuary I think we can all identify with, which is the sanctuary of our 38 00:04:25,280 --> 00:04:35,760 own homes. I tend to view my home as my own little sanctuary, my own little place, my own little world 39 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:43,440 away from the world where I can go and retreat and find rest. Amen. Can I get an amen out there? 40 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:50,240 Some of you, even within your homes, there's a sanctuary because your home gets kind of loud 41 00:04:50,240 --> 00:04:55,520 even then. So, you have a garden or you have a reading room or whatever it is or an office. 42 00:04:55,520 --> 00:05:01,920 He said, this is where I go within my own home, kind of an inner sanctum within my sanctuary. 43 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:08,000 And these are places that we all need. We need these places where we can go and unwind and just 44 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:19,040 find safe haven and just meditate or pray. When Moses and the Israelites came out of Egypt, 45 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:29,520 this is what the Lord told them. He said, I want you to make me a sanctuary that I will dwell 46 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:41,040 among you. I want to convey to you, church, for just very briefly that God has always desired 47 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:49,520 to dwell among his people. Amen. God has always desired from the beginning of time, 48 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:54,880 from the Garden of Eden, to the Tabernacles that were established through the Old Testament, 49 00:05:54,880 --> 00:06:03,920 into the church age, God has always, it has always been his desire to find a resting place, 50 00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:13,600 a dwelling place to abide among his people. This is the quest of God. This is what God 51 00:06:13,600 --> 00:06:22,160 is in pursuit of. He has always desired to dwell among us and all he is looking for 52 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:29,920 is a sanctuary. Someone say sanctuary. Now, I don't know about you, but it lifts my spirit 53 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:37,280 and encourages me to know that of all the places that God could find in the world, in the universe, 54 00:06:37,280 --> 00:06:45,360 in the galaxies that he would want to abide amongst imperfect and broken people like us. 55 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:54,640 I'm just baffled by that, that of all the places, including heaven itself, with its celestial 56 00:06:54,640 --> 00:07:01,680 choirs and streets paid with gold and seraphim and cherubim that surround the throne singing, 57 00:07:01,680 --> 00:07:09,040 holy, holy, holy, that God would say, my people are calling on me and I want to dwell among them. 58 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:15,840 That is just, I don't think I'll ever quite fathom or wrap my mind around how God would do such a 59 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:21,120 thing, but this is the heart of God and he's looking for a sanctuary. The first mention of a 60 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:28,080 sanctuary occurs in Exodus 15, just a few chapters before our opening text, Moses and the people 61 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:36,800 saying to the Lord prophetically in verse 17, you will bring them and plant them in the mountain of 62 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:46,320 your inheritance in the place, O Lord, which you have made for your own dwelling, the sanctuary, 63 00:07:46,320 --> 00:07:53,120 O Lord, which your hands have established. Moses and the people of God saying this song 64 00:07:53,120 --> 00:08:01,440 as they were coming out of, out of Egyptian slavery and Moses had, he had a, not only a dream 65 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:08,000 and a desire to prepare a dwelling place for the Lord, but he foresaw this already being 66 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:15,760 established. You read the Psalm and the song is sung in the past tense as if this was already 67 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:22,960 established. He already saw the completion of this thing. It was rooted in his heart, this idea and 68 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:29,920 that idea was placed there by none other than God himself. God put that desire and that dream in 69 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:37,840 the heart of Moses to establish a dwelling place for God to dwell among his people. And this idea 70 00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:44,960 of a sanctuary was not born so much in the heart of man as it was in the heart of God. And it was 71 00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:55,280 birthed after Israel came out of Egypt. And there's a beautiful typology there of Israel coming out 72 00:08:55,280 --> 00:09:02,000 of Egypt that is a typology of the new birth experience. When we read of their Exodus, we, 73 00:09:02,000 --> 00:09:11,120 we can read of that story and see a picture of our own conversion, our own transformation. Amen. 74 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:20,000 Egypt represents our old life of slavery to sin. Amen. And the blood that was put upon the 75 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:26,960 doorposts which caused the death angel to pass over the Hebrews represents the blood of the lamb, 76 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:34,000 Jesus Christ, that saves us and washes away our sin. Somebody say amen for that. The crossing of 77 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:43,440 the Red Sea represents baptism in water and the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night represents 78 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:49,920 the Holy Spirit that indwells and guides us. And this is how we are saved. What a beautiful picture 79 00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:55,600 of how we are saved and God wants to save. How many of you know God wants