Sunday Message - Build the Holy Temple; Receive the SpiritŐs Fire 3

20/04/08

<Exodus 32:1-6, 40:17-38; John 2:18-22, 6:53-57; Romans 6:1-5>

REBUILD THE HOLY TEMPLE THROUGH THE CROSS

á       Lord Jesus Christ has gone through the most painful and torturous punishment on the Cross

á       His skin and flesh were torn apart. His blood was completely drained; only water was left flowing from His body. Even as He went through such terrible punishment, He asked God to forgive the people, because they didnŐt know what they were doing. And He even saved a robber

á       God has one thing to emphasize when He allowed His only begotten son to undergo such torturous punishment. God used His complete life to redeem and save the people who belong to Him in the first place so that they could restore their glory, blessing and position

á       <Romans 8:32> God has even given His only beloved Son to us. What else will He not give us?

á       Is there still anything that makes us miserable as we come before the Cross? Is there anything else that we are still lacking, as we come before the Cross?

á       If a normal person has ever wondered how much emphasis God has in telling us His love; he will not be always asking God, why God didnŐt give him the things or success that he wants

á       On the contrary, he will ask God, who is he that God has willingly sacrificed Himself for. What is it that God wants to give him? Which path has God mapped out for him?

á       A person who has really seen the revelation of the cross will definitely think like this and not hold on tightly to his things or follow the world

á       The beliefs of a lot of people are already problematic. They have never been through the Cross at all

á       Beliefs or worships that didnŐt go through the Cross are false. People will definitely go into mysticism, legalism, humanism or prosperity seeking

á       Our problems come from us not knowing how much the Lord has loved us and also not knowing the abundant grace and authority of the Cross

á       We must build up a true belief. In other words, we must repent (turn to God). From physical worries or fears, turn to the glorious purpose and live out the identities that God has given us. Thereafter, baptize in the name of Jesus Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to dwell in us

á       We will follow to the end once the Holy Spirit comes upon us

á       God uses His whole life to acquire and to love us. People who understand this will offer their Isaac to God

á       Today, we must really know how we can build up our true belief with the Cross

á       We must live our entire life by relying on the Holy SpiritŐs method

 

Read <Exodus 32:1-6>

á       Exodus from Egypt means to be born again

á       Therefore, everyone who came out from Egypt needs to know the Cross

á       The most important element of the Holy Temple is the blood. It was the blood that brought them out from Egypt and brought them across the Red Sea

á       The Israelites started to panic when they didnŐt see Moses returning after he went out the mountain for 40 days. Thus, they built a golden calf. Though they worshipped the golden calf, they had not forsaken God. They treated the golden calf as God

á       v1  This is the belief of Ňworshipping the calfÓ. They thought there wasnŐt when they couldnŐt see

á       v2  Why were the wives and children mentioned? Because, people are always asking for blessings for their loved ones

á       v5  They treated the golden calf as God

á       v6  The result of worshipping the calf and world is to indulge in revelry

á       When Moses came back and saw what they had done, he broke the stones tablets and killed 3,000 people

á       Why was God so angry at the Israelites when it was Him that they had wanted to worship? Because, they didnŐt do in accordance to GodŐs instruction

 

Read <Exodus 40:17-38>

á       ŇJust as the Lord commanded himÓ. This word has repeated a few times. Is God long-winded?

á       Those who worship the golden calf will not act in accordance to what God has commanded them. They will do things that they want to do, or ask whatever they want to ask

á       We must really understand what GodŐs emphasis is

á       People who worship God not accordance to His command will become very foolish

á       v36            The pillars of fire and cloud represent the Holy SpiritŐs guidance. They move on or stop in accordance to GodŐs command. They will stop when God asks them to stop

á       The Israelites became weak very quickly. In other words, they were weak in matters of the tabernacle. When they fail in the tabernacle, they will start to worship idols gradually

á       GodŐs priests, the Levites became weak also. They were all busy with the worldly things

