I. God s Temple; Sunday, June 16, 2013 (Sunnyslope)

Transcription

1 I. God s Temple; Sunday, June 16, 2013 (Sunnyslope) Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. A. Good morning, church! B. Today is Father s Day 1. Father s Day a celebration honoring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society 2. It was inaugurated in the United States in to complement Mother's Day in celebrating fatherhood and male parenting 3. Interesting bit of trivia: Father's Day was founded in Spokane, Washington at the YMCA in 1910 by Sonora Smart Dodd 4. After hearing a Sunday sermon about Jarvis' Mother's Day in 1909, she told her pastor that fathers should have a similar holiday honoring them 5. She encouraged many pastors around the area to participate 6. She initially suggested June 5, her father's birthday, but the pastors didn t have enough time to prepare their sermons 7. So the date was deferred to the third Sunday of June C. So what s then the difference between Father s Day and Mother s Day? 1. One time, a little boy was asked to define Father s Day 2. So he said that Father s Day is just like Mother s Day, only you don t spend as much on the present 1 of 10

2 D. Fathers can have a profoundly valuable impact on their children 1. Children learn first by imitating example 2. So if fathers live lives worthy of imitation, they are the first and greatest foundational influence for their children to live lives worthy of imitation E. Fathers also have the responsibility (as do mothers) to instill within their children positive values and habits that will benefit the children later in life 1. And sometimes, fathers have to try all sorts of ways to be effective at this 2. There was once a boy who had just gotten his driving permit a) He asked his father, who was a minister, if they could discuss the use of the car b) His father took him to his study and said to him, I'll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study your bible a little and get your hair cut and we'll talk about it. 3. After about a month, the boy came back and again asked his father, if they could discuss use of the car a) They again went to the father's study where his father said, Son, I've been real proud of you. You have brought your grades up, you've studied your bible diligently, but you didn't get your hair cut. 4. The young man waited a moment and replied, You know Dad, I've been thinking about that. You know, Samsom had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair! 2 of 10

3 5. to which the father replied, Yes, you're right, and they also walked every where they went! F. Now, although it s Father s Day, I would like to expand the concept we re talking about here 1. Expand from the idea of father s being examples for their children to imitate 2. to each and every Christian being an example for other Christians to imitate 3. As a Christian, we have a calling and responsibility to participate in the Christian community and to be an example to all of God s sanctifying of our hearts II. Today s sermon is going to be mostly in the realm of metaphor A. There are some specific verses I d like to read through (mostly out of 1 Kings 6 and 8) 1. But much of the lesson or thesis of this sermon are metaphors 2. So that is to say, these are mostly my opinion, or my drawing what I think are connections between ideas 3. So feel free to disagree with anything 4. My goal here is to perhaps try to share the connections I ve drawn to help provoke thought and consideration of these things B. Let s start with the primary passage: 1 Kings 6 1. In this chapter, Scripture tells us of the details of Solomon s temple 1 Kings 6:1 In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the temple of the Lord. 3 of 10

4 a) That verse seems very interested with ensuring we know exactly when this event took place by relation to other events b) It s interested in detail c) And as it turns out, virtually the whole of chapter 6 is written in the same way d) Detail after detail after detail 1 Kings 6:2-3 2 The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high. 3 The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits, and projected ten cubits from the front of the temple. 2. Most of the chapter is like this, providing us with a great amount of detail; detail that seems to be without any theological significance 3. Except there are 2 small exceptions 4. The first exception is the second half of the second sentence of verse 6 1 Kings 6:6b He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls. a) Notice the so that clause b) Solomon made offset ledges to ensure nothing was inserted into the temple walls c) That seems to me to speak to a concept of purity d) That Solomon was working to keep the temple pure 5. The second exception is the very next verse 4 of 10