to save? Amen. How many, 80 00:09:55,600 --> 00:10:00,720 how many are thankful for salvation? Come on, let's clap for hands if we're thankful for salvation 81 00:10:00,720 --> 00:10:07,920 today. How many of you are glad that your name is written in the book of life? Amen. But then after 82 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:16,800 salvation we are called by God to make him a sanctuary. Well, what kind of sanctuary? Now, 83 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:27,440 Moses made his with Acacia wood and precious metals and precious stones and fine linen and goat hair. 84 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:32,640 Is that the kind of sanctuary that God wants us to make today? You know, goat hair? I don't even 85 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:36,160 know where you're going to get that, right? Go here, have to order that on Amazon. I don't think 86 00:10:36,160 --> 00:10:41,280 that's what God is looking for. Amen. If that's what he wants, then we would do it. But that's not 87 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:47,920 what he's looking for. The sanctuary that God wants is not made of wood and stone, but it's made 88 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:57,840 of flesh and bone. What if I told you that you are the sanctuary? What if I told you that you are 89 00:10:57,840 --> 00:11:03,680 the sanctuary? Someone say, I am the sanctuary. We don't live in the Old Testament under the 90 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:10,960 Old Covenant anymore, but under a new covenant in Christ. Amen. The old religious system and the 91 00:11:10,960 --> 00:11:19,520 law, according to Hebrews chapter 10, were simply a shadow of things to come. If you think that we 92 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:26,160 have to go through all the same ceremonial systems of the Old Testament, read Hebrews. Please read 93 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:32,320 Hebrews because what Hebrews teaches us is that all of those things were for the most part a shadow 94 00:11:32,320 --> 00:11:41,440 or a for picture of what New Testament Christianity is all about. And when we speak of a sanctuary, 95 00:11:41,440 --> 00:11:47,040 of a temple, we're not talking about a church building, a physical building, but of something 96 00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:54,800 much deeper, something more intimate, something more personal. When Paul preaching on Mars 97 00:11:54,800 --> 00:12:02,720 and the people of Athens, he preached these words. He said, God who made the world and everything in 98 00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:09,840 it, since he is the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 99 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:17,920 So God is not confined to a temple made with hands. God does not live, so to speak, 100 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:26,480 in a physical temple like that, but he cannot be defined that way. Rather, God seeks to dwell 101 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:34,960 in the sanctuary of human life. Amen. Paul wrote these words in his letter to the first Corinthians, 102 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:43,040 to Corinthians, 1 Corinthians chapter 316. Do you not know that you are the temple of God 103 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:50,240 and that the spirit of God dwells in you? I've come to remind or announce to you today that God 104 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:56,960 is not looking so much for a physical building to dwell in, but he is looking for a heart to dwell 105 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:03,200 in. He's looking for a life to dwell in. And it is time for us church. Amen. You can praise God for 106 00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:09,760 that. It's time for us church to understand that the place where the spirit of God wants to live 107 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:17,120 and dwell is our own bodies. He writes this in another chapter. Do you not know that your body 108 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:23,680 is the temple of the Holy Ghost who is in you, whom you have from God, that you are not your own? 109 00:13:23,680 --> 00:13:30,320 You need to understand when the spirit of God takes residence in your life, you are no longer 110 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:37,360 yourself, your own, but you now belong to God. Hallelujah. For you were bought with a price, 111 00:13:37,360 --> 00:13:45,120 therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's the moment that the spirit 112 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:52,560 of the Lord inhabits and it dwells your life. You are now God's property. You are now God's 113 00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:58,720 temple. You are now the sanctuary of the spirit of God. Hey, I don't know about you, but I don't 114 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:07,040 have to come to 1425 South Springer Road to fill the presence of God every time I open up my mouth, 115 00:14:07,040 --> 00:14:13,200 every time I get in my prayer closet, every come on, I wish I had a witness today, every time I 116 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:21,040 speak with other tongues, I feel the presence of God because that God is living on the inside of me. 117 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:28,880 Somebody give God some praise today. The church is not a place, it's a people. 118 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:36,000 The church is not a place, it's a people. And I thank God for a place. I'm not against that. 119 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:40,480 I might have some things to say about that in a moment. Amen. But we are the church. 