á       The Israelites remained weak for 12 generations. God would give them a Judge whenever they were weak. This thing becomes a cycle, until the last Judge, Samson. However, he too fell for the world and failed. After that, came the era of Eli, the high priest

á       Eli the high priest fell and died after he heard that the ark of covenant was captured because, the Israelites fought battles with the ark of covenant

á       The ark of covenant was brought back to Israel only when David became king. This is the greatness of David

á       David wanted to build the temple all his life. He prepared all the material, the laws and decree

á       After that, Solomon became king but he didnŐt just worship God. He worship other gods as well

á       All these things were happening continuously. Today, a lot of people are also pushing for unification of religions. This is the reason why people receive the greatest curses

á       After SolomonŐs era, Israel became week and that resulted in Israel being wiped out and Judah being captured. After 70years of captivity, both Ezra and Nehemiah wanted to restore the Holy Temple. However, the Holy Temple had become den for robbers in JesusŐ time

á       People started doing business in the Holy Temple. This is what it mean by mixed beliefs

 

Read <John 2:18-22>

á       v19            What Jesus Christ meant was that the temple were destroyed by them

á       v21            This is the repentance that Peter said in <Acts> Repentance means completely destroy and rebuild. Thereafter, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, and establish the ideology of life, and system of living

á       We must break bread at home and in the temple. It means to remember what Jesus Christ had done for us. This must be taught to our children daily

á       However, people didnŐt do this. All they did daily was to worship the golden calf. God really hated this. God hated people whose life arenŐt destroyed but have become chaotic, and they still think that they have been worshipping God

 

Read  <Romans 6:1-5>

á       What does it mean by baptism?

á       V1  The weaker we are, the greater GodŐs grace becomes. Thus, we need not be afraid to stand in front of God. However, this doesnŐt permit us to commit more sins

 

1.   Without passing the Cross (bloodless sacrifices) means unable to meet God

1)   Repeated mistakes of those who didnŐt pass through the Cross = repeated mistakes by those with false beliefs

á       There are two types of people in the Holy Temple who fail repeatedly. The first type is those who go to the temple because they fear God. They do not know God at all. In other words, they are not born again. They still remain in the curse. The more they go to church, the more ŇunluckyÓ they will be

á       The second type of people knows God and has seen the provision and glory of God before. However, they call to God insincerely

á       E.g. Their lives are not in tune with the hymns they sing or the content of their prayers. They do not understand GodŐs conviction

á       They do not know what God is telling them through their tribulations or hardships. Neither have they seen GodŐs love

á       Some people who go to church know that the Lord loves them, and has even died on the Cross for them. However, there are still things that they cannot let go or people whom they cannot forgive

á       They had shut themselves out from the Holy SpiritŐs conviction. Thus, the more they worship, they more frustrated they will become because they cannot hear God speaking to them

á       God is always comforting them, but they cannot hear God. Their hearts are hardened

á       People are all like that since birth because all of them are descendants of Adam

 

2)   All the descendants of Adam are born, raised and live in the state of Ňbeing misled, deceived and misunderstoodÓ

á       All the descendants of Adam do things as they wish

á       People have never discovered that God as their eternal father and not a subject whom they should fear

á       Men have a conscience since birth. They know what is right and what is wrong. Men will fear God and depart from Him after they know how to distinguish right and wrong

á       All men live for themselves. All descendants of Adam are like that

á       GodŐs preparation wasnŐt like this. What God has prepared is the Cross. Die, bury, and resurrect with Jesus Christ

 

3)   God has revealed the mysteries of the Cross to the chosen ones

The Cross:   GodŐs eternal, infinite and unconditional love for His people

The Cross:   The mystery for GodŐs people to be ŇholyÓ; not by menŐs actions, but by GodŐs choice; through the dwelling and conviction of the Holy SpiritŐ; through the faith of the blessed onesÉ

The Cross:   The mystery for GodŐs people to receive Ňnew life, belonging, relationship and inheritanceÓ

The Cross:   The extent of GodŐs peopleŐs compassion, love and blessing for others

The Cross:   How GodŐs people test and approve GodŐs perfect will and their submission to God (obedient to death) = the role model, Jesus Christ

á       What does the Cross mean to us?