5 1 Kings 6:7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built. a) Now this is very interesting to me b) Constructing a temple out of blocks of stone without a hammer or chisel at the construction site means the blocks have to be perfected off-site at the quarry c) This verse means that all perfecting of the stone blocks was done at the quarry so they could simply be put into place at the temple site d) This kept the temple site silent, almost as if out of reverence e) It kept the temple site in a state of sanctity C. Now with those two concepts in mind (purity and sanctity), let s look at a few metaphors 1. What if we consider that the story of Solomon s temple here is a metaphor for Creation: with the temple being heaven, and the quarry is earth a) We re sanctified in the quarry, not in heaven (1) And it s after the process of sanctification on earth that we are allowed into heaven (2) In heaven, there s no sin (3) But we should remember that we are not sanctified (made pure and holy) because of our entrance into heaven 5 of 10

6 (4) but rather made pure and holy because of the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit here in this life b) I wonder if we sometimes forget that (1) We get caught up in the day-to-day stresses and activities (2) and we forget that we should be ever more sanctified for God each day, here and now, not at some future time (3) So the lesson is: Don t let the promise of heaven be an excuse to put off the sanctification the Holy Spirit has prepared for you right now 2. Another possible metaphor hidden in the story of Solomon s temple is that the temple is God s church a) Every stone of the temple had a critical job, especially since they all fit together perfectly at the temple site b) If even one stone was pulled, it would threaten the temple structure, and certainly the temple would be incomplete c) In God s church, every Christian has a critical job d) And every Christian needs to work together with other Christians toward our collective purpose 3. A final third metaphor for the temple is that the temple is the Christian a) If we follow God and allow the Holy Spirit to direct us, we will be kept pure and sanctified 6 of 10

7 1 Corinthians 6: Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. b) I have a challenge for you (1) Instead of asking the question, Am I honoring God with my body? (2) Ask the question, How am I honoring God with my body? (3) Get specific D. In chapter 8, the temple is dedicated and the Ark is moved into the temple 1. This seems like a metaphor for the Holy Spirit entering our hearts a) Before this, the temple is just a building b) But after, it becomes the dwelling place of God 2. The building changes a) It turns on or gets activated b) In what ways have you been changed as a result of the Holy Spirit residing within you? III. Let s take a look at the prayer of dedication from chapter 8, especially in the context of what happens when we accept Christ A. The prayer is from Solomon and about the temple B. But let s pretend this prayer is about you, specially when you accepted Christ as Lord and Savior 7 of 10

8 1 Kings 8:27 But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! 1. Certainly, God cannot be contained within us a) What s meant is that a portion of God s spirit flows through us b) That He hears our prayers, is always aware of us (not just on Sundays in church) 2. How would your behavior during the week change if you were always aware of the fact that God is always aware of you, even in the smallest and most private moments away from the public? C. Let s take a look at a key promise, from verse 33 1 Kings 8: When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and give praise to your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple, 34 then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors. 1. When we turn away from God, we can return back to God 2. We re not permanently cast away 3. But we do have to turn back to God 4. We can t turn away and then hope God will come to meet us on our terms 5. The promise here is that if we repent and return to God, God will not reject us D. And one last final thought, from a few verses later on; something that relates to Father s Day 8 of 10

9 1 Kings 8: As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name 42 for they will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm when they come and pray toward this temple, 43 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name. 1. If someone prays to God because of seeing our life as an example, God will hear that prayer because of us a) This means we have an awesome responsibility b) Our good example saves others c) But likewise, our poor example can turn people away from God E. Fathers can have a profoundly valuable impact on their children 1. Children learn first by imitating example 2. So if fathers live lives worthy of imitation, they are the first and greatest foundational influence for their children to live lives worthy of imitation F. Fathers also have the responsibility (as do mothers) to instill within their children positive values and habits that will benefit the children later in life G. Equally, Christians learn first from imitating the examples of other Christians 1. Even Christians who have been so for years can be easily changed toward good or bad through the example set by others H. So today, as we celebrate fathers as examples to their children 9 of 10

10 I. Amen 1. we should also recognize that each of us, every Christian, has an awesome responsibility to be an example to others of the power of God indwelling within us 2. because we each are temples of and for God 10 of 10