120 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:48,800 Someone say I'm the church. Amen. We have to do more than just come to church. We've got to be 121 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:58,800 the church wherever we go. We are the temple of God. Hallelujah. We're taking Jesus with us. 122 00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:05,280 Understand that this is the temple. My body is the temple. And there's a whole lot more we can 123 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:12,320 say about that. What am I letting into my temple? What am I bringing into my temple? This is God's 124 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:19,840 space. The sanctuary is not the building, it's the believers. Once again, you are the sanctuary. 125 00:15:19,840 --> 00:15:26,960 We are the sanctuary of God. And I believe that when we unite as a church, we create a greater 126 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:33,200 sanctuary for God to move. Hallelujah. Paul teaches this concept in Ephesians chapter two. 127 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:40,240 He says that we are the members of the household of God built upon the foundation of the apostles 128 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:48,160 and the prophets with Christ as our chief cornerstone. He says that the saints in whom the whole 129 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:58,640 building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord in whom you also are being 130 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:04,640 are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the spirit. 131 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:15,200 Who hallelujah. Not only your life individually, but our lives collectively 132 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:26,800 are building a temple. We are the sanctuary of God. And this is why we have to help each other. 133 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:31,840 We have because the sanctuary will only be as strong as his weakest brick. 134 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:39,200 I must say that again. The sanctuary will only be as strong as his weakest stone. 135 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:44,880 And so we have to build up one another in the faith and encourage each other so that we can 136 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:50,240 be a strong sanctuary for God to move. And guess what? God wants this sanctuary to grow. 137 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:55,600 God wants this. Hallelujah. He wants to add more stone to the sanctuary. More names be 138 00:16:55,600 --> 00:17:00,480 written to the book of life. More people being added to the kingdom of God. 139 00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:07,760 And all these things are true and all these things are wonderful. But then comes the question. 140 00:17:07,760 --> 00:17:18,960 How do we make this sanctuary a reality? How was Moses or us today supposed to make this happen? 141 00:17:19,600 --> 00:17:23,360 Moses said, or he must have thought in his mind, this sounds great God. 142 00:17:23,360 --> 00:17:28,800 God, we want to build this sanctuary. We want to do this for the glory of God. But how are we going 143 00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:36,560 to do it? Where are we going to get the resources and the materials and like how is this supposed 144 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:42,560 to materialize? How are we going to get there, God? I'm excited about the fact that there is 145 00:17:42,560 --> 00:17:48,400 this sanctuary that we're supposed to build. But are we just going to like think it into existence? 146 00:17:48,400 --> 00:17:55,120 Like what's how are we going to get from A to B? How are we going to get there? Well, I've come to 147 00:17:55,120 --> 00:18:00,160 tell you and I might lose some amens on this point, but that's all right. It's going to cost you. 148 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:09,040 It's kind of costly. Hey, you all said you were going to help me. I'm going to preach 30 minutes, 149 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:14,160 man. I need you to back me up here today. The Lord called, he told Moses and he called him. 150 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:18,320 Remember when he meant to, he went to the top of Mount Sinai and he was there 40 days. The Lord 151 00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:23,840 was speaking to him and the cloud descended and it looked like there was fire on the mountain. 152 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:30,800 And the first thing that he begins to tell Moses is serving, we find in Exodus 25 verse 1, he said, 153 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:37,680 speak to the children of Israel that they may bring me an offering from everyone who gives it 154 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:46,960 willingly with his heart, you shall make me an offering. So the Lord speaks to Moses and says, 155 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:53,680 this is how you're going to do it. It has to come out of the hearts of the people. They have to 156 00:18:53,680 --> 00:19:00,960 want to build this thing. My God. And what I appreciate about what God is saying, what he is, 157 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:06,800 the principle he's conveying to Moses and ultimately to the people is that, look, I'm not going to beg 158 00:19:06,800 --> 00:19:12,800 you. Oh, my Lord, hallelujah. You know, let me tell you something about God. God's a perfect gentleman. 159 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:20,000 God is not going to twist anybody's arm to do anything you don't want to do. Amen. Can we agree 160 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:29,200 on that? Although you'd be hard pressed to resist him. I got example after example of people who 161 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:34,480 tried to resist God in the scripture and they ultimately failed. But you could put up a fight 162 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:40,320 if you want to, but ultimately God's not going to force it upon you, but listen to the word of the 163 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:46,480 Lord. He's saying that my sanctuary is going to cost you something and it's totally up to you, 164 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:53,360 your willingness, your desire to build the church and to build a place for me to be glorified. 