á       The Cross is GodŐs greatest and unconditional love. The more unable a person is, the closer he should get to God and not further away from God

á       The Cross is GodŐs perfect righteousness and holiness. Holiness is not a measurement of action / behavior

á       WhatŐs the definition for holiness? In the whole universe, only God is holy. After the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, He will always prompt the person to be holy. Only such a person will become holy

á       People will only become holy only when the Holy Spirit dwells in him and convicts him continuously. Holiness without the conviction from the Holy Spirit is self-made

á       A person has new life, new belonging and new concern through the Cross. It is not about changing our religion

á       We will only know what is true compassion and true love through the Cross. The Lord loves even His enemies

á       We will only love people after we understand the mystery of the Cross

á       The Cross tells us to obey till the end. Obedient to death

á       We are the most beloved and most abundant. However, a lot of people still say that they donŐt have enough

á       We definitely have enough if we are able to give thanks for 3 meals a day

á       If God allows us to earn $1,000 a month, we should give thanks for that $1,000. In other words, the condition and situation that I have now are the best for me

 

4)   The essence of the Cross is Ňtear down completely and rebuildÓ

á       As we come before God, we must really tear ourselves down and rebuild

á       When God first called Abram, God asked him to leave his country, his people and his fatherŐs household and go to the land God had prepared for him

á       Peter talked about repentance, be baptized in the name of Jesus; obey the Holy Spirit and God. They refer to the same thing as that of GodŐs command to Abram

á       God didnŐt call the Israelites to leave Egypt so as to indulge in revelry. They must get rid of their thoughts of slavery from Egypt. They wanted to return to Egypt when they found no meat in the wilderness. Such thoughts must be gotten rid off

á       We are the children of the glorious God. Therefore, do not always go back to the old thinking

á       God will provide all we need when we follow Him. This is our Christian belief

 

2.   How to tear down completely and rebuild?

á       As we come before God, what should we tear down and what should we rebuild?

 

1)   Establish the system of Ňmeeting GodÓ <Basic Message lessons 1-10>

(1)  Confirming and believing in born again and transformation

(2)  Knowing the trinity God

(3)  Knowing ourselves

(4)  Restoring GodŐs ideology

(5)  Establishing the relationship between ŇGodŐs word, Christ, Holy SpiritÓ and me

á       We must tear down and rebuild things that prevent / disallow us from meeting God. Tear down the misunderstanding we have for God

á       We are GodŐs noblest creation. Thoughts that suggest otherwise must be torn down

á       Any wrong values, perspective, and thoughts must be torn down

á       Know God by His word. This is meeting God

á       God tells us about our transformation. He is our Father and not a subject whom we should fear. He is our eternal Father; a loving and righteous Father

á       We are GodŐs glorious children. God tells us that His glorious purpose is in us

á       With His word, we come to know the two worlds that God has created: spiritual and physical worlds

á       Our values tell us what is important and what is not. What is temporary and what is eternal?

á       Before we have a marriage life, we ought to know what God says about marriage

á       A couple is two becoming one, to fulfill one purpose

á       Since we are one in body, we will have one destiny. Thus, we need not have Ňten commandments for marriageÓ. Couples will only be blissful when they have the correct perspective on marriage

á       We need to tear down the wrong perspective on marriage.  We must understand the original plan of God in creating husbands and wives.  How can we start if we donŐt know?