165 00:19:53,360 --> 00:19:57,600 Jesus said it in another way in the New Testament. He said where your treasure is, 166 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:06,480 there your heart will be also. God's not going to force us. He's not going to twist your arm 167 00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:12,480 or beg you. He's not going to beg you for your time. He's not going to beg you for your availability. 168 00:20:12,480 --> 00:20:16,720 He's not going to beg you for your treasures or your money or not. He's not going to beg you for 169 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:22,640 any of those things. Let me tell you, something's in God or mandatory and other things in God are 170 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:31,440 voluntary. Something's in God you're doing because you're supposed to do well. Mandatory. 171 00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:39,280 Hallelujah. And other things are voluntary, meaning it's totally up to you out of your heart 172 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:46,400 what it is you're going to do with it. And when we look at the sanctuary that God called Moses 173 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:52,000 and the Israelites to build, he said if we're going to make this happen, we're going to do it 174 00:20:52,000 --> 00:21:00,000 through the generosity of your heart, the willingness, the desire that you have for me. The Lord was 175 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:06,240 telling Moses this. Let me summarize it this way. He was telling Moses this, I want to dwell with 176 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:12,480 you. That's an established fact. I want to dwell with you so bad. I'm willing to come down to where 177 00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:21,520 you are. But the question is, how bad do you want me to dwell with you? I want to dwell with you, 178 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:31,760 but how much, let me, how hungry are you for me? Oh, Hallelujah, Jesus. How hungry are you for 179 00:21:31,760 --> 00:21:36,080 me? See, sometimes we read some of the words of Jesus and we kind of like gloss over certain things. 180 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:44,000 Like he said, Jesus didn't say blessed are the righteous. No, he said blessed are those who hunger. 181 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:49,600 God don't bless the righteous. God blesses those who hunger for righteousness. 182 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:55,920 God blesses those who thirst for righteousness. Why? For they shall be filled. How many of you 183 00:21:55,920 --> 00:22:04,160 want to be filled today? Come on, clap your hands and give God some praise. Well, how do you measure 184 00:22:04,160 --> 00:22:09,920 hunger? How do you measure desire? How do you measure these things that can be sometimes, 185 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,320 you can't always quantify it, right? You can't always enumerate it. You can't always, 186 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:21,040 you can't always, how do you quantify hunger and desire? I think it comes down to willingness. 187 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:26,320 I think it comes down to sacrifice. I think it comes down to who's willing to pay the price. 188 00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:34,560 And this is what we see at the heart of the construction of the sanctuary that they were to 189 00:22:34,560 --> 00:22:43,840 build in this mobile tent, this mobile house for the covenant, for the glory of God. 190 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:50,080 It came down to the desire of the people and they had a heart for God and they decided among 191 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:55,520 themselves, you know what? We want to do this for the Lord. We want, we're not going to do this 192 00:22:55,520 --> 00:23:00,320 because we're, you're twisting our arm, Moses. We're not going to do this because, well, we want 193 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:05,280 political favors in return, you know? We're not going to do this because you scratch my back and 194 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:10,400 I'll scratch yours, you know? We're not going to do this for personal gain. You know, I'll do it, 195 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:14,720 but I mean, am I going to get like a plaque somewhere in the parking lot? You know, am I going 196 00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:18,720 to, am I going to have a brick with my name on it? You know, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, 197 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:23,440 we're going to do this. You'd be surprised, oh God, we're going to do this because we want it 198 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:29,840 for the glory of God. We want the presence of God to dwell in our midst and there's no, 199 00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:36,160 hallelujah, there's no price too high. There's nothing I'm not willing to do so that I can get 200 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:43,680 God where I am. God is looking for willing hearts today. He's looking for desire. He's looking for 201 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:50,080 somebody that says, there's one thing that I've desired of the Lord and that will I speak that 202 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:56,960 I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. There's somebody like this today 203 00:23:56,960 --> 00:24:04,240 to inquire of the Lord. Come on, can we worship Him for a few moments right now? Somebody lift 204 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:14,080 your head, somebody praise Him this afternoon. I'm not going to have time to say everything I 205 00:24:14,080 --> 00:24:19,360 want to, but listen, I want to point something out to you. Very important, very important is that 206 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:25,360 David was a man, the Bible said he was a man after God's own heart. You'll be hard-pressed to find 207 00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:30,640 anyone in the Bible who had a greater passion for the presence, for the glory of God than David did. 208 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:38,640 David's whole life seemed to be centered in hot pursuit of the presence of God. He was a king 209 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:43,040 unlike any other in the Old Testament, a man who danced before the Lord with all of his might. 210 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:47,440 Remember Hallelujah? When the glory of God, when the Ark of the Covenant returned to Jerusalem, 211 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:52,720 this was a man who was in love with God and he wanted so desperately during a time of, 212 00:24:52,720 --> 00:24:58,400 during a time of rest in his life to do something for the Lord. He had a dream and I believe he 213 00:24:58,400 --> 00:25:07,840 was born of God to build a house for God. And this is what he said in 2 Samuel 2 or excuse me, 214 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:14,640 2 Samuel 7 verse 2. This is, notice what he said. He, he, he, he estimated his own life and he said, 215 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:23,440 I dwell in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God dwells in scythent curtains. He said, 216 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:31,600 there is a disparity here and he could not justify the fact that his house was better than God's. 217 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:39,280 He couldn't justify the fact that, that his home was a home of cedar, which was an expensive, 218 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:46,720 expensive type of wood and yet the house of God, where the glory of God is, is like in a little 219 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:52,320 tent somewhere. And he said, I want to build God a house and so he wanted to do that. But you know 220 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:58,880 what God ended up telling David? He said, through the prophet, through the prophet, Nathan, he said, 221 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:06,000 as much as you want to paraphrase him, I can't let you build it. I can't let you build it. And the 222 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:12,000 reason was, is because David was a man of war and the Bible says that he had shed too much blood on 223 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:18,720 earth. He shed too much blood and for such a holy thing. That's why you got to make sure you don't 224 00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:23,440 have too much blood on your hands. Oh Lord, people that you've heard and wounded, that's a whole 225 00:26:23,440 --> 00:26:29,760 other suit. God help me. And you got too much blood on your hands because God won't let bloody hands 226 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:38,160 build the things of God. No malice, no bitterness. Oh Jesus. But, but, but, but, but God said, but I, 227 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:43,920 but I recognize that you have the right intentions. So this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to let 228 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:51,520 your son Solomon build it. I'm going to let Solomon build it. And so watch what happens. David said, 229 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:57,760 okay, all right, then this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to do everything within my power, 230 00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:07,680 within my resources, within my, within my liberties as, as the king to prepare for the building of 231 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:15,280 the sanctuary. And so David went through the trouble of gathering. This was no small task. 232 00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:23,200 This was, this was no little thing that David did. He went through the trouble of amassing all the 233 00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:31,920 materials, the gold, the wood, the furnishings. He even got together the craftsmen and the artisans 234 00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:40,240 and, and the builders. He got, he got everything in place. And this took him time to do this, 235 00:27:40,240 --> 00:27:49,120 to storehouse these things. So that by the time his son Solomon stepped into his purpose, 236 00:27:49,680 --> 00:27:59,200 he had everything that he needed to build the sanctuary. I'm going to tell something. Every 237 00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:05,360 parent in this place today and every person who sees himself as a parent one day, what you start 238 00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:14,880 now, God will allow your children to finish. You see, look, there are some things I've recognized 239 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:23,200 that I may in my lifetime not see the full fruition. I may not, there may be some things in my 240 00:28:23,200 --> 00:28:30,400 lifetime that if the Lord should tarry, I may not complete. But that is no excuse for me to take 241 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:41,440 my foot off the pedal and say, let the next generation figure it out. No, that's, that's not 242 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:47,600 how we should think about these things. And so everything I'm doing now, everything, see, right, 243 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:51,920 let me tell you something as we get ready to go. Let me tell you something. We can't stay in this 244 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:59,840 building forever. I said, we can't stay in this building forever. I'm talking about this physical 245 00:28:59,840 --> 00:29:06,960 building now. We can't stay here forever. If the Lord should tarry another 20, 30 years, I don't know. 246 00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:16,400 We can't stay here forever. I believe God has something for us. I believe he does. And I don't 247 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:23,280 just mean the physical building, although I want to give the next generation. If our children grow 248 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:27,680 up and they have families in this church, and then I baptize them and we dedicate, and we, 249 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,880 if some of your grandchildren come back, who knows how long the Lord's going to tarry? 