á       Knowing God means, to live out the image of Jesus Christ and to receive the Holy SpiritŐs conviction in doing all things with the word of God

á       Meeting God means to know God, ourselves, and all things with His word

á       A lot of Saints didnŐt start their beliefs by knowing these. They started doing a lot of things

 

2)   Acquire the system of Ňconversing with GodÓ <Basic Message lessons 11-15>

 (1) Prayers that correspond to the identity of GodŐs children

á       We must tear down our self-contentment and the hearts that do not like to seek God

á       We must seek God with the content of His word

á       Why do Saints dislike prayers? It is easier to ask them to go out to evangelize than to pray. It is because they have not seen GodŐs answers. They do not pray with the identity of GodŐs children

á       Did we ever ask God, whether do we need to ask for this, or that? Do we need to ask for health? There are things that we need not ask

á       Does a child who stays with his father need to ask for food everyday? In fact, the father will get worried if the child refuses to eat

á       Those prayers are done by the gentiles. God already know what we need before we ask

 

(2)  Test and approve GodŐs perfect will, plan and timetable in accordance to the eternal covenant (Four Gospelization)

á       Why canŐt we see answers? Because, we donŐt have GodŐs covenant in our prayers

á       The covenant is the standard for us, saints, to judge all of GodŐs perfect will and direction. People without covenant will not know what God has been doing

á       Some people may say that their family still refuses to accept even though they had prayed for their family for ten years

á       How would we think with the covenant perspective?  Perhaps we are the first generation Christians. Thus, we will face more obstructions from Satan

á       The process of our family members receiving salvation gives us the most testimonies. Our familyŐs salvation will fulfill GodŐs greatest work

á       We should ask ourselves, why we want to get married? It is not merely because we had met, fell in love and thus we ought to get married

á       No. We marry for four gospelization. We fulfill four gospelization together

á       WhatŐs the reason for not getting married? We must view with the covenant perspective. Because weŐd yet to meet someone who know GodŐs covenant and someone with a high spiritual level

á       Some sisters serve God wholeheartedly when they are single. However, we cannot see them in church anymore after they got married

á       There is a reason for having children. When we give God, our hearts, God will definitely take care of our children

á       Without GodŐs covenant, it is really a nightmare to bring up our children

á       Our church has been established for five years now. WeŐd met many hardships and problems in these five years. Can we sustain till now, if not for GodŐs covenant? Will it not be better for us to close the church down and go join other churches?

á       One day, our pastor realized this: everyone in this world will become inferior because of their insignificant conditions. We, on the other hand, are able to glorify God and give thanks for our insignificant conditions

á       We donŐt get married now, not because we have not met the right person, but because thereŐs no reason for us to do so. God will definite give me the noblest reason if He allows me to remain single now. Thus, IŐm able to give thanks to God

 

(3)  The Prayer that brings healing and cleansing

á       Only people who have the covenant and who know GodŐs perfect will, can be healed through prayers

á       The meaning of being healed: seeing not what we donŐt have, but we will receive greater things. We are not insignificant but glorious

á       All the people in this world are in pain because of wounds. Thus, though people have wanted to harm me, I can still bless them through GodŐs healing

á       This is why Joseph was able to forgive the brothers who tried to kill him

 

(4)  The prayer that relates to our fields

á       Prayers definitely have a relationship with my daily fields. Thus, we will receive prayer topics in our fields

á       Prayers should be ŇaliveÓ and not dead. People with such prayers will be victorious

 

(5)  Prayers that brings complete victory and freedom

á       What is victory? We need not grumble everyday that we earn only $1,000 per month. We must know that God protects us with that $1,000. He will give us extra when we need the money

á       A change in our hearts and minds is victory

á       There are a lot of unavoidable things in our journey with God

á       Hardships will come if they need to come. DavidŐs son will surely die. Job will surely need to face tribulations

á       We need not always ask God to change the situation or people. He will do it if required

á       God wants us to restore His heart, purpose and perfect will in that hardship.  We must act and glorify God according to His word. This is prayers

 

3)   The system to experience Ňwalking with GodÓ <Basic Message lessons16-20 >

 (1) Live a prayer (rely on Holy Spirit) centered life

á       We always act in the way we like. We just do whatever we want to do or go wherever we want to go. We just tear down such lifestyle and desire

á       The fundamental boundary we need to have, if we want to walk with God, is always be able to hear GodŐs voice

á       In other words, we need a worship-centered life

á       The most important thing in a week is the worship service on the first day

á