250 00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:38,880 What if that happens? What are we leaving for them? What are they going to have? Oh, Jesus, 251 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:44,160 I feel, I feel something right there. What are they going to have? Now, I would love for them to 252 00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:50,160 have property that the church owns so that you could just run with the purpose of God, open this 253 00:29:50,160 --> 00:30:01,440 thing up every day of the week. But more than that, I want my home and my family to be a sanctuary. 254 00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:16,160 Watch this. So David prepares everything, right? He gets all the materials and all the, 255 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:24,240 all the things needed to build this place, to build the sanctuary, because that's what he 256 00:30:24,240 --> 00:30:31,760 wanted. He said, even if I don't get to preach behind that beautiful pulpit, I'm going to get 257 00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:39,280 everything in place for the time my son, my children are on that platform or serving wherever it is 258 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:46,000 that they are in the body of Christ, that there's something strong and stable for them to stand 259 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:58,160 upon. Oh, Jesus, what love, what legacy are you passing down? Then David told Solomon this as I 260 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:09,600 closed. This is what he told them. First Chronicles 2219, he said to Solomon, his son, this is a 261 00:31:09,600 --> 00:31:15,040 father son moment. Okay, for all you fathers out there, parents, this is like a family moment here. 262 00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:22,880 Okay, there's a father son moment. He said this to him. He said, now set your heart and your soul 263 00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:33,760 to seek the Lord your God, which David could say because David had modeled it for his son. 264 00:31:34,640 --> 00:31:44,400 He had, he had exemplified it for him. What seeking the Lord looks like. And then he says, 265 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:52,080 therefore arise and build. I wonder where I heard that before. Everyone say, let's say arise and build. 266 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:58,880 Arise and build. Let's say it again. Arise and build. That's been our theme for this year, 267 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:04,640 in case you forgot. We started this year saying arise and build. How many of you believe we've 268 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:11,600 got to do that, amen? Arise and build. And then he tells them, therefore arise, stand up from where 269 00:32:11,600 --> 00:32:18,160 you are and build the sanctuary of the Lord God to bring the Ark of the covenant of the Lord 270 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:25,840 and the holy articles of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord. 271 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:32,320 I've come to tell you today, is there a Solomon here today? Is there a Solomon in the house? 272 00:32:32,880 --> 00:32:39,120 Is there a Solomon? Are you a second, third generation apostolic? Are you a second, third 273 00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:46,240 generation holy ghost, field believer? Are you a second? Are you a Solomon in the house today? 274 00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:53,680 That God is saying, we can't let this be passed to the next generation. You have got to arise and 275 00:32:53,680 --> 00:33:02,080 build for my kingdom. Can somebody stand with me this afternoon? Oh my God, I believe that there 276 00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:07,840 may be some Davids today, but there also may be some Solomon's. There are some Solomon's in this 277 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:14,480 place today whom God is telling you, I'm looking to you to be the builder. I'm looking to you 278 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:19,440 to be the one that's going to make me a sanctuary, make me a place where I can move, 279 00:33:19,440 --> 00:33:25,600 make a place of prayer in your home, a place of consecration. Show your family how to pray, 280 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:31,120 show them how to give, show them how to do these things sacrificially and with a willing heart. 281 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:37,840 Show them that we don't do these things purely out of a sense of duty, out of a sense of obligation, 282 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:45,760 out of tradition or religiosity. Show them that we do these things because we love the Lord. 283 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:54,320 Oh my God, oh hallelujah. There's been a whole generation that has missed out with God because 284 00:33:54,320 --> 00:34:00,480 somebody taught them simply how to love church and not the God of the church. Somebody just 285 00:34:00,480 --> 00:34:07,360 brought them to church but didn't bring church home. Oh my God, it's not enough for us to bring 286 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:14,880 ourselves to church. We got to bring the sanctuary home and we got to build an altar in our home and 287 00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:30,960 in our marriages.